Kettlebell swing

They are even doing studies on the swing now.....although I am not actually that sure that there is much to it, whether what they are measuring actually matters

MECHANICAL DEMANDS OF KETTLEBELL SWING EXERCISE

Abstract
The aims of this study were to establish mechanical demands of kettlebell swing exercise, and provide context by comparing them to mechanical demands of back squat and jump squat exercise. Sixteen men performed two sets of 10 swings with 16, 24, and 32 kg, two back squats with 20, 40, 60 and 80% 1RM, and two jump squats with 0, 20, 40, and 60% 1RM. Sagittal plane motion and ground reaction forces (GRF) were recorded during swing performance, and GRF were recorded during back and jump squat performance. Net impulse, and peak and mean propulsion phase force and power applied to the center of mass (CM) were obtained from GRF data, and kettlebell displacement and velocity from motion data. Results of repeated measures analysis of variance showed that all swing CM measures were maximized during the 32 kg condition, but that velocity of the kettlebell was maximized during the 16 kg condition; displacement was consistent across different loads. Peak and mean force tended to be greater during back and jump squat performance, but swing peak and mean power was greater than back squat power, and largely comparable with jump squat power. However, the highest net impulse was recorded during swing exercise with 32 kg (276.1 ± 45.3 N·s vs. 60% 1RM back squat: 182.8 ± 43.1 N·s, and 40% jump squat: 231.3 ± 47.1 N·s). These findings indicate a large mechanical demand during swing exercise, that could make swing exercise a useful addition to strength and conditioning programs that aim to develop the ability to rapidly apply force.

Goblet Squats

Dan John has talked a lot about Goblet Squats and their value in patterning the squat. 

I found this video of a strong set.


Deep, straight back. (but crap shoes as Pieter points out in the comment below)

EDIT - For what it is worth the video below is what Dan John himself in his new book (Dan has just posted a link to a free ebook  - The Coyote Point Kettlebell Club) points to to explain the move.  You will see it is more of a mobility move / stretch.

The world would be a better place if geekiness met physicalness and thoughtfulness regularly!

Interview with dr mc schraefel - kettlebells, z health and more!

For quite a while now I have been reading the fascinating blog (begin 2 dig) of someone who was only identified as “mc”. mc (a he or she - for a while I wasn’t sure) addresses physical culture and movement issues with a depth that you rarely come across. With some tenacity she really researches in depth and then explains her findings clearly so you can apply them. It is a fantastic resource. I was very happy to find out that my friend Rannoch (whom I also interviewed here) is hosting mc for a seminar at the end of the month. Rannoch suggested that I do an interview to dig a little more into mc and her approach.

I think you will like this interview - we go through some interesting material and - as ever - mc puts things in a clear way with great enthusiasm.



mc, I’ve been reading your material for a while now and it will be great to be able to meet you. I’m looking forward to the seminar.

Me too on all those points.

Can you tell us something of your background, both athletically and academically?

Sure but it’s pretty boring. i grew up in a sports friendly family where learning to bike, throw a ball, swim and skate were considered basics (Canada, skating, eh?). This was pretty much the same with the kids I went to school with. I ran with the cross country team in grad school, and it’s only since being in the UK that I haven’t biked on roads at all. This place scares me to death. Toronto, New York, no problem. Rural England. No way. The bike is on a training stand. I ride or row in the safety of my living room.

Academically, I hold an interdisciplinary PhD supervised in Computer Science where my main areas are Human Computer Interaction & Web Science. A great honour and happiness for me is that about a year ago I was awarded a Senior Research Fellowship by the Royal Academy of Engineering to look at how designing to support quality of life might help scientists (and others) enhance creativity, innovation and discovery. A lot of the certifications I’ve been doing around health, fitness, nutrition, well-being, movement all feed into that research goal: how do we design our information systems to better support what we do so we spend less time managing information and more time making the world a better place?

If you had to summarise your key area of interest, what would it be?

Well being; quality of life

I started this blog to record and index bits and pieces of information that I came across that were interesting to me, but it has developed a bit from there.

Why do you blog? What is your blog there for?

I write stuff to try to make sense of things. I post the articles that result from this process because I reckon that there may be folks who have similar questions but not the time/inclination to do all the heavy lifting to get at some sense of an answer. This is why I rely on authors I trust in other areas to apply their knowledge to other things of interest to me and where I’ve trust they’ve put in the time to frame the thoughts they have.

Clarence Bass is an inspiration here. Clarence Bass is a lawyer by trade who got interested in health and fitness, seems always to have been a fitness geek, and who has been engaging with fitness experts and literature for a couple decades now. Since the earliest days of the Web almost, he’s had articles on line reflecting on everything from lean eating to whether or not creatine is a good idea.

His work is always based on blends of the research, experts, and research literature. He’s a model of inquiry and walking the talk. (CH - great stuff - I also first found out about a lot great stuff - from Art DeVany to kettlebells via Clarence Bass)

Your blog has a lot of material on Z Health. I have read a lot about Z Health over the last few years and it is often presented almost as a miracle panacea. I bought the basic Neural Warm Up Level 1 DVD and it just seemed to be a bunch of mobility drills. Must admit to a bit of cynicism. What am I missing?

Wow, that makes me sad. (CH:sorry!) All that stuff on the blog and you’re still feeling cynical? What do I need to revise? I’d like to know what you’ve read that makes z-health seem like a miracle, too.

And yet I can kinda see how one might get that impression of “incredible results” because of where Z-health is focused. The framing of z-health is to get as fundamental as we can with what happens inside of us. The nervous system/brain connection is at the leading edge of this understanding, so z-health asks how does the nervous system work? Knowing that how can we work with that?

