Following yet another strictly timed and much needed break, we came back to learn about the Press as introduced and taught by RKC Team Leader Cortez Hull. The proper performance of a kettlebell military press is highly dependent on the quality of the clean used to get the kettlebell to the pressing (rack) position – so it was obvious as to why we had learned the clean first. It is commonly said by RKCs that the press is only as good as the clean – and this is absolutely the case – a bad clean that throws you off balance or worse will definitely not set up a powerful (or even successful) press. Further discussion yielded differences in grip for the press vs the jerk – in the press, the handle of the kettlebell should be parallel to the calluses as opposed to diagonal (as in the jerk). When you squeeze the handle of the kettlebell while executing a press, further activation of supporting musculature occurs and can make a press that much stronger and beneficial. Likewise, full body tension is so necessary to the press – some people choose to clench their non-lifting fist at their side in order to increase and reinforce this tension.
Things got interesting as we started to go heavier… the adherence to strict form became even more crucial – its ALWAYS crucial… but a heavier kettlebell will tell you immediately if you’re doing something wrong. Of course during this heavier phase and during a break, my good friend and trainer Tim Shuman decides its time for me to demo a couple tactical pull ups for a friend of his (I can’t remember who!). On one hand – this is good… a whole lot of pressing definitely gets you warmed up for this sort of thing, BUT I also knew I was getting a bit fatigued… especially before lunch. So I wouldn’t be about to throw down with a personal record that’s for sure, but I would get to check out the really nifty portable Tactical Athlete Pull up System they had set up. It was larger than I had pictured, but extremely stable and had a nice matte non-slip finish on it. It looked very adjustable, but we didn’t have much time so I had to jump to reach the bar, but whatever – I’m used to that, being only 5’3.5″ tall. I did 3 really pretty strict tactical pull ups before calling it quits because I knew we were going right back to heavy presses after the break… sorry Tim, that’s all you get today. It did remind me of a neat workout involving ladders of presses and ladders of pull ups – will have to post that one of these days. And I really want one of those pull up bars now… this particular exercise has been a real passion for the past couple of years – but that’s an other article entirely. Following that very brief break, we went back to our learning and applied the tension techniques and tricks to attempt a personal best record with pressing. It was irksome that I could still not press the 24 Kilo kettlebell, however it was very significant that I could still press the 20 Kilo kettlebell a couple times on each side after all that we had done. I will press the 24 Kilo…. one day.
A further discussion of tension subtleties by Pavel – including talk of drills like the tightrope (feet in line, one in front of the other) press and bottoms up press – which really require high high tension (also try the halo exercise this way… WOW!). Following a lunch where I quite literally stuffed my face (I think at least 3 hard boiled eggs were involved along with sandwiches, fruit, etc. not to mention all the things I had been eating out of my backpack throughout), we got back to troubleshooting the press with Pavel – learning several drills to help with the most common problems clients and people new to the press have. Personally – I really like to practice these corrective drills, since when practicing alone you can run the risk of developing a bad habit without knowing it – reviewing the appropriate corrective drill can fix this potentially problematic situation. While taking notes and listening intently to this talk I noticed something odd began to happen to me… I started shutting down – I had somehow managed to burn through lunch already and was doing that whole “jerking to stay awake” thing – while not even being sleepy… needless to say over the next break and team practice I ate more Chocolate-y Pecan Date Coconut Balls from the snack-filled backpack along with a vanilla Orgain RTD that somehow was INFINITELY more tasty than normal. Five minutes later I was completely back to normal – thankfully – as I didn’t want to miss a second of valuable info. Alicia Streger commented that she’d never seen me tired before! HA!
Next we learned about the Front Squat with Master RKC Andrea Du Cane – building on the knowledge and flexibility requirements learned from the goblet squat on the previous day. The kettlebell front squat, either with one kettlebell or two is an amazingly effective exercise that requires abdominal pressurization along with the development of very useful flexibility. One of the main things to think about when learning or performing a kettlebell front squat is the idea of pulling yourself down into the squat instead of bouncing or falling into it – in this way you are much much safer and once again getting the full benefit of the exercise. Strongly engaging the glutes with the front squat exercise is also the best way of making sure that the back is safe. This was very evident when we started doing double kettlebell front squats, cleans, presses – given the extra weight, people tend to start leaning backwards at the top of swings, squats, cleans etc – and this is not a good thing – strongly squeezing the glutes will keep the back upright not leaning backwards.
To be continued… with talk of guacamole and passing out face down.
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