Introduction to Kettle Bell and Barbell Training eBook

© 2011. Dragon Gym Legacy Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.dragongym.com/ebooks.htm

The Dragon Gym and Chronicles Of Strength Presents

INTRODUCTION TO KETTLEBELL & BARBELL TRAINING

“Build a physique to withstand all odds and be free from ailments as far as

practicable”

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DRAGON GYM MARTIAL ARTS AND FITNESS

www.dragongym.com, www.chroniclesofstrength.com

INTRODUCTION TO KETTLEBELL &

BARBELL TRAINING

© 2011 by Dragon Gym Legacy Inc, All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

This publication is for personal use only and may not be copied or distributed without prior written

permission.

Limits of Liability and Disclaimer:

The authors and publishers of this book have made their best efforts to ensure that the information

provided in this publication is accurate and assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Additionally,

you should use this information as you see fit and entirely at your own risk.

Lastly, use common sense and good judgment. Nothing in this publication is intended to replace

common sense, legal, medical or other professional advice and is meant only to inform and entertain the

reader.


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Part 1: Introduction and What to Expect

Who is Pat Flynn RKC ? A quick history…

I grew up a pretty fat kid.

I am no longer a fat kid.

I changed my life not only through discipline and diligence, but also through continued education. I learned how to manipulate my body, through experimentation and by first learning how it works. You see, if you can understand a system of fixed and variable inputs, and you have the ability to manage those variable inputs, then you will inherently have at least some control over the output. The human body is just that; it is a system of fixed and variable inputs. The fixed inputs include things that in our current time we cannot alter, such as genetics, sex, etc. The variable inputs however, we do have control over. They are what we do and what we eat. All of this contributes to the output, which is our overall wellbeing, appearance, and performance. Through my experience, I have concluded that the variable inputs have a far more profound effect on the output, than the fixed inputs



do. Sure, we may be somewhat limited by our genetics, but only to a certain extent. Everybody has the ability to maximize his or her genetic potential, whether he or she chooses to do so is up to him or her.

Also, make a strong mental note of the following conclusion: Nothing can take the place of persistence. Commitment to even a shitty program will often yield better results, than somebody who is only partly committed to a very good program. I have worked with all walks of life, including various college level and high school athletes, ABA basketball players, martial artists, stay at home moms, geriatrics, people who are disabled either physically or mentally, and hundreds of normal, everyday people who just want to improve the quality of their life. I do personal training, group fitness classes, athletic enhancement, workshops and clinics, and even have given a few lectures. And what have I learned from working with such a diverse group of individuals in such a variety of manners? Absolutely everything, but at the same time absolutely nothing.

What I have also come to realize is that each and every person is incredibly unique (even more so than your own mother would tell you), and that there is no one single, cookie-cutter approach that can be taken to every new person I work with. But while each and every person’s own personal goals are also unique; they can all essentially be boiled down to one of two things; Improving their self-esteem and/or quality of life. Well it makes sense doesn’t it? Why do we work out? Why do we train? To lose weight, to gain muscle, to get stronger, to enhance our athletic abilities, and so on and so forth. I’ve just about heard it all. But what people really desire, when you get down to the root of it, is increased self-esteem and an improved quality of life. Can you really argue against that? I can’t. People want to look better and perform better, because it makes them feel better about themselves.

Everyday I help somebody reach a goal. I have designed hundreds of programs, ranging from bodybuilding regimens, to strongman protocols, to marathon and triathlon training, to periodized sports specific and athletic enhancement programs. I get just as much joy and satisfaction from helping someone be able to move freely and without pain again, as I do from having a client reach a weight loss goal, or watching an athlete that I have worked with dominate the competition. Helping someone reach a goal is an incredibly rewarding experience for me, and is why I love to do what I do.



So what is it that I have to offer you with this book? You took the time to purchase it, and since I value your time, I have no intention to waste any of it. So, let’s get right to it shall we?

What I have to offer are solutions, because that’s really what your looking for isn’t it? Think about this… You don’t really buy a product or a service do you? The truth is, you are purchasing a solution. When you buy a drill, you aren’t really paying for a drill you are paying for holes! So when you hire a personal trainer, you really aren’t paying for their services, rather you are paying for a body that is leaner, healthier, more muscular, etc.

This book offers solutions. Is your problem weight loss? This book offers a solution to that. Or maybe your problem lies within unrealized sports performance potential? Well, this book offers a solution for that. Perhaps you are having a hard time putting on muscle mass? The solution for that is also found in this book.

You have a problem and I have the solution.

Thank you for purchasing this book, and enjoy! Who Is Somnath Sikdar RKC?

Working with Master Somnath Sikdar at Dragon Gym has been an absolute life changing experience. I first met Som when he began coaching my university Tae Kwon Do Team. He quickly introduced me to kettlebells and the RKC school of strength. I have worked with many different instructors and trainers in the past, yet none have inspired me or helped me reach my full potential like training with Som



has. He has an incredibly deep understanding of martial arts, fitness, and self discipline, but the most important, which truly makes him one of the most outstanding professionals I have ever worked with, is his patience. Som takes the extra time, and goes out of his way to make sure you understand and that you succeed. It was by training under Som, that i was able to obtain my RKC, and without his help, I really doubt I would have ever done that. I can not recommend his services enough, if you ever have the chance to work with Master Sikdar, take it immediately! Master Somnath Sikdar is the Head Instructor at the Dragon Gym and has been training in Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido for 25 years. He is currently a Fifth degree black belt and is certified by the World Taekwondo Headquarters (Kukkiwon). His training has covered a broad spectrum of martial arts to include a variety of weapons, self-defense, traditional and sport Tae Kwon Do. He has also studied Hapkido under Grandmaster Han Jae Ji. In conjunction with martial arts, he has been studying and training with the Russian Kettlebell, and currently holds the Level 1 RKC Certification.

Master Sikdar has competed successfully in local, state, and collegiate tournaments. In addition, he continues to study western boxing, Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He has attained a BSE in Electrical Engineering, along with minors in Systems Science and Economics, from the University of Pennsylvania. While completing this degree he was the President, Head Instructor, and Coach of the University of Pennsylvania WTF Tae Kwon Do Team. Master Sikdar still coaches competitive Taekwondo athletes and is an active advisor to the UPENN WTFTKD Team and the West Chester University Taekwondo Team.

What is covered in this Book?

Through my research, people generally want one of, or a combination of four things out of their fitness regimen.

1. Lose weight (preferably bodyfat) 2. Put on muscle mass (preferably lean muscle mass) 3. Get Stronger 4. Improve Athleticism

In this book, I will introduce you to the tools you will need in order to obtain the results you want. I will offer to you a variety of options as to how to implement and use those tools effectively, so that you get what you want, in the least amount of time possible.

The tools are exercises/movements. There will be a vast amount of exercise tutorials in this book including, but not limited to kettlebell training, conventional barbell lifts, Olympic lifts, bodyweight exercises, plyometrics, and more. You must first understand how each tool works, before you try to use it. What good is a



hammer if you hold it upside down? I will do my very best (and I happen to be very good at what I do) to explain to you exactly how to perform each movement safely and effectively, and the purpose/benefits of doing so.

The second part of this book is about implementation. How will you use the tools that you have learned in the first part to get stronger, get leaner, increase athleticism, put on muscle mass, or a combination of all the above. I will present to you a variety options for program design to help you reach your goals as quickly and effectively as possible. TANSTAAFL and the Three Forms of “Selfishness” (tan-staff-uhl) There is no such thing as a free lunch. Remember this. Never, ever forget it. If you want something, then you have to work for it. I can only show you the path, but ultimately, you are the one that has to walk it. You have to put in the time and the effort. I can teach you what you need to know in order to reach your goals, but such knowledge is useless without a strong sense of intrinsic motivation. You have to want it. You have to chase it. And you have to commit to it. There are, however, three things that I simply cannot teach you; which are undeniably crucial to your success. I can only make you aware of them. I am talking about learning to be “selfish”. Let us consider the three most important forms forms of “selfishness”. 1. Self Discipline – Self-discipline is about doing. Sometimes it may be doing what you want to do, but more often, it is doing what you do not want to do. Self-discipline is about putting in the work needed to achieve a certain output, and continuing to do so until you have accomplished what you set out to achieve. I cannot teach you self-discipline. 2. Self-Control – Self-control is about not doing. It is about restraint. Self-control is resistance to temptation. Self-control is not putting that warm, moist piece of chocolate cake into your mouth. Self-discipline and self-control must work hand in hand to ensure success. I cannot teach you self-control. 3. Self-respect – Self-respect is about caring. Caring about yourself, and respecting your mind and body enough, to want to take care of the vessel in which you reside. I cannot teach you self-respect.



Pat 1: What is Strength? What is Power?

Without getting overly technical, strength is simply the ability for our muscles to generate internal tension.

For our purposes we are concerned with three types of strength.

The first is muscular endurance. Muscular endurance is when you perform some sort of pushing, pulling, or pressing movement for multiple repetitions. An example of a muscular endurance activity would be performing as many push-ups or pull-ups as you can possibly do, so long as the load is sub-maximal. If the load is maximal or above that, like in the case that you are unable to perform a single pull up, then the movement is no longer about muscular endurance, but rather maximal strength.

The second is maximal strength. Maximal strength or true muscular strength, again involves a pushing, pulling, or pressing movement of a maximum load. It is all about just how much force can you exert for one rep or how much weight you can move just one time. An example would be a one rep max squat, bench, or dead lift.

The third type of strength we are concerned with is static strength or isometric contractions. An example of this type of strength would be holding a plank position, or the top of a chin up. The muscles are forcefully contracted and internal tension is generated, but there is no change in a joint angle.

Are strength and size related?

It is a fallacy that strength and size are related. You do not have to be big to be strong, and just because you are big, does not mean you are strong. Strength is more of a neurological adaptation, then a morphological one. What this means is that strength is a skill acquired through practice, and not necessarily from the result of putting on muscle mass. The key to getting stronger is to program yourself to become more efficient at certain movements. In this book we will differentiate training for strength and training for hypertrophy (muscle growth), because if you truly want to become stronger without putting on bulk, then the last thing you want to do is be training like a bodybuilder! It is true however, that after time, the neurological adaptations of strength gains will often attribute to an increased size of muscle fibers, as well as possible anatomical changes in connective tissues. But fear not ladies! These changes will not make you appear bulky or herculean, but rather toned and defined.

What is Power

The definition of power is force over time. So logically, power is the ability to generate as much force in as little time as possible. It is important to difference strength and power. Strength does not have a time element, but power does. It may help to think of power as “speedy strength”. Power movements include swinging a baseball bat, snatching a barbell overhead, a slap shot, a high jump, etc. It is important, not only for athletes, but for everybody to train both strength and power.



Power movements have additional benefits that are often left out of most strength training routines, including increased strength gains, caloric expenditure, and metabolic conditioning.



Part Two: Other Things to Consider Before Getting

Started

The Law of Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands and the Overload Principle

The law of adaptations to imposed demands states that our body will adapt to the rigors and stressors put upon it. The overload principle is all about pushing harder, so that our body will adapt to the increased load, volume, density, intensity, etc. We want to elicit an adaptation, because it is through these adaptations that we become stronger, leaner, and more powerful. If we do not adequately stress ourselves, then our body has no need to change. So no bullshit, and no fluff here. If you want results, you will have to continuously push yourself, in a smart manner of course.