In brief the nervous system works fundamentally as a governor of our survival, detecting threat or no threat, threat or no threat. As soon as there’s a detection of threat, the body starts a response process to enhance survival. That may be releasing stressor hormones for fight or flight, or starting up an inflammation process for healing, or simply shutting down full power to a muscle or setting up a pain cry so bad we have to go all foetal. The goal of z-health is therefore threat modulation.

Now as to those mobility drills, it turns out that there are some great ways to talk with the nervous system via movement. We’re designed to move. We have joints in our bodies for a reason. So by moving the joints actively we are sending loads of all clear/no threat signals to the nervous system. As we move joints, we are also sending a very rich map of where we are in space to give the body increased options about how it can respond to a threat: the more joints perceived as richly mobile, the more responses to avoid an incident. The internet is sort of like this process: if an email message can’t get through via one route because it’s busy, another one is used. More options are better.

To make this practical, let me take evil shoes as an example. A quarter of the joints in our bodies are in our feet. When we wear shoes their range of motion is reduced tremendously because many shoes have very thick and very rigid soles: they may only slightly bend at the ball of the foot, and not really twist easily. As a consequence, messages that would be coming to the brain about where our foot is in space at any given time goes down. There’s just not as many points of information firing back to the brain to say where every little joint is moving. Consequently there is less information the brain can use to keep us out of trouble if it senses we’re stumbling. If the only joints its getting rich signals from are the ankles as opposed to the tarsals, metatarsals, falanges, what’s it going to do? There was a study out this summer that said no kind of sneaker mitigated the incidence of foot injuries in the context of the army’s training.

No kidding: all these high tech sneakers do the same things: cut off our optimal signalling.

The foot is one common example of what happens at every joint in our body. One of the challenges for many people is moving the bones in their upper spine back and forth or side to side. This means the back that should move in segments acts like a unit that’s not functioning optimally, so some other body part that is takes up the slack. Eventually pain will result. RSI, carpal tunnel syndrome, tennis elbow are all examples more times than not of movement related compensations, joints that aren’t moving through their range of motion.

A lot of pain is movement based. Fix the movement, open up the signalling around the joints, give the body more of its options, and a way to map out where we are and what we’re doing in space, well being is enhanced.

So z-health can seem pretty miraculous in the context of someone who’s had say a lot of manual therapy for a back problem, or has had what feels like chronically tight hip flexors, and they do a simple drill with a z-health person and suddenly they feel ok; they can move again; pain’s gone. Our nervous system – some of the fibres – is sending signals at 300mph, and responds immediately and exactly to what we’re doing. So yes change can be that fast. When we do it for ourselves, we’re triggering off thousands more nervous systems signals than when someone manipulates us, so we also really amp up our body’s ability to learn and hold that new pattern.

Now as for that r-phase dvd seeming like a lot of mobility drills, what you find when getting together with a coach (even though this is all in the manual, sometimes it helps to be shown), is the precision of the movements is important. It’s sort of one of the things that’s distinct about z-health. Hitting the target is a big part of getting the benefit of this signalling. Moving the joints at different speeds comes into this process, too. And finally, R-phase is the movement fundamentals. It’s designed for folks to go into i-phase as soon as possible. I-phase gets out of r-phases neutral stance and into a more template approached to movement where we practice the drills in loaded positions, for example, in a lunge with both feet at 45 degrees, and the head titled – a la catching a ball while running. Again the focus is on precision of these core movements translated to more challenging, realistic planes of action. It’s why I call i-phase where we “train for the sprain” – prepping the bod for weird positions by practicing that mobility.

How did you first come across Z health?

When I was learning kettlebells, the trainer I went to started off class going through what I later learned was the Neural Warm Up 1. I’d seen something similar on a kettlebell DVD and thought well this is interesting. I asked what this stuff was, and then went to follow up on it online. I saw that there were no z-health certs in Europe and reached out with Rannoch to see if the z-health team would be interested in coming to Edinburgh to do a European cert. Happily, they were.

What are the major benefits it has brought you?

Personally, better performance.

In working with people I am making a difference with clients in a way I did not imagine possible before.

A lot of folks I see now are fed up. They come to see me with a hinky shoulder or sore back or painful knee as part of an issue inhibiting their athletic performance, and they have tried everything else – repeatedly – and so they’re about ready to try anything else rather than surgery. Some folks have already had surgery and are still not feeling great.

The thing is, they leave more mobile and more pain free than when they come in – and it sticks. It’s not something that stops a day later. They can keep using the tools they get with our sessions to take care of themselves better. I stand amazed. Our bodies, our nervous systems are just that amazing. It will be nice to get to a point of not being the last resort ☺

This is not something I ever imagined being able to do as a coach: help folks move better leading to hurting less or to hurting not at all.

Some of it seems like magic or voodoo – with prescriptions on which way to look etc. Is there a simple principle behind it all that you could summarise?

Threat modulation.

Once you get that we’re wired for survival and that everything in us is geared to survival – to perceiving and responding to threat, then the voodoo goes out and the “obvious” science comes in.

The eye position stuff, by the way, is related to the nervous system again with respect to our visual systems. We talk about joint mobility and awareness of where we are in space. That’s proprioception. And it’s third in our way of perceiving the world. First is visual, second is vestibular, third is proprioceptive. So by finding out by assessment if someone may have an issue with looking in a particular direction, and working with that, problems that seem intractable just treated with movement can suddenly open up. Z-Health really tries to respect how we’re designed. As an engineer, that’s appealing.

Turning away from Z health, what brought you to this whole physical training world? Those of use who spend a lot of time reading about this stuff can seem quite “geeky”!

We have bodies. They function better when they move.

As an engineer, I like to understand that function and how to enhance it. As a scientist, when something’s bust and there’s no principled hack to fix it, I like to be able to get fundamental enough to start looking for solutions. It’s geeky.

The world would be a better place if geekiness met physicalness and thoughtfulness regularly!

Why kettlebells? I find it amusing to watch the sectarian debates around kb lifting styles. It becomes almost theological. What do you think drives this? Science or business? What I mean is that there is cash in all this, the need to preserve market share.

cui bono, eh?

People have to make a living.

That said, I guess one of the most challenging things around any activity is getting information one can trust. Now I’m really interested in the fact that we’re these big brains creating worlds as if we don’t have bodies, but when we still have bodies. That’s part of my gig: how design computer information systems that have more respect for our physicality and how taking account of that may impact our creativity/quality of life and so on. But not everyone wants to spend big chunks of their time learning anatomy and physiology. We just want a workout program we can trust. So who do we trust? How do we assess trust-ful-ness when it comes to our bodies?

For me, as a science geek, I like to see assertions supported, claims backed up. That’s why I like Bass because that’s what he does, and since Bass respects Tsatsouline, I go see Tsatsouline’s work. And wow, how bout that, same thing: in all Tsatsouline’s texts, there’s practical experience of multiple experts, large cohorts who have field tested the work, and science that can be checked and validated as credible (not all folks who claim to use science pass that last check). So ok, I’m going to put some risk into trusting that there’s something solid here, give it a go. That’s what I’ve found with this approach to kettlebelling anyway.

Now this doesn’t mean that to say that I go for the “well it works for me so it’s good enough” as a sufficient rationale for something. How do we know that it’s working optimally as opposed to sufficiently or just ok? I used to think my hugely expensive high end hyper structured trainers were the absolute best thing in the world for me – especially when they had their custom orthotics in them. Did my back still hurt? Yes. Did I get faster or feel any different? No. My gait did look less ducky but was the core issue addressed? No. But man I was sold on those sneakers. Until I got some better information. And tested it. And got rid of all the squishy inflexible trainers I had. Do I feel better? Way. Now I’m not putting that down to just changing shoes. But it certainly seems to be part of a package of well being benefits.

Let me also say that one of the things I really like about z-health is the test it mentality. Check everything immediately. Z-health provides tools for a person to do these self-checks, too. Here’s an easy one: check the range of motion of your shoulder before you try something. Go do whatever it is you wanted to check. Check your range or motion again. Good? The Same? Worse? I like it. It’s science.

Do you have any views on the idea of functional training? There is quite a debate out there around the transferability of skill. Much of what I have been reading indicates that we should train muscles of strength then train the skills for our sport or particular movements, but not to confuse the two, i.e. punching while holding weights isn’t the best way to strengthen your punching muscles plus it will mess up the motor patterns / patterns involved in punching. Transfer seems quite limited. Then we have those who talk of functional moves – e.g. the hip snap of a kb swing will help your vertical jump. Where do you stand?

Let’s unpack this a bit. Modern functional training, like swiss balls, started in rehab to help people get back and up and running at whatever it was they had to do. Functional training for sport is more equated with sport specific training. And now functional training in general is something about training specifically to support “activities of daily life” if you look at Plisk of the NSCA or the ACE statement on same.

So on the one side there’s this training for every day life as part of so-called functional training, and then there’s the early gladiator drills seen as the first version of “functional training” or what’s previously been called “sport specific training” – like not asking pitchers to throw rocks as part of their training because yes indeed it will mess up their pitching. The activities of daily life version, however, sounds like celebrating compound movements with free weights to me, and may just be a way to communicate to more folks the value of getting a resistance program happening, and to think about things like “the core” rather than just bicep curls or jogging. It’s a model. Sometimes models are helpful. At least this one respects that we move.

I actually like the Russian model of athletic development divvying up General Physical Preparedness and Sport Specific Training (Sif’s Super Training is a great reference here). And indeed, sports Canada is going this way, too in terms of youth development with sport/athletics. Far more experienced and knowledgeable people than I have shown pretty compellingly that these distinct approaches have value. Most of us benefit from GPP work, which can include a lot of compound & dynamic work with free weights.

What’s crazy cool is to talk with some of the sport training coaches who have also certified in z-health and their prep work with their athletes now is not only muscular but visual and vestibular. For example one coach uses visual training drills for swimmers with them doing vision ( as opposed to eye sight) training drills in the pool with them, and these have a demonstrable impact on performance. You wouldn’t think that vision has a lot to do with swimming performance, but there’s that threat modulation thing again. That model seems to work every time. This approach gets to a different level than functional vs specific to say what let’s the athlete be as effective and as efficient as possible when we consider the whole athlete?

With respect to the KB and vertical jump: to my knowledge when I’ve seen the two discussed, it’s been about the plyometric effect of the overspeed eccentrics of using a lighter kb to whip the kb down and then power that up that’s been hypothesized as part of why swing work has done better than plyo depth jumps in one unpublished study. On the other hand, a lot of that effect may have to do with threat modulation, too: one can get in way more reps with a kb swing than repeatedly jumping off a box; far less taxing on our systems it seems.

In terms of diet you promote Precision Nutrition. Why?

I’ve written about this lately. Very few of us have any real baseline understanding of what works for us how in terms of the food we eat. We don’t really know ourselves with respect to food. Precision Nutrition is focused around eating habits first rather than calories. That’s used as a vehicle to get to a place where we can know that first and foremost we’re consistently getting a basic set of required foods into us for a good nutritional balance. From there, we can use that basis as a platform from which to test other things.

One of the big things tested for example is carb tolerance. So rather than saying starchy carbs bad, Berardi’s approach is: hold off starchy carbs to when we know they’re really needed – after workouts. Do this regularly for a month so we have a clean slate, and then see what happens after that if you have some starchy carbs at other times. It may be that Person A can totally handle them but Person B cannot. As a science geek, this get to a baseline then based on that knowledge, experiment makes so much sense. It’s a great way to get to know yourself with respect to food. I think we all deserve getting that self-knowledge around our nutrition. Otherwise, we’re simply lead by external proposals: starchy carbs bad; eat once a day, only eat fat from grass fed beef. Well ok, in what universe and for whom do these prescriptions make optimal sense?

