Conversation with a long-time member of IKSC yesterday about goals: It really brought me to one of the things of which I am most proud.
I feel safe to say that not many are here at IKSC because they are trying to “lose” anything, and there has never been a short-term weight loss challenge or contest. We do lots of monthly challenges, of course, but they are always centered on building some physical skill or healthy eating pattern.
We are here to build positive things, not focus on a negative. I think you’ll find that in doing so, the negatives kind of go away on their own. Things like weight loss challenges are about focusing on some element of dissatisfaction that is to be reduced, not building a positive. Think about that for a minute. When people is trying to lose weight we suggest them to use best weight loss pills for women instead of those challenges that at the end what they bring are just side effects, so its better for them to take these pills so they will see good results on them.
Some fat or weight loss may occur as a result of training appropriately and following a healthy eating pattern, but most are truly here in order to build rather than reduce.
Strength – Because it makes everything in life better. Without this, nothing else is important or possible.
Proper Movement Patterns –Because this enables strength to be utilized. Without it, it is like a car with a great engine, but no wheels to travel with.
Low-Risk/High-Yield training– Living pain-free should be your default setting. If you are becoming injured as a result of your training system, you’d better take a long look at it.
Health -Through the best nutrition education available, I am happy to say that those that follow our nutrition education guidelines are just as likely to report better skin, hair, energy levels, less inflammation, higher strength levels, and improved clinical blood test results as they are pounds lost on a scale.
Long-term Focus and Lifestyle Change –The goal is never about a few weeks out. It is about what is continuing to happen in 5, 10, or 20 years.
These things are not an accident.
The fitness industry preys on people’s insecurities and self-hatred. This simply does not happen here.
You truly have to enjoy making yourself stronger and healthier to train here. When a new member makes the decision to train, I think of them as a “student” that is here to learn and build something permanent.
This is quite a paradigm shift for many. In a way, I feel that they “graduate” to advanced study at Idaho Kettlebell Strength and Conditioning .
Sofia McKibben – Strongsport S-20 LongCycle 34 reps in 4 minutes.
To my knowledge, Sofia (Idaho Kettlebells Superwoman) is the first person in the State of Idaho to make rank with the World Kettlebell Club. On November 18th she attained the rank of S-20 in the LongCycle event.
To do this, Sofia had to clean and jerk a 44lb kettlebell 32 times in 4 minutes – 16 reps per hand – without setting the kettlebell down, and only switching hands one time. She threw in an extra rep per hand just in case, to make 34 reps in 4 minutes.
The World Kettlebell Club ranking system is the most stringent in the world, and she worked very hard to get there. As her coach, I am humbled by her perseverance and hard work. She is an inspiration to everyone who steps through the doors of the facility, including her husband Mike, who is making inhuman progress currently (more on that amazing transformation later).
My ranking is pending. I submitted a video shortly after Sofia did, because I have to put my money where my mouth is as her coach! I should know in a few days how my attempt went (fingers crossed).
-Jim www.idahokettlebells.com
Recently, someone asked a question regarding my choice of exercises for heavy strength work.
Question:
Jim, In your training logs I notice that you only use barbells for deadlifts, but use kettlebells and bodyweight for most other things. Why is that?
Answer:
There really is no implement besides the barbell that enables one to progressively load as much weight, so they are necessary for building maximal strength. I find that I can get most of what I need with heavy kettlebell presses and weighted pullups for maximal strength work, but to really load up the lower body I need something more.
The reason I choose the deadlift for my “big lift” is because it carries over into so many other activities and puts a huge demand on your system. This is necessary to get stronger. Since heavy deadlifts will help me run faster, jump higher and punch harder, it is on my list.
I have recently added double kettlebell front squats more for flexibility and core stabilization than for added strength work.
I do not want to start a squat -v- dead debate, but I personally do the deadlift instead for the following reasons:
* I don’t need a spotter or to use the squat rack. I can just drop it if I need to.
* The deadlift works more muscles than the squat (i.e. forearms, traps, etc.).
* The deadlift is all concentric, which is important in avoiding hypertrophy and soreness. My legs are big enough already, and I don’t like being so sore that it affects my martial art or other training. If I was looking to add 20lbs of muscle, I would definitely hit the heavy squats.
* Lifting is an activity people do every single day. One of my main reasons for including this is to prevent injury. The better I am at picking heavy things up, the less likely I am to get hurt doing so.
I do not specialize in this type of training, but add it in a few days per week for balance, and because it carries over into every other type of activity. This is really a “bare minimum” selection of max strength exercises, meaning they cover most of the bases with only a few exercises. I should also add that I rest from 3-5 minutes between each set of each exercise on these days.
December Turkish Getup and Kettlebell Swing Challenge.
