2016 and a return to the platform

The December 3rd Jingle Bells Kettlebell Competition at Crossfit Sweetwater in Suburban Atlanta marked my first return to Kettlebell sport competition in over three years. Despite entering at the last minute, I was able to win the 2x24kg five minute long cycle event. I had not planned to compete in 2016. I started the year focusing on building my squat strength, and by the time my buddy Eric asked me to enter an October half marathon last spring, I had set a personal best in the full squat. Honestly, I'm not a gifted runner but I liked the idea of the challenge and the opportunity to take long training runs with my friend every weekend for several months. So I set the squat focus aside and embarked on a 20 week half marathon training schedule. Hurricane Matthew cancelled our race just as we were packing our car to leave. Suddenly my fitness challenge for the year had vanished and I wasn't sure what to do. That's when I was invited to enter the Jingle Bells Competition. Although I'd spent months working on an endurance base, I had not trained the competition lifts in three years. Bearing that in mind I registered to use the 20kg bells for the men's ten minute long cycle event instead of my usual 24kg bells. Having less than two months to train, I knew anything more than that would be too ambitious. i began training right away using the 16kg and 20kg bells. When the heat schedule arrived the night before the event, I saw that almost every male competitor was using the 16kg bells. I was the lone competitor using anything heavier. The only exception was a heavyweight crossfit athlete and competitive weightlifter who'd entered the 5 minute long cycle sprint event with 2x24kg. That got my interest. Since we were scheduled to lift next to each other, why not give the spectators a true head to head competition with 2x24kg? And, I have to admit, my competitive side was itching to lift against a younger, stronger athlete. This was truly a foolhardy decision. I literally had not picked up two 24kg bells for a set of clean and jerks in three years. Despite this fact, I emailed the organizer and asked to switch to the 2x24kg event. The day of the event I talked myself through the mechanics of the lift using heavier bells. The hard part, I knew, in adjusting to heavier bells is the jerk. Your legs are the last to acclimate to heavier bells, and it usually takes weeks for your legs to recalibrate the mechanics for the lift, in addition to adapting to the increased conditioning demands of the heavier weights. And not to state the obvious, but it's just harder to repeatedly jerk heavier bells overhead. I knew I'd need to have near perfect, efficient mechanics on every clean in order to save all my strength for the jerks. If did that, then I would maximize the reps I could complete. In talking through the preparation for my set with Kettlebell sport coach (and legend) Ken Blackburn, he estimated I'd average 8 to 8.5 rpm, or 40-45 reps. He hit it dead on the money as I finished with 43 reps. Although a far cry from my 60 rep personal best for five minutes, it was still good enough to win the event. I honestly didn't know if I could go the entire five minutes, but thankfully, I fell into a groove right away and the time passed,quickly. The overall event was friendly and well run. All of the competitors showed good sportsmanship, and there was a strong feeling of comraderie. Jenn Casey and her colleagues at Crossfit Sweawater were gracious hosts. And I can't overlook the awesome Mexican buffet that we all got to enjoy after lifting. I'll be looking forward to their next event. Happy New Year, and God bless you all!

Tendinitis, middle age, and GS

Since taking office as the DA, I'm not able to train for GS like I used to. It's not so much the time commitment - I exercise every morning before breakfast. The true limiting factor is the energy requirement to sustain that kind of training. Simply put, lifting kettlebells is like sprinting up a steep hill. It's hard to "ease" into it, or to work at a low intensity. You're either busting your butt or you're not. There's no halfway. I've written some posts about my struggles with tendinitis that first surfaced in 2011. For kettlebell sport lifters, it generally manifests itself as a soreness or even sharp pain in one or both elbows. And that's when the fun starts. Since I wrote my blog posts about my tendinitis struggles, several lifters have contacted me about their own experiences, and many have asked for advice. Given how many have asked, I thought I'd write this to help them and anyone else who faces the same struggles.

1. Tendinitis is an overuse injury. The only way the symptoms are going to subside is resting the injured area. You can try to use lighter weights, you can try to switch to other exercises, but at the end of the day, you aren't going to heal until you stop doing exercises that use the injured area. For elbows, that means no pressing or rowing or curling, in addition to the competition lifts. Even some static yoga poses can aggravate the injury. You've got to rest the injured area.

2. Yes, that means you will atrophy. Yes that means you won't look "swole". I know many of us wrap up much of our identity as an athlete and even as a person in our "fit" appearance. Let it go. The sooner you stop lifting the sooner you'll heal the sooner you can train again.

3. You can no longer depend upon GS for your GPP. The greatest asset of a kettlebell sport athlete is a solid endurance base. You can get that base from almost any aerobic activity. Running is the traditional form of GS crosstraining and endurance building, but it can also include rowing or cross country skiing or anything that provides a good endurance base. Considering that we're talking about overuse injuries, it's probably not a bad idea to do a variety of activities to keep any kind of overuse injury from developing. But relying on your GS exercises themselves for your endurance base? Forget about it. Why? Because...

4. Tendinitis may heal, but it never truly goes far away. Yeah, so this is the worst part. Once you get tendinitis, you will always be subject to it coming back. Even after you're cleared by your doctor, even after you've returned to GS and broken all of your old records...it can come back. And if you don't monitor your activity to ensure you aren't training too hard too often, you are guaranteeing that it will come back sooner rather than later. The sad fact is that tendinitis hits athletes "of a certain age". Call it an arthritis or bursitis preview. But once it's a part of your life, you're going to have to deal with it.

5. All this doesn't mean you can't compete, but it does mean you have to be intentional about how you train. What I recommend is training like you're going to run 5K road races. Run at least three days a week, and walk on the other days. Squats are a good way to maintain strength, although even deadlifts or swings can aggravate your injury if you haven't completely healed. Once all symptoms have gone away (for at least a month), then, and only then return to the kettlebell sport lifts. Use light weights as you resume, and even after you are hitting your old numbers with your competition weight kettlebells, continue to spend a large part of your time using lighter weights at higher rpms. Monitor your training carefully, and any day that you feel any soreness either do a sprint set with lighter bells, go for a run, or both.

