Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Russian Kettlebell Challenge (RKC) certification course in Vicenza, Italy.

Hailed to be the world's first and premiere kettlebell instructor certification programme and headed by Pavel Tsatsouline, an internationally well-known fitness instructor from the former Soviet Union, I set out with high expectations. Pavel is a major proponent of the traditional Russian fitness tool, the kettlebell, as an exercise and strengthening tool. Legend has it that he introduced the kettlebell from Russia to the US back in 1998 by writing an article for the strength sports magazine MILO. In 2001, ‘The Russian Kettlebell Challenge’ was published, the first US-made Russian style kettlebell was manufactured and the first RKC instructor courses in the US were performed. Since then the RKC courses have spread all over the world and in 2010 were also introduced in Italy, headed by Senior RKC Instructor Fabio Zenin, a really cool guy.

The first thing that struck me about the course is that you are required to take off your shoes for all the workouts. Apparently shoes with soft soles, like running shoes compromise performance and might set you up for back or knee injuries. Discipline throughout the day was military-like – when the instructor tought the students silently follow lying on their tummies. Any disobedience was quickly followed extra kettlebell drills like 300m overhead kettlebell walks, farmer’s walks and lots of kettlebell swings. We soon learnt to pay attention, shut up and be quick. The instructors were tough but helpful, with a big warm heart. Their passion for helping and perfection of technique soon become evident, and took ample time screening all students for perfect movement patterns. I was impressed.

Movement progression

The great thing about RKC is that all movements are a progression of one to another. Starting from the deadlift, the movements progress to the swing, the clean and ultimately to the snatch. The foundational technique always remains the same. Basically kettlebell training is about 2 movements: pushing and pulling. Pushing movements include the kettlebell press and its variations and the horizontal press as in the Turkish Get-Up, and pulling movements such as the swings and its variations. I have never attended a course where the progression was as evident as in the RKC.

The foundational lifts

RKC Level 1 covers the following foundational lifts:

The sumo deadlift

The deadlift teaches you how to lift an object off the floor, therefore making it probably the most functional of all movements. After all everybody picks stuff up from the floor once in a while. Problem is, most people do it wrong.

Here’s the right way:

Bend your knees slightly, then bend over from the hips keeping you back straight or slightly curved. This is not as simple as it sounds! Many people find it extremely difficult to bend over from the hips while maintaining neutral spine position. Lack of neutral spine during a lift is a recipe for spine or disc damage in the short or long run. The weight (object must be) positioned between your feet, ideally over the centre of your feet, but never in front. Lift the weight by bringing your hips forward , straightening your knees and hips. Once in an upright position assume a rigid position by contracting your quads, glutes and abdominals. This makes your body strong and protects your back. All swings progress from the deadlift, so it is imperative that you get this movement right before attempting any swings.

The swing

The swing is a ballistic movement, just like a bullet. An initial acceleration drives the kettlebell through the legs until it ‘floats’ in mid-air in the forward position. The acceleration comes from the hamstring and gluteus muscles which contract in a powerful way in the beginning of the movement. The forward movement of the hips ‘throws’ the arms forward until the arms are in a horizontal position. Variations of the swing include the towel-swing, the power swing, the overspeed swing and the 1-arm swing.

The clean

The Clean serves to rack the kettlebell in preparation for a press or for a front squat. With the upper arm tight against the rib cage, elbow bent and the wrist neutral, the kettlebell is held tight against the chest.

The snatch

This is undoubtedly the toughest of all swing variations. In the snatch the kettlebell finishes with the arm in a vertical, locked-out position, wrist in neutral and the ball of the kettlebell resting against the forearm. The art is to minimise impact of the kettlebell on the forearm in the top position by spearing the hand forward before lockout and making the kettlebell rest on the forearm with minimum impact. On the way down the kettlebell rotates in the fingers to minimise grinding effect on the palms and fingers. I found out how NOT to do this the hard way – the skin on my palms I still growing back.

The press

From the racked position following a clean, the kettlebell is pressed overhead. To generate maximum power, keep the quads and glutes tight, abs braced and use power breathing to enhance strength.

The Turkish get-up

The Turkish get-up is a challenging, full-body movement. The idea is to get up from a lying position on the floor into an up-right standing position and back with a kettlebell in a pressed out overhead position at all times. The move is very technical, and to learn it, must be broken down into its components. It’s a great full body conditioning movement, working practically every muscle in the body.

The squat

Kettlebell variations of the squat include the front squat and goblet squat. Emphasis is placed on full range of movement (thighs parallel to floor or below), neutral spine and abdominal bracing for a strong and safe back.

