Russian Kettlebell TestimonialsRKC vs
USMC PRT my personal experience
Lately there has been an ongoing
debate about the effectiveness of RKC both towards combat fitness and fitness
in general. I'll give an example of what happened to me. I downloaded the USMC
PRT PDF, posted below by GARM, over a year ago, I worked hard at it for a three
months with poor results. After 3 months I was barely able to squeak out 3 and
1/2 pullups. I could barely run 2 miles. Go ahead and laugh. Enter PTP, then
RKC, within 5 weeks I could do 13 pullups via GTG.
I will take RKC any day over
this type of PT, however, I will do whatever it takes to obtain my objective.
IMO RKC is the best way. I recently passed a full USMC PFT without even
training for it. I can do more pushups now than ever, without even training
them. The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle. But there is
no reason why the Marines or any other branch of Armed Forces should not
substitute their current PT program with RKC.
Flame away.
From: Christian Rubio. Date/Time: 2002-04-07
Results @
Maxercise
I began RKBC at Maxercise. In three weeks I have lost a considerable
amount of body fat. My strength endurance levels have never been higher and my lower
back pain is diminishing. In three
weeks, I am going to substitute a PTP routine.
I will keep you posted on my future progress and thank you for the great
info you put out there.
p.s. Steve is the man!
From: Robert Monti. Date:
Pavel,
Jump experience!
Hey, Pavel did you ever get to
jump
Actually, what I wanted to tell
you is that I can tell a noticeable difference from my last jump from doing
your training with Kettlebells, and GTG with Pistols and Chin-ups. While
everyone else was struggling with the simple task of sitting down and getting
back up after they rigged up in their parachute, I had no problem thanks to all
those Pistols. Also my chute was lighter feeling and didn.t bother my lower
back one bit.
Here.s a funny story too... when
it was time to get rigged up I went over to one of our team Sgt..s who has been
giving me a bad time about my KB training and asked him if he would like me to
rig him up. This guy is at least 230 pounds and I made sure to get his harness
extra snug, since I know male soldiers appreciate that by the expressions on
their faces. I.ll just leave it at that. Although, it was pretty funny when I
was tightening his back straps and the jumpmaster starting laughing and said
something to the effect of how he didn.t think it was possible for a big guy
like that Sgt. to comprise so well. Needless to say, my team.s going to the
field next week and you better believe I.m throwing at least one of my KB.s in
my Hum-V and that team Sgt. whom I rigged up today said he was going to give
them a try. They.re slowly breaking down... kind of scary.
Airborne and loving it,
Tonya
From: tonya1980. Date/Time:
2002-03-06
Another
"What the heck" effect
Ok, been hitting the K-bells
with a vengeance as hard as I safely can. I'll admit, I get snickered at for
using them, but I didn't care because I just knew they would help me out in my
athletic endeavors. Well, today I got some proof. My wife and I ordered a king
sized bed and it finally came in today. No problem, except that we live four
flights up! To guys show up to deliver the bed. Me being me, I jump in and take
on my fair share. The stairwell is really tight so we had to slide it up the
banister at times. We were just about to make the final turn when something
went wrong and the whole thing started going over the banister. Now for as long
as my loving wife has been waiting for this bed I was fully prepared to sail
right over the banister with it in the hopes that the body cast I would
probably be in next time I saw her would get me a few sympathy points.
Otherwise she would just say, "why didn't you try to catch it" and I
would be in the doghouse. I grabbed to the box it was in and latched down for
all I was worth (K-bell forearms!!) By reflex I locked down my abs and
tightened every muscle in my body. This move alone is probably the ONLY reason
I didn't throw out my back. After a few seconds of "Oh my God I can't
believe I caught it!" I wrestled it back onto the banister and up the
stairs.
THANK YOU PAVEL!!!!!!! Not only
am I stronger, but lifting (and not just weights) SMARTER!!!-Medic1
From: Medic1. Date/Time: 2002-02-06
Worth
Every Penny!