6. You will always be tempted to resume lifting early, or to lift a heavier bell when you shouldn't. In those moments, the key thing to remember is that showing up tomorrow is more important than training on the edge today. Anything you do in today's workout that jeopardizes your ability to return the next day is not just dangerous; it's a stupid un-necessary risk that could set you back months. Doing something today that moves your conditioning forward (or even something that "merely" preserves the endurance base you already have) is infinitely better than a risky set that can set back your training months. Good luck, and I hope to see you on the platform! -David

Sharing my experience

At a recent meet, some new lifters asked me for advice and the benefit of my experience. I think "benefit of my experience" is the more appropriate term, since I feel pretty inadequate when I consider the level of coaching available out there. Sergey Rudnev immediately comes to mind, although there are many, many great coaches available. Still, I get asked enough questions by enough folks that I thought it may be helpful to write a post that shares the insights I've gained and the limited knowledge I've accumulated during the countless hours I've spent lifting these funny shaped objects in my garage. I'll start with the basics:

1. Kettlebell sport is an endurance sport. Anything you can do to increase your general endurance will help your numbers on the platform. If you are not running, you should start. If you can't run, find an alternative. Many Russian and Russian-coached GS athletes do circuit training to increase their GPP (they also run, of course). And i know more than a couple have used rowers. But running is the gold standard for additional conditioning work. Strength helps, but as of yet there's no statistically measurable benefit. Even Ultra-marathoners strength train, and from an injury prevention stand point, it's a good idea. And there are studies that show improvement in experienced runners who add strentgh training to their regimens, so it only stands to reason that GS athletes would also benefit. However, absolute strength, and even strength endurance, are not predictors of GS performance. The most persuasive reason for strength training for the GS athlete is that most of the top athletes are well-rounded in their conditioning. I will say this: I did my best numbers with the 2x24kg bells at a time when my arms were skinny and flabby and I'd spend most of the proceeding months just running, walking, and doing light squats. Look at strength training as an ancillary part of your training, not as an avenue to bigger numbers.

2. Know what your personal records are, and continually try to beat them. There are many approaches to progressing your numbers, but this method works best for me. There are many trainers with proven records of success that engage in different types of interval training. But I have found that knowing what your personal records are with a given weight for a given time always gives you something to work towards. Even if you don't feel like attempting to break your 10:00 record with your competition bell tonight, you might feel up to beating your 4:00 record with the next lighter set.

3.Working with lighter bells helps with the heavier bells. Many novice GS athletes want to train with a heavier bell immediately upon making rank with a lower bell. While this is understandable, it's not always the best idea. Lighter bells are easier on the joints and allow a higher training volume, and are less likely to cause injury. If you start to scoff at this, try a 5:00 set of 2x20kg long cycle at 13 rpm and let me know how that goes for you. You will, of course, need to transition to your competition bells for most sets before your competition. But achieving mastery, not just competence, with a lighter bell is very beneficial.

4. Most working sets should be in the 5-7 minute range. This is a personal preference. I have found that working this time range is the most effective in building a baseline pace for a given weight. While many athletes have demonstrated success using shorter sets, 5-7 minutes seems to provide the most bang for the buck for acclimating to a new bell and building competence with it.

5. Life begins at minute seven. Just as distance running includes at least one long run a week, your GS training needs at least one long set per week. If your training doesn't regularly include sets of 7-8 minutes long (and occasional 10 minute tests) you are setting yourself up for failure.

6. Sprint sets do have a place. Understand what it is. Sets that last 1-4 minutes can help you build a faster pace with your competition bells (say, learning to lift the bells at 11 or 12 rpm instead of 8 or 9), so that you can burst through stagnating pr's and increase your conditioning. Super fast sprint sets with lighter bells are also a great way to maintain conditioning when you have sore elbows. A 56 rep 4:00 2x20kg set is certainly challenging to an amateur athlete who competes with the 24kg bells, but wants to rest his joints while improving his sports specific conditioning. It worked for me.

7. Kettlebells reward you for showing up. Not to state the obvious, but the more frequently you can train, the better you'll perform. The only limitation to this rule is the next one...

8. Beware of overuse injury. This is a repetitive activity, so take appropriate precautions. Stretch and do range of motion work. Strength train if you have obvious weaknesses or imbalances. If you lack basic general endurance, then run, row, or circuit train to build a foundation. Use lighter kettlebells if you have to for a workout or two. You might even take a day off occasionally. Better to take one day off every now and then than a few months off all at once when you become injured. The idea is to keep yourself healthy so that you can continue to train several times a week.

9. Work on your technique. This includes your mechanics, your breathing, and the union of the two. Video yourself and have others critique it. Even if you can't get a coach, have other lifters watch your video to spot your flaws in technique. Just turning in the camera will make you more mindful of your technique even while your recording than ou would be otherwise.

10. Learn to relax during your suffering. Let's face it, kettlebell lifting is suffering. And it's a sport that rewards those who are willing to suffer the most, both during training and in competition. Last weekend several folks commented about how relaxed and calm I looked during my set. Let me just say, it was hell. My heart rate never settled down how I'd anticipated after the first minute or two, and the set just never got easier like they usually do once I hit a rhythm. It was just pure suffering. Despite all that, folks said I looked calm, or even bored. But let me be clear: I wasn't expending any energy to hold anything in. Instead, I refused to expend any energy to express how badly I felt. None of that would help me get another rep. All there was for me to do was to breath when I needed to breath, rest in the rack and in the lockout when I could rest, and expend energy only when needed to get another rep. Focusing on my form, and getting the most reps using the smallest effort was all the mattered. Grunting or groaning took oxygen and effort that I didn't have to spare. Expressing your suffering gets you nothing. So don't bother.