So I used to be pretty religious about PN as a practice. Now, as said, it’s a really great way to get some core nutritional understanding about ourselves and to learn how to adjust foods for our goals. Another part of PN that I like is that it also spends quality time on how to monitor progress for body comp related goals. And likewise, as I’ve said in reviews, its forum is filled with experts who participate in discussions. I don’t know of a better place to get answers to nutrition queries based on science and experience without being dogmatic. A number of folks I respect there have been exploring intermittent fasting or eating only when hungry, and so on. But they’re all doing it from this fundamental base of knowing themselves around food, and PN has played a role there. Right now I’m going through my first ever bulking phase. Normally if I saw these numbers going up on the scale I’d panic. But (a) I know how to assess what of that is fat and what’s muscle progrees and (b) I know how to come back from this process. And that’s because of the approaches I’ve learned more at PN than doing various coaching/training certifications. It’s the full meal deal. And I haven’t even started about the expert training advice available there.

What is your take on all the primal / evolutionary fitness movements that have arisen recently? (MovNat for example)

Movement is good. It’s not about posture and being static it’s about being mobile. We’re designed to move. I’m not up on any claims in this space beyond seeing the vids that are lovely and make me think Hawaii must be a nice place to live if you can afford an ocean view. I get very wary of anyone trying to associate “primal” or “primitive” with anything we do. It’s like trying to find some authority in what we simply cannot know from the records we have. Yes we may have been stronger because of our hunter gatherer past; and sure Roman Soldiers hoofed it for eons. But so what? People in those cultures likely had about as much say in how their social infrastructure evolved as people today and so they adapted to the demands and resources of the People in Charge at the time.

We adapt to our environments, immediately and exactly.

Rather than looking at mystifying and reifying some romanticized version of the Noble Savage, it’s far more challenging to look at our current environments and say “how did we get to this place? Is this what we want? Is this what is good for us?” What is, to borrow again from Eric Cobb, the logical conclusion of this path?

Maybe it doesn’t matter if we’re weaker than a Neanderthal because we’re what we need to be for what we have designed now. But is what we have now what we want? I mean isn’t it silly that we have to invent routines and workouts, and set time aside to workout when we have a decreasing need for our embodiment? What does that tell us about what’s important to us and our voice in discussions about how we’re evolving? It seems so contradictory. At bottom, what’s the agenda in reaching back to our ancestors as faster or stronger?

You have embraced vibram five fingers. What difference have they made to your health?

As above.

Freeing my feet; getting with good mobility work to keep all my joints mobile and functioning, the consequence seems to be life is just easier. Seriously.

I am increasingly aware that there is more to fitness than movement. Where do you see other aspects of a well rounded life coming in? Things like social relationships, general outlook on life, stress management.

The question I ask my students is do you know what makes you happy? Do you know what is your heart’s desire? Is it what you’re doing right now? If not, why not? Where does what you’re doing right now fit in to that desire? How do you know this?

I wrote a lot over the spring about my experience with Getting Rid of Crap Around Goals. I’ve found, for myself, that letting go of stuff I supposedly “want” opens up a far wider field of view to enable better everything.

What can we expect at an mc seminar? What will I learn?

It’s the little things at the Z-KB one coming up with Rannoch. At the last seminar we did on z-health meets kettlebells, just about everyone had some experience with the basic kb moves we did: the swing, Turkish get up, and squats. But by doing some mobility work ahead of the kb work, and seeing how to apply some of the neurological principles that we cover at the start of the workshop, we tune up these familiar moves into something that at the very least will feel refreshed, better, stronger, smoother. Little things like eye movement we find can have a potent effect.

The idea is that while we model these techniques in some kb moves, folks will also see how they can apply this work and assess its benefit in the rest of their strength/health practice.

Finally, I know that there are a lot of people who read this blog who are not particularly gifted athletes – just average guys with jobs, worries and family responsibilities. How should we integrate training with everyday life?

Wow there are a lot of ways to answer that. My motivation to stay fit, since I have this body, goes back to Steven Covey’s discussion of why he works out every morning: it’s not about the reps; it’s about principles & what’s important. For me, being healthy, is fundamentally about being there for my family (and staying as far out of the ministrations of the NHS as possible). Consider the alternatives. We all know that there are huge costs on ourselves and families from health related problems, and that good nutrition, rest and exercise are pretty much the best defence for just about anything.

On the plus side, we’re incredibly robust. We don’t have to change everything in our lives at once. If we drink lots of carbonated beverages or juice we can say “four days from now” (it’s good to plan) “I am not going to have my 5pm juice. I shall have water instead.” Just that one change. One less can of stuff a week. We might try planning one less meal in the car a week or one less snack in front of the tv a week. A promise to chew the food in our mouths a few more times at least once today. See how it tastes then. By building up small changes we develop a platform for success.

Likewise, if a person can do nothing else today, we can move something. Our eyes move because of the 6 main muscles attached to them. Sitting reading this, one could pause and move their eyes as far to the left and as far to the right as possible. Likewise diagonally and up and down. We could take our hands off our keyboards and move each finger individually in circles as large as possible clockwise then counter clockwise. Sitting at a desk we can tilt our ankles to the outside and the inside. We can stand up and sit down. Several times. We can turn our heads side to side.

We don’t have to do it all at once. That we start to let ourselves get some actions towards these new habits is key. Getting with a good health coach can be time and money well spent to help build a plan that will work and sustain those goals.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to connect with Conditioning Research. I am a huge fan of your blog.

Thank you too! See you at the end of the month....

Training with the kids....

Who says that you can't train when you have kids?