Overtraining

On the other end of the spectrum is overtraining. Overtraining is a prolonged phenomenon. It occurs when the body is not sufficiently recovering for long enough periods of time. Really, all it means is that you are pushing yourself too hard for too long. Now, controlled periods of overtraining, also known as overreaching, can be quite beneficial if properly planned. But truly prolonged periods of overtraining are actually quite counterproductive and can lead to more problems down the road. Signs of overtraining include but are not limited to:

1. An elevated resting heart rate. Here is a test you can use. When you are sure you are fully recovered and not overtraining, take your pulse upon waking one morning, assuming you are not startled. This will serve as your baseline resting heart rate upon waking. A good indicator of overtraining, is if your pulse is elevated anymore than 7 beats per minute above this baseline.

2. Low Libido. Overtraining can actually lead to a lower level of testosterone. So if your sex drive suddenly plummets, it may be time to taper off.

3. Weight Gain 4. Feelings of depression and anxiousness 5. Restlessness and trouble sleeping

As you can see, prolonged periods of overtraining can be quite serious. So be sure to carefully monitor for signs of overtraining, and to taper off and rest up when necessary. The best thing you can do for yourself is always listen to your body. Remember that a good program is like a flexible budget, it outlines and plans your long-term goals and strategies, but must be able to flex to accommodate certain fluctuations in life.

The Law of Specificity

In the RKC community, we are big fans of the law of specificity. All this states is that in order to get good at something, you have to do that something! If you want to improve your squat, then you have to squat. If you want to get better at golf, then



you have to golf. Sounds pretty logical doesn’t it? But there is a little more to it. Obviously you can’t squat your max load everyday, you’d probably end up seriously injured or kill yourself. So what we must take into consideration is specialized variety and tactical periodization. What you want to do, is make your training, specific to your training goals, but also consider the fluctuation of certain variables such as intensity, density, frequency, and volume. It sounds almost like an oxymoron, but you want to vary your specificity. Um what? Just bear with me for a minute here. Let’s take the back squat for example. Say you want to improve your back squat numbers. Well obviously you want to focus on training a lot of knee dominant squatting movements. But what weight should you choose, and how many days a weeks should you squat? Weight is a variable(intensity), and so is how many days a week you squat(frequency). Also, how many sets and reps should you be performing (volume and density)? All of these must be taken into consideration when developing a tactical and periodized program. As for specialized variety, all that means is performing subtle variations that compliment your training goals. For example, a front squat would be a subtle but complimentary variation to your back squat. Perhaps you want to improve your kettlebell military press numbers. Well instead of doing strict military presses everyday, somedays you may wish to substitute in long push presses, or even bent presses, as some specialized variety. Variety is the spice of life, remember that, but also be sure not to stray far off from what you are trying to achieve.

What The Hell Is With All This Functional Strength Nonsense?

I’m going to put this to you all as delicately as I can. Standing with one leg, on a bosu ball, performing a single arm bicep curl, is NOT functional strength training. Functional training has become so distorted and cliché in the past decade, that I almost go out of my way to avoid using the term “functional”, because I simply do not wish to be associated with most of the trainers that promote themselves as “functional fitness experts”.

For example, a few years ago, a new client walked into my kettlebell class with a bosu ball. He told me that he uses a bosu ball in all fitness classes he’s ever taken, so that he gets more of a “functional” workout. I’m going to tell you exactly what I told him.

Who the hell ever decided that training on a wobbly, unstable surface is “functional”. When, do we as humans, ever have to operate or perform on such an unstable surface? I can think of almost no time ever where this is the case. Sure, there is “core” recruitment for doing such a ridiculous thing, as well as proprioceptive benefits, but you can obtain the same benefits elsewhere and in half the time. My point being, that we as humans, rarely perform on unstable surfaces. Uneven perhaps, but mostly we perform on stable surfaces, but have to handle unstable loads!

I apologize for my tangent, but the notion of functional fitness today is absurd. True functional fitness is really only one thing, and that is smart training!



I’ll let you in on a little secret…

How would you like to know the most functional exercise of all time?

Guess what, it’s the freaking deadlift!

That’s right, what other movement is more comprehensive and functional then the deadlift. Everyday you pick shit off the floor, so why not learn to do it right! Yet, rarely will you ever see a “functional fitness expert” teaching a client how to deadlift. Instead they have them looking like a clown, performing movements that have little to no benefit and/or carryover to their everyday activities.

Part Three: Movements

Human movement occurs in three planes. The frontal plane which involves lateral (lateral meaning to the side) movement such as a kettlebell windmill, the sagital plane which involves forward and backward movements, and the transverse plane which involves movements around your body such as a Russian twist. Do not worry so much about the planes of movement, I just want you to have a basic understanding to help comprehend certain exercises later on.

The Core Eight Movements of a Balanced Program

Over my years of studies, experience, and working with some of the brightest minds in the industry, I feel it is best to brake down exercises into eight simple categories. These eight categories are eight different types of movement that make up a balanced, effective, and worthwhile fitness program. You must include movements from each category into your routines, to ensure maximum results and muscular balance. The core eight movements include:

1. A vertical press – a vertical press is any sort of overhead pressing movement, such as a single arm kettlebell military press, or a standing overhead barbell press. I like to use the term press for vertical movements, and push for horizontal movements for the sake of simple differentiation. A vertical press is any movement that moves vertically if you are in a standing position.

2. A horizontal push – A horizontal push, is a movement that would be moving horizontally if you were in a standing position. For example, the bench press is a horizontal pushing movement, only because you are lying down is the bar moving in a vertical motion. If it were possible to bench press standing up, then you would see how this is a horizontal pushing movement.

3. A vertical pull – a vertical pull, is any sort of pulling movement that moves vertically if you were in a standing position. A classic example of this would be the pull up.

4. A horizontal pull – a horizontal pull, is any sort of pulling movement that moves horizontally if you were in a standing position. A good example of this, would be a bodyweight row, or bent over row.



5. A Knee dominant movement– A lower body knee dominant movement is primarily dominated by an extension of the knee joint. Examples of a knee dominant movement would be front squats, lunges, pistol squats, etc.

6. A hip dominant movement – A lower body hip dominant movement is primarily dominated by an extension of the hips. Now please note that a hip dominant movement might include knee extension, and a knee dominant movement might include hip extension (most due), but you must classify the movement either by which extension plays the biggest role in completion of the movement, or which extension initiates the movement. An example of a hip dominant movement would be a kettlebell swing, or a Romanian dead lift.

7. Explosive movement – An explosive movement is a power movement. They are all multi-joint compound movements.

8. Core work (stability, rotational, linear) – It is incredibly important to work the core in three manners. Stability is the sole purpose of your core. It is your core that stabilizes your spine and torso. Your core also works as a stabilizer and mobilizer for torso rotation, as well as spinal flexion and extension. For a strong, functional, and balanced core, you must train all of your core’s “core” responsibilities equally.

Classifying Movements

My goal here is to give you the biggest bang for your buck exercises, and weed out all the unnecessary movements. There are literally hundreds of exercises that I could list under each movement category, but it would be both a waste of my time as well as yours to try and cover them all. Under each category I will provide what I feel to be the most comprehensive and effective movements, all of which are inherently multi-joint compound movements with large amounts of neuromuscular activation. For example, the kettlebell military press puts the shoulder through a greater range of motion and is much more demanding than the tradition shoulder press you find most wanna-be meatheads performing with a dumbbell. Sure, you could argue that since the shoulder press with a dumbbell covers only a partial range of motion as the kettlebell military press, you could therefore move more weight, and possibly increase the strength of your kettlebell press. My argument for that is that there are much more effective ways to increase your kettlebell military pressing strength, than trying to overload with a shoulder press. One example would be to do heavy Turkish get ups, or heavy long push presses. Another option would be to perform a heavy yielding kettlebell press. I will give you all the tools you need to succeed, without any of the noise and confusion of ancillary movements. Also note, that some movements may be repeated, because they fit into multiple categories. For example, the Viking push press is a vertical press, but it is also an explosive movement. The Turkish get up has a knee dominant component(lunge), but is also a fantastic core stability movement.



One last note: unilateral means that one limb works in isolation of another to move a weight. A bilateral movement is when both limbs work together to move a weight. Bilateral movements obviously allow for greater strength gains, but since your dominant side will typically negotiate more of the weight, performing solely bilateral movements can eventually lead to unwanted muscular imbalances. Unilateral movements help to correct weaknesses and muscular imbalances. Every workout should include bilateral and unilateral movements. An example of a bilateral movement is the front squat, where as the pistol squat is unilateral. An overhead barbell press is bilateral, but a double kettlebell military press is actually unilateral since you are moving two separate weights, each moving independent of each other (two kettlebells instead of one barbell), regardless of whether or not they are moving simultaneously or at the same tempo.

The Core Six Kettlebell Movements

The Core Six Kettlebell Movements The core six kettlebell movements should be the first exercises you learn with a kettlebell, and you should be proficient at them all before advancing to any other techniques, especially double kettlebell movements. They core six movements are:

1.Kettlebell Swing 2.Turkish Get Up 3.Kettlebell Goblet/Front Squat 4.Kettlebell Clean 5.Kettlebell Press 6.Kettlebell Snatch It does not matter which of the first three exercises you learn first, but all of the first three of the core six movements (swing, squat, and get up) should be mastered before moving onto the last three (clean, press, and snatch). The reason being that the first three set the foundation for the last three. If your swing technique is no good, then your clean and snatch technique will suck. If your get ups suck, then you are not ready for the press. As with anything else, you must learn to walk before you can run. Spend as much time as you need perfecting your swing, squat, and get up before moving onto the clean, press, and snatch.

The Kettlebell Deadlift



Before we get into detail about any of the core six kettlebell movements, we must first make sure that we have a proper deadlift. The movement pattern of the deadlift must first be established before moving onto the kettlebell swing. Start by standing on top of the kettlebell, with your stance approximately shoulder width apart or perhaps even a tad wider. Position yourself so that the handle of the bell is directly between your heels.

Now shift all of your weight onto your heels, and begin to push your butt back (as if you are reaching for a chair that is just out of reach), and hinge (fold) at the hips. It is incredibly important that we maintain a neutral spine throughout this movement. We never want to deadlift with a rounded gorilla looking back, so keep your chest up and out like you are very proud of yourself, as you push your butt back as far as possible. Keep your eyes focused on the horizon, or where the wall meets the floor, do not look down because cervical flexion will often lead to flexion throughout the rest of your back. You should feel a tight pull/stretch in your hamstrings as you are lowering yourself into position; this is desired.



Notice that in this position my back is flat (well, there should actually be an arch in your lower back), my shins are almost perfectly vertical, and my hips are lower than my shoulders. My posterior chain is stretched and loaded with tension, like a rubber band ready to snap.

To begin the ascent, forcefully contract your glutes, and visualize that you are trying to “push the ground apart” with your heels as you begin to drive your hips forward



to stand straight up.



Now here’s a little trick you can use to really help learn how to get your butt back and load up your hips. When you reverse the movement to put the bell back down, try and place the bell behind your heels; not by swinging or reaching with your arms, but rather by pushing your butt back as far as possible. You should really feel an incredible stretch in your hamstrings if this is done right. Just be sure that your hips stay lower than your shoulders, and you maintain a neutral spine at all times. Breathing: For each movement, there will be a section to describe the type of breathing you should use. For the kettlebell deadlift, we want to take in a belly full of air before we begin our descent. Breathe in deeply through your nose, trying to inflate your stomach. This diaphragmatic breathing will serve as a natural weight belt, and is one of the safest and most effective breathing methods for grinding movements. When we execute the lift, we want to breathe out through clenched teeth, with the tongue on the roof of our mouth. If done properly it should make a hissing sound, and feel very pressurized. Don’t be shy about this my friends. Hiss away. We want to take advantage of this style of breathing to maintain that abdominal pressurization which will help to keep our spine safe throughout the lift. Do not exhale all of your air. Keep at least 1/3 of your air in your stomach at all times. This type of breathing is known as power breathing, remember this because it will reoccur often! Elements of a proper deadlift:



1. The back is flat (neutral spine) 2. The heels are planted on the ground 3. The knees stay in line with the toes, but do not come forward 4. The arms are straight (triceps are tense) and are simply acting as cables connecting the bell to your body 5. The shins remain near vertical throughout the movement (minimize any forward ankle flexion or translation of the knees forward) 6. At the top, hips and knees are fully extended, and you are standing tall (do not overextend the hips or lean back The Kettlebell Swing

I must stress yet again how important it is that you have a proficient deadlift before moving onto the kettlebell swing. All of the qualities that make up a good dead lift, such as a neutral spine, deep hip hinge, vertical shins, etc, carry directly over to the kettlebell swing. If there is a weakness or flaw in your deadlift form, then you must correct it before moving onto the swing. See an RKC instructor if at all possible!

