It’s that time again, the end of one year and the beginning of another.  That can only mean one thing, it’s time to set some goals for the upcoming 365 days.  Unfortunately, most of those goals will not be reached and many will be disappointed with themselves as 2010 turns to 2011.

In my experience, there are many reasons why we fail to improve ourselves and grow from one year to the next.  The biggest reason of course is that many of us don’t set goals at all.  The second biggest reason is that some simply don’t have belief in themselves.  They are dead in the water before the clock strikes midnight.

Once you have set your goals and have mapped out a plan for achieving them, you must have unquestioned belief in your ability to achieve the things you have determined as worthy of your efforts.  You also must have belief that you can become the person you need to become.  Being successful in reaching your desired outcome has more with growing and evolving as a person then it does with just performing a prescribed set of tasks.  It is your belief that you are capable of becoming that person that ultimately leads you down the path of success.

If you decide that your goal next year it to loose 50 pounds, you have to be able to envision yourself 50 pounds lighter.  You have to literally create a picture in your mind of what you will look like and what you will feel like after you have lost the weight.  This vision helps you create the belief in your mind that you are capable of becoming the person you see in your head.  If there is any doubt what so ever, your mind literally will not allow you to reach your desired weight.  Let me repeat that, if you doubt yourself, your mind will not permit you to succeed. 

When a powerlifter approaches the platform in an attempt to hoist a barbell over his head, he must have absolute unquestioned faith that he is capable of, and will be successful in the attempt.  Doubt cannot be allowed to creep into his head.  Image if you were skydiving and there was doubt in your mind as to whether or not the parachute would open.  Would you jump?  Hell no you wouldn’t.  Same holds true with your goal setting.  If you have doubt’s you can achieve them, why bother setting them in the first place.

The long and the short of it is, believe in yourself.  Believe that you can, and you will. 

Yours in Health,

Dennis

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I recently completed my first 90 cycle employing the protocol outlined in Pavel Tsatsoulines book, Return of the Kettlebell.  The results I experience were phenomenal.  I increased my overall strength, especially my pressing power.  My conditioning improved considerably and my shoulder flexibility is noticeably improved.  I was also successful in adding a couple of pounds of muscle, although that was not my goal and I did nothing different with my diet.

During this 90 day cycle, I performed exercises that I had not performed previously.  The double kettlebell long cycle snatch, the front raise snatch and the viking push press are all new to me lifts.  In addition, I regularly performed double kettlebell military presses which I had only done sparingly in the past.  All of these lifts have now become regulars, even when not performing this protocol.

The cycle I employed was also different.  The 90 day’s were divided into 2 week cycles in which I performed 2 weeks of grind lifts (military press) and 2 weeks of explosive lifts (jerk).  This mini cycling made all the difference in that I was able to make progress on a weekly basis and just when things were getting stale, a new, fresh cycle would come along to add life to my workouts. 

I set 3 specific goals for this 90 day period. 

1. Complete 90% of my scheduled workouts.
2. Complete 5 ladders of 5 rungs with a pair of 24kg kettlebells in the military press.
3. Complete 2,4,6,8,10 x 5 ladders with a pair of 24kg kettlebells in the long cycle clean and jerk.

The first 2 goals were met, but I fell short of reaching the 3rd.  In looking back, the 3rd goal was way to ambitious for only 90 days.  I really didn’t know what to expect with the long cycle clean and jerk since I had never performed it before.  I will, however be performing this protocol again which will give me the opportunity to reach this goal.

Here is a list of lessons learned and observations I had during the past 90 days.