Hat tip Rannoch at Simple Strength

Interview with Rannoch Donald - "the truth is you just need to get on with it"

In the past weeks I’ve had a couple of interviews on this blog that I have really enjoyed putting together. The interview with Erwan Le Corre contains some inspiring material that really challenges how we think - not just about exercise but about our whole attitude to life. It was also fun to interview Brad Pilon and get some more of his thoughts on intermittent fasting.

Today I am turning to someone closer to home for an interview. I first met Rannoch Donald in December 2007 when I went to one of his kettlebell workshops. Then last summer he invited me start his Combat Ready fitness classes – conditioning sessions attached to the Edinburgh Krav Maga Club. I loved it and as a result have started to take Krav Maga classes too. I always enjoy talking to Rannoch. He is a motivating enthusiastic coach. His interests are as broad as mine and we have shared a few DVDs and books. In this interview we talk about kettlebells, mobility, getting older, martial arts vs self defence and most importantly - simply getting on with it! It is great stuff and as motivational as you can get!


Rannoch, thanks for agreeing to do this interview. Can you tell me a little about your background in conditioning / fitness? How did you get into this stuff?

I've always enjoyed physical activity. I can't say I was ever gifted at any particular sport but I like a challenge. I started Karate when I was 13 and from there went on to Kung Fu, boxing, Jui Jitsu, stick fighting.... Anything that involved hitting stuff or rolling around! I realised early on that being able to push the pace that little bit harder - to dig deep - was an invaluable asset when faced with people who were naturally athletic. I am a great believer in the "fight in the dog". Unfortunately - like a lot of folk - between work, family and life in general I'd been kidding myself for a number of years that I was still fit and healthy. It took breaking my leg a few years back to wake up and realise I had been playing at it for some time. Nothing I was doing had any intensity or focus. Just disparate bursts of activity without any thought of recovery or progress. All that changed when I started working with Pavel's body-weight drills and then kettlebells.

I first came across you as a kettlebell coach – you were Scotland’s first RKC (and are currently rated no 4 in the world!). Why did you start training with kettlebells and what made you decide to get certified as an RKC?

In an effort to rehab my leg I started looking for something scalable. The physio treatment I received made no difference but thankfully Pavel's articles in Muscle Media led me to the Kettlebell. I picked up an adjustable plate loaded handle, a copy of Enter the Kettlebell and some articles off the net. I soon found the plate loaded kettlebell wasn't suited to the Snatch so I acquired my first real KB from the guys at London Kettlebells who supplied me ever since. I was hooked!

The whole body moves, dynamics and power generation required to move the kettlebell made perfect sense to me. I saw immediately why someone referred to Kettlebells as "The closest thing you can get to fighting without throwing a punch". I'd not experienced that level of focus between mind and body since my sparring days. Before I knew it I'd signed up to do the Russian Kettlebell Challenge Certification in Denmark.

The kettlebell world seems to have developed some differences that are almost “sectarian” in their intensity with each side presenting their approach as the “one true way”. You seem to have risen above this: you are one of the top rated RKCs but have also become certified by the IKFF in a slightly different style of kettlebell lifting. Why?

When I originally certed in Denmark, there wasn't another credible Kettlebell Certification. My training had evolved from Pavel's books and Steve Cotter's DVD's. A few years later when the opportunity to do Steve Cotter's IKFF certification presented itself I was thrilled at the chance to learn from another world class teacher and their methodology and style of training.

The schism that you talk about however is the domain of keyboard ninjas and Internet warriors. The forums are awash with people who's opinions are tougher than their training . This type of brinkmanship is endemic in the Martial arts, fuelled by people who spend too much time thinking rather than doing. The Kettlebell is a ball of iron with a handle on it! We aren't going to see any mind blowing innovations for that piece of equipment. So people argue about what you should do with it. You have to ask what is it about an individual's agenda that can only be promoted by criticizing others? "My Guru can beat up your Guru!"

I don't think there are any credible coaches, teachers or trainers out there who resort to this. People can be drawn together through mutual respect or collective contempt. I'll roll with anyone who offers an empty hand, an open mind and a smile on their face.

I think there has been a lot of Internet “hype” about kettlebells over the last 10 years or so but the big benefit has been that this has refocused people on simple functional movements and intense routines. Do you think the “tool” – the lump of metal with a handle - can ever distract people from these essentials?

There is a huge amount of "smoke and mirrors" about training in general. The constant need to turn every aspect of activity into a science or a certification can suck the joy out of, what for most people should be, straight forward endeavour.

The practice I promote is one of longevity, functionality and resilience. If your interest is always based on "more" then you will ultimately see diminishing returns. If your progress is based on "better" - improving movement, becoming resilient - then you have the prospect of a lifetime practice.

There is so much great information out there. Anyone can go online and find fantastic resources from Ross Enamait, Gray Cook, Paul Chek, T-Nation, John Berardi, the list is tremendous, one simply needs to act on it. But the sheer wealth of information stops people in their tracks!

It's not about the Kettlebell or any other tool for that matter. I know that what works for me might just work for you but the truth is you just need to get on with it.

Stop thinking about doing it, get out of the way and do it!

Start with a simple daily practice of 100 reps (just keep to whole body movements e.g. squats, pull ups, push ups, swings) and take each day from there. You'll work it.

Stop looking for novelty and focus on consistency. The trick is to keep that forward momentum. You really have no excuse. It's a habit. And you can't exaggerate the psychological benefits of taking your own training in hand and the confidence that promotes.

Still on the topic of functional moves and intense routines, you are a big advocate of body-weight training. Why do you think it often gets overlooked with people thinking that they need weights to train effectively? Can you share some of the more testing body-weight moves that you use?

It gets overlooked because people assume it's easy and they can do it. Press ups? No problem. Body-weight squats? Easy.

Really? In my workshops we spend a fair amount of time simply getting people to do basic body-weight moves. I don't care how much you can squat or bench. Can you move your body as a connected unit?