So there are ten things I've picked up during my kettlebell experience. I hope this has been helpful. Until next time, David

Back on the platform

Eight weeks ago today I saw that Scott Shetler was hosting the AKA/IUKL Georgia State Kettlebell Championships. I started training for the event that night, and the next day I registered and paid my entry fee. Many of you know that I took off from kettlebell sport training for most of 2012 to run for DA in my district. I drastically reduced my workouts and intensity, and essentially was de-conditioned for almost a year. After winning the election, I resumed more rigorous workouts, but I had to take it slowly, and I wasn't training for kettlebell sport. Mostly, I worked on improving my squat and ran in charity 5k road races. All that changed 8 weeks ago when I saw the comp was scheduled. I paid the entry fee just to make myself train for the event. I knew that otherwise the demands of my job and family would keep me from serious sport training and I'd do something easy and "sensible". Merely paying the fee made me train, even when I was tired or it was inconvenient. It became very clear early on that my endurance had suffered greatly since last year. I had difficulty lifting the 24kg bells beyond 5 minutes, and I couldn't hold the same pace as I did before. Still, I lifted as often as possible (even on vacation at the beach) and I ran on the other days. Today was the comp, and I was fortunate enough to win the amateur men's heavyweight division for long cycle with 77 reps of 2x24kg. While that result is 20 reps shy of my personal best, it was good enough to earn a Rank I from the AKA/IUKL, and win the amateur division. It's also 1 rep better than when I won Best Male Lifter in 2009 at the Southeast Championships. I'll take it. So what's next? After successfully returning to competition, my next step is to begin training towards a pro ranking with the AKA/IUKL, and enter some road races to make me improve my overall conditioning. I'm running another 5K on Labor Day, and I hope to order some 32kg bells soon. For now, I'll leave you with photos of me and my friends Scott Shetler, Josh Dunn (who won the pro division and best male lifter), and Mike Sherman (who won best male lifter for biathlon):

Back to the grind(s)

Those of you who know me (either personally or on Facebook) know that this was not a year for athletic goals for me. Professional goals? Yes. Athletic? Not so much. I successfully ran for DA in my community, and running for office made severe demands on my time and my energy. I spent most of the year becoming deconditioned, and most workout involved five minutes of easy long cycle with two 20kg kettlebells. Since the election was over, I've resumed working out with a vengeance. The difference this time is the emphasis. I've heard it said that men in the 40's lose one pound of muscle per year. Many trainers recommend weight training to men in their 30's and 40's to prevent this natural decline. I've also thought that adding a basic weight training routine would help prevent the recurrence of tendinitis in my elbows. So after the campaign ended I started a regimen of cleaning and pressing (not jerking) a Kettlebell, and double Kettlebell front squats. A few days ago I shifted my focus to dead lifting, back squats and presses. I know that I'm best motivated by competition, and there are many powerlifting contests in my area. I've decided to set a goal of hitting the "intermediate" level of dead lifting for my weight class, which is 350 lbs. I may enter a 3 lift meet as well (bench press, squat and dead lift). Until then I'm enjoying working on a new challenge. I'll let you know how it goes. David

Frustration

So since my tendinitis came back earlier this year, I took some time off, then resumed lifting very slowly. I took great care to manage both the frequency, volume, and intensity of the training load so that the tendinitis didn't creep back up. This meant using the 20kg bells more often than the 24's (forget using the 28's, I've almost written them off). Despite all this care my elbows have been increasingly sore, and several days ago I had a sharp pain in the left elbow when I was doing some chores. Fantastic. So now it looks like I'm going back to running, walking and squats while my elbows heal. I suppose that I shouldn't be frustrated. This time last year I was in the same position. And after a summer of running I set several new personal records within weeks of resuming GS training. Nevertheless its quite frustrating that the tendinitis seems to hit me every time I near a competition, regardless of the care I take in managing the training load. I'm beginning to think that, once the elbows are healed, I should continue running and do nothing for my upper body but very low volume moderate intensity workouts. The idea would be to continue that for a year or so, and only then return to GS. In the meantime, I am enjoying running and walking at night. There are worse things than the runner's high. Until next time.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

Yesterday was Saint Patrick's Day, a day I always celebrate because of my Irish heritage, and my appreciation for his work as an abolitionist and minister to the Irish People.
Fittingly, this week was my first to return to using the ubiquitous green 24kg kettlebells. Commonly referred to as "the people's bells" (I prefer that to the more derisive "mediocre balls") the 24kgs bells are the most common weight for amateur and senior men's competitions. I have heard that in Russia and Eastern Europe its not uncommon for some contests to be limited to 24kg-only for the men instead of including the 32kg weights for the pro-level athletes. Maybe I just like to remember that since my tendinitis has prevented me from lifting the heavier bells with the intensity I'd like.
In any event, on my first day back I limited myself to 40 repetitions. I was glad I completed that in 3:45, but I know it will be at least a couple months before I threaten the hundred rep barrier again. In the meantime, I'm lifting only 3-4 days a week (instead of my usual 5-6) and running the other days. I'm sure I'll use the 20kg bells occasionally just to keep my elbows rested. I'll let you know how it goes.

What does this mean?

Kettlebell sport is an endurance sport. I've posted about that before, and the data supports that statement. The most reliable predictor of a beginning GS athlete's success seems to be success in another endurance sport. There is a very high degree of correlation between endurance sport success and GS. There is virtually none with absolute strength and GS success.

That being said, I noticed this video recently:



That's Ivan Denisov, the absolute world record holder in GS, achieving a Master of Sport World Class ranking in the Deadlift. The Deadlift is obviously a feat of pure strength, and the physical qualities required for this lift stand on the exact opposite of the spectrum from general endurance.
Denisov is an incredible athlete. In addition to GS, he competes in basketball, and he's run marathons in the past. I can't help but think that he does everything he does with thought and deliberation. There is a purpose.
I realize that Denisov is a world-class athlete, but I know he works a regular job like most GS athletes. He doesn't just train all day. So obviously this was a priority for him.
So why did he set out to achieve this level of pure strength, and what does it mean for the average amateur GS athlete? How should it affect how the average athlete trains?
I'm not offering any answers here. I am very curious what other athletes have to say. I welcome your comments.

-David

Pondering what's next

Since my tendinitis returned about a month ago I stopped lifting kettlebells to let my elbows heal (the tendinitis is in both of them; it's one of the few areas in my life that I can claim to be ambidextrous).
A few weeks before that I had stopped working on Long Cycle to prepare for an online snatch competition with the 24kg bell. My goal was to get WKC Rank I numbers in the comp (75 reps or more in each hand, minimum 150 snatches total with the 24kg bell). I hadn't worked snatches for about two and a half years, and my previous personal record was less than 50 reps per hand. But it only took a couple weeks to get 75/75 in training. I used a Fedorenko-inspired template that I took from this blog. Years after it was written, I still find it to be one of the most practical training guides I have ever read on GS, and, along with Rudnev and Lopatin's article I cited earlier, it has influenced my training more than any other piece I've read.
I had hoped to use this method to try Biathlon training for a while, and then return to Long Cycle. Obviously that's not in the cards for now.
One unfortunate result of my hiatus from kettlebells is the loss of strength. Although they aren't the ideal tool for maximal strength, the practical, walking around strength kettlebells gave my hands, arms and lower back was a useful asset. As my elbows heal, I'm considering a low volume, three-day-a-week barbell routine of clean and jerks and similar lifts to build strength without leading to overuse injuries. Hopefully, I could gain back some of the strength I lost in the last two bouts of tendinitis, without suffering any overuse injuries. On the other days I could run to work on general endurance for my return to kettlebell sport.
For now I may have to limit the strength work to squats (back, front, and jumping). At this point I'm even afraid to try deadlifts. Hopefully it won't be long before I'm lifting weights overhead.
For now, I'd packing my bags for Orlando. Tomorrow I drive our church van full of children (my son included among them) to Sea World. Wish me luck.
Until next time...

Goodbye 2011

2011 was not what I expected.
What I expected was to reach WKC CMS numbers in Long Cycle in the first couple months, then officially achieve that rank at the GA State Championships later in the summer.
Instead I got tendinitis in my elbows, and that sidelined me for most of the year.
I spent that "off" time running, usually three days a week. The other days I walked. The walks (and the runs) were pretty challenging, because my neighborhood and the surrounding areas are extremely hilly. A few of the hills take several minutes to climb.
But it was ok. I enjoyed it, and I worked on my general endurance 6 or 7 days a week.
Also, I confirmed what I had posted earlier in the year:
Kettlebell Sport is an endurance sport.
The proof was in how quickly my numbers rebounded after my doctor cleared me to train with kettlebells again. I am not a naturally strong or muscular person, and my upper body turned skinny and flabby while I limited my workouts to running, walking and squats.
But even with skinny, flabby arms I started setting new personal records just weeks after my return to kettlebell training in August, after months of endurance work. Those records include a 77 rep 7 minute 2x24kg set, and several 40 plus rep sets in 3 minutes. I wrote my last blog post about my 97 rep 2x24kg 10 minute set in October. That was significant to me because I felt awful that day, and I suspect on an average day, or even on a bad day when I paced myself with a timer, I would have smashed the 100 rep barrier easily.
With those results I was hoping to be the first American to crack 100 reps in competition. But the November comp I was planning to attend was cancelled. I can't blame the event planners, as several significant competitions were held within weeks (some just days) of the comp, so I did not expect attendance to be high. This was just the only comp within driving distance for the foreseeable future, and my travel budget didn't allow for farther trips this year.
After the comp was cancelled, two American lifters broke the 100 rep barrier in competition on the same day at another competition. Lee Quattrone (101 reps) and Jeff Martone (104 reps) both achieved CMS rank in Long Cycle with their 2x24kg performances at the IKFF National Championships on November 19. I would have liked to have beaten them to it, but I was happy for them both. I hope to meet them on the platform one day soon.
Later in the year my elbow tendinitis flared up again, and I was forced to turn to running and walking as my primary training exercises.
Once my elbows heal again I plan to lift again, although I may be limited to 24kg kettlebells. I'd like to best the 104 rep record that Jeff set, as the mountain climbers say, just because it is there. We'll see.
For now, I wish you all a happy and blessed 2012.
-David

97

Today I set a new personal record of 97 reps in the 2x24kg long cycle clean and jerk.

I didn't feel like working out tonight, and I sat on my garage steps looking at the bells for about 5 minutes before I picked them up. I finally cursed and picked them up, figuring I might as well try for a pr since any workout tonight would feel like suffering anyway.
The set was un-paced; I just set the timer for 10:00 and started a mental countdown from 95 (the rep total I estimated I'd get). I did the 95 and two more reps before the timer went off.
After putting down the bells, I walked around my driveway for 5 minutes catching my breath before my wife asked me to go to the grocery store. I'll probably stretch and take a walk after the kids are in bed.
For now I'm finishing off the homemade lasagna my wife made and a nice glass of red Spanish wine a friend brought me yesterday. This was a good pr.
Until next time...

Balancing Act

A few weeks ago my doctor cleared me to resume kettlebell training. That was the best news I'd gotten in a while.
I had missed lifting the bells. I missed the rhythm and cadence of the lifts. I missed coordinating my breath with the movements, and all the technical aspects of long cycle.
I missed being strong, and the utility and fun things that go with it. This year at the church pool party many of the kids were disappointed I couldn't throw them into the deep end of the pool while we played in the water. Usually I'll stand in the pool and the kids would take turns being thrown for an hour or so. I missed that.
I did enjoy running, and improving at a useful activity. I ran progressively longer and faster, and I enjoyed setting and exceeding new goals.
Now I've resumed lifting. Running was obviously a good choice for conditioning. Even though my muscles had withered without weight training, it was easy to resume kettlebell lifting. I credit the common but underrated general endurance that running provides. I am blessed (cursed?) to live in a neighborhood filled with daunting hills. Many of them are so long they take several minutes to climb. Since kettlebell lifting, particular long cycle, is as taxing as running up a steep hill, it was a great substitute for lifting.
Despite the loss in upper body strength, it only took a month to return to my former level of kettlbell sport conditioning. Last week I did 90 reps of 2x24kg Long Cycle in 10 minutes, and the day after I set a personal best of 41 reps in a three minute sprint.
Despite these results, I still have to keep close tabs on my tendinitis. Sometimes I need an extra day off from lifting when my elbows are tender, and have a running workout instead. When my elbows were sore last night I decided to go for a 5:00 record with the lighter 20kg bells. Even though I had to use the lighter bells, I was happy to get 71 reps in five minutes.
Dealing with my tendinitis is truly a balancing act. Every day there is a question of not just what my lifting volume and intensity will be, but whether I will lift at all. Right now I am hoping to enter the South East championships if my health holds up. Afterward, I will probably take a break of some kind, and focus on GPP outside of kettlebell sport. I want to make sure my elbows completely heal before the year is up.
Until next time...

