The Great Pumpkins: AKC's 28kg Kettlebells

After making Rank I earlier this month, I immediately set my sights on acheiving my Candidate for Master of Sport ("CMS") ranking in 2010. According to an article on the Unified Sports Classification System of the USSR, Rank I equates to regional champion. Candidate for Master of Sport, often thought of as a bridge between the amateur and pro ranks, equates to being nationally ranked. At least that's what the article says here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Sports_Classification_System_of_the_USSR

I understand Russia and other former Soviet countries still use a similar system for classifying their athletes. My current ranking falls under the World Kettlebell Club auspices. Their ranking tables appear here:
http://worldkettlebellclub.com/ranks.php

To acheive the CMS ranking in Men's Long Cycle Clean and Jerk I'd need to perform 69 clean and jerks with two 28kg kettlebells. Weighing approximately 62 pounds, they are nearly nine pounds heavier than the 53 lb kettlebells I used to acheive my Rank I.
The only thing standing in my way of acheiving my CMS (other than months in the gym, ha ha) was my lack of 28kg kettlebells. If you are a follower of my blog you know that I consider the AKC/WKC kettlbells to be some of the best you can buy, and the absolute best buy for your money. I checked prices again before making this purchase. AKC was actually running a sale that made the bells even more affordable than ever. I emailed them to make sure they were in stock, then ordered two 28kg kettlebells. They arrived about a week later.
These bells are identical in quality and dimensions to the 24kg bells I ordered last summer. They are truly high-quality products. I'll let the photos do the rest of the talking.
I immediately opened them upon their arrival, only to be sharply rebuked by my wife. These bells were to be a X-mas present to me from my kids, and she was afraid they would see me with them. So I packed them back in their boxes and carried them inside for my wife and kids to wrap them. After the bells were wrapped, my kids asked me to carry them and place them under the X-mas tree ("Daddy we bought you some heavy rocks for X-mas; can you put them under the tree? Be careful, they are special rocks").
The children were so exicted to be giving me something that I really wanted,they asked me to open my presents first. Here is what I found:



Later, I took a few photos of them in my garage gym:



A close up. Notice the quality of the finish, particularly the handles:






The next competition tentatively scheduled in my area is Scott Shetler's GA State Championships in late June or early July. I plan to go for my CMS numbers on that day if logistics allow. Wish me luck.

I'll close with two more photos. One of my lovely wife, Rebecca (sporting her X-mas gifts from the kids and me: a peacock pearl necklace and emerald ear rings), who decided kettlebells would be a perfect X-mas gift for me from the kids, and my youngest child Maddie, displaying her favorite gift: a toy pig she named "Filthy". No I am not kidding.

Reflections on making Rank I

If you have followed this blog, you know that my goal for this year was to make the top amateur ranking (Rank I) in Long Cycle Clean and Jerk at the 2nd Annual American Kettlebell Club Southeast Kettlebell Sport Championship, hosted by Scott Shetler at his club "Extreme Conditioning & Fitness / Atlanta Barbell & Kettlebell Club", located at 2830 Peachtree Industrial Blvd. Suite AA - Duluth, GA 30097 (http://www.extreme-fitness.org/kettlebelltraining.html).
Let me start off by saying Scott is a class act; he knows a lot about kettlebell sport and physical training in general, he runs a great meet, and to top that off he's one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. I'm glad he's the kettlebell guru in my area.
The meet ran efficiently and on time. The competitors were all prepared and cordial, and surprisingly supportive of each other, even their direct competitors. Some of the biggest names in kettlebell sport were there, including Valery Fedorenko, Catherine Imes, and Eric Liford. I got to meet a number of friends I'd only talked to on various internet forums, and it was great to put a face with a screen name.
As for making Rank, I was pretty confident I'd make Rank, given that I'd made the numbers I needed in practice several times, and had even made my goal on a test day when I was pretty sick.
All that being said, I caught a bad cold several days before the meet, and it really sapped my stamina during the competition. I felt like I had no strength in my legs after 2:00 minutes into the set, and I began to doubt if I would make my goal (69 reps to make Rank I).
During the course of the set, other athletes would shout tips or words of encouragement. Chris Duffy offered his support, and even loaned me his wrist bands. David Elkins reminded me to drop the bells instead of just lowering them. And Valery Fedorenko himself gave me suggestions when I was two minutes away and a few reps shy of Rank. When he nodded with approval at one of my lockouts and said "good, good" I was so flattered I was speechless. Well, I was out of breath with the effort anyway, but even if I hadn't been I still would have been speechless. It was like having Robert Deniro watching you in acting class and telling you that you did well.
I ended up with 75 reps in 10:00, making Rank I, and won "Best Male Lifter" in the Long Cycle event.
I could not have been more proud.
Here is video of my effort:

GS Longevity

In my last post (WTH effect) I mentioned how there is a 63-year-old Latvian GS athlete who can best my Long Cycle personal record by 20 reps. It's actually worse than that:
He can beat it by 31 reps (He did 111 reps at a competition in Kerch, Russia, last February).
And he lifts in the weight class below me. His name is Adolfas Vejelis.
Not only that, but there is a 70-year-old GS athlete, Nikolaj Sazonov of the Ukraine, who can beat my pr by 10 reps.
He did 90 reps at the same Kerch competition.
He lifts four weight classes below me.
These men are lifting the same size kettlebells that I use (two 24 kg/52.8 lb kettlebells).
These GS facts are simultaneously humbling and encouraging. On the one hand, every time I start to feel too proud about my progress, seeing the results of a masters or veterans match from Russia and the performance of men older than my father humbles me in a hurry.
On the other hand, I know that, as a 40-year-old athlete that's new to competition lifting, I can reasonably expect to improve and perform at a high level for decades to come (guys who hope to date my daughters in the coming years, take note: I plan to be stronger than you even when I'm drawing Social Security).
These athletes I have mentioned are not aberrations. Although they are high-level athletes, their continued success and acheivement is not unusual for older GS athletes who put in dedicated training time. Another GS blogger featured a similar post on another older GS athlete here: http://kahvakuula.fi/artikkelit/interview-with-eduard-trusevich/
This promise of increased strength, stamina, and work capacity at any age, along with an exceedingly low rate of injury, attract me to GS more than anything. I can't imagine myself ever quitting.
Special thanks to Smet, who's thread topic at the IGX forum inspired this post. Here are the official results from the Kerch comp:


Here is 62-year-old Eduard Trusevich of Latvia finishing the last minute of a 220 rep snatch set with the 24kg kettlebell at the Ventspils Atlans comp in 2007:

WTH effect

The term "What the hell effect" was first coined on the Dragondoor.com forum about eight years ago, when kettlebell lifters began noticing unexplained improvements in their performance of various activities seemingly unrelated to kettlebell lifting. Folks reported improvements in everything from one-armed pullups to distance running, even when they had abandoned training those activities altogether. People were so surprised by their success after doing nothing but kettlebells for exercise, that they exclaimed "what the hell!" when they unexpectedly bested a previous personal record. It seemed like kettlebell training was magic.
Not everyone who lifts kettlebells experiences the "WTH" effect, and some people doubt its existence altogether.
I don't know if my experience tonight counts as a WTH experience, because it only makes sense that kettlebell lifting strengthens the lifter's hands to a great degree. Here is what happened:
I went to Kmart to get a new watch battery. The sales staff at the watch counter could not loosen the screws on the watch to remove the old battery. They told me I'd need to take the watch somewhere with better screwdrivers, as they were afraid they'd strip the screws with the set they had, since no one could budge the screws.
I asked them to hand me the jeweler's screwdriver they were using. I could only use my thumb and index finger to turn the screwdriver since I was holding my toddler in my arms at the time, so I could not really bear down with any strength. Basically, I just used two fingers to turn the screw.
I loosened all four screws with ease using just two fingers. The jaws of the sales staff dropped to the counter. "Oh my God, you are strong" said one of the clerks.
I relate this anecdote not to glorify myself. I know there are probably dozens of teenage girl kettlebell lifters in Siberia who can outlift me. I read the other day of a 63-year-old Latvian man who can best my personal record in Long Cycle by 20 reps.
My point is, kettlebell lifting gives you real-world, walking around, every day strength you can use. You get the strength where you need it, especially in the back and hands.
I am not naturally strong. But I have enjoyed the benefits of the practical strength that kettlebells develop.
In the meantime, I'm still looking for a watch battery. It turns out Kmart was sold out, as was the drug store on the way home. Looks like I'm headed to Wal-mart and Target tomorrow.