First workout today with the 53
Lbs. KB. Loved every minute of it. That and the 36 Lbs. were the best
investments I've ever made! Love sweating on a cold, winter morning!
From: RickyB. Date/Time: 2002-03-17
I have already enjoyed the
"what the hell" carryover from KB swings & snatches. I went from
a difficult PR of 300 to a comfortable PR of 325, without any deadlifting for
approximately six weeks prior to the PR.
Now Pavel has given me a
systematic way to work into my deads.
From: Johno Date/Time: 2002-04-09 20:56:06
Kettlebells
and One Arm Pushups...Results
I have the 1 pood and 1.5 pood bells.
In my youth I could do about 15 one arm pushups on my right arm and 10 on my
left. I had not tried to do them for about a year. A year ago I could do 3 or 4
on my right and struggled to do 1 one on my left. I work with teenagers and one
of them was attempting to do handstand pushup. I asked if he ever did one arm
pushups and proceeded to demonstrate. I did 10 on my right and was able to
bring my hand completely off the floor about 1.5 inches on each rep! I am 44
years old and I could not do that in my twenty's. The kid I was demonstrating
for was as shocked as I was. I then did 10 on my left. ( no bounce).
I started doing my KB workouts
in late October and my workouts have been haphazard. I usually manage 2 to 5
workouts weekly. And I probably took at least 5 weeks off during this time due
to hand and finger problems because of poor technique.
I am completely sold on KB
workouts. I have lost about 2 inches on my waist and I feel great. My Aikido
practice has improved greatly since I started. Power, speed and balance,
endurance and wind, have all improved. I am getting the 2 pood KB for
Valentines Day. This KB workout is got to be the best thing that I have every
done.
From: Aiki4me. Date/Time:
2002-02-10
Re:
Kettlebells meet aikido
As you can tell by my nick,
Aikido is my chosen martial art. I have had the same observations. I have been
training RKC since October. First with the 1 pood and added the 1.5 about 2
months ago. I often get to be the crash test dummy (uke) for tests. During and
after Randori, I would be sweating buckets and sucking wind. Now I barely break
a sweat and don.t get winded hardly at all. Not bad for a 45 year old smoker.
Soon to be ex-smoker. A few more things I noticed.
1. Better connection with Nage's
center.
2. Shock resistance improved.
3. Wrist strength improved
greatly. (Handy when working with newbies on Nikyo and Kotegashi.)
4.Improvement in Ki extension.
5.Hand and foot speed is faster.
6. Two year old shoulder injury
is much better than before. (Injured when arm collapsed during standing forward
roll)
From: Aiki4me. Date/Time: 2002-03-24
Re: Hey
Brett, What are your secrets for increasing verticals?
Andy68,
There really isn't any secret. I
feel the increase was due to the KB.
In grooving the hip thrust and
the coordinated triple extension of the hip, knee, and ankle, I was finally
able to use the power available to me in my jumping.
Of course the dynamic tension
and power breathing are an integral part of the program.
Hope this helps...
PTP
Brett
From: BJones RKC. Date/Time: 2002-02-19
Kettlebell
WOW
I have my kettlebell three weeks
now and WOW! So far my back and shoulders are growing and getting cut up all at
once and my forearms look like Popeye's.
I can't stop eating but I
haven't gained an ounce but have lost an inch in my waist.
Thanks to Comrade Pavel
From: Robert
Arciola. Date/Time:
KB magic
I went to
Arthur
From: aet51. Date/Time: 2002-02-18
Re: People
of Dragon Door!
Steve,
I think responses you've gotten
outline most of the Party info on why KB are better than DB. As a relatively new
addition to the forum, about six months, just let me comment on my experience.
1) I did snatches with DB for a
few months awaiting purchase of KB and using lighter weights. The KB is another
animal, for all the reasons you've heard. The exercises that can be done with
the DB are about 75% "complete" in my opinion, compared to the KB
versions. Just as one example, with the Snatches, there is a whole different
pattern of grip work required as you tense-relax-tense your grip.