Kettlebell Domination

So I follow other Kettlebell Sport athlete's blogs. One I like in particular is John Wild Buckley's blog. John is an entertaining writer, and I've enjoyed reading about his progress in the sport and discipline of kettlebell lifting. I was positively enthralled by his accounts of visiting Siberia, and learning under the great coach Sergey Rudnev.
In a May 21 blog post, John recounted an informal demonstration and contest between two famous kettlebell sport champions, Sergey Rachinsky and Sergei Merkulin.
In a recent IKSFA sport camp in St Petersburg, Rachinsky and Merkulin demonstrated Long Cycle technique by engaging in a 5:00 2x32kg contest. Their first five minutes ended in a tie of 44 reps each, for an average of 8.8 reps per minute (rpm).
Not satisfied with a tie, the two decided to compete again to determine a winner. They decided a a 2:00 sprint set would be the tie breaker. Both lifters went all out, at a much faster pace than either would use for a 5:00 training set.
Merkulin finished with with 24 reps (12 rpm). Rachinsky finished with 26 (13 rpm). At the end of his effort, Rachinsky fell to his knees. It was an exciting contest, to be sure.
After reading the blog post, I checked my email and looked over my YouTube subscriptions. One of them is the channel of Ivan Denisov. Denisov is the absolute world champion and record holder in Kettlebell sport, and is a coach and adviser for the World Kettlebell Club (WKC). Ivan often posts competition videos of the athletes he coaches, as well as videos of his regular workouts and competitions.
One new video in particular caught my attention. An ordinary, 6 minute set of 2x32kg Long cycle during a recent workout. Denisov uploaded the video on May 13.

He did 72 reps in 6:00. That's 12 rpm for the entire six minutes. He made it look easy. Here is the video:




Looking over Denisov's competition records, it appears that 12 rpm is not a sprint pace for Denisov the way it is for other world class athletes. As a matter of fact, he has completed 116 reps in 10:00 (11.6 rpm)....the world record.
I do not mean to take anything away from Rachinsky or Merkulin. They are two of the greatest kettlebell sport athletes to ever set foot on the platform. And like most of the top performers in GS, they are reputed to be good people as well as great athletes.
But Denisov dominates this sport like no one else. He is truly in a class by himself.

I'll close with the video of his world record performance. Until next time, take care and God bless.

Running

So my tendinitis has been really slow to heal. I considered a number of ways to stay in shape while I wait to get better. I thought about buying a Concept 2 rowing machine. I know many kettlebell sport athletes use the Concept 2 for general physical preparedness training (GPP), and there has been some success by competitive rowers when they try kettlebell sport. Then a few weeks ago I stumbled across this running program. Known as "The couch to 5k running program", it's a common sense program designed to ease adults who aren't exercising into running a 5k race in 8 weeks.
Running is a cross-training mainstay for GS athletes. There are a lot of pluses to running. It's low cost, and can be done almost anywhere. It's such a popular sport that there are countless online resources available on training, mapping and measuring running routes, and convenient race calendars to plan your events. Most people in North America live within a short drive of several 5K races every weekend.
I started the program on April 24, following it pretty closely. I didn't over-do it, because for the first month my nine-year-old son ran with me. We had fun spending that time together, although after a month he was ready to play and be a nine-year-old boy again. On the days I didn't run, I continued to jump rope and do one armed swings with a kettlebell.
Once my son stopped running with me, I cranked up the intensity and went beyond the couch program. Lately I've been running for about 25 minutes (about 2.5 to 3 miles) or so, with a short warm up and cool down. I run in my neighborhood, which is very, very hilly, so the workout is pretty intense (A neighbor of mine grew up in the mountains of West Virginia, and he says its harder to run in our neighborhood than anywhere he ran growing up).
Competition motivates better than anything, so I plan to run my first race on July 4th, if not sooner.
In the meantime, I'll share a photo of my running partner for the first month of the program. In it I am holding a picture I drew of a quetzalcoatlus (his favorite prehistoric creature) for his birthday. I drew the picture right after breakfast. Both of us still had bed-head. :)

Working on recovery

So I've been dealing with triceps/elbow issues, first reported here, which turned out to be tendinitis.
In the meantime, I've been working on a three-pronged recovery approach. Here are the components:

1. Rest. Not doing movements which aggravate this injury. In this case, no presses or jerks. Obviously that means no long cycle work either. Surprisingly, because the injury is essentially inflammation of the tendon tissue in the elbow, any movement that involves bending the elbow can also aggravate the tendons. That means I have to limit cleans and pull-ups as well.

2. Instituting an injury prevention program. Right now, that means a focus on range of motion (ROM) work, as well as stretching and other flexibility work. I am doing ROM work throughout the day at my desk, and as a warmup and cool down. You can find the foundation of the ROM and flexibility work I practice in Beyond Stretching: Russian Flexibility Breakthroughs by Pavel Tsatsouline. The material in this book was later divided into two of Pavel's later books, but I prefer this one. Pavel does not break down the concepts as simply or as user friendly as he does in his strength training primer Power to the People, but even though it is imperfect, it is the best book I have found on overall flexibility and range of motion.
The ROM work is very similar to traditional Tai Chi warm ups, and the ROM exercises commonly practiced throughout Russia. As for "stretching", it's important to note that the best flexibility work incorporates a type of isometric strength training. This type of flexibility work not only strengthens muscles; it also causes a relaxation response that rapidly increases flexibility. Known as PNF stretching it was developed decades ago by Herman Kabat.
In addition to ROM and PNF work, I've resumed a more expansive yoga practice. I've been a student of yoga since 1994, and was interviewed about my yoga practice for the 2003 book Real Men Do Yoga. Author John Capouya also interviewed a number of pro athletes for the book (Eddie George is on the cover), and he wrote what I think is the most accessible introduction to yoga I've ever read, especially for men more accustomed to weight training and watching ESPN than new age type stuff. I think I was featured as the token "regular guy" among the famous types, and to show how yoga can reduce stress if you have a demanding job (I was in charge of prosecuting most of the child murders in Atlanta at the time). Like the PNF stretching, I rely on yoga for strengthening as much as I do flexibility.