The kettlebell swing is an explosive movement, whereas the deadlift is a grind. Like I said, the movement pattern is essentially the same, but the manner in which the movements are performed is completely different. The first difference between the deadlift and the swing is the set up. For the swing, we do not want to start with the bell behind our heels, but rather we want to position the bell about a foot in front of us. Once the bell is in position, we push our



butt back and assume a deadlift position, then reach our hands out and grasp the bell. If done right, the bell should tilt slightly towards you. Tension should be loaded throughout your posterior chain at this point, and you should resemble a center about to hike a football back to a quarterback.

From here, the first step is to engage your lats (back and armpit muscles) to screw your shoulders back and down. This is a technique known as “packing” your shoulder, which we will become more familiar with in the Turkish Get Up and Kettlebell Press section. Just know that we want to keep our shoulders pulled back and down, and to not let the force of the kettlebell pull our shoulders out at anytime. A visualization that may help is to think that you are trying to hold a very thin piece of paper in your armpit. As a matter of fact, it wouldn’t be a bad drill to even have a partner put a piece of paper or a card of some sort in your armpit and see if you can hold it there while you perform a couple of swings. Screwing our shoulders back should tilt the bell, or even drag it slightly toward you. Once this happens we want to immediately “hike pass” the bell back between our legs, like a center hiking a football to a quarterback. Really throw that bell back and load up your posterior chain with as much tension as possible. Keep your back flat and eyes focused on the horizon as you forcefully throw the kettlebell back behind you.



Think of this backswing as the stretching of a bow. The bow is your posterior chain (hamstrings, butt, and lower back muscles), and the arrow is the kettlebell. The more tension we can load with the backswing, or the more we stretch the bow, the more powerful and explosive our swing will be. Once the bell has reached the height of the backswing, and your “bow” is fully loaded with tension, it is time to explode and project the force outward. Squeeze your butt as hard as you can, and snap your hips forward as you stand straight up (do not lean back or overextend your hips). This will propel the bell forward, hopefully with an incredible amount of force. Remember that with the swing we want to project the force outward, not upward. Far too often, people swing above their chest, this is not only unnecessary, but is actually counterproductive. Swinging higher than the chest not only creates a disconnect and will put you into a position of compromise, but the bell is now traveling a greater distance, and in turn will increase our cycle time, or the total number of reps we get in a certain amount of time. When using the swing as a conditioning tool, we want to decrease our cycle time, and get as many reps in as possible in the least amount of time. So shoot your force forward, like a punch when you swing. The bell should form an extension of your straight arms at the top of the swing.



Be sure to tighten everything up at the top of the swing, bracing your abs and glutes as hard as possible, as well as tensing your quads and pulling your kneecaps up. This full body tension will only last less than a second, but is an important skill to acquire when learning the kettlebell swing. Remember that explosive movements are about both tension and relaxation. Throughout the swing there are elements of tension, and elements of relaxation. Too much tension and you will be slow, and too much relaxation and you will be soft and weak. You must learn when to be tense, and when to be relaxed in order to maximize power, endurance, and strength. Never try and slow the bell down as you come back into the backswing. If anything speed it up, and help it along its way by actively “throwing” the bell back into the backswing. Be sure that the handle of the bow never passes below the knees when swinging, as this will surely lead to a rounded back. Keep your downward swing trajectory high, and just move your hips out of the way at the last second to bring the bell into another backswing. Breathing For the kettlebell swing, we want to take advantage of the biomechanical breathing match. This implies that we match the breathing to the movement; meaning that we take a sharp inhalation through the nose on the backswing, exhale forcefully during the concentric or upward portion of the swing. The exhalation should be crisp and forceful, much like how a boxer would breathe when throwing or taking a punch. Elements of a Proper Swing



1. Heels are planted at all times 2. Knees stay in line with your toes at all times and they do not translate forward (maintain vertical shins) 3. The back is flat (neutral spine) 4. The handle of the bell never passes below the knees on the backswing 5. The force of the swing is projected outward, not necessarily upward 6. The bell forms an extension of your arms at the top of the swing (if the bell is lagging/sagging behind, that is an indicator that you are performing more of a “delt raise”, than a powerful hip drive) 7. The lats are engaged and the shoulders are packed 8. The hips and knees fully extend at the top of the swing (but do not overextend your hips or lean back) 9. Biomechanical breathing match One Arm Swing

Essentially identical to the two hand swing, except now only performed with one arm attached to the bell. The key here is to keep your shoulders and chest square, minimizing as much torso rotation as possible. Also, be sure to keep your shoulder packed, not allowing the kettlebell to “yank” your arm during the movement.



Double Kettlebell Swing



For this you will need to widen your stance to more of a “sumo” stance in order to clear the bells through your legs. You may also rotate your thumbs inward, internally rotating the shoulders, so that the handles of the bells twist inward and clear your knees as well. Other than those minor points, the mechanics are same as the single kettlebell swing.



The Goblet Squat

The goblet squat is a wonderful prerequisite and primer for the front squat. This movement has a variety of applications, but is primarily beneficial for opening up the hips and developing a proper squatting movement pattern.



For the goblet squat, you will hold the kettlebell in front of your chest by the “horns”/ the sides of the handle.

Initiate your squat my actively “pulling” yourself between your legs, and pushing your knees apart. Your butt should come down at about seven o’clock, remember that this is NOT a back squat, this is a front squat, and never do we want to “back squat” our “front squats”. The knees and hips flex at the same rate on a front squat, and your knees will indeed translate forward, but this is not an excuse to let your heels pop off the ground. Keep your heels planted, and the majority of your weight on them. Push your chest out and maintain a big arch in your back, staying as upright as possible as you pull yourself into the hole.



Most people’s squats would stop about here, or when their thighs are parallel to the ground. But for now on, We will instead opt to not squat like sissies anymore. It is a myth that you should not squat past parallel, or that your knees should never come over your toes. The knee is actually strongest when fully flexed, what we do have to watch out for however, are the knees bowing inward, or not staying in line with the toes. This is when anterior cruciate ligament (acl) and other knee injuries can occur. Not only will we learn to start squatting past parallel, but also we eventually want to start squatting full “ass to the grass”. Squatting to this depth has numerous benefits, including the strengthening of your knees! The stress and hormonal response from squatting past parallel (especially once you start moving serious weight) is far greater, and we want to take full advantage of that. Remember, humans are designed to squat past parallel…just think about it…what do we do everyday that requires us to squat? I’ll leave that question unanswered for now.



Notice that in the bottom of the goblet squat position, my back is not only arched, but it is also near vertical. People often get confused when it comes to the squat and the swing. For the swing we just want a flat back, but not necessarily a vertical back. For the squat however (front and goblet squat that is, backsquat is a different animal), we want both, a flat and vertical back. We want to stay as upright as possible on our front squats, so push your chest up and out as much as possible! Also look at the position of my elbows; they are planted right inside my vastus medialis muscles or those tear drop looking muscles that are part of your inner quads. My elbows are placed here in order to stop my knees from bowing inwards,



but it also sets me up in a position where I can stretch my hips out, by prying them apart with my elbows.

This prying stretch will help loosen up tight hip hips, and improve your squat mobility. Shift your weight from side to side as you use your elbows to pry your hips open, you should feel a stretch in your groin area. As you are doing this, try and find space to sink lower into your squat, think about trying to reach your tailbone down toward a curb, but keep your spine long, and your chest and head up. You will be surprised, as you will surely find yourself sinking deeper into the squat, and becoming more comfortable in the bottom position the more you practice this prying stretch. When you are ready to come out of the squat, think about trying to spread the earth apart with your heels. Or even better yet, think about trying to spread the earth apart, from your glutes! This visualization will help your knees stay in line with your toes and will also help with improving the strength of your squat. Your hips and your shoulders should ascent at exactly the same rate when performing the concentric portion of a squat. Do not allow your butt to come up first, and finish the movement by performing a good morning, as this happens far too often when people try to front squat more weight than they can handle. Instead, power breathe through the movement, squeeze your glutes, and keep your hips under you at all times. Trust in your hip drive and do not cheat the rep! This should not be a problem with a goblet squat, since the weight being moved is relatively light, but once we move onto heavy kettlebell and barbell front squats, I will become adamant about this! The Racked Squat



Exactly the same movement as the goblet squat, except now you hold the bell in the “rack” position. Please continue to read the clean section first, so that you have a prior understanding of a proper rack position before attempting this squat variation.



Breathing Take a belly full of air as you descend into the hole. If you are going to perform the prying stretch, than you may breathe normally, but before you come back up, take another belly full of air, and power breathe on the way up. Double Kettlebell Front Squat



This is where you will start to move some serious weight when it comes to squatting with kettlebells. The kettlebell front squat is also more user friendly for those who lack the wrist flexibility to do barbell front squats. Again be sure you are proficient at both your clean and double clean (read ahead if you have to) before attempting this exercise. Again, all the same squatting mechanics apply as before, and some will be covered in more detail once we get into squatting with a barbell, so do not rush into double kettlebell front squats! Once you are confident in your double clean the movement is fairly simple, assuming you have mastered your goblet squat. Rack two bells. Pull yourself into the hole. Push yourself out of the hole.



The Turkish Get Up



The Turkish get up is a movement so comprehensive that it’s almost impossible to classify. The get up is known for effectively training primitive movement patterns, developing resilient, mobile, and flexible shoulders, and promoting incredible overhead and core stability. Note that the get up is not just a strength movement, but a diagnostic and corrective tool as well. It is one of my personal favorite full body warm up movements, and many movement specialists prefer the get up as an assessment tool, since it is such a sophisticated movement. But for our purposes, we will focus on the get up as a



strength movement; since this was it was originally intended to be. The get up is also a prerequisite for any and all overhead lifts I prefer to break the get up down into seven steps. They are as follows: 1. The Set Up 2. The forearm position 3. The hand position 4. The high bridge position 5. The sweep/windmill position 6. The lunge position 7. The standing position

Let’s start with the set up. Lie on your back with a kettlebell of to your side. To pick up the kettlebell, roll towards it (you should look like you are in a fetal position) and slide your working side hand through the handle to secure a grip on the bell. Be sure the handle is deep in the base of your palm and that your wrist is straight (a straight wrist is when your front two knuckles are lined up with the bones in your forearm). Take your free hand and place it on top of the hand securing the bell. Hug the bell close to your body and roll onto your back, brining the bell with you, and keeping it inline with your naval.



Now that you are on your back and securing your bell, it is time to set up the get up. Realize, that your Turkish get up will only be as good as your set up. If your set up is crap, then your get up will be crap. Garbage in, garbage out. The set up for the get up starts by pressing the bell up overhead, similar to a one arm bench press, except you will use both hands (we get in the habit of using both hands because eventually we want to be able to do a get up with a bell heavier than we can press). Keep your shoulders packed down, your lat engaged, and your scapula depressed as you lock the bell out. Once the bell is locked out, you then may remove your overlapping hand.