2) The KB marries strength, agility,
balance and technique. Primitive yet sophisticated. A minute to learn, a
lifetime to master, etc.
3) I started with a one pood and
1.5 pood; I have added a second 1 pood. In the course of time I will have two
sets of all three, but no rush, the little ones can be plenty punishing.
4) There is also a primitive
psychological allure, similar to that felt by anyone who loves
"iron." There is also an element of doing something that is edgy, and
that has a component of danger. There are four or five guys on any given day in
my gym doing DB snatches, etc. There is one guy, me, doing KB work. Most of
those four or five DB guys clearly want to try the KB, those that have given
them a shot are amazed at the difference.
I don't know how much you hang
around this forum, but you have gotten feedback from some top people that I've
learned a lot from. You won't be disappointed if you give the KB a try. Plus,
you've got Andy's money back guarantee; it doesn't get any better than that.
Good training.
Barry
From: Barry1001. Date/Time: 2002-02-25
Progress
after RKC class
Greeting to all of St. Paul RKC
folks! I only started PTP back in Nov. and I had never done a DL before. I
started with 45lbs (I am female, 5'2", 110lbs soaking wet, age 42). Just
before the RKC class, I had made it to 105lbs for 5 reps and it was time to
cycle. I got back from the class and I made it to 130lbs for 5 reps! Thanks
Pavel and everyone else in the class.
From: Beth_RKC. Date/Time: 2002-03-05
PTP &
RKC very functional for me
Comrade I can only speak for
myself but I have found PTP and RKC lifting programs to be extremely applicable
to martial arts, and working construction. I have tried other methods of
lifting and found them detrimental to anything outside of a weight room. Even
without kettlebells high rep DB snatches have had a "what the hell"
effect of improving my ability to balance heavy objects over my head and
explosively lifting irregularly shaped objects, grappling and striking. I apply
the full tension methods Pavel teaches whenever I have to lift or hold anything
particularly heavy. It helps me at work even though that is not the specific
goal of my training.
That having been said, I think
you would have a hard time finding any exercise that wasn't functional on some
level. I prefer the basic lifts (squats, DL, side press, standing press,
cleans, snatches) because I find they give me the most return for the time
invested. Serious athletes usually have a carefully planed year long periodized
program of general physical preparation and sport specific exercises. Even then
I think that PTP and RKC will have a great deal to offer during certain phases
of any athlete's training cycle. For me, "Functional" is a shorter
way of saying "practical, efficient training that provides strength and
endurance for situations found outside of weight training gyms". This of
course is just my opinion. Perhaps the more knowledgeable Comrades on this
board will give their interpretations of "functional".
From: Black Coffee. Date/Time:
2002-02-14
Hi!
My name is Brenda Delos Santos
and own South Bay Jeet Kune Do with my husband Bobby Delos Santos.
We both use KettleBell as a
cornerstone of our training and has made a tremendous difference in our over all
performance and appearance!
Thanks,
Brenda Delos
From:
fat loss
redux - most mileage from a 1 pood KB?
6 weeks of mostly KB workouts
have dropped an inch off my waist and burned off a lot of fat. My overall
weight has not changed a bit, and I seem stuck at 212 lbs. My body seems to
adopt to new exercise very quickly and doesn't like to use up much of its fat
reserves... I take in about 2600 cal/day, following a Clarence Bass type diet:
plenty of veggies, fruit, nuts, nearly zero processed foods, and about 180g
protein.
What's the best way to increase
the intensity of the KB workouts to try to kick some more fat away? I've
started adding the breathing snatch ladders in Pavel's latest newsletter.
Should I compress rest periods more? I already will jog or jump rope for 30
seconds or so then rest for 30 sec between
KB sets. All I've got is the 1
pood KB, it'll be May before I can afford the 1.5.