3. The last prong of my rehab is maintaining conditioning. Like most injured athletes, I have been overly concerned about maintaining my sports conditioning while I allow my injuries to heal. This anxiety motivates many athletes to resume sports training before their bodies are ready, and results in re-injuries that are often worse than their initial problem. So part of this is simply giving the athlete a challenging workout to do so he won't hurt himself with a premature resumption of training. Another part of it is selecting an appropriate exercise plan to keep the person in good physical condition for health, irrespective of his athletic goals.
American Kettlebell Sport trainer and coach Cate Imes suggested I try a circuit that included kettlebell swings and jumping rope. Kettlebell Sport athlete (and physician) Matt Schinabeck also recommended swings as a way to maintain the special endurance for kettlebell sport, and, reading the training diary on his blog, I see that he practices what he preaches. Based on their advice, I've combined kettlebell swings with jumping rope to make a challenging circuit. Basically I jump rope for one minute, do a one minute set of left handed swings, jump rope another minute, then complete a set of right handed swings without stopping. I complete this circuit 5 times for a total of 20 minutes. It sounds easy but its a good workout.
If you are looking for a good jump rope, I highly recommend this one. It's the most durable jump rope I've found, and it swings better than any of the ones I used when I was boxing. It comes in two lengths, including one specifically made for tall guys like me. I've had mine for close to 10 years now.

So that's it for now. I'm hoping that within a few weeks I can resume sport training again. If so, I merely want to rehab well enough to make Rank I numbers again in the GA State Championships. In the meantime, I'm working on another piece about injury prevention by practicing sound technique. Until then, I'll leave you with the front cover of Mr. Capouya's book. Take Care and God bless,

David

Disappointment

So I re-injured my arm. And I figured out what was wrong.

I have tendinitis. And not just in my left elbow, but my right one, too.
I was making progress again, and I expected to resume training with the 28 kg kettlebells again by April 1st. But after an easy set of 2x24kg long cycle on Wednesday, March 23rd, I thought I'd follow up with a second set of 2x24kg instead of the easier set with 2x20kg I had planned.

Big mistake.

My left arm told me so, after just 17 reps. I felt a another pain in my left triceps and elbow area, and set down the bells. I thought it was no big deal at the time, but the next day I could tell I had re-injured it.

In the meantime I've done some research about my symptoms, and I've figured out I have tendinitis. Basically, an inflammation or irritation of the tendons.
Some relevant facts for kettlebell sport athletes (taken from WebMD):

1. Tendinitis is most often caused by repetitive, minor impact on the affected area.
Gee, I wonder who that applies to?

2. There are many activities that can cause tendinitis, including:

* Gardening
* Raking
* Carpentry
* Shoveling
* Painting
* Scrubbing
* Tennis
* Golf
* Skiing
* Throwing and pitching
* Kettlebell lifting

Ok, so I added that last one. But now we know.

3. Poor stretching or conditioning before exercise or playing sports also increases a person's risk.

Yes. See my last blog post.

Now for the best part:

4. Initial treatment of tendinitis includes:

* Avoiding activities that aggravate the problem (edited to add: even if it's your only hobby)
* Resting the injured area (even if it makes you stir crazy).

And for the coup de grâce:

5. Tendinitis may take weeks to months to go away, depending on the severity of your injury. This is true even if you have a meet planned and its the only one less than one hundred miles from your home in the next year.
Ok, so I added that last sentence, too.

Looking forwards, I also found this advice at WebMD:

How Can I Prevent Tendinitis?

Include warm up and cool down exercises and stretches in your exercise routine. As a general rule, a good warm-up is five minutes for every 30 minutes of planned exercise. One hour on the treadmill or elliptical trainer requires 10 minutes of warm-up. Vary your exercises and gently stretch all the muscles and tendons you are planning to exercise.

Really, if this is the worst thing that happens to me this year, I should count myself blessed. But I was so looking forward to competing in the GA State Championships this June, and I was expecting to make my CMS rank. Even after the first injury, I thought at the very least I could dominate in the 24kg (amateur) division. At this point, I may not even be able to compete. It's starting to look very doubtful.


I've had some workouts (like last night for example) that feel really easy at the time, but leave my arm(s) sore and in a little worse shape the next day. Last night it was super-setting 2x24kg cleans and jumping rope for 22 minutes. Even thought I'm not in pain today, my left arm is stiff and a little worse off, and won't heal doing that.


I'm not really sure what to do. Looking at the big picture, I'd probably be best served by just completely bailing on any kettlebell lifting for the next few weeks, and concentrating only on rest and recovery. In the meantime I'll learn a new joint mobility and stretching routine, and maybe work on squats. I'll report back when I've decided.

Until then, good lifting and good health to you.
God bless,

David

Injury prevention in GS, or, stuff I should have done

So earlier this month I injured my left arm. It was just the second rep of a planned 10 minute set. I had planned to break my personal record for 2x28kg long cycle, maybe even get CMS numbers. Instead I injured myself, and had to stop doing jerks for a couple weeks. That stunk.
That incident forced me to own up to one major shortcoming of my sport conditioning:

I did almost nothing for injury prevention.

Like most US kettlebell sport athletes, I am an amateur (and an over-40-year-old amateur, at that). Like many of my fellow athletes, I have a regular job, and family responsibilities, too. So I try to streamline and eliminate any part of my routine that is not absolutely necessary.

It turns out injury prevention is necessary.

I think before this happened, I would have agreed with the last sentence with my mouth, but not with my actions. Sure, I stretched a little during the cool-down phase of my workouts. But that was it. But it took straining my left triceps badly enough that I could not even do cleans (much less jerks or snatches) in order to internalize this lesson and really learn it.

So in the meanwhile I improvised. I started doing jump squats with a barbell, as well as kettlebell swings. Gradually, I added back cleans, then bumps and (very) light barbell jerks, then one-armed jerks with a light weight. Last night was my first night back doing long cycle clean and jerk, albeit with the 20kg bells instead of my usual 28's.

I also took this time to study what the pros do. It turns out joint mobility work and stretching are a big deal. I saw an interview with World Champion and Master of Sport World Class athlete Denis Vasiliev and here's a summary of what he said about his stretching routine (as recorded by Tom Corrigan):

[Denis Vasiliev] believes that having a great stretching session can be even more important than having a great lifting session. His reasoning is that if he has a great lifting session, but a poor stretching session, he will recover less, sleep worse and not be ready to train as hard the next day. But if he has a poor training session (i.e. not meeting his goals) but has a great stretching session, his muscles will feel better, he will sleep great, and he will be able to train harder and better the next day.

Tom recorded Vasiliev's stretching sessions, and a video of one appears below. Note: Tom's record of Vasiliev's comments appear when the video is viewed at the YouTube site here.



