The recent Primal Move certification workshop in Gaithersburg (near Washington DC) went really really well. Mike Krivka’s gym, CrossFit Koncepts was the perfect location for Primal Move as well as the RKC Recertification with Master RKC Phil Ross on the following day. A large open space, and good heaters running. Between you and me, I was a little concerned that we’d freeze in there—I’m from Florida and consider anything 50 Degrees Fahrenheit or below to be “cold”. En route, I had to make a connection in Cincinnati, and while stepping off the plane thought to myself “wow this is a nice airport* here in Cincinnati, too bad my layover is so short, I’d like to poke around and get a snack.” Well… I must have thought that too loud because no sooner than I rush to the connecting gate than I see that the flight to DC has been delayed because of poor visibility in DC for landing. The delay ends up being only about 1.5hrs so I have time for espresso, almonds, a few phone calls, including detailed Q+A about an upcoming “how to rock affiliate sales” webinar I’m working on. All and all not a bad thing – besides I knew the next flight was short and I had an upgrade to 1st – so all was good.
RKC Team Leader (and good friend – we recently worked on his awesome ebook Code Name: Indestructible together – and have more plans in the works!) Mike Krivka graciously offered to pick me up at the airport and we headed out for a much needed steak. There seems to be a “hospitality contest” going on right now between a few people and well, I’m more than happy to support this venture, because no matter who wins… I win, and that seems to involve some great meals and very good times. After staring at a frozen lake outside my Marriott room, I got some much needed sleep – the next day’s Primal Move Workshop would demand as much from me mentally as physically- the added shock of what I consider “extreme cold” (native Floridian over here) and foreign concepts like “snow” I considered as additional “stressors.” Mike and I further conspired over a solid breakfast and espresso before heading to his fantastic warehouse gym, CrossFit Koncepts. The morning class was finishing up and between their enthusiastic kettlebell swings and the heaters, the gym was toasty enough.
The group for Primal Move was wonderfully diverse – we had RKCs, HKCs, Chiros, Krav Maga instructors, a psychologist, and recreational athletes/fitness/healthnuts just to name a few. The main thing was, they were all really psyched about the program and ready to learn. I don’t like to be loud, but it was worth it to keep the heaters on, and this crowd was so enthusiastic that it wasn’t hard to crank up my personal volume a little more than usual. For our example Primal Move session we all worked up a well needed warmth too – as my trusty iPad valiantly pulsed its Primal Move Playlist tunes through Mike’s formidable sound system. Right away from our first time through the Primal Move Warmup/Evaluation I could tell we were going to have a great workshop – people were catching on quickly, and already feeling how these effective movement patterns fit in with their activities. As I warned everyone from the beginning – this one day workshop would be a total information and mobility exercise OVERLOAD. No one has ever disputed that, by the way. It is always so interesting though, towards the end of the workshop I like to add in some memory based and problem solving games that can serve to review so much of the movement info they received earlier – a lot of retention seems to happen with this – and in some cases, people have created little combinations they can start practicing or using immediately. At the very least, it helps to show even further how exploring the different moves is fun, and how they can be strung together to create something fun and beautiful to practice.
Already I have received individual private messages from a few people who have already seen their FMS score improve since attending and practicing some of the moves regularly. This is great to hear as Primal Move is really built on the principles and movement patterns of the FMS. (If you were wondering what the difference between Primal Move and other systems like MovNat, Animal Flow, Becoming Bulletproof etc, the FMS tie-in is the easiest answer. Btw, those other systems are really great too – and if you are already familiar with them as an instructor, you may wish to add PM to your skill set as well.)
That night we went to a really cool restaurant (the kind you can tell has been there for a long time…) called The Golden Bull – the sign out front said “Famous for Prime Rib and Crabcakes” so I knew were in for a treat… and that’s exactly what I ordered… and it was great! (Didn’t want to say it at the time, but after all that workshop leading, movement demonstrating, and generally thinking on my feet, I probably could have ordered 2 dinners and put them both away with ease…).
The next day was the RKC Recertification with Master RKC Phil Ross – and I had every intention of taking it easy (I had just led a full day workshop the day before!) just observing on occasion, helping out with photos, but mainly getting a lot of writing work done at the same time. If you know me though, you know what really happened… I got a teeny tiny bit of writing done, but took a fair amount of pictures, observed a whole lot but mainly I had to get in there and participate too! Those kettlebells you know? You just have to use them too – it’s compulsive! A smart group of people showed up to recertify and really were treated to a LOT of new and updated information, not to mention strategies from all three of us. I feel like we bonded a bit as a group too – especially after hearing everyone’s client success stories AND form improvements at the workshop and all those great “AHA! moments” which always seem to occur whenever you get at least 2 RKCs in one room. Among many other things I scribbled down as they were working through their materials was a nice simple kettlebell swing combo from Phil – it’s designed for you to go straight through:
- 20 2 hand swings
- 10 1 hand swings right side
- 10 1 hand swings left side
- 10 alternating 1 hand swings
I’ve since used this as a timing component in some group workouts involving stations and other implements like rope climbs, etc. Great stuff!!
There will be more pictures down the line on Facebook etc – but in the mean time I had to get a picture with the Kettlebell King, Phil Ross and his royal ride:
*I like nice airports, and can name favorites from all over the world…
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