Kettlbell Competition(s)

So many of you know I plan to compete in the 2nd Annual American Kettlebell Club Southeast Kettlebell Sport Championship in the Atlanta area on December 5th. I'm hoping to acheive my "Rank I" level classification in the long cycle event at that event. For my weight class that means cleaning and jerking two 24kg kettlebells for at least 69 reps in 10 minutes.
Since my last entry I have bested that goal twice in training. On one test day, I acheived 80 reps in just under 10 minutes. I video recorded this test on my cell phone. Since then, I haven't been able to locate my adapter to load the video on to my computer and post it to the web for critiques. Regardless, I've watched my performance and I think I may need to work on my lockouts to make sure every rep counts on competition day. So instead of working on increasing pace or duration, I've been working on crisp lockouts for every rep.
This post isn't just about kettlebell lifting competition. The competition in the marketplace has changed. Since my last Kettlebell Comparison post, a number of companies began offering competition style kettlebells, while others have improved their quality. Ader and Agatsu are now offering competition style kettlebells that appear to be similar in quality to the AKC kettlebells. And, based on forum postings (including photos) at IGX, Perform Better has improved the quality of their competition style kettlebells, particularly in the handle area. Prices are always subject to change, but based on my recent review of prices, AKC kettlebells still seem to be the best deal on the market. Still, it looks like their competitors now offer a good product at a good price. This can only benefit the consumer. I am glad that the competition style kettlebell is becoming more the norm than the older style offered by Dragondoor. Hopefully, this means the sport will continue to grow.

Kettlebell Comparison: Quality differences

A few months ago, I wrote a piece on kettlebell comparisons. Here is the link:

http://southernkettlebeller.blogspot.com/2009/06/kettlebell-comparison.html

In that piece, I noted the differences in quality between the Perform Better kettlebells and the AKC kettlebells. It turns out, I did not know just how similar and how different they were.
In a nutshell, the PB kettlebll I bought is an AKC kettlebell, made in the same mold, to inferior standards. End of story.
I found out by accident. As I noted in the previous piece, the finish of the PB bell was of much poorer quality than the AKC bell, and the grey paint (epoxy?) was continually chipping off when it collided with the AKC bell during clean and jerks.
The finish got pretty rough, rough enough to scratch my shoulders raw during a workout. I decided to remove all of the finish, smooth it out, and paint it to match my AKC bell. Here is what I found:


If the name looks familiar, it is that of Valery Fedorenko, the KB champion who works with the AKC. His name is on every AKC bell. The circular hole below his name is where the Perform Better logo appeared before I stripped it off.
Here is a view of the same kettlebell when I first took it out of the box, untouched (please note, if you click on the photo, it will enlarge, and you can clearly see the perform better logo on the kettlebell):


Also of note is what I found on the other side:



All AKC bells have "WorldKettlebell.Com" on the reverse side. As did this Perform Better kettlebell, when I stripped off the finish.

Unlike the AKC bells, there are a number of deep gashes in the bell:







I didn't quite remove all of the finish. This bottom view of the bell shows the grey finish depicted in my previous post on the comparison:




What is the import of this information? Well, for the consumer, its obvious that the AKC bell is still the best buy. I had to spend a few hours to get the handle of my PB kettlebell smooth enough that it wouldn't pinch and tear my calluses. Once the finish started chipping off, I had to strip the rest off so it wouldn't scratch my shoulder raw every time I did long cycle or jerks. Now I'll need to sand it some more before its ready to re-finish. Let's just say that caring for the PB kb seems like it is a hobby unto itself.

I will say that PB has prompt, courteous customer service, and I received the kettlebell promptly. But they had no interest in refunding my price when I explained how rough the handle was and how long it would take to dremmel and file it to be usable. They explained that removing the finish was a no-no. I smile when I think about that now.
I have heard that the quality of PB kettlebells has improved, and if that is the case I'll provide an update and post new photos to verify it (if and when I receive any). In the mean time, I recommend the AKC bells as the best buy. If you know of any other kettlebells you'd like me to post on, please let me know.