I'm amazed when I meet people who train but can't - for example - do pull ups. If you can't do a pull up why on earth would you consider trying to replicate the move on a machine?

Two moves we use to assess basic strength and mobility are the one legged squat and the Walkout. For the one legged squat you lift one leg off the ground and lower yourself, the knee of the non-supporting leg should touch the floor before the foot. A single rep usually signals areas of inflexibility and weakness. Sounds easy? Try it!

For the Walkout people start on all fours and simply walk their hands out (like using an ab roller) the ideal is to get to full extension, hold and then walk back. A single rep is usually enough to show up any weakness in engaging the core. From these simple drills we can start to engage the body as a single unit.

My personal favourite at the moment is Bear Squat Push-ups. Steve Maxwell does these.



It's a Hindu push up but from the downward dog position you drop into a squat, knees off the ground, push forward and then return to the squat. Fantastic drill. Tie that in with pull ups for a seriously challenging 100 rep workout!

You ensure that mobility has a high profile in the conditioning classes that you teach. When did you start to realise the importance of joint mobility and how do you integrate it into your daily life and training?

At Kettlebells Scotland we call it Mandatory Mobility. It is non-negotiable. Every workshop begins with a mobility practice that anyone can do.

A few years back Andrew Usher of Living Flow invited RMax Scott Sonnon to present a 2 day workshop in Glasgow. The event pulled together a curious crowd. There were people who knew Scott from his Systema and Zdrovye days, others who were more familiar with his Body Flow protocols and Prasara.

A large part of the weekend was spent on combatives but it was the mobility stuff that stuck with me. Once I integrated mobility into my practice I noticed big changes in posture, movement, balance, speed, strength, outlook. The incredible pay off from mobility work should not be under played. Without mobility you become a slave to your body's compensations. Mobility is freedom of movement. I'd go as far as to say Mobility is freedom. We've somehow come to accept - in the West at least - that age means decrepitude. Without mobility there is no strength, no power, no health. You stop being the hunter and you become the prey.

In truth, by actively promoting our mobility we redress the balance which allows us to increase the intensity of our practice.

Your blog is called Simple Strength. Do you think we often over complicate our training? Keeping it simple, what do we really need?

We need to think "practice" first, "performance" second.

There is little value in setting goals without establishing a routine we can maintain. A little done often will produce great results. Beasting yourself a couple of times a month will have the opposite effect.

The idea behind Simple Strength is to look for integration - that elusive unified theory of wellness. Most of us are not competitive athletes. Most of us do not perform a job that requires extraordinary physical conditioning. But most of us are pulled between responsibilities, work, family and the challenge to get fitter, drop a few pounds, get stronger.

So, start with the basics. Find a sustainable practice. Anything that promotes your well being is a springboard to bigger goals. If you choose wisely you will find simple methods that cover all the bases - strength, mobility, endurance, fat loss. And the great thing about this approach is, when you are ready to take on a bigger challenge you have a tremendous base from which to work.

My training couldn't be simpler. A pull up bar, a kettlebell, a sand bag. I've recently introduced some Lifeline cables and Jungle Gym from the Strength Company in London. These a functional pieces of kit that offer huge variety and the opportunity to mix things up and play with your training. We are not talking pec decs and treadmills here!

I’m now 41 and I know you are just a wee bit older. As time passes I want to keep fit but - more importantly - I want to live without pain, from the little aches and tweaks that seem to accumulate over the years to the occasional more serious muscle strains and spasms. I want to keep in a decent condition but not destroy myself as I do so. Do you have any tips for staying fit, healthy and functional as we get older without harming ourselves in the process?

Integrated practice. Using yourself as an example Chris, I know you go hillwalking and do Krav Maga. Immediately you have a decent base right there.

Everyday should include mobility. Do you need to work everything from head to foot? No. If your hips are fine but your shoulder is troubling you, focus your time there but do mobility every day!

Three brief Kettlebell sessions during the week works well. Using the Goldilocks principle you have:

• an easy day where you focus on movement and precision;
• a medium day where you push yourself a little harder, still keeping the focus on excellent form; and
  
• a high intensity day where you might only practice for 10 minutes but its full tilt, no holds barred.
  

Understand discomfort and learn to live there occasionally. Understand distress and know when to back off.

I'm a fan of the Gymboss dual timer. Set your intervals and off you go.



I'd also recommend yoga or tai chi for their recuperative power.

It's important to get over the idea that you need to somehow "master" all this. Just do it! There is no secret to mastery, it's all about turning up.

On the days where you are pushed for time or miss a class, do 100 reps. Simple.

You wont go wrong getting a good sports massage once a month. I know you take your nutrition seriously and I'm certainly no nutritionist but I think Fish Oil, a Multi Vitamin and a decent protein supplement are good insurance. I am about to experiment with Brad Pilon's Eat Stop Eat.

Treat yourself as a work in progress - a big personal experiment - and you have licence to do all sorts of crazy stuff......most of which I'm finding really isn't crazy at all!

Many health / fitness / conditioning enthusiasts can get a bit one-dimensional but your blog exhibits an interest in the spiritual as well. Is this where your desire for simplicity in your training comes from?

Fitness without the mindful aspect is a hollow pursuit. My blog is where I set my own head straight. I've been fortunate enough over the years to train and work with some remarkable individuals. The common thread is probably their desire to connect completely with their practice. There are a few writers I am particularly fond of: Alan Watts, Jiddu Krishnamurti.

Truth truly is a pathless land. Joseph Campbell has a great quote "People say what we're all seeking is a meaning for life. I don't think that's what we're really seeking. I think what we're seeking is an experience of being alive so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive. That's what it's all finally about." What a simple, beautiful sentiment.

