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