From: Brian G. Date/Time: 2002-03-06 07:23:23
Thanks for
the info Com. Pavel!
I recently pulled 375 a PR
single for me after about two and a half weeks of fairly heavy triples and then
sets of 5 thereafter for the Bear variation.
I'm doing RKC training now, but I wonder if when I get back to PTP if I
can pull 405. When I did the 375 pull,
it was heavy, but came up smoothly! I've
been doing RKC ballistics incorporated with PTP Bear Benches and Clean and presses. The PTP bench and the clean and presses are
done three days per week, before any ballistics with a 55 lb dumbbell. I'll do circuits with the ballistics. For example, a set of 10 reps each arm of
swings, rest the amount of time it took to
perform the set, then same with
cleans, then same with snatches. At
most,
I've done 6 sets of ten reps
each arm, and I am dripping with sweat.
Is this OK to increase my pull later on.
Also, I've noticed that even though my calories are slightly down now,
I've lost fat in the last week and a this, even though I was trying to gain
weight on the PTP Bear Deads?
Thanks for your anticipated
assistance and advice.
From: Nick Radonjic. Date/Time:
MWR wants
Kettlebells, maybe...!! Pavelizer
I approached the office, which
manages our Gym here at Eagle Base about securing my Kettlebell there for my
use. I spoke with Ed Winters, a program
director with Moral Welfare and Recreation.
MWR runs the gyms in the Army and this is a civilian organization run
with non-appropriated funds. He became
interested and I shared your most recent article in MM about the Marines and my
RKC book with him. He expressed interest
in possibly buying some Kettlebells and logging use for a potential mass buy
for the entire IFOR area!
Putting this in perspective, It
is my belief now that Kettlebell training will result in better results in
preparing soldiers for the new US Army PT Test.
It consists of: one mile run, 100m sprint, standing long jump, some sort
of bodyweight squat, pushups and the "Heel Hook", which is a hanging
leg raise which ends with the legs wrapped around the overhead bar. There is quite a bit of nervousness with
soldiers about this test. The test will
probably be in this form when approved some time this year. My problem with the new PT program is the
majority of exercises require partners to do effectively. Teamwork is awesome but for National
Guard/Reserve soldiers, they are not usually around training partners the
majority of the time to do these exercises effectively.
Female
soldiers/civilians/everyone bitch about not wanting to gain muscle but just
want to "tone up" and loose fat.
Well RKC seems perfect for them!
A strong selling point and one that I told him.
Your RKC training/BPA seems to
be the most effective solo military oriented physical training I have ever
encountered. One of the STRONG selling
points for your program is it can be done solo effectively.
I believe it would be beneficial
to put on a demonstration in the Gym of the Kettlebells. I am in the process of getting some bigger
ones than my 1 pood. We have aerobics
classes here, why not Kettlebell classes!
When I get more confident in my Kbell abilities and some coaching from
my Russian friend I might be able to do this.
This could really help many people.
Take care,
Chuck
From: Charles
Fair Date/Time:
Hacking
fat off meat
In the last few months I've
hacked off about twenty-five pounds of lard without even cutting out the
goodies or doing any special eating plan, simply by doing three RKC workouts
per week, each of which averages the equivalent of around 120 reps of two pood
ballistics, floor to full overhead. I usually keep wheezing the whole workout,
ie, I keep the rest breaks relatively short.
From: Craig N. Date/Time
2002-03-11
Results/Comments
on week 3 of RKC
I've been on RKC for three
weeks. My first week, I couldn't even do a straight set of 50 two arm swings
without getting so sore that I had to take an extra day off between workouts.
This week's results are in.
With a 25 lb. DB:
100x1 one arm swings (50 each
arm)
100x1 two arm swings
100x1 cleans/snatch(?) (50 each
arm)--make sure to snatch ABOVE shoulder level.
20x1 one arm snatch (semi
C&J)
Rests around 60 seconds
It's almost time to start adding
weight.