• A stop watch or digital clock is a must to accurately keep time.  It is a must that the time between rungs and between ladders be consistent from one workout to the next.  There is no way to accurately measure your progress if the time between rungs changes from workout to workout.
• Get a dry erase board to keep track of reps and sets.  I find that during a workout, I tend to forget which rung I’m on because I get so into the workout.  Write it down and you won’t need to remember.
• I never lost my edge from one 2 week cycle to the next, in fact I felt stronger.
• Don’t overdo it on the variety days.  I have a tendency to always go heavy and that can’t happen all the time.  During this protocol, the heavy day falls on Saturday so you have 4 workouts during the week before you even get to your heavy day.  If you kill yourself during each of the first 4 workouts, you’ll have nothing left for Saturday.  During my second variety day, I focused on stretching, and shoulder mobility drills and grip work which doesn’t tax the entire body.  I came into my heavy day on Saturday fresh and ready to go even though it was the 5th workout of the week.
• Eat a lot before and after your heavy day. 
• Keep variety days consistent with the focus of the 2 week cycle you are performing.  For instance, if I was in the middle of a grind cycle, I performed grind type lifts during my variety days.  Usually bent pressing or get ups.  During my explosive cycles, I performed snatches or swings during my variety days.
• Missing workouts in inevitable during a 90 day cycle.  If you miss one and can’t make it up, take out a variety day instead of a light, or medium day and never miss a heavy day.  I missed a few workouts during the past 90 days but always made sure that I got my heavy day lift in.
• Stretching between ladders is a must.  I stretched and performed 30 seconds or so with Indian clubs to help with recovery between ladders.
• I made remarkable strength gains in my upper body, especially with my pressing power.  During my last workout, I performed 5 ladder of 5 rungs with a pair of 24kg kettlebells and felt very strong doing so.  I actually felt pretty good at the conclusion of the workout but it wasn’t all the pressing I had been doing that helped increase my strength.  In my opinion, it was the clean and jerks that had the most to do with my strength and power gains I made with my pressing. 
• The double kettlebell long cycle clean and jerk is as much a practice in mental toughness as it is one of physical toughness.  There weren’t any instances while performing my presses that I wanted to quit but I wanted to quit about mid way through all of my heavy long cycle clean and jerk days.  Give them a try and you will see what I mean.
• A training partner or somebody to be accountable to is a must.  I prefer to lift alone but having my blog readers holding me accountable made all the difference.  There were plenty of times that I just didn’t feel up to lifting but I knew that I would have to explain myself to my blog readers if I missed workouts.  Telling you that I just didn’t feel like lifting wasn’t going to cut it.  If you can, lifting with a partner, somebody that can hold your feet to the fire is a huge advantage when it comes to meeting your strength and conditioning goals.

Well, there you have it.  I hope that my experiences during the past 90 days can serve to help you with your training whether you are performing the Return of the Kettlebell protocol or some other routine.  If you are on the fence about whether or not you want to give this type of training a try, I highly suggest you go for it.  Pavel and his training strategies NEVER disappoint and this time is no different from the others.

Yours in Health,

Dennis

P.S. – Have a question about anything I’m doing, email me and I’ll be more then happy to answer it.  ironkettlebellfitness@gmail.com

Before entering into a fitness routine, especially one that incorporates kettlebells, be sure to consult with your physician or medical professional to be sure you are healthy enough to begin a strength and conditioning regimen.  Be sure to learn the proper way to perform each lift and complete each exercises in strict form employing a spotter when applicable.  In other words, if you hurt yourself, it’s your fault.

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Day 85– 12-07-09 – Took day off.  Last week I had to push the workouts back one day so to get a rest after my heavy day, I scheduled it today.  I felt it was more important to miss a workout to get some rest then to push it and possibly ruin the week because of fatigue. 

Day 86– 12-8-09

Variety

Bent Press 24 kg kettlebell

• 3(reps) x 4

Indian Clubs (performed this as a kind of superset with the bent press.  Immediately after completing my bent press set, I pick up the indian clubs and do a couple of minutes.  Rest for a couple and repeat the bent press / indian club set.)

Misc. grip work.

Day 87 – 12-9-09 – 

Grind block – medium day

Double Kettlebell military press  20kg / 24kg

• 1,2,3,4 x 1
• 1,2,3 x 4

4 kettlebell front squats after each ladder

Sumo deadlifts 20kg / 24kg kettlebells

• 20 x 2

3 1/2 minutes between each ladder

Total workout time – 28 min

Day 88 - 12-10-09 – Rest

Day 89 - 12-11-09

Variety

Indian Clubs – 15 minutes

Bottoms up get ups 16kg kettlebell

• 2 ea side x 2 sets

Misc. grip work

Total workout time – 30 minutes

Random Thoughts

• First time I have performed the bottoms up get up.  This is a real grip smoker.  Master the bottoms up press before performing this move and don’t be afraid to bail on the lift if the kettlebell starts to fall.

Day 90 – 12-12-09

Grind block – HEAVY

Double Kettlebell military press  24kg / 24kg

• 1,2,3,4,5 x 5

5 kettlebell front squats after each ladder.

Sumo deadlifts  24kg / 24kg kettlebells

• 20×2

3 1/2 minutes between ladders.

Time to complete military press ladders – 33 minutes

Total workout time - 39 minutes

Random Thoughts

• Today was the final day of my 90 day Return of the Kettlebell protocol.  One of my goals for the 90 days was to complete 5 ladders consisting of 5 rungs with a pair of 24kg bells.  Although I had not planned to attempt that during this workout, I felt strong and since it was the last day of the cycle, I went for it and accomplished my goal. 
• My goal of 90% of the workouts completed during the 90 day cycle was also met this week.

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Day 78– 11-30-09 – Unable to lift today due to my schedule.  I will shift all workouts down one day meaning that Suday instead of Saturday will be my heavy day.  Works out because I will be unavailable on Saturday to lift. 