Richard Geres is an ACE-certified

Personal Trainer

www.richardgeres.com Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Russian Kettlebell Challenge (RKC) certification course in Vicenza, Italy.

Hailed to be the world's first and premiere kettlebell instructor certification programme and headed by Pavel Tsatsouline, an internationally well-known fitness instructor from the former Soviet Union, I set out with high expectations. Pavel is a major proponent of the traditional Russian fitness tool, the kettlebell, as an exercise and strengthening tool. Legend has it that he introduced the kettlebell from Russia to the US back in 1998 by writing an article for the strength sports magazine MILO. In 2001, ‘The Russian Kettlebell Challenge’ was published, the first US-made Russian style kettlebell was manufactured and the first RKC instructor courses in the US were performed. Since then the RKC courses have spread all over the world and in 2010 were also introduced in Italy, headed by Senior RKC Instructor Fabio Zenin, a really cool guy.

The first thing that struck me about the course is that you are required to take off your shoes for all the workouts. Apparently shoes with soft soles, like running shoes compromise performance and might set you up for back or knee injuries. Discipline throughout the day was military-like – when the instructor tought the students silently follow lying on their tummies. Any disobedience was quickly followed extra kettlebell drills like 300m overhead kettlebell walks, farmer’s walks and lots of kettlebell swings. We soon learnt to pay attention, shut up and be quick. The instructors were tough but helpful, with a big warm heart. Their passion for helping and perfection of technique soon become evident, and took ample time screening all students for perfect movement patterns. I was impressed.

Movement progression

The great thing about RKC is that all movements are a progression of one to another. Starting from the deadlift, the movements progress to the swing, the clean and ultimately to the snatch. The foundational technique always remains the same. Basically kettlebell training is about 2 movements: pushing and pulling. Pushing movements include the kettlebell press and its variations and the horizontal press as in the Turkish Get-Up, and pulling movements such as the swings and its variations. I have never attended a course where the progression was as evident as in the RKC.

The foundational lifts

RKC Level 1 covers the following foundational lifts:

The sumo deadlift

The deadlift teaches you how to lift an object off the floor, therefore making it probably the most functional of all movements. After all everybody picks stuff up from the floor once in a while. Problem is, most people do it wrong.

Here’s the right way:

Bend your knees slightly, then bend over from the hips keeping you back straight or slightly curved. This is not as simple as it sounds! Many people find it extremely difficult to bend over from the hips while maintaining neutral spine position. Lack of neutral spine during a lift is a recipe for spine or disc damage in the short or long run. The weight (object must be) positioned between your feet, ideally over the centre of your feet, but never in front. Lift the weight by bringing your hips forward , straightening your knees and hips. Once in an upright position assume a rigid position by contracting your quads, glutes and abdominals. This makes your body strong and protects your back. All swings progress from the deadlift, so it is imperative that you get this movement right before attempting any swings.

The swing

The swing is a ballistic movement, just like a bullet. An initial acceleration drives the kettlebell through the legs until it ‘floats’ in mid-air in the forward position. The acceleration comes from the hamstring and gluteus muscles which contract in a powerful way in the beginning of the movement. The forward movement of the hips ‘throws’ the arms forward until the arms are in a horizontal position. Variations of the swing include the towel-swing, the power swing, the overspeed swing and the 1-arm swing.

The clean

The Clean serves to rack the kettlebell in preparation for a press or for a front squat. With the upper arm tight against the rib cage, elbow bent and the wrist neutral, the kettlebell is held tight against the chest.

The snatch

This is undoubtedly the toughest of all swing variations. In the snatch the kettlebell finishes with the arm in a vertical, locked-out position, wrist in neutral and the ball of the kettlebell resting against the forearm. The art is to minimise impact of the kettlebell on the forearm in the top position by spearing the hand forward before lockout and making the kettlebell rest on the forearm with minimum impact. On the way down the kettlebell rotates in the fingers to minimise grinding effect on the palms and fingers. I found out how NOT to do this the hard way – the skin on my palms I still growing back.

The press

From the racked position following a clean, the kettlebell is pressed overhead. To generate maximum power, keep the quads and glutes tight, abs braced and use power breathing to enhance strength.

The Turkish get-up

The Turkish get-up is a challenging, full-body movement. The idea is to get up from a lying position on the floor into an up-right standing position and back with a kettlebell in a pressed out overhead position at all times. The move is very technical, and to learn it, must be broken down into its components. It’s a great full body conditioning movement, working practically every muscle in the body.

The squat

Kettlebell variations of the squat include the front squat and goblet squat. Emphasis is placed on full range of movement (thighs parallel to floor or below), neutral spine and abdominal bracing for a strong and safe back.

Richard Geres is an ACE-certified

Personal Trainer

www.richardgeres.com