Reflections on Sergey Rudnev's LC template

I just completed Sergey Rudnev's Long Cycle training template, as taken from one of my favorite sites, http://girevoysportafter40.blogspot.com/.
I tried to follow the recommended workouts, to the letter, with the following exceptions:

1. The template is written for GS athletes who are at/near the Master of Sport level, using the 32kg KB's. I am shooting for my Level I amateur ranking, so whenever it recommended using 32kg KB's, I used 24kg bells. When it called for 24kg KB's, I used 20kg KB's.

2. I was out of town for a few days of the cycle, and only had access to non-competition-style KB's. During that time I did a few workouts of one-armed long cycle using 60 lb Kb's. The night I returned home I resumed the program as written.

Other than that, I followed the plan very closely.
The program finishes with an 8 minute test set, with a recommended number of reps of 56-64. I completed 63 reps, with the following rpm's: 9,9,9,8,7,7,8,6. I averaged just under 8 rpm for the entire set. This was a pr for me for total reps, and tied my pr for time with this weight.
That being said, I was somewhat disappointed, in that I seemed to be progressing faster under the AKC approach.
I will say that I have grown used to a much faster pace, especially with the 20kg bells. With the shorter sets I am much faster with the 24kg than I previosuly was. And I think that is something to build on.
Additionally, I think the use of sprint work, so prevelant in this and other Russian programs, is less mentally taxing than what I've done before. It just was easier.
Honestly, I think the AKC approach may have gotten me faster and better results. But I rarely had a day when I dreaded looking at the kettlebells. Rarely did I finish a set and feel mentally exhausted as I did before. So I think this may be a more sustainable approach.
I am going to continue using Russia templates for my training. The next plan will be Russian EDT. This is plan I took from the same website, http://girevoysportafter40.blogspot.com/. Here is a link to the plan:
http://girevoysportafter40.blogspot.com/2009/08/thoughts-on-russian-edt.html
I'll let you know how it goes.
Finally, here is a shout out and congratulations to Marty Farrell, who became the first American to achieve Master of Sport in both the Biathlon and Long Cycle. A video of his Long Cycle achievement appears below.
Thanks for stopping by.

Trying a New Long Cycle Template

I've been focusing on Long Cycle for a few months now, and I've been very pleased with my progress.
The workout is performed 5-6 days a week. The template is one to two 5-7 minute sets, with the goal of increasing the rpm's or duration each workout. I got the idea from some folks at the AKC.
The approach has worked well. I've increased my 2x24kgs pr from 37 reps in 5 minutes (just over 7 rpm) to 59 reps in 7 minutes (just over 8 rpm). I've had multiple workouts where I've maintained over 10 rpm for several minutes. It seems I constantly set new pr's.
That being said, the template can be very draining. Even though my workouts take less than 20 minutes to complete (sometimes the core of it is only five minutes) those few minutes can be hell. Such hell that some days I don't want to pick up the bells. I've had several days where I've set a new pr one day, but crashed and burned the next. And even on the pr days, it was very very hard. Not just physically hard, but mentally hard. I've actually finished a five minute set where my brain was so exhausted I felt like I'd just taken a law school exam.
Recently I read of another training template for LC specialists. I found the template at another GS training blog. Here is the post featuring the template:

http://girevoysportafter40.blogspot.com/2008/08/long-cycle-and-otw.html

Tonight I tried Microcycle 1 day 1. It went very well. Here are my results:
LC 2x24kg 2 min 23 reps. rpms = 11,12.
Target rpms were 8rpm, 16 reps total.
Enjoyed this sprint.
Waited a few minutes, then
LC 2x20kg 3 min 35 reps. rpms = 12,12,11. just missed 12th rep min 3.
Target rpms were 10 rpm, 30 reps total.
Also enjoyed this sprint.

I think I will enjoy this approach. I may find that nothing works as well as what I have been using. It has served me well. But the mental fatigue was very draining. I had to find something to "wave the load" to make it easier mentally. This template may be the ticket.