2nd workout: pullup/dip ladders
to 5
When I can get all the reps, I'm
going to start adding weight. Oh God, I'm going to need KBs before I can even
afford them! Next week is going to feature some Hindu squats (playing by the
same rules) and a couple of Martial Arts specific drills.
In other news, I'm notably
"thicker" in the shoulders and traps. The inner "teardrop"
of my quad is stronger, and I've got cuts in my delts for the first time since
high school Lacrosse. Time to break out the tank tops, too, as it was 78
degrees in beautiful
From: dogchild. Date/Time: 2002-04-07
Help with
kettlebells
Mike,
I have had our athletes use
kettlebells since March of 2001 here at
I have been putting it in with
our Olympic lifting routine. The one arm Kettlebell Snatch is best. I like the
one and two arm swings. I will never give up the Olympic style lifts with our
athletes but kettlebells are a great addition. I strongly recommend Pavel's
Kettlebell book and video. As for myself I have been using the kettlebells. I
am 47 years old and have severe (grade 5) osteoarthritis in my right knee due
to a wrestling injury that when the doctors took out all of my medial meniscus.
I can even use the 72 lber., and it doesn't bother my knee as much as when
getting up to 90 kgs. on power cleans. I basically have had to give up the
Olympic lifts with bumpers for the kettlebells!
In Strength,
Ethan Reeve
From:
Ethan Reeve. Date/Time: 2002-02-23
Re: Q for Coach
Reeve
vorpalblade,
We have 20 platforms with 20
squat stands, 20 power racks, 20 utility benches
(0-90), 20 Olympic bars, 20
power bars, 20 sets of 10-15-20-25 kgs. bumper plates, 20 chin bars, and a lot
of metal plates. We do everything as a team.
We can get our 60 varsity travel
team to workout at one time. We run our workouts like a sport coach would run a
sport practice. So, it is very important that we have plenty of everything we
use. We don't have a lot of frills in our weight room. We are looking to have a
pair of 18-36-54-72 lbs. kettlebells at each one of our 20 platform stations.
Does anyone else do this? I'm not sure!
I believe we could be the first in this country. Can't speak for the rest of
the world. I have always wanted to train as a wrestler with kettlebells. I
didn't know anyone in this country that used them or made them. Too bad! I
learned more about them like many of the other folks on this forum, through
Pavel. I think kettlebells are more functional than dumbbells on the standup
explosive lifts. So, I would prefer them rather buying dumbbells for each
platform. Problem is where to store them at each platform. I'm going to have to
design a rack unless someone on the forum has already done so.
In Strength,
Ethan reeve
From: Ethan Reeve. Date/Time: 2002-03-28
PROGRESS!!!
Comrades, it seems just like it
almost happened overnight. As you all well know, around the holidays I was
porked up to 242 and I regret not measuring bf then, but I'll estimate and say 19-22%.
Anyway, after the holidays I started kicking ass and taking names with the
kbells and dropped 20 pounds in a short amount of time, it was a little less
than a month. Anyway, after that I hit a plateau, even though I was trying to
eat healthy and work out hard. Then I did 2 things differently, 1) I started
doing very intense kbell circuits instead of doing 10-20 reps of snatch for
example, then resting for 30 seconds and doing more sets until I got a
specified number of reps. And 2) I took the advice of all the Comrades and said
to hell with fancy shmancy diets or nutrition programs, I went back to basics
and burned up more than I took in. I eat 5 meals a day and stick to higher
protein diet w/fresh fruits and veggies for my carbs. Anyway I said all that to
say this: The last weigh in and bf measurement I had was on January 28, I was
221 and 17.5%, well since then when I made the 2 adjustments I knew my pants
were starting to feel almost normal again, back when I was trying to be a
bodybuilder in the summer and was in my best shape (ha ha, please no bb
comments, I have seen the light), this morning I weighed in at 216 and 15.3%bf.