The set up from here is fairly simple. Your working side leg (side you have the bell in) is bent, with your heel planted close to your butt, and angled out at about a forty five, but no more. Your opposite side leg is extended out at about a forty-five as well, but in the opposite direction. Your opposite arm is also extended out at a forty five degree angle (keep your forearm off the ground however), and about parallel with the extended leg. I realize this may be hard to visualize from all this wordiness, but just look at the picture below and you will see exactly what I am attempting to explain.

Notice in the photo above that I am not holding a kettlebell. It would be wise to first practice your get up “naked” or without a bell until you feel confident with the movement. The forearm position: The next step is to push from your planted heel, and pull from your planted elbow to help you sit up and prop yourself up onto your forearm. As you may have guessed, I like to call this the forearm position; other RKC’s may refer to it as the sit up position, or the punch and crunch. In this position, be sure to keep your core tight, elongate your spine and push your chest out to sit nice and tall, and keep your shoulders (yes both of them!) packed down (the more distance between your shoulders and your ears the better).



The hand position: The next step is probably the simplest. All you are going to do is press down and pivot on your palm to straight your elbow, propping yourself up on your hand. Be sure not to lift your hand and reposition, rather just let it pivot, almost as if it were nailed to the ground. Again, do not let your shoulders shrug up, keep your lats engaged and keep those shoulders packed.



The High Bridge: While there are get up variations that omit the high bridge, I feel you will get the most out of your get ups if you include the high bridge position, especially from the stand point of mobility and stability. The movement is quite simple if your set up and preceding steps were all correct. All you have to do now is squeeze your glutes, drive from your planted heel, and raise



your hips as high as possible. There should be a straight line now connecting the kettlebell to the ground through your arms, and your non-working side leg should still be straight. I’m going to say it over and over again, keep your lats engaged and those shoulders packed, both of them! Often, people focus too much on the shoulder bearing the weight, and let the shoulder that is actually holding them up shrug up towards their ears. Do not let this happen!

The Sweep/Windmill Position: This is the part, which gives people the most trouble. They either get confused on which leg to sweep back, or they try and sleep it back into an improper position and/or uncomfortable position.

The goal here is to bring your straight leg (that’s the leg that is not support your weight, or your non-working side leg), underneath your body, and plant your knee directly in line with your hand. Your legs should form an “L” if done correctly, meaning that they are perpendicular, not parallel to each other. Mistakes people make include trying to sweep their leg back and keep their knee forward, which awkwardly contorts their body and puts them into a vulnerable position. All you want to do is get your knee back and in line with your hand. Oh, and keep those damn shoulders packed!



The lunge position: This is another simple transition. Now is the time when you want to assume a forward lunging position. Pivot the bottom part of your leg around your planted knee, so that your legs are now parallel and both knees are facing forward. As you do this, simultaneously life your planted hand and pull yourself upright into a tall forward facing position. Your hips and shoulders should now be squared, and the



bell is still locked out overhead. Also note my gaze! At all times throughout the get up you should have kept your eyes fixed on the kettlebell, but now, you want to look straight ahead.

The standing position: Probably the simplest of all the transitions, however there are a few things to be aware of. Notice in the picture above my bent legs toes are pointed and I am maintaining plantar flexion. We want to be on the ball of our foot, so that we may



use our back leg to help drive us up. The second thing to notice is that you still want to keep looking straight ahead as you stand up. Stand nice and tall as you squeeze your glutes and propel yourself out of the lunge.

Congratulations, if you have completed all of those steps successfully, then you have done your first proper Turkish get up! But now, what comes up must come down. To get back down, simply reverse all of the steps you made to get up, except the high bridge, which is optional on the way down. If you choose to opt out of the high



bridge on the way down, just sweep your leg back through and come right onto your butt. As with on your way up, be sure to look back up at the bell once you are in the windmill position, and to keep your shoulders packed at all times! Breathing: There is no strict breathing requirement for the get up. I prefer to power breathe through each step. You must however maintain abdominal pressure and tightness throughout. No Kettlebell? No Problem. The barbell Turkish get up is equally effective.

Be sure to clear plenty of room around you however, as the barbell will surely rotate.



Here are two Turkish Get Up Video’s to help you along even further. One is an in depth tutorial I put together a while back, and the other is a demo fo the Turkish get up with a barbell. Turkish Get Up Video Tutorial Barbell Turkish Get Up The Kettlebell Clean – Single and Double


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05XkK3UbRhY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOI-KxOQiYQ


The clean is a movement designed to bring a weight from the ground, into a supported position from which you can move the weight overhead, or perform a variety of other movements. The clean got its name, because it is to be performed in a “clean”, or fluid manner. In the case of the kettlebell clean, the objective is to bring the weight up from the ground, into the rack position. From the rack position you are able to perform a variety of other movements, such as presses, jerks, squats, etc. But the clean is not just an intermediary exercise! It also teaches the athlete not only how to produce force, but also how redirect it and reduce it. Proper impact absorption is crucial for heavy kettlebell cleans, a skill highly valuable for any athlete partaking in a contact sport. The clean will teach you how to brace and breathe when taking a hit. Nothing comes closer to taking a punch than performing a few sets of heavy kettlebell cleans. The set up and start of the clean is identical to the set up for the swing or the one arm swing. Forcefully hike the bell back to load the hips. Note that before moving onto double kettlebell cleans, but be sure to first practice your cleans with a single bell and become proficient on both sides.





Now squeeze your butt and drive your hips forward viciously like you would a swing. Except now, we want to redirect the force. To accomplish this, you want to plant your elbow against your side, keep your shoulder packed and lat engaged, and “uppercut” through the bell as it approaches hip height, to direct it’s path up and toward you. The uppercut motion of punching through the bell should be violent, and straight up your centerline, almost like you are zipping up a big coat. Far too often people approach the clean as if it were a bicep curl. This fallacy offends me; as this is intended to be a power movement from the hips! Remember! The hips are the engine and your arms simply act as the steering wheel to redirect the force and trajectory of the bell. Loosen your grip on the kettlebell so that the bell rotates freely around your hand. The goal is to get the bell to wrap around your wrist and roll smoothly onto your forearms, rather than to have it fly over your hand and bang beat the hell out of your forearms. This will take much practice to perfect, so keep your reps low enough at first, so that you do not bruise your forearms up too much.









The clean goes down essentially the same way it comes up. Do not “cast” or throw the bells out, rather just let them drop straight down, and move your hips out of the way, leading them into another back swing. You want to be fairly efficient with the clean, meaning you do not want the bells to travel farther than they have to. Keep the bells as close to your body on both the way up and the way down, because you do not want the bells to travel in a large semi-circle. In order to manage the arc of the clean, timing of your uppercut is critical. Punch through the bells too late and they will greet you with an overly brutal impact. A good tip is to think about



cleaning to your hip rather than your shoulders, indicating that you want to start your uppercut as the bells approach hip height, and zip them straight up your centerline. In the finished rack position, the handle of the bell lies deep in the base of the palm and the wrists are perfectly straight. Your elbows are down and the weight is in front of your chest and resting on your rib cage. Ladies may have to adjust their rack slightly more out to the side to accommodate for being female. The body is tight in the rack. Glutes are forcefully contracted, core is engaged, lats are tight and shoulders packed down, and there is absolutely no leaning back in a strict rack position. Be patient. The clean takes practice. Unfortunately, almost everyone pays their dues initially with bruised and bumped up forearms, but play it smart and keep your volume low enough initially so that you don’t abuse your forearms too much Focus on quality reps and improving your technique, not quantity when learning the clean. Breathing: I prefer two breathes when performing a clean. I inhale sharply on the back swing, and let out a sharp exhalation as I receive the bells into the rack to absorb the impact. This sharp exhalation upon impact becomes incredibly important once yours start working with heavier bells, as softies will surely get the wind knocked out of them. Here is another video that demos the clean, as well as some other of the core six kettlebell movements. Enjoy The Kettlebell Military Press – Single and Double


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_Td4aJkNfg


There is something to be said about pressing heavy weight overhead. It just makes you feel good. Sounds primal, and it sounds barbaric, but it’s the truth, and it’s exactly why the strict kettlebell military press is one of my favorite kettlebell exercises. The press is not a delt and tricep isolation exercise, but rather a full body grinding strength movement. Pressing a kettlebell overhead is both an art and a science, and



there is a lot more involved when it comes to perfecting the press than most people would think. Start by cleaning a kettlebell to the rack position. Realize that your press will only be as good as your clean. If your clean is sloppy, then you have just set yourself up for a weak press. Clean with intent and load your body with tension upon receiving the bell into the rack. Engage your lats, visualize that you are trying to squeeze a deck of cards in your armpit. Again in the pictures I am demonstrating with single and double kettlebells, but like always, start by perfecting your single bell military press before advancing to doubles. The technique is the same, except when working with double bells you cannot get away with a sideways lean (lateral deviation) like you can when working with a single kettlebell. Do your best to not lean when pressing a bell overhead, but if you must, then only lean to the side by kicking your hip out in the opposite direction. Never lean back!



Before you start to hoist the weight overhead, squeeze your glutes, brace your abs, and crush the kettlebell handle as hard as you can. Feel the tension generate throughout your body. The path that the bell travels during the military press is not a straight line to the top, but actually more of a semicircle. The groove is both outward and upward, allowing the shoulder to externally rotate and the palms to face forward (pronate). Think not about pressing the bells up, but rather yourself away from the bells into the earth.



Keep your lats tight, using them as the base for your press, and try and keep your forearms as vertical as possible as you grind the bells up.





Continue to keep the glutes tight and your abs braced, and power breathe as the bells elevate.



At the top your elbows should be locked out, and your biceps should be positioned next to or even slightly behind the ears, so that the weight of the bells is distributed down your posterior/back side. Do not exhale all of your air at the top; maintain your abdominal tightness and pressure. Now it’s time to bring the bells back to earth. Do not let gravity do the work for you. Actively pull the bells down, as if you are performing a chin up. This will feel awkward since gravity is working with you, but will ensure that you are engaging the lats and prepping them for the next rep. Continue to pull the bell down to the rack for the next rep. You may re-clean, or you may not. I prefer to re-clean between every press. Breathing: You want to power breathe through the entirety of the press, both on the way up and on the way down. Some strong dudes may even hold their breathe during the press, I will leave that option up to you! Here is a view from the front





Here is one of our old RKC Training Logs with some great double clean and press footage! The Kettlebell Snatch


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2VbdodziZc


Often hailed as the “tsar” of kettlebell lifts. And I will not argue this claim. The kettlebell snatch is an explosive lift designed to drastically improve cardio-respiratory endurance, and force production, redirection, and reduction. The snatch requires a solid swing foundation, and some commitment. There is a fear factor that one must get over about propelling a ball of cast iron steel over their heads. Just like the clean, there is a higher learning curve to the snatch, so be patient, and keep the volume low enough at the beginning so you do not bang your forearms up too much. The set up for the snatch is identical to the set up of a one-arm swing. Hinge about a foot behind the bell, secure the handle with one arm, and forcefully hike the bell into a backswing.



Do not make your initial hike back weak. Throw that bell back and load your hips up as much as possible. Stretch that rubber band that is your posterior chain. At the height of your back swing, squeeze your butt as hard as you can, drive your heels forcefully into the ground, and violently snap your hips forward just as you would a one-arm swing. Now here is where the force redirection comes into play. The force of your swing is projected outwards. But now we want to redirect that force up and backwards. We will do this with a technique known as “taming the arc”. The bell wants to go out, but instead we are going to give it a slight tug with our elbow and try and drag it straight up our centerline. Obviously it is almost impossible to drag the bell straight up, especially if you have great hip drive, but we want to keep the path of the bell as vertical as possible, rather than the bell swinging way out in a large semi-circular fashion. Remember, your hips are still the engine. They power the movement entirely. Your arms are just the steering wheel. The tug you are giving is just to redirect the force up and slightly back, not to produce any more.