All I am trying to do is give it a go. I recently read Sam Harris's End Of Faith. There is a particular excerpt which stopped me in my tracks - “...every person you have ever met, every person you will pass on the street today, is going to die. Living long enough, each will suffer the loss of his friends and family. All are going to lose everything we love in this world. Why would one want to be anything but kind to them in the meantime?” We owe it to ourselves to appreciate what we've got and try and live using skillful means.

You have some background in the martial arts and you have said that your recent training in Krav Maga and Tactical Edge has reignited your enthusiasm for training. Erwan Le Corre who I interviewed recently teaches movnat, a system derived from “methode naturelle” which identifies exercises belonging to ten fundamental groups: walking, running, jumping, quadrupedal movement, climbing, equilibrism (balancing), throwing, lifting, defending and swimming. Interestingly he includes “defence” – boxing, grappling – in there. What do you see as the key benefits from training in martial arts / developing self defence skills - the truly functional movements, the self confidence, the social support or something more?

The group aspect is invaluable. A martial arts club is one of the few places where you will find people of all levels who are prepared to co-operate in the pursuit of improving each other's abilities.

I think it's important to distinguish between Martial arts and self defence. I like Paul Vunak's take that one is about self perfection and the other about self protection. The are certainly many martial arts that promote good movement but wouldn't necessarily be helpful in a real confrontation. Martial arts for me is certainly about the journey. I was very ,very fortunate at 15 to train with a group of international students from RGIT in Aberdeen. These guys just blew me away. They had studied different arts and the group would get together and split the cost of the hall. At that time I would train every hour I could.

It was only when I started training with Marcus doing Tactical Edge that I think I realised just how important all that cross training had been and just what I'd been missing.

As far as the self defence aspect is concerned, much of that process is a mental one. Hard wiring techniques is important but within Tactical Edge, applying the concepts is key.

The regular workshops with Mark Davies are a fantastic opportunity to get to grips with the system. I feel very lucky to have instructors of Marcus and Mark's caliber on our doorstep. Something I am sure you will have noticed is the genuine camaraderie of the guys who turn up every week at Krav Maga Edinburgh. People from every conceivable walk of life. It's the sign of a really good training environment. That level of mutual respect allows you to push the boundaries and that is where it gets interesting. And of course, the visceral thrill of combat sports is undeniable but it doesn't surprise me that many people don't "get" it. Once again, out of the comfort zone!

What are your aims as a coach for the future? How are you continuing your own “education” as a teacher and conditioning expert?

As you know we have Steve Cotter and the guys from the IKFF over for the first Kettlebell Certification in Scotland. Dr Eric Cobb will be in Edinburgh in March to conduct an RPhase certification for ZHealth which is very popular amongst the RKCs. Later in the year I hope to have Innovative Body Solutions over to conduct a Certification in their resisted stretching program. These guys were key players in Dara Torres triple silver performance at the Beijing Olympics at the age of 41.

For me, I'm interested in teaching as many people to fish as possible. That is the key to all this. Getting people to take charge of their own practice. My hope is that they in turn inspire their friends to take action. I plan to introduce a Mobility/Bodyweight workshop geared towards people who perhaps aren't convinced that they're ready for Kettlebells.

I plan to provide much more content on the website and and training information on the blog. I want to get the fat dads off the couch! Marcus and I also have a couple of projects in the pipeline: Safe & Strong, which we'll reveal soon! I will resurrect the Combat Ready Conditioning sessions later in the year along with Combat Kettlebells aimed at Martial Arts clubs looking to integrate effective conditioning into their program.

Like we say, "What we teach is how we train" so you can rest assured whatever I am promoting, I'll have experimented on myself first!

Rannoch - thanks for taking the time to do this interview. I've learned things from it and - most importantly - been inspired simply to get on with it! Thanks again.




Rannoch’s blog is at Simple Strength and his website has details of his upcoming workshops. These are always excellent with clear teaching. If you are in the UK and looking for good coaching in the use of kettlebells or in bodyweight conditioning routines you should get in touch. His email address is rannoch@kettlebellsscotland.com


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Kettlebell Workshop

Today was another Kettlebells Scotland Workshop - mobility, bodyweight drills, squats, presses, windmills, snatch, clean and jerk. Then some workouts - a six minute timed set of jerks, then a typical Rannoch circuit of pushups, squats, swings and snatches.

A good session - I always learn things from Rannoch. Lee also gives some commentary

A few things I noticed about myself:

• Mobility work is getting more important to me - fitness for the long term;
• I was holding back on some of the workout sessions - I did not want to be too wrecked for tomorrow's Krav Maga. Remember the post I did about avoiding exhaustion:

How useful in real life is such soreness? If a training session leaves you exhausted immediately after it and almost crippled with soreness the next day, is that a practical or useful way of training for everyday life?

• In light of my recent thoughts about posture I was spending a lot of the session looking at my colleagues and how they were standing. I was trying to see how "healthy" some of these stances and moves were. I was also constantly checking my own posture through the day tryin to apply the theory of Esther Gokhale.
  

Turkish Get Up - core....

Great photo of the TGU from Mountain Athlete. You can see the impact on the core....

Kettlebell - flip catch press

from Dave

This takes balance

This takes quite some balance, not to mention leg strength



(spotted on Chasing Strength)

how to lift a kettlebell

.....in some passionate corners of the internet, there is a strange and at times almost theological debate ongoing regarding the "correct" way to lift a kettlebell.

The standard (hard style) swing is as follows:




The other (GS) swing is as follows:







Scott Sonnon has posted quite a nice balanced analysis of the different approaches

Round or Flat Back to Lift?