Return to Long Cycle: continued progress despite injury

My knee keeps getting better. But its been very slow. Over a month after the dislocation, my knee remains stiff after I sit for more than 15 minutes at a time. Although it keeps getting better, I still look like an old man when I get out of my car after my 30 minute commute.
Despite the injury, I continue to set personal records ("pr's") in the Long Cycle, both for pace and total reps. Last night I had a 5 min 2x24kg set for 45 reps (9 rpm) and tonight, I set my total rep record of 59 reps in 7 minutes (rpms = 9,9,8,9,8,8,8). This is truly significant, in that my previous pr of 55 reps (set June 16) took 8 minutes to acheive with rpms of 7,7,7,7,7,7,6.
I had been wondering what changes I needed to make to continue my progress. Things like OAJ's with a heavier KB, or adding squats or heavy barbell cleans.
Given the success I'm having, despite the knee injury, I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing until it stops working.

Return to Long Cycle: Ups and Downs

As I said in the last post, I returned to training Long Cycle. My knee continues to improve, but its not 100%, and I think it will be a long time before it completely heals and is back to normal.
Despite that, I have set a number of pr's in my LC training since the last post. The chief accomplishment is the increase in my rpm's using the 20kg KB's for LC.
I had hoped to up my rpm's to 9 rpm for 5 minutes, and eventually 10 rpm for ten minutes in the next few months. In just a few workouts, I maintained over 10 rpm (close to 11) for 5-7 minutes. And last week I had a 98 rep 10 minute set, maintaining 10 rpm for eight minutes, and 9 rpm for the final two minutes.
I decided to return to 24kg KB's and had two workouts in which I met or exceeded 8 rpm for 5 minutes (42 reps and 40 reps respectively, both efforts bested my previous pr's from before the injury). I crashed and burned the next workout and only managed 8-9 rpm's with the 20kg bells before calling it quits.I just don't think I'm up to using the 24's every workout yet.
Still, I have progressed very quickly, despite the knee injury, and should be able to reach 69 reps with the 24's by December.
At this point I think its wisest for me to continue using the 20's for most of my workouts. I know KB orthodoxy would call for me to use the 24's for one set, then the 20's for another, and then some OAJ's with a heavier bell. But with my knee injury I think it's best to use lighter KB's to rehab my knee, and to work on pacing and longer sets than I could with the 24's.
I'll let you know how that works out.

Return to Long Cycle

Since injuring my knee (see last post) I spent several workouts working on the snatch and the one-armed long cycle. I slowly re-integrated double KB work, using the 20 KG bells instead of the 24's, and last night did a 10 minute set of long cycle. I averaged over 8 rpm, with a total rep count of 83.
Normally I'd just pick up the 24 KG bells and resume where I left off with long cycle. But my knee is still tender, and it's very stiff every time I sit for more than a few minutes. I look like an old man when I climb out of my car after my 30 minute commute to and from work. Once the knee loosens up I'm fine. But those first minutes after I get out of the car look pitiful. Thankfully, my cautious return to double KB lifting has not hurt the knee or caused any soreness.
Anyway, the knee is getting better but I'm cautious about returning full bore to double 24kg work. So my plan is to work on speed work with the 20kg bells. Tonight I'll try a five minute set at 9 rpm. I'll progressively up the pace and minutes until I can go 100 reps in ten minutes with the 20 KG's. When I reach that point I'll return to the 24's. At least, that is the plan.
My ultimate goal for the year is to make my Level I ranking at the Southeast Regionals in Atlanta on December 5th. That means at least 69 reps of Long Cycle with two 24's in ten minutes.
We'll see how that works out...

Knee Injury. Or, How I Became a Snatch Specialist

Yesterday I dislocated my knee. Although I've dislocated my knee more times than I can count, I have not injured it to this degree since I had reconstructive knee surgery in 1996. The irony here is that I did not dislocate the knee exercising (GS has a very low incidence of injury). I actually did it sitting down in the courtroom, in the middle of a rape trial. Long story, I'll spare you the details.