December is right around the corner. Last year a few hardy souls from the Kettlebell Inc. forums accompanied me on a little personal goal I’d set forth for myself involving nothing but Turkish Getups (TGU) and kettlebell swings for the entire month of December. We completed one TGU for every day of the month, and 7,000 swings.
So, one on December 1st, two on the 2nd, up to 31 on the 31st of the month. One rep is from floor to standing with the kettlebell fully locked out, on both sides. This equals hundreds of reps of this exercise by the end of the month. We allowed one “Amnesty Day” per week from the exercise, to be taken any time. I think this year, two days off per week is acceptable.
I usually work with kettlebells from 16kg-40kg. Each day I would begin with the 16kg and “run the rack” up to the 40kg, then start back on the 16kg, until I reached the required number for that day.
Swings were completed as follows: 1,000 week #1; 1,500 week #2; 2,000 week #3 and 2,500 week #4, to be broken up in any way, with any weight. Any swing variation was permitted.
Why the TGU?
Some of you may recall that from October 1-November 6th, I did 5,000 kettlebell snatches. This was the third year for this goal.
In case you are wondering why I didn’t publicize it too much, it is because some people simply are not ready to snatch a kettlebell and injuries will likely result in people that are not ready to complete that kind of volume with that particular exercise. It is not very forgiving.
The Turkish Getup is another story. I don’t think you can do too many of them if you are doing them correctly. Yes, you can be stupid and do them with too much weight, too fast, or fail to pay attention and injure yourself. It is far from an “idiot-proof” exercise, that just anyone should attempt without quality instruction. But, since a good number of kettlebell instructors rightly focus on the TGU from the outset of kettlebell exercise, it should be accessible to most beginners.
Other benefits are that it is possible to work around an injury with the TGU. If someone is not able to complete the full movement, then perhaps only progressing to the sitting phase of the exercise (the Half Getup, as it is sometimes called) is appropriate. Also, being as the Christmas season is likely to be chaotic for many, who might not have access to kettlebells all the time, the TGU can be completed with any object. Dumbells, shoes, sandbags, or even just bodyweight work just fine if no kettlebells are available.
Repetition is the best teacher.
There are some lessons that only lots and lots of correct reps can teach. A martial art master once noted that 10,000 reps of each basic strike, block and kick is enough to attain a rudimentary understanding of each movement, but it takes 100,000 reps before anything like mastery occurs.
I recall that during a period in 1997, I went through a phase during my martial art training where I was completing almost 2,000 reps of each basic technique each week. I also recall tournament fighting during that period and being able to strike an opponent before I even realized I’d done so. I won’t over-intellectualize something that works, all I can do is work hard to somehow get the same result again.
I have found that the TGU is sort of “self-correcting.” Meaning, failure to do things like activate the lat and “seat” the shoulder will become obvious after enough reps with enough weight. Again, quality instruction is key here to avoid injury in the beginning, and to ensure that you are doing the movement correctly. I would advise using different weights throughout each training session.
The kettlebell swing is also something that is very basic, and while proper instruction is absolutely essential in the beginning, lots and lots of reps will be the best teacher. I think you’ll find that it is almost impossible to do 7,000 swings in one month with any appreciable weight incorrectly.
Benefits of the TGU and Kettlebell Swing:
Here is where things get a little subjective. When I did this last year, I noted that every muscle in my upper body stood out, and I felt stronger in every movement. I kick myself now for not taking detailed stats before and after, but I didn’t expect the gains to be so pronounced.
For lack of a better explanation, I felt like my whole body moved much more fluidly. I felt zero pain in my left shoulder, which had been bothering me for several months. It was like I had just given my body an overhaul.
I view the TGU as an injury prevention, flexibility and stabilization drill, not as a stunt or “max load” type of exercise. It is about making your body injury-proof.
Jeff Martone, of Tactical Athlete, credits this exercise with rehabilitating a laundry list of shoulder injuries, and says that it is rumored that the old time strongmen (the guys in the leopard skin tights and big mustaches) didn’t teach aspiring strongmen any exercise until they could do the TGU with 100lbs. Check out the link below for an article by Jeff on the TGU. The Turkish Get-up
I know that the volume of kettlebell swings I did had something to do with it, as well. The legs, glutes, abdominals, back and cardiovascular system are taxed heavily during the swing. The final week includes almost 500 per day.
How many people do you know lose a pant size between Thanksgiving and Christmas? I didn’t, because I was already pretty lean, but I will say that at least one person reported that kind of result.
Schedule:
12 p.m. small-group training at Caldwell facility. Monday thru Friday.
5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday at Caldwell facility.
7:45 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at Kim’s Taekwon-do in Boise.
9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday at Caldwell facility (beginner class)
10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday at Caldwell facility.