By now, the bell should be elevating upwards and towards you, completely powered from the violent snapping motion of your hips. Now for the tricky part… As the bell is in elevation around forehead height, what you want to do is to loosen grip and spear your hand through the handle of the bell. What this will do is allow



the bell to rotate smoothly around your wrist and lie on your forearm. We want to loosen the grip, because a tight grip on the bell will only slow the rotation, and lead to some nastily bruised forearms. Instead, think about spearing your hand through and getting to the lockout position before the bell does.

Punch right throw, finishing with your elbows locked out, and your bicep directly next to, or even slightly behind your ear. You want the weight distributed down



your backside. It may even help to lean slightly into the lockout, leading with your chest, in order to really get that arm back. If mobility/flexibility is an issue for you here, then spend more time on your Turkish get ups before snatching. Now, in the lockout position, we want our shoulder packed down, and our lats to bear the load. Do not shrug the kettlebell up! The kettlebell handle lies deep in the base of your palm, your wrist is completely straight, and your forearm is bearing the load of the bell.

The descent/eccentric portion of the snatch is very important. As this is where people really start to tear their hands up and let the path of the bell get completely out of control. Initiate the descent by actively throwing the bell towards your stomach. Do not cast the bell out! We want to tame the arc on the way down, as well as on the way up. So think about trying throw the sucker into your stomach. As you do this, loosen your grip yet again on the way down, so that the handle of the bell transfers smoothly from the base of your palm, back into the crook of your fingers. A super tight grip on the bell on the way down will lead to annoying callous tears. Continue to guide the bell down towards your stomach, and move your hips out of the way at the last second, leading the bell back into the backswing.





Load those hips up yet again, and explode into your next rep. Rinse and repeat comrades! As with any other ballistic, hardstyle kettlebell movement, use the biomechanical breathing match! Here is another view from the front.



Here is a good reference video for the kettlebell snatch. This is me completing the secret service snatch test, which demands 200 reps with a 24kg bell in under 10 minutes. This was one of the most brutal things I’ve ever done, so I really hope you enjoy it! Pat Flynn Completes the Secret Service Snatch Test


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3DjVo187YI


Another great way to learn the snatch is through the high pull, which I teach in this high pull progression video

Part Four: The Cardinal Six Strength Building

Movements

The cardinal six strength movements are the six most multi joint/compound and comprehensive strength building lifts known to man. They include a vertical and horizontal push, a vertical and horizontal pull, and two knee dominant lower body movements. They are as follows: Lower body hip dominant movement : The Deadlift Lower body knee dominant movement : The Squat Upper body horizontal push: The Bench Press Upper body vertical push: The Military Press Upper body vertical pull: The Pull Up Upper body horizontal pull: The Row These six exercises alone are pretty much all you need to develop, a strong, balanced, and athletic physique. I will go into great detail about each of these six movements, so you realize the importance of each, and how to perform them correctly. Let’s start with the true czar of all lifts…the deadlift.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5vl1AiSPjY


The Deadlift



Statement: The deadlift is hands down the most functional movement of all time. If you’ve read my article on deadlifting before, than you know exactly why I feel it’s the most functional movement around. But if not, a quick refresher is in order. What is true functional strength? Let me ask you a question. How often in life do you ever perform on a wobbly or unstable surface such a bosu ball? The answer is almost never. The truth is folks, that we mostly perform on stable surfaces, perhaps uneven, but fairly stable none the less. It is the load that we handle that is often unstable. I was particularly offended one day when a participant brought his own bosu ball into my kettlebell class, saying that he felt performing his swings on the bosu ball would be more “functional”. I proceeded to educated him in the following manner… Functionality isn’t all about additional “core recruitment” or balance. Don’t get me wrong; there are elements of both in proper functional strength training. But true functional strength training is about translation. How does what you do in the gym, translate into what you do outside of the gym. How much does performing a concentration curl while standing on one leg truly translate over into your everyday activities? The answer is not much. But how often throughout the day do you find yourself picking something up? I couldn’t keep track of the number of times I bend over to pick something up



everyday even if I wanted to. From my backpack, to my kettlebells, to constantly dropping my cell phone, I am always hinging to pick something up off the ground. It is a basic, and primal human movement pattern that we use everyday. Yet over time, we get lazy, we get weak, and our primal deadlifting movement pattern suffers and deteriorates. And inevitably, because of this, people end up constantly throwing out their backs and living with chronic pain. If only people would first step off the damn bosu ball, and learn how to properly pick shit up, then so many Americans wouldn’t be suffering from lower back problems. The deadlift is the most functional of all lifts. It teaches you how to pick something up; or evenly more importantly, it teaches you how to pick heavy objects up safely! The movement pattern of a proper deadlift is something you can and should use everyday outside of the gym. But functionality isn’t the only reason why I love the deadlift. The deadlift is great because it has an extreme amount of neuromuscular activation. Simply put, the scale of neuro-muscular activation rates how many muscles a movement recruits. The higher the rating, the more compound and demanding the movement. So for example, an isolation movement such as a concentration curl, would rank very low on the scale of neuro-muscular activation, where as a full body movement such as a squat, deadlift, or pull up would rank much higher. Why is this scale important? Because the more muscles we recruit during a movement, the more stressful the movement becomes, and therefore we will get a greater benefit from performing that movement. To simplify this concept even further, the more muscle groups we use, the more calories we burn! We want to take advantage of the greater and longer lasting hormonal and metabolic effects that come along with performing movements that rank very high on the scale of neuro-muscular activivation. And the two movements that top the neuro-muscular activation scale are none other than the deadlift and the squat! Enough rambling, let’s get down to it and start moving some serious weight. The first thing you need before you deadlift is not a barbell, believe it or not. What you need is appropriate attire. Say what? When deadlifting, you either want to lift barefooted or wear as thin soled shoes as possible. Cushioning in the heels, often found in most athletic shoes, is undesirable for deadlifting, because we want to keep almost all of our weight on our heels and to keep our shins as vertical as possible. Running shoes, aka, "heels for men", make this an arduous task. So ditch the shoes, or find a nice pair of Chuck Taylors , Vibrams, or wrestling shoes before you deadlift. Now you need a barbell and some plates. Load the barbell up with an appropriate


http://www.articlesbase.com/fitness-articles/stop-deadlifting-like-a-pencil-neck-and-learn-how-to-pull-like-a-pro-3787679.html


weight. The set up for the deadlift is incredibly important. If you do not take the set up seriously, then you are not respecting the weight, and will eventually end up hurt or at least somewhat damaged. If your set up sucks, then your lift will also suck. The set up is where we get everything in alignment and also set up our breath. Position the bar so that it is right above the center of your feet, but not directly against your shins. You should be assuming a stance no wider than shoulder width, and your toes should be pointed forward or angled just every so slightly out. For some reason, people often feel they have to get their shins right against the bar before they start to deadlift, but this is wrong. We actually want some space between our shins, as this will give us some space to finish our set up. The next step is to fixate your eyes on a certain point. Depending on who you ask, certain deadlifting “experts”(I put this in quotes because I honestly don’t know what constitutes a deadlifting expert; is it a pull over 700lbs? Is it a degree in ES? Who knows!) will tell you to look up (cervical extension), while others will tell you to keep your head perfectly in line with your spine (neutral spine). What do I prefer? I really don't care, but if you wish to play it as safe as possible, then stick with the neutral spine position. Also depending on who you ask, some deadlifting “experts” will tell you to either set you hips higher or lower. When I was first taught to deadlift, I was taught to set up with a fairly high hip set up, and I still lift this way most of the time. However, after working with a professional powerlifter so quite some time, he was meticulous about me setting my hips as low as possible and my torso as upright as possible. His theory behind this was to make your deadlift more “squat like”, with a great amount of knee extension initiating the movement. Lifting this way definitely put a lot more load on my quads, and noticeably less on my lower back. Do I prefer deadlifting this way, with the lower hip set up? Yes and no. First off, everyone’s deadlift set up will look different depending on how they are built. Blame your parents for that one. Secondly, this turns the deadlift more into a “push” than a “pull”. Is this appropriate? Maybe for a powerlifter, but maybe not for everyone else. I spent a lot of time debating and gathering opinions about this. So I will leave the option up to you, and include photos and videos of both a lower hip set up and a higher hip set up. In the pictures below, I am lifting with cervical extension and a relatively low hip set up; as this has never caused any problems or neck strain for me. Som however, is pulling from a relatively higher hip set up. Experiment and find out what works best for you. But which ever you choose, fixate your eyes on that spot and keep them there. If you are looking up, a good place to fix your gaze is where the top of the wall meets the ceiling. If you are trying to maintain a neutral spine, then a good tip is to fixate your eyes on the horizon or where the wall meets the floor. Once you have your feet in position and your eyes fixated, it's time to take hold of the bar. You should be able to do this without looking at the bar (proprioceptive



awareness anyone?). This may take some practice, but eventually you will get the feel of it and it will become second nature. It is fine to readjust your grip if you do not feel it is correct, but keep your eyes fixated. It should not be difficult to find an even grip if you set your stance up right, because your hands should grip the bar right outside of your shins. So if your feet are positioned correctly in the center of the bar, then it should not be a problem trying to find an even grip, just track your hands down the outsides of your legs. You always want your arms to be completely straight when you deadlift. Flexion in your elbows will lead to leakage and often lead to you losing pulling power. So tense those triceps hard and keep those elbows locked! Note: You want to use an alternating grip when you deadlift, where one palm is supinated and one palm is pronated, meaning one palm is facing forward and one backward. The weakest part of the grip is your thumbs, using the alternate grip allows you to utilize more finger strength and rely less on your thumbs. Be sure to switch your grip every rep or so. Now for a very, very important part. Once you have a firm grip on the bar, you want to arch your lower back and push your chest up and out as much as your flexibility allows; think like you are incredibly proud of yourself. This is the position you want your upper body locked into for the entirety of the lift. Never do we want flexion in our back (a rounded, gorilla looking back). Maintain the arch in your lower back, and a big chest throughout the movement. Also be sure that your tailbone does not tuck under.



Arch that back, push your chest out, tighten your lats, and get that ass back!

This is also the time to take your breath. Take a deep deep inhalation through your nose, trying to fill your stomach with air. Really focus on breathing as deep as possible almost as if if you are trying to inflate your stomach like a balloon. This creates pressure in your abdominal region, which will act as a natural weight belt, keeping your spine safe and greatly reducing the risk of a hernia.



Two Breathing Options: The valsalva maneuver is when a lifter holds their breath throughout the entire movement in order to protect their back. This may work well for you, but I do not recommend it unless you are fairly conditioned and have a healthy blood pressure. Aside from an ulterior motive, I would never tell somebody who hasn't lifted in 20 years and has high blood pressure to perform a valsalva maneuver; but if you are healthy, then this is an effective and legitimate technique. The other breathing option is to power breathe. A power exhalation is when you breathe through clenched teeth, while pressing your tongue on the roof of your mouth. If you do this correctly, it should sound like you are hissing (this is the same type of breathing I have describe above in the grinding kettlebell section). Get over yourself. If you are too embarrassed to hiss and keep yourself safe when you lift, then either hold your breath (assuming you have no blood pressure problems and have consulted your doctor first!) or get out of the gym! This type of breathing allows you to exhale, but also helps you maintain that abdominal pressure which will keep your back safe during the lift. If you opt for the power breathing option, breathe throughout the entire lift, but do not exhale all your air! Only let out about a half to two thirds of your air throughout the lift. The final part of our set up is to begin our descent. Start your descent by pushing your hips back and down, like you are trying to sit on a bench that is just out of reach. Feel your hamstrings stretch and load up with tension. Continue to push you chest up and drop your butt down. Some lifters prefer to start their deadlift with very low hips, and others with higher hips. Again, experiment and see what feels stronger and more comfortable to you. If you cannot get in this position with a big chest and an arched back, then you need to work more on your flexibility, especially hamstring flexibility and hip mobility before you start deadlifting. Also note that depending on your initial deadlift set up, whether you are lifting with lower hips or higher hips, this will also determine what dominates the movement. A lower hip set up, which was new to me but also how I was forced to lift when training with a powerlifter, results in your deadlift becoming more “squat like” and quad heavy. A higher hip set up will inevitably put more load on your lower back and hamstrings. Both are safe, and both are effective, so see what works best for you. Below is a link to a video demonstrating both styles of deadlifting I deadlift using both styles, some cycles pulling from the lower hip set up, and other cycles pulling from a higher hip set up. Also note that while it is not covered in this ebook, there is another style of deadlifting, known as the sumo deadlift. There are many benefits to this as well and depending on your body structure, may be more appropriate for you.





The deadlift – How to be a human crane! Time to start the lift already. Now, at this point in time, your entire body should be engaged. Everything should be tight and loaded like a coiled spring. To initiate the lift, begin by driving your heels forcefully into the ground as if you are trying to push the earth away and apart. We use this visualization not only to make use stronger, but by thinking about pushing the earth apart, this will help us keep our knees from buckling inward. Another trick is to think about pushing the earth apart from not just your heels, but from your glutes as well. Experiment, and see which visualization makes you feel stronger. As you begin to "push the earth apart" think about dragging the bar up and towards you, as your knees extend and the bar rises along the shins. The bar should literally be scraping against your shins as you progress through the lift. Be sure to maintain a big chest and an arched back throughout. Continue to push the earth away and extend your knees until the bar is just above knee height. Now at this position, the shins should be vertical, and it is time to drive the hips forward. Squeeze your glutes as hard as you possibly can and drive your hips forward to continue driving the bar up and finish the lift. At the finish/lockout you should be standing straight up, nice and tall, keeping a big chest and arched back, but never lean back or over extend your hips.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wddqhMHwqzI


Notice that the movement is by pushing hard into the ground, resulting in a forceful extension of the knees

Once the bar has cleared your knees, now your hips come into play. This part of the deadlift should resemble a kettlebell swing, as you forcefully drive your hips forward and stand up nice and tall to finish the rep.



Notice above at the lock out position, the bar has almost drug my shorts up with it. I’m not just trying to show off my legs, they are too pale for such nonsense, rather this gives testament as to just how closely the bar stays to you at all times. Let’s take a look from the side as well shall we…



Congratulations, you just completed your first proper deadlift, at least I hope so. Remember, this lift is a skill and takes practice! You want the descent/ the eccentric portion of the movement to be fast and without resistance. Push your butt back and let the barbell fall to its final destination. Keep your hands on the bar however, so that you may guide it safely down. Once the weight has settled, release the bar, and go through the entire set up process again before your next lift, because rarely will end up in a proper set up position after



letting the weight fall.

Whoops! Butterfingers! The Squat



If the deadlift is the czar of all lifts, then the squat is the sultan. Equally as powerful, but of a different culture. It’s time to make you a sultan of squats! While I classify both as knee dominant movements, the squat certainly does put more stress on the quads. I put the deadlift first, because from my experience, people pick the deadlift up easier than the squat. This baffles me, because if you really dissect the movements, they aren’t really all that different. But either way, it is imperative for any athlete or strength enthusiast to master both movements. For the purposes of this section, we will start with the back squat, which is more user friendly to most new comers in the world of strength training than front squats. But rest assured, front squats will be covered later on, and are in fact, my preference! Again, just like the deadlift, you want to squat either barefooted, or in shoes with a very thin sole. If you are new to squatting, please do yourself a favor, and spend some time on the kettlebell goblet squat, before attempting heavy back squats The movement pattern is essentially the same, so if you are not comfortable and mobile with your goblet squat, then you have no business attempting heavy back squats. Take the time to open up your hips and develop the flexibility needed for a good squat with frequent goblet squat practice, before you put yourself under the bar. This will save you a lot of misery and misfortune, take my word on that!

When you are ready for back squats, know that they are an entirely different animal. You will not be back squatting like a sissy if you follow this book. You will learn to



back squat like a pro. Heavy, ass to the grass squats are the only kind of squats that I allow. Most gym rats barely ever perform a full range of motion back squat, and hell, most never even break parallel This saddens me for a couple of reasons. The first reason being that you do not experience the true stress of a heavy squat until you break parallel. The second being the fallacy that your knees should never come forward during a squat. Let us again, dispel some myths… Should your knees come forward during a squat? Is it safe for your knees to come forward during a squat? The answer to both of these is a yes! Your knees will in fact come forward during a squat, and yes, believe it or not, it’s safe. Our knees are strongest when fully flexed. Try going up and down a flight of stairs without your knees going over your toes. Our knees are designed to handle such stress. Anterior cruciate ligament (alc) damage occurs most often not when our knees come over our toes, but when our knees buckle/bow inwards. The key to keeping your knees safe during a squat, is to keep them in line with your toes, not necessarily behind them. This is known as tracking your toes with your knees. Unfortunately, people suffer knee problems, because they squat too heavy to soon, and often have imbalances that lead to their knees bowing inward when they squat. This is especially common for females, as they have a slightly different and less advantageous build. Again, this is all the more reason to prep yourself thoroughly with goblet squats before throwing yourself under the bar! Now just because I told you it is acceptable for your knees to translate forward during a squat, you still want to keep pretty much all of your weight on your heels during a squat, and never, ever, ever, should your heels leave the ground when squatting. When you are ready to get under the bar, here is how you are going to do it… The first thing you have to do is squeeze your shoulder blades together so that you create a nice padding just below your neck where you will rest the bar. The bar should stay on your trapezius at all times, never on your cervical vertebrae. Keep those elbows down and your chest up as you lift the bar off the rack. Take a step or two back, and assume a comfortable squatting stance. You should know what a comfortable squatting stance is for you by now, if you have practice your goblet squats. Suck in as much wind into your stomach as you can to create that natural weight belt for yourself, before you start to pull yourself into the hole. As you do descend into your squat, do not yield to the weight! Remember, yielding is for weaklings! Engage your hip flexors and pull yourself down into your squat. Initiate your descent by first pushing your hips back, but remember, in a good squat both your hips and knees flex in tandem. Pull yourself both back and down as you feel your



hamstrings stretch and load with tension. Keep your chest up, elbows down, and an arch in your lower back throughout the movement. I find it most effective to look slightly up during a squat, but others may prefer to look straight ahead or at the horizon. Either option is fine, just never look down! Oh, and do not let your tailbone tuck under! All the same rules apply as the goblet squat.





Again, notice at the bottom of my squat that my knees are pointing in the same direction as my toes and they are not bowing inward. My chest is out, my elbows are down, and I am looking slightly up. In this position, you should still have a belly full of air, and pause momentarily before beginning your ascent. When you are ready to come up, you can either grunt and power breathe or hold you breath. Forcefully contract your glutes and drive the earth apart from your glutes and heels! Do not let your ass come up first! Your hips and shoulders should ascend at the exact same rate. Often when people squat to heavy too soon, their butt comes up first, and they finish the movement by performing some sort “good morning” type movement. Instead of letting that happen, get stronger instead by trusting in your hip drive, and keep your hips under you as you drive them up and forward. Grind through the weight and the movement with intent!





Drive those hips forward and stand nice and tall for a nice clean finish. Take in another belly full of air before your next rep. But note, some powerlifters actually prefer to only take one breath for an entire set, performing as many as 5 – 8 reps on a single mouthful of air! I’ll leave that up to you!



Here is yet another old RKC training log with some squat footage at around 1:22 minute into the video.

The Bench Press


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-rOCJKWaTA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-rOCJKWaTA


The bench press is by far the most popular, and common gym rat exercise. But how you will learn to bench from this book, will most likely be quite different than from how you’ve ever learned to bench in the past. I will teach you the bench press as a full body strength movement, not an isolation exercise. And I will teach you how to bench press without wrecking your shoulders! Just like with any other movement, the set up is incredibly important for the bench press. A poor set up, leads to a poor bench press. And a poor bench press, leads to injured shoulders, or worse! Before you lie down on the bench, the first thing you want to do is retract your shoulder blades and depress your scapulae. Pinch those shoulder blades together and shrug your shoulders down! This is the first step in ensuring that you shoulders live to bench for many more years to come. Now lie on the bench with a nice big arch in your lower (lumbar spine) back, and dig your retracted shoulder blades into the bench. Your butt should also be planted firmly on the bench, and will stay there throughout the movement. Root your feet into the ground, so that you can push from your heels during the movement. Remember, we are now turning the bench press into a full body strength and power movement, not an isolation exercise. We put the arch in our lower back not only to help keep our shoulders safe, but it also allows us to engage our lats, which are the base from which we press from. Grab the bar with a comfortable stance, not too narrow, and not too wide. Just outside shoulder width works for most people. Lift the bar of the rack without letting your shoulders unpack, and keeping your lats engaged. Now, before you start to pull the bar down, the first thing you have to do is adjust the position of your elbows. In the lockout, the crooks of your elbows are most likely facing each other. Before you start the eccentric portion of the bench press, you want to twist/rotate the crooks of your elbows towards you, so that way the pointy part of your elbow is pointing away from you, rather than pointing out to the sides. This slight elbow correction will help ensure that your forearms stay vertical and that your elbows do not flare out during the movement, which is critical for a strong and safe bench press! Now as you twist the crook of your elbows towards you, start to further engage your lats by trying to “pull” the bar apart. Continute to “pull” the bar apart, as you pull both the bar toward your sternum, as well as thinking about pulling your sternum to your bar. We pull the bar all the way down to the sternum, because this will allow us to keep our shouldesr packed, as bring our lats more into the movement. Keep trying to bend that bar in half as you pull it closer and closer to your sternum. Feel your lats load with tension, and your pecs peel apart.





Once the bar has reach your sternum, drive your heels forcefully into the ground, and begin to push the bar away from you; imagine pushing it towards your feet. DO NOT push the bar straight up, as this will more often than not unpack your shoulders and with repeated abuse of this, you will surely run the risk of impingement or other shoulder problems. Instead, push the bar toward your feet and then pull it back towards you over your face, so that the path is almost more like a sideways U, rather than a straight line. Squeeze your butt hard, drive your heels into the ground, and bend the hell out of that bar as you press it back up into the locked out position. The elbows may turn back outwards in the final locked out position, just be sure to make the elbow correction again before your next rep.



Your shoulder blades should stay retracted, and your scapulae depress throughout the movement. Never should your shoulders shrug up towards your ears. If you have done the bench press how I just described it properly, then your whole body should be tired, not just your pecs, shoulders, and triceps. We have turned the bench press, into a more functional, full body pushing movement, which it absolutely should be!



