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: