Why AKC Pro-Grade Kettlebells?

Despite what some manufacturers of "authentic" Russian kettlebells claim - there IS a reason the Pro-Grade kettlebells endorsed by the AKC and WKC as well as the kettlebells used by basically every country outside of the US are designed the way they are. Optimal performance. Take the "leading" brand for instance, they manufacture bells that come in a variety of sizes. The lighter weight bells are small and as the weight increases, so does the diameter of the bell. Why is this a problem? Easy. Try putting the bell in the correct rack position in order to perform presses, jerks, push-presses, etc. You can't. The bell needs to rest between the wrist and the shoulder in the crook of the elbow. You cannot accomplish this with the "leading brand" kettlebells until you get up to the 32kg-40kg bells. Great if you're an advanced lifter, but since there are literally so few people in the US that should be working with 32kg bells or better for reps (sure, most strong people can grab a 70 and press it a couple of times - but I'm talking about REAL kettlebell lifting) most people will find they have to change technique as they increase in bell weight due to the difference in diameter. The smaller bells manufactured by the "leading brand" do not sit well on the arm either, anything 16kg and below sits uncomfortably on my wrist making it very hard to put the bell in the correct rack position. The thicker handles of the "leading brand" can be of great benefit for grip work - however, in my opinion, there are much better grip tools out there than kettlebells. Williams Strength makes a whole line of fat barbells and fat handle attachments for cable machines and Ironmind carries just about every grip tool imaginable under the sun. We use kettlebells for repetition lifting. Kettlebells are fixed weights and are not very heavy, even at 48kg - that is only 106 lbs people. If I want strength work I'm using my texas power bar and iron plates. For rep work, strength endurance and GPP - I'm choosing kettlebells, and in addition to my sled, prowler and battling ropes kettlebells will whip you into shape faster than you thought possible. There's no reason to perform circus stunt exercises with a higher risk to reward ratio - unless of course you want to impress someone. Stick with the core kettlebell lifts - swings, cleans, snatches, presses, push presses, jerks, clean and jerks and all the variations. It is these lifts that the Pro-Grade style of kettlebell reins supreme. First, the thinner diameter handle allows you to use the finger lock technique on swings and snatches - something that is crucial in preventing your hands from getting torn up. No reason to be lame and use gloves or cut up tube-socks on your hands people. Learn good technique and don't worry about ripping your hands and callouses up. Next, the diameter of the bell is the perfect size for sitting in the proper rack position. Think about it, there's a reason this style of bell evolved over time - it works better. I am a car fanatic. My wife and I have had numerous corvettes (including the awesome Z06 and currently a 2008 coupe), a porsche and in addition to the 08' vette we have an awesome 07' Jag XK coupe and after test driving a Lamborghini last week that will be next on our hit list. While I think the first generation corvette is an awesome piece of machinery, it can't hold a candle performance-wise to our 08' vette. Cars evolve into higher performance machines. Kettlebells have evolved as well. There's a reason I love our top of the line high performance sports cars - it's the same reason I love my top of the line high performance kettlebells.

That's why AKC Pro-Grade bells.

-Scott

American Kettlebell Club Kettlebell Coaching Certification 5/17/08-5/18/08 Atlanta, GA

Friday 5/16

Eric, Jon, Marty and Valery got into Atlanta Friday evening. They met me at my gym just after I finished my last client for the night. We talked a bit then Valery became interested in the stones I had in the gym. Valery, Eric and I all took turns shouldering the bigger of the two stones I had, then we played with some grip tools and headed off to Ted's Montana Grill for a late dinner. My friend Svetlana and her husband Danny met five of us at Ted's. Svetlana is from Russia and I wanted to introduce her to Valery. Dinner was great, I opted for the Kitchen Sink burger - bison w/grilled ham, fried egg, bacon and cheese, YUM! I highly recommend it. Marty, whose dietary habits are odd to say the least, went with the crab cake appatizer, then surprisingly went for the crab cake entre. Marty, Marty, Marty.... Plus he washed it all down with an old fashioned root beer float. We're convinced he ran to the bathroom to regurgitate - he's gotta' keep that svelte 153 lb. physique somehow... Dinner was great then they went to check in to the hotel and get some sleep as we had two days of kettlebell instruction and lifting beginning in a few hours.