It's insane, the kbells are just melting my fat away and I'm loving every
minute of it. Look out single digit body fat and visible abs, here I come!!
From: Fish. Date/Time: 2002-02-08
My Take on
DBs vs. KBs...
I've followed the threads. Talk
about digressions and tangents.
Hey! I'm a Scot. Frugality oozes
from my very pores. Yeah, kettlebells are kind of expensive. They will last
forever unless you manage to set off a half-pound of Plastique in your
basement/garage/backyard. As for the cost, go find your nearest foundry and
have them make you a kettlebell and then get back to us. If you can score a
real kettlebell in
I'm sure you can plug dumbbells
in for some kettlebell exercises. God knows I tried. Oh how I tried. You know
what? Trying to use dumbbells instead of kettlebells is like watching a black
and white filmstrip while your buddy's got the 47-inch digital plasma monitor
with surround sound. It just ain't the same and you will not be able to reap
the same kinds of benefits: motor and strength gains nor the same cardio
effects given the awkwardness of high-rep dumbbell "swings."
To sum up (and notice I didn't
mention Bruce Lee, Buddy Lee, Robert E. Lee, Lee Marvin, Lee Remick, Jerry Lee
Lewis, Jimmy Lee Swaggart, or Sara Lee) If you have kettlebells, well done. If
you don't, get em. If you can't afford em right now, don't worry the factory
will make more. If you will never be able to afford them, God bless you. Maybe
Travelocity or CheapAssTickets.com will offer a super special roundtrip to
Garrett
From: ScotPower. Date/Time: 2002-04-01
Kettle
bells and State Wrestling Champion
Pavel, I just wanted to let you
know how kettlebell training helped my 15-year old son win the 171 lb. 2A
Colorado State wrestling championship last month as a freshman (season record
was 49 wins, 2 losses, and 35 pins). He defeated a senior who was last years
171lb champion. He defeated seniors and juniors all season, in part, due to his
increased strength and explosive power that was a direct result of our
kettlebell training. We did KB presses every other day alternating with KB high
rep workouts on alternate days. He dominated his weight class and his only
losses were to the 3A 171lb champion and 3A 171lb runner-up, and that was early
in the season before we really got going with the program. We started with the
1 pood bells and then later added the 1 1/2 pod. We just received our 2 pod
bells and really enjoying them. No freshman in
From: Kbrenegade. Date/Time: 2002-03-20
Review of
RKC on Amazon.com
Pavel, I thought you might like to
see a review of the Russian Kettlebell Challenge that I posted on the
Amazon.com website:
(five stars) The Ultimate
Workout,
Reviewer: Rob Randhava (see more
about me) from
I agree wholeheartedly with what
David Cooke has to say about the Russian Kettlebell Challenge. Yes, it's
expensive, not a lot of text, and he spends a good deal of time promoting his
other products. Let me start with this: if the rest of his products are as good
as this book, I'm looking forward to cheerfully giving Pavel a lot more of my
hard-earned money.
I got hooked on the basic idea
of high-rep, ballistic dumbbell exercises about a month before I actually
shelled out the money for this book, when an issue of MuscleMedia magazine had
an article highlighting Pavel's book and a few of the exercises he recommends.
It was easy for me to jump right into it based simply on the magazine article
because I had a lot of experience with "Olympic" lifts like the clean
& jerk and the snatch. But I had never tried them with dumbbells before
(I'll get actual kettlebells eventually), and in two decades of lifting weights
I've never experienced anything like this before. It is incredibly grueling,
but the workout really does do everything that Pavel says it does: build
explosive strength, burn fat, tone up your muscles (actually more like it turns
them to steel). As exhausting as the workouts are, though, and as much as I
dread going into the gym most days to do it, it's also surprisingly easy on my back
and all the joints that usually ache after a "conventional" lifting
workout.