Day 79– 12-1-09

Explosive block - light day

Viking Push Press 16kg

• 2,4,6,8 x 1 cycles ea. arm
• 2,4,6 x 4 cycles ea. arm

Front Raise Snatch  16kg

• 12 (reps) x 2

Total workout time (not including warm up) 28 minutes

Day 80 – 12-2-09 – Variety

Indian Clubs – 15 min.

Double Kettlebell Snatch (dead stop) 24kg / 24kg

• 2 reps x 5

Misc Grip Work

Total workout time – 34 min

Random Thoughts

• Today’s grip workout consisted of phonebook tearing.  I had set a goal for the year to become proficient at ripping phonebooks.  Today was the first day that I felt like I had become proficient in ripping a large phonebook so that goal for this year has been met.

Day 81 - 12-3-09

Explosive block - medium day

Long Cycle Clean and Jerk  2 20 kg kettlebells

• 2, 4, 6, 8 x 1 ladder
• 2,4,6 x 4 ladders

Total workout time – 28 -  back to 3 1/2 minutes between ladders

Day 82 – 12-4-09 – Variety

Indian Clubs – 20 minutes

Misc Grip Work

Total workout time – 30 minutes

Day 83 – 12-5-09 – Rest

Day 84– 12-6-09

Explosive block - heavy day

Long Cycle Clean and Jerk  2 24 kg kettlebells

• 2, 4, 6, 8 x 1 ladder
• 2,4,6 x 4 ladders

Random Thoughts

• Today was another gut check as all heavy long cycle days seem to be.  Today I mentally tried to break the workout up into manageable segments which seemed to help me stay focused.

Total workout time - 29 minutes – 3 1/2 minutes between ladders

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Have you ever heard somebody refer to a doctor as somebody who “practices medicine” or to a lawyer as somebody who “practices law”?  How about practicing a piano or football practice?  There are all kinds of things we practice doing and for good reason.  The more we practice something, the more proficient we become at performing our chosen task.  In fact, one of the definitions of practice is to learn by repetition. 

While we might practice an instrument or a sport or even our profession, few every look at exercising as practice.  When you approach your workout as a practice, your entire thought process changes from one of, “I gotta get through this workout” to “I am honing my skills”.  In a nutshell, the purpose of working out isn’t to mindlessly throw around a lot of weight, or it shouldn’t be.

I was inspired to write this blog when I read another blog in which the author complained, and rightfully so, about the lack of instruction found in some of the kettlebell instructional videos found online.  Yes, it is true that anybody with a kettlebell, a video camera and internet access can shoot a video and throw it online.  It is also true that there are some of us who truly try and provide good, instructive content be it free or paid or both.    

I am one who hopes that my videos provide at least a starting point for the aspiring kettlebell practitioner to learn the art and sport of girevoy.  I don’t intend, nor should the person watching the video expect to master each and every kettlebell exercise just by watching a video and then mirroring what they have seen.  I cannot stress enough how important it is to find yourself a qualified instructor to work with, if only occasionally to help tweak your form and keep you moving in the right direction.  I can “show” you how to perform a kettlebell swing, but I cannot “teach” you proper form via a video.  To achieve proper form, and maintain it, you must “practice” the swing and practice it often.

I am a student of strength and conditioning training and of kettlebell lifting.  To that end, every time I hit the gym, I think of it as a practice session and I try to stay mindful of that fact for the duration of the workout.  I am also mindful that my form is never perfect and requires my continued attention and devotion to detail.  After all these years of lifting, I still find myself on occasion performing such lifts as the swing and the snatch, the foundation and the king of kettlebell lifts incorrectly at times.  Because I am “practicing” I recognize this and correct it. 

It is crucial to develop the mindset that when you go to the gym or to your garage or basement and you pick up your kettlebell, your approach is one of a practice session.  This is not unlike the approach a football player takes in the days leading up to a big game or a musician before a concert.  In this way you will always be striving for perfect form, but will be accepting of the fact that perfection isn’t possible.

Practice must be specific, practice must be done while you are fresh and full of energy and practice must be frequent.  The strongmen of yesteryear practiced their lifts daily and always terminated a workout while they were “full of pep” as Arthur Saxon liked to say.

And lastly, remember that practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect.

Yours in Health,

Dennis

P.S. – Have a question about anything I’m doing, email me and I’ll be more then happy to answer it.  ironkettlebellfitness@gmail.com

Before entering into a fitness routine, especially one that incorporates kettlebells, be sure to consult with your physician or medical professional to be sure you are healthy enough to begin a strength and conditioning regimen.  Be sure to learn the proper way to perform each lift and complete each exercises in strict form employing a spotter when applicable.  In other words, if you hurt yourself, it’s your fault.

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