Moynihan Institute makes some typically robust comments:

Apparently some of the kettlebell enthusiasts from the salad days traveled to Eastern Europe only to discover that people there lift kettlebells differently, maybe even more efficiently than they were taught by Pavel. This set off a revolution of sorts. Some have chosen their camps and gotten on with life. Others are not content unless they are flinging shit and prodding the monkey with a sharp stick. Most rational people don’t give a flying f*** because they realize that kettlebells are simply 1 out of about 9,000 different tools at their disposal to get fit. They are no more or less effective than push-ups or pull-ups or barbell squats in getting you fitter depending of course on what your goals are. Long cycle clean and jerks are not the most effective exercise a fighter can do…there is no single most effective exercise. If a fighter or any other athlete does one exercise long enough he will start to experience diminishing returns. There is no best anything when it comes to fitness and there their never will be. It all works to a certain extent.

Different styles are just different styles. It doesn’t always have to be a matter or right or wrong. Most rational people embrace this is without issue.

Personally I like the hardstyle approach.

This takes some grip

almost a 32kg bottoms up TGU......



from Rif

A heavy Turkish Get Up

Ok, I know there are those out there that can go heavier or use different (!) weights. But from a woman this is pretty impressive (especially when I still struggle with the 24kg)




Credit to Dr Mark (and Rannoch)

The one arm swing

more swing doctrine...

Anyone else heard of Captain Swing?

The "American" Swing

Jeff Martone has done a series of videos recently on the Crossfit site demonstrating kettlebell exercises. I have already pointed to the Turkish Get up tutorials.

Here he takes the basic kettlebell swing (which I showed him demonstrating here) overhead, into what Crossfit call an American Swing.



The basic swing taught by Pavel and others sees the kettlebell stop at around shoulder level, what Crossfit call the Russian swing. Their contention - explained in this article (pdf) - is that:

When we swing the kettlebell to overhead, the American swing, we nearly double the range of motion compared to the Russian swing and thereby double the work done each stroke. For any given time period, the power would be equivalent only if the Russian swing rate was twice the American swing rate.

One thing I've noticed is that if you do a swing with a dumbbell, for me the natural end point is with the bell overhead, possibly received with a slight dip in the knees or even a split stance. That is how the old time strong men like Grimek performed the lift in competition. Remember this video?

Ross shows what I mean 3:05 into this video:

Another Turkish Get Up Style

I've posted a couple of tutorials before on the Turkish Get Up (TGU) here and here.

Scott Sonnon has just posted another variation which is specifically aimed at developing speed-strength. He trains fighters, so that is a particularly useful fitness element.

The describes the move and its context in a blog post here. The video below shows the style:



I like the shin roll to the squat.

Options for making kettlebell exercises harder

This is nothing earth-shattering, but I thought that there were some interesting ideas in this video:

The Kettlebell Bible - Book Review

The Kettlebell Bible

I mentioned a few months ago that I had bough some Kettlebells from Stan Pike at Intense Fitness. They are well made and I am enjoying training with them. It was refreshing to be able to buy them from Stan as well, stopping off at his house on a trip down south, and have this great bear of a man explain a little bit of technique to me in his garage gym. If anyone in the UK (especially Scotland or northern England) is thinking of getting some kettlebells - or indeed any other toys - then check out Stan.

Normally in the world of the interweb, kettlebells are associated with a certain Russian and to be fair - wherever you stand on Dragondoor's marketing - Pavel has been responsible for reintroducing this tool to the West in the last 10 years or so. And Pavel's books and DVDs are good - especially at teaching basic technique in detail, with lots of hints and cues to get you going. "Enter the Kettlebell" is an excellent and elegantly simple manual.

Stan's Kettlebell Bible - co-authored with Rob Beauchamp (a former Royal Marine Commando) - is a very different proposition but an excellent addition to any training library. At 235 pages this is an encyclopaedia of programme design, sports science and exercise technique. There is no condescension or mock tsarist argot, just dense information clearly explained and illustrated. It is rare to read the sort of material that is presented here on exercise physiology, warm-ups and stretching - essential to understand, but rarely discussed in this detail.

Not a book to skim through, this Bible will repay repeated study and I would recommend it to anyone. Don't expect an easy read - you will be challenged, but it is worth the effort. You can order it here (I do not get anything for this recommendation by the way)

Local readers may be interested in this upcoming kettlebell contest sponsored by Intense Fitness:

U.K.K.A. BORDER KETTLEBELL COMPETITION Sunday 11th May 2008.

Competition Lifts.

One Handed KB Swings
One Handed KB Snatch
One Hand Hammer Throwing
One Handed Standing KB Throw
The Farmer's Walk.
The Crucifix Strength Challenge
Single Arm Swing-Lock Out and Hold
The Ultimate Centurion Circuit.
Additional Features and Challenges
1. Traditional Archery
2. Horse Shoe Quoits
3. Throwing the Welly
4. Junior Tug O' War for Children
5. Blacksmiths Grip Challenge.
6. Middlebie Pebble Grip Challenge.

Trophy’s will be presented.

Here is a video of last year's event:

Turkish Get Up - variation

A while ago I posted a couple of videos giving a tutorial for the Get up. Here is another utilising a slightly different technique that I am finding is a bit easier on my knees.

Kettlebell Swing tutorial

Here is a nice tutorial from Jeff Martone on the kettlebell swing ("RKC" style for those that get wound up about such things):



Jeff has also written a nice article explaining what he is doing: Kettlebell Basics Drills for Improving Your Swing

For the reasons explained here, Crossfitters tend to take the bell a bit higher as shown below:

Kettlebell Windmill - is this functional?

I've been trying to master this exercise recently for the "core" strength and balance it brings. Really hits the hamstrings too and promotes shoulder stability. Or so I am told...

However, one question I have is "is this functional?" I am trying to think through whether this has an real world application. I am thinking that it does - not that this is an everyday movement pattern, but that it strengthens aspects of everyday patterns and adds stability and balance....Any ideas?

First of all demonstrated by Anthony DiLuglio:



Then by Steve Cotter