Just as importantly, Tom recorded Vasiliev's pre-workout joint mobility warm up:



Tom noted: Here is the joint mobility warm up of KB Sport World Champion Denis Vasil'ev. He does this after a general warm up of his body done by running on a treadmill or an elliptical machine. He systematically works through his joints, making sure he is ready to start working hard.
The rest of Tom's comments may be found when watching the video here.

So now I've added a joint mobility warm up and cool down to my routine, and I've expanded the stretching I do once I'm done. I must confess that I had neglected true stretching for so long that I had no idea how much flexibility and range of motion I had lost. I'm thinking of adding a yoga workout to my off days.

On the bright side, many of my kettlebell compatriots offered me well wishes and helpful advice. Steven Khuong, in particular, was very encouraging, and even sent me two get well gifts. Here I am wearing the first one:



In case you missed the logo on the shirt, here is a closeup:



As many of you know, the Ice Chamber is one of the top kettlebell sport gyms in North America. Steven Khuong and Maya Garcia are the founders. Maya actually wrote an excellent article about restorative stretches for kettlebell sport just last week.

Recently, The Ice Chamber was host to an excellent sport camp that featured (among others) absolute world record holder Ivan Denisov. (Edited to add: I am told that the camp also featured coach Cate Imes and the legendary Valery Fedorenko, so you can imagine how good the camp was). Denisov is widely considered to be one of the best (if not the best) kettlebell sport athletes in the world. My other gift from Steven was a calender featuring Denisov, signed by the champion himself. Here is a photo:



After my injury, I asked for help designing a convalescent workout regimen at the WKC forum. Steven not only offered suggestions, but offered to send get well gifts. I was truly touched that Steven sent such thoughtful gifts to me. I hope its not long before I meet him, and the other great athletes from the Ice Chamber.

In the meantime, I'm back on the training road. I've decided that now its unlikely that I will make the Candidate for Master of Sport Rank (CMS) this summer at the state championships, although its still a reasonable goal for the year. We will see. In the meantime, I'll leave you with a photo follow up from my last two posts. It seems that my youngest daughter Maddie thinks the best thing about the Perform Better Kettlebells is the foam packaging they send their KB's in. Turns out they can be used as planters for summer tomatoes. I'll let you know how they turn out.

Follow up on review of Perform Better Competition Kettlebells

I was surprised at the volume and immediacy of the responses I received to my last post reviewing Perform Better's latest generation of competition kettlebells.

Based on the content and the amount of responses, I'd like to add the following information to my review:

I don't work for WKC, and I did not rely on any information from WKC in writing my review. I uncovered (sometimes literally) the facts for this review myself, and I documented my experiences with photos.
Although the review contains my own impressions, certain facts are indisputable:

1. WKC began selling competition-style kettlebells several years ago. Initially, some of them had defects that were covered in bondo and then painted, even in the handle area. There were some complaints about the quality of these early bells.

2. In approximately 2008, WKC began shipping bells with pre-stripped handles, among other upgrades. My 20kg WKC bell is an example. These bells were higher quality than the previous bells, and did not contain bondo-covered defects. WKC stopped selling the previous bells that were of lower quality.

3. At some point, PB began selling the exact same bells that WKC had stopped selling before their upgrade. The bells Perform Better sold were simply WKC's pre-upgrade kettlebell's with WKC's logo (along with any defects) covered with bondo and an epoxy that easily chipped off during normal use.

4. WKC upgraded their bells again in 2009. This is when they went to the polished handles. At that same time PB was still selling the bondo and epoxy-covered KB's that WKC no longer sold. (I call them "rejects" because WKC no longer sold
them anymore, and they obviously did not meet WKC's new standards).

5. PB started selling bells with pre-stripped handles. I ordered one to review it, and reported the defects I found.

Those are the facts.

Since that time, some folks have contacted me to say they were happy with their PB bells, but many more have noticed the same defects on their PB bells, including the mysterious tape repairs and sloppy bondo fixes. The 8kg bell seems to be the one most prone to defects, perhaps, as one poster noted, because "8kg bells are the hardest to make and the easiest to [mess] up. The thin shell is the problem. Any defect pretty much equals a hole".

However, the defects were noted on many weights of many PB bells, not just the 8kg.
No tape or bondo fixes were reported on any second or third generation WKC bells. Instead, I received unsolicited reports on the high quality of WKC bells, and photos like these:



I did receive one report from one lifter about a problem with a second or third generation WKC 8kg bell that cracked. He reported: "I had it for a year before it cracked due to it being more frequently used" and that AKC/WKC replaced the bell upon request. The same lifter reportedly purchased 12 new generation PB bells; 5 of them had the tape repair. The five bells weighed 8kg (2), 12kg (2), and 20kg (1) respectively. That same lifter reported that "1 PB and 1 WKC [8kg]bell are exactly identical, down to finish on handle and even shade of pink paint". Taking all of the facts I've gathered together, it strongly suggests that PB and WKC still share a common manufacturer. The most obvious explanation for the difference in quality is that WKC has higher quality control standards; they don't accept defective bells that have been repaired by bondo and tape from the manufacturer. PB does. It's simply a matter of what each company will agree to accept, and then pass on to their consumers.
I've since read that many other retailers have begun selling competition-style kettlebells. I may review some of them if I get a chance. In the meantime, I stick with my recommendation that WKC's competition kettlebells are the best buy available.

Review of Perform Better's latest generation of competition kettlebells

I have previously reviewed AKC/WKC's competition style kettlebells. They are officially called "VF Prograde Kettlebells", and are available at the World Kettlebell Club's store here. In two previous reviews in December and June of 2009, I found them to be of very high quality, and to be the "best buy" in competition kettlebells on the market. I have also compared their bells to those sold by Perform Better, and later learned that Perform Better had been selling WKC Prograde rejects as their own competition bells. I documented that discovery here.
Perform Better has since changed the competition bells that they offer. Officially known as "First Place Competition Kettlebells", these kettlebells now come with the handles pre-stripped so that the athlete will not have to strip the handle with a file and sander or other tool. Another benefit to the consumer is that it will be obvious if the handle contains multiple imperfections that could tear his hands. A manufacturer or dealer cannot hide the imperfections with bondo and paint on a stripped and polished steel surface.
Since Perform Better instituted these changes, their competition kettlebells have become popular with kettlebell sport athletes, and many recommend them. Recently my wife and daughter have expressed an interest in kettlebell lifting, and asked me to order them one to share. I decided to order one of Perform Better's 8kg models, and report my findings.
Here is what arrived:



Notice that Perform Better's website is cast into the kettlebell. This bell is an obvious improvement over PB's last offering. However, I noticed a number of imperfections that indicated painted-over repairs.
First, there are two spots on the bell where some type of tape was placed on the bell, and then painted over. Here is the small taped spot:



Here is the larger one:



Another view of the large taped portion in brighter light:



In addition to the sections of tape that were applied and painted over, there is a large patch of what appears to be bondo that has been painted over. Here are two views:





Note: the marks that look like scuffs on the bell are not scuffs, but are places where the paint was not completely and evenly applied, and part of the bell was not painted at the factory. Basically, the paint job is really shoddy.