Saturday 5/17/08 - Day 1

The cert was held at Francis Fong's Martial Arts Academy in Norcross, GA. Thanks to my buddy Eric Froncsak for hooking that up as I wasn't sure my gym would be ready in time. The dojo was awesome. After some last minute setting up we hit the ground running. Valery and Marty began by introducing everyone to the AKC method of kb lifting as well as the basic outline for the weekend. The main point here people - there is NO kettlebell lifting style - there is only technique. And like everything there is GOOD technique and BAD technique. AKC is NOT about kb sport. KB sport is merely the pinnacle of kettlebell lifting just as a marathon is the pinnacle of distance running. Do people run for non-competition reasons such as fitness, recreation, health, etc? Sure they do. Do they PURPOSELY make their running technique harder? Only if they are a moron. Should the same apply to kb lifting? One would think. Now I know, here come the power lifting analogies. But Scott, box squatting is a way of making the squat harder. Special variations of the main lifts used on max effort day are designed to make the lift harder and exploit and build weaknesses. Well, I agree. HOWEVER, the TECHNIQUE is still done with one thing in mind - absolute perfection. You do not use sub-optimal technique in any variation of any lift - this is why we teach and learn the technical aspects of kb lifting that should apply to everyone - from the fitness enthusiast all the way up to the competing professional. It's kb lifting people, it's not rocket science. Stop overcomplicating it. If you want strength - lift barbells, kb's ain't heavy. A note on kb's and strength - Valery and I talked about this in Vegas as well as at the cert - kb's don't make you strong. Kb's improve your recovery and boost your GPP as well as build aspects of typical weak points which increases your strength potential. For powerlifters? Valery recommends short 2-3 minute sets at the end of the workout - no more, as he says "as your endurance goes up, your strength goes down. As your strength goes up, your endurance goes down." In speaking with Eric and Valery, they told me they felt one could get to a fairly high ranking in kb sport and powerlifting concurrently - but at the point when one is ready to progress to the highest attainable level, specificity rules. Therefore I feel, that with proper training, one could realistically achieve and MS ranking in kb sport and a class 1 or master level in powerlifting. Should one want to progress to MSWC in kb sport or Elite ranking in powerlifting, one discipline will have to be put on the back burner. This is all I have to say about this topic, now it's time to get the work done. I'm experimenting with the template right now and will have something worked out in a week or two. Stay tuned. While I will not give away the specifc details to the certification process this past weekend as it is not my place to give out the info for free that so many people paid good money for (if you really want to know what we do go to a cert for yourself you cheapskates). I will however give a brief overview of the cert and the topics we covered. Day 1 included specific work on the swing, clean, press, push press, and jerk. After instruction in each lift was given, we grouped up with either Jon or Marty and individually performed multiple timed sets (usually in the 2-4 minute range) so that we could get our technique corrected. Valery walked around and worked with everyone. There was MUCH more hands-on work involved with this certification than when I attended in March of 2007. Eric, Jon, Valery and all the coaches from the AKC are doing a great job at evolving this beast while keeping true to the methods they are trying to teach without having to create "new and exciting" exercises to sell the program. In addition to the instruction on Day 1, Marty demonstrated the long cycle w/ a pair of 32kg bells by doing 37 reps in 10:00. He also did a short-cycle jerk set w/ a pair of 24kg bells going 60 reps in 5:00. Valery performed a long cycle set w/24kg bells going 50 reps in 6:00 and Jon demonstrated the short cycle jerk with an awesome 88 reps in 10:00 w/ a pair of 24kg bells. A brief note on Jon - he's a super cool guy and probably one of the most underrated people in the AKC. This cat can lift the bells and his technique is amazing. Some highlights on day 2 included lunch at the Polish restaurant and dinner that night at Rusans in Buckhead, great sushi. Plus it was cool to catch up with some fo my friends who came to the cert and meet some new people as well.

Sunday 5/18/08 - Day 2

Day 2 consisted of work on the long cycle and the snatch. There were more demonstrations and a lot more talking about training philosophy, how to set up a training plan, key points for all the lifts, supplementary work, Q&A's, discussing the attributes of a kb lifter, Valery's recommendations on things such as speeding and program planning and Marty detailing his journey from starry-eyed kb newbie to becoming the 1st American male to achieve the rank of Master of Sport in kettlebell lifting. Day 2 demonstrations included Jon performing a 6:00 1-arm long cycle set w/32kg bell for 48 reps and a 10:00 snatch set w/the 24kg bell going for a total of 140 reps. Marty did the 1-arm long cycle w/32kg and got 100 reps in 10:00 and did a snatch set of 84 reps in 6:00 w/1-hand switch. Valery did a 10:00 set of snatches w/ 1-hand switch w/24kg going for 160 reps. He also performed an amazing feat of strength - bottom's up clean a 16kg bell, stack another 16kg bell on top and press, freakin' awesome! We wrapped up the cert with a written test, more Q&A group and individual photos and Valery and Eric presented attendees with certificates.

It was definitely a much improved certification since the last one I went to and something any aspiring kb lifter should attend. I like to tell people training and learning about KB's from Valery would be like getting basketball coaching from Michael Jordan - when you have a chance to train with the best, why let that opportunity pass?

Thanks to everyone who came out to the cert and my friend Eric Froncsak for co-hosting with me and really getting the ball rolling for this certification workshop. Thanks to Eric, Valery, Jon and Marty for doing a great job instructing and of course a special thanks to my good friend Marty for giving us all something to laugh at at lunch and dinner daily! Com. Marty is the man!!

Next up is the AKC affiliated meet I will be hosting at my gym, the Atlanta Barbell & Kettlebell Club, on Saturday December 13, 2008. Stay tuned for details!

-Scott