Bottom line is that at a few
months shy of 30, after only a few months of the "Russian Kettlebell
Challenge" (again, only using dumbbells for now), I'm heading towards
being in far better shape than I ever was in my late teens or early 20s. I'll
probably never go back to those outmoded, obsolete 21st century workouts again.
So why did I buy the book, if I
was already getting great results from a magazine article that I had only read
one time? For me it was because the book showed me more great "old
school" exercises . . . For example, I had never tried a "bent
press" or a "side press" before. Wow. Not too many barbell
exercises or "Hammer Strength" machines will set your lats,
shoulders, abs, obliques, triceps, and biceps on fire all at once, like a bent
press will.
Why should most people get this
book? I'd imagine that very few people know how to do lifts like the clean
& jerk or snatch correctly, and most people probably don't even know what a
bent press is! There is a lot of technique involved, and Pavel teaches you what
you need to know; i.e. how to do these potentially dangerous lifts properly and
- equally important - avoid dropping the weights on your head. He teaches them
in a way that comes across as very simple, though, and easy to learn - and with
a style that helps to get you motivated. Again, I'm totally with David Cooke on
this one: I challenge anyone - who's actually put this book to use - to come
forward and honestly say they didn't love the results!
From: Rob Randhava. Date/Time: 2002-01-03
Gains
since becoming "Pavelized"
After adding PTTP and RKC
techniques to my training ,my weighted dips have gone from 90 to 110 lbs for 5
reps(in 2 weeks!), weighted pull ups from 45 to
60 lbs. (neutral grip).
Using hi-rep snatches as the
main cardio exercise over a 2 week period, I achieved a min./mile time in a 5k
race that I normally would only achieve after a month of training using mostly
running. I plan to experiment with this further this spring race season. Who
knows, maybe I'll actually place in my age group! I move up to the next one
(50-55 yrs.) this June, so it should be easier!
At the RKC certification I was
unable to do deck squats, which I blamed on the lack of flexibility in my left
knee (due to a broken distal femur in 1987). With a little practice this
weekend, I can do them fairly easy. Maybe because I've doubled up on my Snatch
workouts since that fateful previous weekend.
This stuff really works. Thanks
to all those whose advice I've followed on this website, and especially to that
fine Russian gentleman whose name you all know!
From: John Sansone. Date/Time: 2002-02-25
Kbs
Definitely The Way To Go (long)
I just wanted to thank Pavel
once again. A little while ago I discovered this website and became interested
in functional strength and his training methods over the played out Joe Weider
methods and those of the muscle mag set. I bought Power To The People and read
it cover to cover! I trained using those methods for a month and the curiosity
about Kbs overwhelmed me. Whoever wrote up the sales pitch for the Russian KB
Challenge book and video is an expert salesman! I bought both the book and the
video and two KBs the 1 pood and the 1.5 pood and right now Im contemplating
two more matching KBs and maybe a lighter one for my wife! Well before I start
rambling, I just wanted to say I.ve never gotten such results from any weight
training of other type of exercise before!! I have been training 5 to 6 days
per week. Each day concentrating of different types of movements, one day
ballistics the next grind. Coupled with some bike riding and pullups I have
indeed changed my physique for the better! My goal is to look like the Hercules
rendition Pavel speaks of in the RKC book. And I have to say I.m getting there!
Following the program maximum rules is key and I try to keep practice sessions
to less than 45 minutes to 30 minutes. I.m starting to see the physique I had
10 years ago! I just wanted to say thank you all again, especially you Pavel!
Yours In Strength,
Comrade John
From: JohnnyK. Date/Time: 2002-04-12
An
overnight example of the KB "What the Hell?" effect
At work I have an Ironmind
Captains of Crush gripper, # 1. The most reps I could comfortably bang out was
7 or 8 with the right hand, and about 4 or 5 with the left.