What to think? Well, I was shocked, honestly. Perform Better has an excellent reputation. They send confirmation of orders quickly, and ship promptly. I have heard of anecdotes of other consumers who have been very pleased. But this is the second time I have ordered a kettlebell from them, and the second time they have sent a substandard product. It's troubling to me that this happened, especially since the last time I told them they sold me a competition bell that was not suitable for competition, they replied that I should not have taken the finish off the handle in order to use it, and would not offer a replacement or refund (I wonder if they know I figured out their secret about where they were getting their bells and why they covered them with so much bondo and epoxy?). Back then I tried to explain that competitors have to strip and sand the handles if they actually want to compete with their product, but they denied that. Since then, as I said, they only sell bells with handles that are pre-stripped.
So what's the bottom line? From what I can tell, the defects in the bell won't be an issue unless we use the bell for double kettlebell lifts and the paint and bondo get knocked off when the bells clang together. I doubt that will be a problem. I bought the bell for my wife and daughter, and even if they want to use it to train to reach reach Rank IV or III with the WKC, it won't hinder them. The real problem is that defects like this don't leave a good impression, especially when you have received two in a row.
Perform Better and WKC seem to be in a perpetual pricing war (maybe that's just my impression). But it varies day to day which company is offering the lowest prices on kettlebells. The day I ordered this bell, I think it was $10 cheaper than the WKC's.
Based on my experiences, I wish I had paid the extra $10 and ordered from WKC. This experience has only confirmed my earlier impression, and what I now believe is not merely an opinion, but an objective fact:

The AKC/WKC VF Prograde Kettlebells are some of the best you can buy, and are by far, the best for the money.

On the bright side, my daughter Caroline has really taken to kettlebell lifting, and has been practicing her swings almost every night. Here she is below:



Good lifting and God bless,

David

Do you need more endurance in 2011?

Kettlebell Sport is known as a strength endurance sport. Most non-athletes consider kettlebells to be "heavy" weights, whether they are thinking of amateurs who compete with the 24kg kettlebells or world-class athletes who use the 32kg bells. To be fair, most folks don't lift 53 lb or 70 lb objects every day, much less put two of them overhead for fifty or a hundred times in a row.

But from an athletics standpoint, the weights that kettlebell sport athletes use are very light. Olympic weightlifters of my weight class snatch over 400 lbs; they clean and jerk over 500 lbs. Powerlifters often squat over 1,000 lbs, deadlift over 900 lbs, and bench press over 900 lbs. These lifts are completed in just seconds, for only one repetition, as opposed to the kettlebell lifts, which are repeated continually over the course of 10 minutes.

I mention all of that to give context to a statement that should be obvious, yet comes across as controversial to many who discuss kettlebell sport on popular Internet discussion forums:

Kettlebell sport is an endurance sport.


Now, some may acknowledge the truth of that statement superficially. But when you start talking training regimens for kettlebell sport, many recommend heavy lifting of some kind. Squats, deadlifts, and even presses. Rarely do these same people recommend running, rowing, or jumping rope. But lifting truly heavy weights? All the time. Recently, a great American kettlebell sport trainer, Cate Imes, addressed this phenomenon in two excellent blog posts, the most recent of which can be found here. Obviously, the title of those pieces inspired the subject of this blog.

The questions and advice posited from many kettlebell lifters and fitness enthusiests reveals the common assumption that the development of maximal strength is a priority for kettlebell sport athletes. Yet, Sergey Rudnev and Eugene Lopatin disproved this common misconception in their article Strength or Endurance, development of strength and strength endurance in Kettlebell Sport. A very readable summary of the article and one lifter's impression of it appears here. Of note in the article is that Lopatin, a multiple world-record-holder in kettlebell sport, could not meet the minimum strength recommendations for athletes who wish to participate in kettlebell sport as set by a Voropaev, a highly respected sports scientist. Yes, the world record holder could not pass the recommended strength requirements for a beginner.

Again, to be fair, Voropaev's recommendations essentially reflected the priorities of many other sports scientists, and the prevailing wisdom of kettlebell sport throughout the years. So the assumption that the development of maximal strength is a priority for kettlebell sport athletes is neither new, nor isolated.

Both Rudnev and Lopatin teach in the department of physical training and sports of the Far Eastern Military Institute of Russia. They noted that the athletes with better results in kettlebell sport at their Institute were endurance athletes, and specifically noted the successes of former cross-country skiers, rowers, and distance runners.

Rudnev and Lopatin conlcuded that the development of maximal strength with a barbell had no bearing on the success of the kettlebell sport athlete. While some reading that sentence are still saying, "yeah, but..." let me take it a step further:

Strength endurance is not a determining factor in Kettlebell Sport lifting.

According to their article, strength endurance is the ability to perform an activity at a fast tempo for 1-3 minutes. One measure of strength endurance would be the two minute push up test that is often used as a part of the US Army's physical fitness test, in which a soldier completes as many push ups as he can in two minutes. However, per Rudnev and Lopatin, "...strength endurance is not a determining factor in Kettlebell Sport lifting. It [strength endurance] only allows you to perform at fast tempo for 1-3 minutes...Kettlebell Sport lifting [requires] endurance which allow(s) [you] to perform 10 minutes of competition time. Therefore, we should talk about the special endurance, which is necessary to work with pauses between repetitions sufficient for recovery to the next repetition..."

The authors go on to explain that, according to their studies, the development of general and special endurance are the top priorities for the kettlebell sport athlete.

This brings us to what I think should be the real question for all aspiring kettlebell sport athletes:

"Do I need more endurance in 2011?"

Only if you want to succeed.

Gods blessings on all of you,

David