As you may know from a previous post, my favorite kettlebell exercise (and sporting event) is the Long Cycle Clean and Jerk aka "Long Cycle" or "LC" in Internet parlance. In addition to loving the LC for the total body workout it provides, I have progressed faster in the LC than I have in other lifts, and the positive training results have encouraged me to concentrate more on this exercise.
The legs are the prime movers for much of the LC, and it provides a much more intense stressor on the lifter's legs than the snatch. Using two kettlebells instead of one has a lot to do with that.

I had planned, based on my progress, to enter into a competition in the Men's LC event. In light of that, I had already shifted my workout focus to LC. I was even considering dropping the snatch completely from my workouts until the contest was over. Then I dislocated my knee.

Now the knee is pretty sore. Sore enough that I'm just not up to cleaning and jerking two 24kg KB's for 8-10 minutes at 7 rpm. Or, more accurately, I'm not up to cleaning and jerking any amount of weight right now for any period of time.

Fortunately, I can still get a good KB workout with the snatch. Because of the mechanics of the snatch, I can still do this lift for several minutes at a stretch without any stress on my knee. As a matter of fact, my knee felt better after an eight minute snatch set with my 20kg KB than it had all day.

So, while I'm waiting for the knee to heal up, I'll be concentrating on the One-Armed Snatch (OAS). Its not so bad. It's a weak link I need to work on, and here's my chance. In the mean time, I'll be formulating a plan to incorporate squats and stretching into my routine to ensure a proper muscle balance in my knee area. Wish me luck...

Here is a video of a KB expert, Bonnie Mullaney, working the snatch. She has also recently suffered an injury, although much more serious than mine(broken leg). Please remember her in your prayers. I wish her a speedy and full recovery.

Kettlebell Comparison

Kettlebells were not commonly available in the US for the last several decades of the 20th century. Then, in 2001, Dragondoor.com made kettlebells available to the US general public. These bells appear to be based on a very old kettlebell design, and more resemble the weight-measuring implement used for weighing grain than the modern physical training tool that has become standardized in size for international sport competition. Most Americans didn't know any better, and the kettlebells sold well for DD. Well enough, in fact, that a number of companies began selling knock-offs of the dragondoor product.
In the last few years, true Kettlebell Sport has grown in the US and other Western countries. To compete on the international level, American athletes needed true sport kettlebells, built on the standardized sport dimensions. The Amercian Kettlebell Club was the first organization to offer true sport Kettlebells in the US. In true American (and Chinese) fashion, it wasn't long before knock-offs appeared. (Edited to add: In September of 2009, three months after I first posted this blog entry, I learned that usgsf.com first imported sport kettlebells to the US in 2002, although few lifters were aware of this event. USGSF imports their kettlebells from Russia).
I bought my first competition-style kettlebell from Perform Better (performbetter.com). PB carries a number of differently styled kettlebells. Their "First Place Elite" Kettlebell is their competition-style model. The 20kg KB I bought appears to be the same dimensions as other competition bells. Here it is next to an AKC 20kg and an AKC 24kg:

If you look closely you will see that some of the paint has chipped off at the lower right portion of the KB. The paint on these KB's chips off easily when they strike another KB during jerks and long cycle. You will also notice that the stripping of the handle is not even or uniform. The PB KBs do not come pre-stripped, so all blame for the shoddy job belongs to me. Unfortunately, stripping the paint revealed quite a bit of bondo. I had to grind the handle with a drill and file to get the handle smooth enough to use. It took a lot of time to get it ready to use.
My next competition bell purchase was an AKC 20kg KB. It appears below:

This KB is a great improvement over the PB bell. When the PB and the AKC Kb's collide in jerks or long cycle, the PB bell loses paint. The AKC bell still looks like the day I bought it. The only difference is its handle is slightly thicker than other comp bells and the handle surface is slightly rough. I decided to leave it as is, and it has been fine.
The newer AKC bells I mentioned in my last post ("Wonder Twins") are the AKC 24kg's. I have no complaints about the bells and find them to be near perfect. Here is a photo of compared to the 20kg AKC bell:



An here is a close up showing the differences in the handles in old and new:


As you can see, the new AKC handles are polished and require no special touches to make them ready for immediate use. You may also notice that the new AKC bell has a slightly thinner handle than the old one.
That's all for this time. I hope to post comparison picks of DD style Kb's in the near future. I am especially fond of one DD knock-off brand that I find to be an exceptional value. Until next time...

The Wonder Twins: My New AKC 24kg Kettlebells

Today I received two 24 kilogram competition-style kettlebells from the American Kettlebell Club. I've been anxiously awaiting their arrival since I surpassed the "Rank II" level for amateur kettlebellers set by the WKC.
I was pleased with what I got. They are uniform in size and shape, and the handles feel great in my hand. They look really nice; not quite the Rolls Royce quality of Leoko kettlebells from Finland, but I have to say that Leokos were the first thing I thought of when I took these out of the box. These are nice, quality kettlebells. I'm glad I bought them.
As soon as I took them out of the box, I did a five minute set of Long Cycle. I averaged 7-8 reps per minute, and finished with 37 reps total. I'm hoping to make the 69 rep total I need to make my "Rank I" level in the next month or so. Judging by how tonight went, I think that's realistic.
By the way, the American Kettlebell Club has a sale going right now (that made this purcahse possible) and they had very attentive and efficient customer service. I have no affiliation with these folks other than being a fan of their training methods and coaches. I'd recommend them to anyone considering buying kettlebells.

Here is the link to the AKC web site shopping page:

http://www.americankettlebellclub.com/forum/faq.php?s=d74bc8c4cd5d59ac2ae03bf2b8d4fad7

Here is the WKC rankings page:
http://worldkettlebellclub.com/ranks.php

Long Cycle Clean and Jerk

There are two traditional lifts in GS (girevoy sport; "girevoy" is Russian for "kettlebell"). The lifts are the snatch and the jerk. The jerk is performed holding two kettlebells. It is an explosive pressing movement that uses the legs as well as the arms. The snatch is a one-armed snatch; the competitor switches hands once during the time allotted. Contestants are allowed ten minutes for each lift. There is usually at least an hour between lifts.
My favorite kettlebell exercise is the "long cycle" clean and jerk ("LC"). It is a newer competition lift, although it is now a well-established event in GS. In LC, the girevik (Russian for "kettlebell lifter") lifts two kettlebells off the ground to his shoulders (the "clean") and then jerks them both overhead. He then lowers them to his shoulders, then lowers them again between his legs, then resumes the exercise.
I like LC because it works the entire body. I think I also like it because one body part does not get appreciably more fatigued before the others. If anything wears out first for me it is my wrists. But I guess that is not a bad thing. One of the benefits of GS is the strength-endurance it builds in a girevik's connective tissues as well as his muscles. Strong wrists are a useful and valuable attribute for everyday life.
In full disclosure, I must admit that I have progressed in LC much faster than I have in the snatch or the jerk. It just comes naturally to me.
Here is a video example of the long cycle clean and jerk:

Inaugural Post

I am a 40-year-old married father of three, and a career prosecutor. My wife and I (and our kids) are very involved in our church. We have very little free time outside of work and church.

My one real hobby is lifting kettlebells. I lift at home, in my garage, after we have put the kids in bed and made their school lunches for the next day.

I love kettlebells because they condition me for real life. The standard spiel I give is that ketttlebell workouts give me the conditioning to unload a moving truck then push mow my lawn, and not be too tired or sore to go to church the next day. It's a workout that prepares you to work in the garden or the lawn. If someone asks you to help them dig ditches, or put up fence posts or some other hard labor one Saturday, you can do it, even if all you do Monday through Friday is sit at desk all day.

Kettlebells were developed in Russia as counterweights for grain scales. People noticed that the guys who moved the kettlebells all day were very strong and resilient. Eventually, they became a physical training tool. Over time, lifting kettlebells became a sporting event in Russia and Eastern Europe.

Recently, the sport has gained popularity outside of the former Soviet bloc. Pavel Tsatsouline popularized kettlebells as a training tool in the US and other countries. True kettlebell sport lifting in the US followed a few years later, and was popularized by Valery Fedorenko.

I have yet to compete in any kettlebell sport contests, but I hope to one day. Right now I just train in my garage, and chat with other kettlebell enthusiasts on discussion boards.
That's all for now. A couple links on Fedorenko and Tsatsouline appear below.
-David




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavel_Tsatsouline
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valery_Fedorenko