The Pull Up

I am a firm believer that everybody should be able to pull their own bodyweight. It is a highly functional strength skill, and is the reason why I absolutely love pull ups. There was a time when I used to absolutely hate pull ups however. That time was



middle school. I was soft and tubby, and dreaded physical fitness testing in gym class. Each year I’d hang form the bar, and each year I’d fail when commanded to perform a single chin up. There was a time when I thought a pull up for me was next to impossible. Now is no longer that time. I now do pull ups every single day. Somedays just a few, other days hundreds. I keep the density relatively low, but just from performing pull ups everyday, I have dramatically increased the max reps I am able to perform (26 dead hang pull ups the last time I was tested by a group of marines). As you would expect from this book by now, I have strict requirements as to how to perform every movement. The pull up is no exception. A strict pull up is much more involved than just heaving your chin over a bar. Start in a dead hang position. Grip just outside of shoulder width. Now the first step to a good pull up, form the dead hang position is shoulder blade retraction and lat engagement. Suck your shoulders down, pinching your shoulder blades together. Just like with the bench press, think about bending the bar in half or pulling it apart to really engage your lats. You want as much distance between your shoulders and ears as possible, but keep your elbows locked out!



One you are in this position, begin to drive your elbows down towards your sides. Do not start your pull up too explosively. Rather, think about speeding up as you ascend. Keep bending that bar in half as you drive your elbows down. Do not think about reaching your chin over the bar, but instead think about pulling the bar to your sternum.



Continue to pick up speed as you ascend, gripping the bar hard, and keeping your body rock solid. Kipping pull ups have their place, but this is not it. This is a grind my friends, and learn to grind you will. Squeeze your butt and your abs; your body should be rock hard as you ascend towards the heavens. Now a good pull up is not just about getting your chin over the bar. Too often you see those that are weak desperately trying to reach their chin over the bar as they thrust their hips trying to squeeze out every last inch. That is how not to get strong at pull ups ladies and gentleman. Have confidence in your grind, and do no reach with your chin. The strength will come with practice, and when it does, the goal is not to just have your chin over the bar, but to have the bar against your throat!



Hold the top position momentarily before lowering yourself back down to earth. Return all the way to a full dead hang position before beginning your next rep. Keep your shoulders sucked in at all times and your lats constantly engaged. Do not go soft when performing pull-ups. Stay tight and grind with confidence!



The Military Press Note that a lot of this section is simply review of the double and single kettlebell press technique, so if you haven’t read that section yet, it would be considerably wise to go back and do so, as there aren’t really many differences, except for the fact that you now have the option of using a barbell.

For the overhead military press, I would prefer that most people opt for kettlebells. For overhead pressing, I have found that unilateral movements tend to be simpler (not easier!) for most people, and cause less shoulder problems. If you are accustomed to overhead pressing with a barbell, then by no means do you have to switch over, just apply the same principles that I introduce below to your overhead barbell press. Like, I said before something just feels good about pressing weight overhead. Certain movements just have a feel good quality about them. For me, it’s the deadlift and the press that are the most satisfying. They are both primitive, and barbaric movements. And maybe that’s why they are such rewarding exercises; for me anyways! But there is a lot more involved when it comes to heavy a load overhead than one might think. The first thing we have to take into consideration is the inherent risk of shoulder injuries. If you want to press for many more years to come, then pay close attention to the next section, unless you absolutely love impingement and bursitis, then go ahead and completely ignore what I’m about to tell you!



The truth is, that overhead pressing can be very safe, if done correctly. Not only is it safe, but it will actually make your shoulders more resilient, and your entire upper body a hell of a lot stronger. The number one rule to a safe overhead press is lat engagement. Engaging your lat and keeping your shoulder packed down while you press is absolutely critical. I can tell you first hand, having suffered a quite a frustrating shoulder myself from not taking my own advice, that if you let your shoulders cram/shrug up towards your ears when you press overhead, your shoulders will eventually hate you for it. But how do you recruit what is typically considered a pulling muscle during a pushing exercise? Sounds a bit paradoxical if you ask me. Well, it’s not. You will recruit your lat, the traditional antagonist of pressing movements, and turn it into a synergist. The key lies within good visualization and full body tension. The first step is to rack the bells and begin to tighten everything up. Now imagine that you are at the top of a pull up bar, hanging on for dear life. I realize that gravity is not working with you on this visualization, but if you try hard enough you will feel what I’m talking about. Squeeze your arm pit muscles as if you are trying to hold two very thin piece of paper in your pits. By now you shoulder feel those lats really tighten up. Good. Very, very good indeed.

Now rather than just pressing the bells up, think instead about driving yourself away from the bells into the ground. Obviously the bells will move up rather than the earth moving down. If that isn’t the case, then you are either trying to move some massively heavy bells, or are leaning back, which is NEVER allowed. Maintain



strict posture as you elevate the bells. Leaning back can possibly compromise your back safety, but also defeats the purpose of developing a strong, strict military press. Crush the handles of the bells, as you continue to drive yourself into the earth and the bells away from you towards the heavens. Keep those damn lats tight too! Oh, and squeeze your butt as if someone was going to kick you in it, and your abs as if someone was going to sock you right in the gut. Tense every freaking muscle in your body except for your neck and face (that will only make you look silly, not help with strength!). Grind those bells up to a full lockout. The lockout position with two bells is the same as it would be with one bell, with your bicep next to or even slightly behind your ear. Now hold the lockout position for a few moments. Let that load sink into your lat, and be sure that you are not shrugging the weight up. This may feel mildly uncomfortable at first, but as you practice this, your mobility and flexibility will improve, and the lockout position will start to feel more and more comfortable, almost to the point of it being a position of rest. Hiss/power breathe the bells up.





I’ve said it once, and I’m going to say it again. Do not yield to the weight on the way down. Yielding is for weaklings. Take what is yours, and pull the weight back down into the rack. Imagine that you are performing a chin up. Just because gravity is working with you doesn’t mean you still can’t engage your lats and pull the bells down, you just have to visualize and practice!



The Row - Bent Over and One Arm Row The following horizontal pulling movements can be performed either with kettlebells or dumbells, and of course a barbell is always an option as well. When performing the bent over row, start by deadlifting one or two kettlebells. From here the set up is easy, just reverse your deadlift until the bells are hovering just above the ground, so that you are hinged over them with a neutral spine. Need I say it again? Suck those shoulders in and keep those lats tight.

From here you may either perform an alternating row or row both bells up simultaneously. To really help get your lats in the movement and avoid your shoulders shrugging up, try to think about pulling your elbow all the way up and back towards your hip.



The one arm row or “lawn mower row” is essentially the same except for the set up. For this movement, you will set up in a deep lunge position, while bracing your non-working forearm on your front thigh. As always, keep a flat back and focus your gaze on the horizon.



Again lead with the elbow, drawing it up and back towards your hip through a full range of motion.



The Bent Press

The bent press is a movement long forgotten by most Americans. Once the bench press came in, the bent press went out. This was a true tragedy to the world of strength training, because the bent press is an incredibly strength building and mobility promoting movement, and that is exactly why I’m dedicating an entire section to it.



So why did the bent press fall out of fashion? I honestly couldn’t tell you, but I can tell you why it needs to be revived. 1. The bent press requires both strength and flexibility. If you are not mobile and flexible enough, then you will not be able to perform a good bent press. Far too often, people neglect flexibility as an aspect of strength; this is probably because they are able to get away with being inflexible when performing many of today’s popular exercises, like bench presses and hammer curls. You may need to spend some time working on improving your hamstring and lower back flexibility in order to have a solid bent press. The bent press accepts no excuses for being inflexible. 2. The bent press works wonders for your shoulders. The bent press works an awkward pressing angle, externally rotating the shoulder, and placing the load almost directly on your lat. With proper lat engagement and shoulder packing, the bent press will make your shoulders incredibly strong and resilient. 3. The bent press is one of my favorite core movements. I’ll never forget where I was sore from the first time I did bent presses. It wasn’t so much my shoulders or triceps. Rather, it felt like somebody had pummeled my lats and obliques with a baseball bat. The bent press engages all of your side muscles as well as plenty of your posterior and anterior muscles. It is almost unbeatable for rotational strength and core stability. 4. You can move some serious weight with the bent press. The nature of the bent press allows you to move yourself away from the weight as well as move the weight away from you. What does this mean? It means that the distance the weight has to travel can be minimized, therefore allowing someone to perform this movement with quite a substantial load, which will surely translate to increased strength gains in all other pressing movements.



Kettlebell or barbell for the bent press?

When you first start working the bent press, I feel that the kettlebell is the way to go. The way the weight is distributed with the kettlebell for the bent press, really helps open your shoulder up and easily transfer the load to your lat. If you start bent pressing with a barbell, which is fine if that is your only option, you may spend more time initially trying to balance and stabilize the damn thing than actually focusing on the quality and nuances of the bent press. So if you have a bell, opt for that your first time out, then work your way to the barbell. Even now, I still alternate using kettlebells and barbells for bent pressing. The Set Up: The set up for the bent press will feel awkward and unstable at first. Don’t freak out, this is normal. Your body is probably not used to supporting weight in this awkward position, and has to figure out which muscles to fire in order to stabilize the load. Don’t be overly ambitious, start with a light weight! Rack a kettlebell. Now your feet at about a forty five degree angle away from the kettlebell. If the bell is on your right, then your feet point to the left and vice versa. Now shift 95% of your weight onto the heel of the same side leg that is supporting the weight This leg must remained locked out at all times through the movement, and is where almost all of your weight should remain.



What you need to do here is keep your hip out to the side, fold slightly forward and to the side (but never backwards) and place the load directly on your lat. See the picture below.

Notice that I have “screwed” my body slightly in order to fully externally rotate my shoulder and get my arm behind me in order to load the weight onto the lat. Keep that back leg straight, as this is the side that you want supporting the weight for as long as possible, your other leg may bend slightly at the knee, and will mostly act as a guide when you begin the movement. The key to a good bent press is not about pressing the weight up. Instead, what you want to do is flare your lat (squeeze your armpit muscles as hard as possible) and screw your self down away from the weight. Let your free hand trace down your front leg to act as a guide to the motion as you fold down slightly forward and to the side away from the weight.



Continue to “screw” yourself down away from the weight and flare your lat as hard as possible, keeping that shoulder packed down. Keep pushing away from the weight until you have reached a successful lock out position.

Depending on the load, you may have to fold lower than parallel to reach a full lockout. To finish the movement, you just have to windmill back up. Squeeze your glutes and drive your hips back under you as you screw back up into a standing position. Keep



the bell locked out while you do this. You should finish in the same lock out position as you would if you strictly pressed a kettlebell overhead, but with your feet still pointed away.

Here is a video of Som and I performing barbell bent presses at about 2:30 into the vid


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5Po-CWIXkY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5Po-CWIXkY


The Kettlebell Jerk

A Big Lebowski reference is certainly in order, as you’re about to enter a world of pain my friends. A world of pain. The single and/or double kettlebell jerk is a full body explosive-power and endurance movement. The jerk is a staple among Girevoy Sport (kettlebell sport) practitioners. They either compete in short cycle (one clean followed by consecutive jerks), or in long cycle (one clean for every jerk). The goal is maximum reps in a certain amount of time (typically ten minutes). The amount of strength and mental toughness that many of these athletes exhibit is what initially drew me to the jerk. These indomitable behemoths (poor choice of word perhaps, because some weigh even less than the amount of weight they were jerking!) seemed almost impervious to fatigue and damage, as they constantly hoisted 64kg over their heads, rep after rep. It is imperative that you have a certain degree of shoulder mobility and overhead stability before attempting to jerk a kettlebell. The Turkish Get Up and military press are both prerequisites for the jerk. So be sure to spend plenty of time developing your stability and mobility with the overhead grinding movements first, before progressing to the overhead power movements. If you get hurt because you were overly ambitious, you only have yourself to blame! Start with a single kettlebell, eventually working your way to double bells. In the sport style kettlebell jerk, the rack position will be slightly different. We will focus more on the sport style jerk, because I feel that once you have learned and become



proficient at the sport style jerk, it is simple enough to transition to a hardstyle jerk, but not necessarily the other way around. Clean the bell(s) up, remember to loosen the grip so that the bells rotate freely around the forearm with little impact. Opening the hands and loosening the grip will allow you to secure a false grip on the bells and reposition the handles. If you are only using a single bell, then don’t worry about the repositioning yet, but if you are using two bells, then you actually want to place one handle a bell on top the other so that they are over laced. Now the false grip is where we tuck our fingers into the bell handles, rather than have a full grip around them. This gets our fingers out of the way so they do not get smashed between the handles of the bells. The other option is to just overlap (not intertwine) your fingers as well, see what feels more comfortable for you. It is more of a preference thing than a mandatory nuance; just don’t crush your fingers between the bells, as I can tell you from experience, that the feeling is anything but pleasant. Many GS(girevoy sport) practictioners may also even interlace/intertwine their fingers as they get tired in order to stop the bells from yanking their arms out, as the rack position is also the rest position competing in kettlebell sport, so you will quickly learn to get the rest anywhere you can find it! Obviously you must unlace your fingers before continuing into another jerk.

