I felt a LOT less silly for setting 3 alarm clocks after the one from the hotel decided not to work Saturday morning. There was NO WAY I was going to be late for the infamous high volume (work and learning) Saturday that we’d all been warned about. After we all trundled onto the bus headed for the ESPN Wide World of Sports, some of us still artificially chipper from our various methods of caffeine consumption, we began our various tweets and conversations. The bus ride was a little on the long-ish side so it was a good time to meet as many new people as possible – it was neat to find out what/why people had sought out the RKC certification and how they felt about the challenges thus far. Many attendees had family members who were enjoying the Disney parks while we studying/practicing/etc. I was continually impressed by a small group of people who attended the RKC for non-commercial reasons – some had lost over 100lbs thanks to kettlebell training and were attending to accomplish yet another landmark goal. This really put things into perspective – yes, kettlebells have changed me for the better – I am now in better shape than I have ever been (even as a kid), and the confidence I get from that is simply undeniable. And then there’s all the health benefits and strength/endurance that carry over into sports and everyday activities. When people see me, they KNOW I must be involved with the fitness industry in some way, and that is absolutely because of all this kettlebell training. However, that pales in comparison to some of these people who have completely transformed their body, lifestyle, and health future by losing 100+lbs eating sensibly and training hard with kettlebells.
Saturday began with a Qigong Recharge session with Dragon Door CEO John Du Cane. This was particularly exciting to me as I have practiced a strange local form of a Qigong breathing exercise for over 10 years and was curious to see what other forms were out there. John DuCane did not disappoint – he led us through a series of exercises which both got us warmed up but yet relaxed for the infamously grueling Saturday we had all been warned about. I particularly liked the variations on the silk-reeling movements. Not everyone seems to dig this sort of thing (a certain RKC friend of mine just can’t stand to move slowly?!), but I can see how it is directly related to the focus on breath, bodily awareness, and centeredness which are so essential to proper kettlebell exercise form.
Immediately following this warmup, we gathered in our groups, I was with Team Snideman, also led by Alicia Streger and Thayne Shatah. There we had an hour to practice, review, and continue warming up with the kettlebell swing, the goblet squat, and get up. Next up was Dan John, a colorful, knowledgeable Senior RKC who would teach us the intricacies of the properly executed Kettlebell Clean. He explained that as well as being a great way to bring the kettlebell up to the shoulder for presses and other exercises, the kettlebell clean itself is a great exercise for general conditioning as well as “collision” or impact sports. It is very important that the client learns that the arm just directs the clean, and that it is not some bizarre form of curling exercise. Also, keeping our shoulders packed into the sockets is essential – and a good way to make this a habit is to think of the kettlebell as resting on the elbow at the top of the clean. Women’s and Men’s cleans are slightly different and I plan on writing a whole article on this subject – so hang on! We then graduated to double cleans, which are a whole different game at least at first – you must be sure to get your fingers out of the way at the top (a particular risk for men). We were also taught to think of the kettlebell clean as a swing with “quiet elbows” in other words, the elbow is involved gently, but not as extremely as is the case with the kettlebell snatch. Often overlooked, the kettlebell clean and double clean are brilliant exercises in and of themselves, and should be emphasized in workouts especially for athletes and fighters. Following a break, Pavel took the stage once again and helped us to troubleshoot the clean with some great cues. A couple of them were – focus on the horizon at the top, make sure you are rooted to the ground – there should be no wobbling back and forth (ever), have clients think of the clean as a short swing with the arm directing the bell. All of this should be done while maintaining full body tension at all times. Not an easy thing to do, but very very effective.
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