Last week I got my 24 kg KB
(have had the 16 kg for a while). I did some sets of military presses with it
the first night (and tried and failed at doing the bottoms-up press), and it
felt like I had to grip harder/tighter than for any other exercise I've done. I
can side press at least 60 pounds, but the KB's thick handle made it much more
challenging than that.
So about 16 hours later I tried
the gripper, and I did 12 reps with the right hand and 10 with the left. Now I
can do at least 13 with each hand.
Yes, I made sure I was using the
#1 gripper and not the trainer. I did spray some WD-40 on the #1 several days before
because it squeaked pretty loud, but I didn't notice any difference in the
difficulty until after I played with the KB. My boss also uses the # 1 every
now and then, and he said it seemed the same.
I take it from this that my
nervous system started recruiting more fibers overnight. Would that be
accurate? Has anyone else had such an immediate experience like this with
weights or KBs? I'm still pretty surprised about it
Thanks for any comments!
From: Jsnow. Date/Time: 2002-02-18
Safety of
the one arm snatch? (decision time!)
The one armed snatch is quite
safe when performed according to the instructions. Take your time learning the
lift. I had a hard time figuring out the flip at the top. With a little
practice and some good tips from the members on this board I figured it out.
There are plenty of good exercises in there to work with until you have
perfected the snatch. You can get a good workout with high rep swings, cleans,
and jerks. Of course there is also a whole battery of Grind exercises for you
to do as well. Go get a KB and RKC I think you will be happier than with Combat
conditioning. You can always include some Combat conditioning drills in your
workouts but I don.t think you will find that necessary.
For inspiration, I dumped three
pounds this week using KB's. I am an experienced trainer who usually finds it
difficult to loose more than one pound a week most of the time. They really do
work.
From: Mongo. Date/Time: 2002-03-03
Went to
the Gym for the first time in months today...
I have been working out with
Kbells for over two months now, and haven't set foot in a gym during that time.
I also haven't pulled a deadlift, any deadlift whatsoever, in over a year and a
half. Did the following:
Military press- 150 for 6, 160
for 4, 150 for 4.
W.towel pullup- bw+85 for
5,5,4,4,3
One arm dumbbell clean and jerk-
80 for 5, 90 and 100 for 3, 105 and 115 and 120 for a single.
Deadlift- 135, 225, 275, 315,
365, 405, 435
At 168 pounds, I deadlifted 435
without deadlifting for a year and a half. Add to that the record 120 pound
clean and jerk, and I am a happy camper. The main thing is that I now I'm
getting everything I need from kettlebells. Strength, endurance, power,
strength-endurance..... truly awesome. Thanks Pavel...
From: Johnypullups. Date/Time: 2002-03-24
Kettlebell
carryover to volleyball=success
I haven't seen many posts
regarding athletic performance gains with kettlebell training so I want to
relate to the Party my success in the brief time I've been slinging around my
puny 1 pood kettlebell, more specifically as it relates to recovery. For over a
month my volleyball team hasn't played in a tournament due to scheduling
conflicts, injuries, etc. and during that time I've been practicing mostly the
ballistic drills, swings and one-armed snatches with some military presses
thrown in. Well, after an all day tournament yesterday, with 6 matches that
lasted up to an hour each, I finally got to see what everyone has been raving
about for myself. Although I didn't notice an increase in my vertical leap I
was able to jump just as high and come in for my approaches just as fast at the
very end of the day as the beginning. I play one of the most physically
demanding positions in volleyball, middle blocker, and normally the day after a
tournament I can hardly walk and experience delayed onset muscle soreness in
nearly every muscle in my body, especially my abs and legs but I woke up this
morning with hardly any ill effect. It's unbelievable! I'm the grizzled veteran
on my team at 34 but after long rallies when my much younger teammates were
sucking wind I felt fine and after the last match when they were all hobbling
around, moaning and groaning I felt fresh as a daisy. Who knew kettlebells
could have such a profound effect?
From: majorwoody. Date/Time: 2002-02-11
Kettlebells
RULE!!! (longish PR ramblings)
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