In the picture above I have my fingers overlaced. Now notice that in my rack my hips have come forward to support my elbows, again making this as much of a rest position as possible. My glutes are still engaged in order to protect my back. This rack position may feel unnatural at first, as it takes some getting used to.



Now what we want to do in this rack position is try to get our elbows down to our hip bone, push our hips forward, keep our glutes engaged, and keep our hands very close to our center line. Our knees should also be locked out in this position. With one kettlebell is it simple for most people to get their elbow to their hip, however, due to various body structures, it is simply not possible for everyone to get both elbows to the iliac crest when using two bells. Do not sweat this genetic disadvantage too much if you do not have the optimum arm to torso ratio to get your elbows to your hips, just choose better parents next time! What you can do instead, is rest in the “side rack” position, where you lean and shift the weight over on side of the hip, maintaining contact with only one elbow. Just be sure to come back to your center line before initiating your jerk. The whole reason we want to get our elbows as close to our hips as possible in the first place, is so that we may distribute the weight load to the hip rather than the back. To start the jerk, you have to take your first dip. The first dip is where you will get your power from. Bend your knees approximately 120 degrees, while still keeping your feet flat on the floor. Now, remember that this is a dip, not a squat! The knees will in fact come forward, and that is what we want.

Once your first dip is loaded, begin to forcefully extend your knees as if you are attempting to “jump the weight up”, you may even come onto the balls of your feet. Simultaneously begin to push your chest through the bells, in an upward and outward motion (like you are suddenly becoming very proud of yourself). This sharp thoracic extension is known as a “chest bump” and assists in accelerating the bells upward.



Next you need to “catch” the weight. This is where the second dip comes into play. But be careful of the terminology, because the second “dip” is now actually more of a squat, as you want to shoot your heels and your butt, backwards and down to come under the weight, locking the bells out overhead. Timing is of importance here, and it will take much practice to perfect this movement. You want the second dip to be incredibly fast. Straighten your arms under the bells as you shoot your heels and butt back. You should finish in a somewhat quarter squat position, with everything in nice alignment.



Keep the bells locked out overhead, as you stand straight up to finish the rep.

To drop the bells come up onto the balls of your feet yet again and push your hips forward, as you let the bells drop down without resistance right to your hips. Do not attempt to control the descent of the bells, as prolonging the eccentric portion of the movement will only waste energy and fatigue your upper body. Your arms are used to simply guide the bells right back into the rack position. Let out a sharp exhalation as the bells come into contact with your body so that you do not get the wind knocked out of you, and also bend your knees to absorb the impact.



Here is a video of me working timed sets of the long cycle clean and jerk The Push Up

I have a deep infatuation with the push up. I have spent years perfecting the push up and uncovering/inventing as many variations as possible. As a martial artist, I spent much time training exclusively with body weight exercises, long before I ever picked up a kettlebell or barbell. Looking back, I realize now that the years I spent training with my own bodyweight, prior to working with external resistance, built me a strong and functional foundation to build upon. To this day, I still have a love affair with the push up. Any given day, you can bet that throughout the day I perform anywhere from 50 – 1000+ push ups. Obviously such volume must be built up over time, and spread out accordingly, but is certainly attainable and yields amazing results. There is so much more to the push up than what you learn from your 7th grade gym class. The good news is, that the push up is a relatively safe movement for almost anyone to perform initially, but if performed improperly, then imbalances and problems can and most likely will occur over time. Here are three reasons why I love the push up as much as I do. 1. Versatility – The push up can be performed anytime, anywhere. Better yet, no


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25q-zkO52vI


equipment is required. Aside from the awkward looks you may get from strangers, there is almost nowhere where you can’t drop down and pump out a set or two of push ups. 2.Adjustability – The push up is easily adjustable for any level of fitness, all you have to do is increase/decrease the leverage by altering the pivot point. For example, if a single standard push up is to difficult for you, you may be able to perform an incline push up, or perhaps be able to bang out a few reps at least from your knees. The push up too easy for you tough guy? Then try a couple sets of one arm push ups or hand stand push ups. No matter what your current fitness level, there is some way that you can vary the leverage to make the push up challenging enough for you. 3. Functionality – The push up teaching you how to move your body through space. Kinesthetic awareness if often neglected when training exclusively with external resistance. Performing an array bodyweight exercises such as the push up, helps to build strong, functional physiques. The push up is a full body movement when done properly, requiring a lot of activation from your lats and core. Time to hit the deck. Let’s talk about the optimum push up shoulder alignment for those of you that have experience shoulder pain before with push ups If you do not have shoulder problems, then you do not need to be super strict about this, but you should still adhere to the principles of this form. The width of your hands shoulder be placed shoulder width apart. To be even more precise, the outside of your pinky should line up directly with the outside of your shoulder. Now if you have shoulder problems at all, then never should your elbows flare outside of this straight line between your pinky and shoulders. Rather your elbows will only flex backwards towards your hips. Just like any other pressing or pushing movement, do not let your shoulders shrug up towards your ears; keep them packed down and your lats tight. If you have no history of shoulder problems, then you may widen your width a bit, but your shoulders should still never flare directly out to the sides (perpendicular to your body) when performing a push up. For me, I feel most comfortable when they come out at about a 45 degree angle from my body. Letting your elbows flare our puts the strain unnecessarily on your shoulders, rather than your lats. So you have assumed your push up stance. Pop up onto the balls of your feet and assume a position that should be identical to a plank, but on your hands. There should be a straight line from the back of your head all the way through your tailbone. Do not try to look up when performing push ups, this is unnecessarily and can lead to annoying neck discomfort. Focus on keeping your spine completely



neutral. The next step is to develop full body tension. Lets start from the bottom and work out way up. Statically drive the balls of your feet hard into the ground. Now tense your quads as if you are trying to pull your knee caps up. Simultaneously engage your glutes as if you are trying to pinch a coin between your butt cheeks (not the most pleasant analogy, but it works!). Brace your abs hard, as if someone were about to come kick you in the ribs. Grip the ground incredibly hard and engage your lats by trying to rip the earth apart with your hands. Here’s another tip: pretend that there is a large rubber band trying to pull your hands together and you are fighting that resistance (similar to the visualization of “pull the bar apart” with the bench press). I shouldn’t have to state this but obviously this contraction is static, because if you actually life your hands off the floor then you will fall disgracefully onto your fat. What we are learning here is a hardstyle push up, focusing on full body tension. The amount of energy required for this style of push up is much great, so do not expect to bang out as many reps, but you will undoubtedly become stronger in the long run. Begin to actively pull yourself down, as you pull your shoulder blades together and statically screw your elbows inward (towards your body) to continue engaging your lats. Once you have reached the bottom position, drive your hands hard into the ground, and continue to statically twist your elbows inward to press yourself up from your lats. Come all the way up back to a full lockout. In the pictures below I am performing a decline push up with a weighted vest (one of my favorite push up variations), but the principles of the movement are the same as a conventional push up. I am also performing my reps on yoga blockss, which allow me to move through a greater range of motion. Push up handles/bars work well for this as well, especially for people who have problems with their wrists, as they are able to maintain a more neutral alignment. Start at the top with your elbows locked out and your shoulders packed.



Actively pull yourself down, retracting your shoulder blades and twisting the ground apart, and feeling the tension spiral up through your arms and into your lats.

Keep pulling until you are kissing the deck.



Now again, twist that earth apart, and press from the lats as you grind all the way back up to a full lockout. Powers breathe throughout the movement as you would any other grinding exercise.

Notice the angle of my arms/elbows to my body. For me, the most comfortable and strongest position is when my arms form about a 45-degree angle form my body. Experiment and see where you feel strongest, but do not let those elbows flare out!



Part Five: The Next Step

So now you have the tools you need to effectively start out on a strength and conditioning program. But what about implementation? Proper programming is crucial for your success. You can possess all the tools in the world, but if you don’t know how to use them, then they are all as worthless as a bag of rocks. Let’s look at some reason’s why people fail to succeed when It comes to following an exercise program. 1. Lack of accountability – This is why people often hire personal trainers. Not because they need to be told what to do, but because they need someone to hold them accountable. There is nothing wrong with this if it works for you! If being held accountable helps you make progress than that’s fantastic. People are held accountable everyday in the workplace, so why shouldn’t they be in the world of fitness as well? 2. Lack of understanding – People generally just do not possess enough knowledge about how exercise and human body works in order to develop a program for themselves that will help them reach their specific goals. To make matters worse,



people are constantly bombarded with misleading and often down right wrong fitness information! Again, this is why people often hire a personal trainer. 3. Lacking a Plan of Action – People are impatient. I certainly am. And people typically get frustrated when they don’t get what they want. I certainly do. So when it comes to working out, why keep putting in if your not getting out? Well there are two things to consider here. The first being that you have to learn a little bit of patience when it comes to wanting to see tangible results. Three months is typically the amount of time you should give before you expect to visibly see some results (assuming you are on a good program and eating properly). The second point being you need to be able to integrate all the components required for success. The ability to recognize progress that is not as apparent as six pack abs. You need expertise in your program to account for the necessity of increased demands, recovery, and wave loading. Additionally, progress can be identified as improved mood, improved blood pressure and cholesterol levels, increased libido, etc. There are thousands of benefits that come along with becoming active, yet many people only searching for the aesthetic ones. So what is the solution? We have spent a lot of time at Dragon Gym thinking about these three problems, and what sort of solution we can come up with for people. We wanted to come up with: A solution that can be tailored to just about anybody. A solution that is straightforward, effective, and contains no fluff or filler. And a solution that is affordable (let’s face it, personal trainers can be expensive!) What we came up with is a solution that addresses the three common problems of lack of accountability, understanding, and progress. We have developed and are about ready to roll out a comprehensive electronic correspondence course:

The Dragon Gym at Home Performance Fitness eCourse This eCourse, which we will launch within the next week, will give you the option of selecting from three tiers of service so that you may choose the program that is most appropriate and affordable to you. Through the Dragon Gym Fitness Programming eCourse, you will be sent three to five workouts a week, tailored specifically to you and your fitness goals.


http://www.dragongym.com/kettlebellecourse.htm


We will provide services that will both hold you accountable, but also to help you understand exactly what it is we have you doing and why we having you doing it!

Part Six: Conclusion

No matter who you are or what your sport or lifestyle is may be; physical culture remains constant. If you want to get strong, then you have to practice being strong. and…

“If you wish to forge the finest steel; start first by finding the hottest furnace” With all the tough love in the world, Pat Flynn RKC


http://www.chroniclesofstrength.com/

Documents

Introduction to Kettle Bell and Barbell Training eBook