Sunday, June 29, 2008

Expanding outside: some records

What happens outside of kettlebells.  What does strength/endurance affect?  

Several activities use strength endurance.

- Swimming
- Wrestling
- Fighting(MMA)
- Grappling
- Fire Fighting

In a broad sense how we do with our strength/endurance would affect each one of these activities.  

If I did 1000 snatches with 32kg switching the hand every so often, would that be beneficial?  I don't know, I haven't tried.  

If I could(ability), would I make a good(from that list) with my conditioning.  The answer is a yes.  No questions asked.  

Let me list some Valery Fedorenko's records:

As I professional kettlebeller, he wasn't afraid to try other things:  This is different kettlebell weights and different times.  


Two Arm Jerk
48kg/106lb — 32 reps in 5 minutes
40kg/88lb — 80 reps in 10 minutes
40kg/88lb — 61 reps 6 minutes
40kg/88lb — 52 reps in 5 minutes
36kg/79lb — 100 reps 10 minutes
36kg/79lb — 60 reps 5 minutes
32kg/70lb — 200 reps in 17 minutes
32kg/70lb — 132 reps in 10 minutes
32kg/70lb — 105 reps in 7 minutes
32kg/70lb — 81 reps in 5 minutes
32kg/70lb — 54 reps in 3 minutes
32kg/70lb — 44 reps in 2 minutes
32kg/70lb — 29 reps in 1 minute
28kg/62lb — 150 reps in 10 minutes
28kg/62lb — 90 reps in 5 minutes
24kg/53lb — 215 reps in 15 minutes
24kg/53lb — 182 reps in 10 minutes
24kg/53lb — 111 reps in 5 minutes


One Arm Jerk
48kg/106lb — 50+50=100 reps in 8 minutes
32kg/70lb — 600 reps in 60 minutes

Two Arm LongCycle
32kg/70 lb — 84 reps in 10 minutes
32kg/70 lb — 52 reps in 5 minutes
32kg/70lb — 37 reps in 3 minutes
24kg/53 lb — 115 reps in 10 minutes
24kg/53lb — 70 reps in 5 minutes

One Arm LongCycle
40kg/88lb — 110 reps in 10 minutes
32kg/70lb — 140 reps in 10 minutes

Snatch
52kg/114lb — 25+25 =50 reps 4 minutes
48kg/106lb — 30+30 =60 reps in 5 minutes
40kg/88lb — 56+56 =112 reps 8 minutes
36kg/79lb — 72+72 =144 reps in 8 minutes
32kg/70lb — 110+110 =220 reps in 10 minutes
32kg/70lb — 92+92 =184 reps in 8 minutes
32kg/70lb — 72+72 =144 reps in 6 minutes
32kg/70lb — 52+52 =104 reps 4 minutes
24kg/53lb — 200+200 = 400 reps in 20 minutes
24kg/53lb — 130+130 =260 reps in 10 minutes

Two Arm Clean
32kg — 81 reps 5 minutes
24kg — 110 reps 5 minutes

Two Arm Press
32kg — 50 reps in 5 minutes
24kg — 100 reps in 10 minutes

Two Arm Bottom Up Press
32kg — 3 reps
24kg — 10 reps

One Arm Press
32kg — 100+100 =200 reps
24kg — 170 reps

One Arm Bottom Up Press
40kg — 2 reps
32kg — 10 reps

Push Press
24kg/53lb — 850 reps in 67 minutes
16kg/35lb — 2006 reps in 145 minutes

Mill Press
16kg/35lb — 700 reps in 30 minutes


Saturday, June 28, 2008

Its not about

Who can get somewhere first.  

 Some people are motivated by "beating" other people.  Its not my first thought about progress. 

I have demonstrated Master of Sport level and I'm looking forward.  

Its about "Whats next?"

The point that is made; it doesn't stop.  What that means is that whoever is first will not be the last.  If someone else becomes MSWC or MSIC first I will be there eventually.  I will not stop.  Though titles are earned, no one can say you didn't do these reps.  My interest is bettering myself and I haven't gotten bored.  

It wasn't always this way and if someone told me 5 years ago this would have happened they would have ruined it.  I would have psyched myself out.  When I attempted MS every month, it became a double edged sword.  On one hand I had many opportunities and on the other I traveled a great deal throughout the year which became taxing.  The good news is, the more you test yourself in different places/situations, the better you become at assessing what you can do "that day" .  If something is slightly off, it can mean a significant amount of reps.  

In my personal experience, kettlebell competition is the hardest thing I have ever done and it will get harder.  I welcome it.  

One other thing.  

Who you are depends on two very important factors.  You can have one or the other and that is good.  But its better if you can have both for the best progress.

1.  Where you stand with the reps you can perform

and

2.  Who your coach is 

Very simple

Friday, June 27, 2008

Timeline of my kettlebell experience

2002

First heard about kettlebells from my friend.  
3-4 months snatched 16 reps each hand with 24 kg

2003
Jerked 2 24 kgs 16 reps and snatched 20 reps each side with 24 kg

2004
Jerked 2 24 kgs for 22 reps at 2004 nationals
Snatched 45 reps each hand with 24 kg

2005 

In this order
Jerk two 24 kg kettlebells 
44 reps
50 reps
72 reps
90 reps

Snatches

70-90 reps each hand with 24 kg

32 kg Jerks

8 jerks with 2 32kgs
10 jerks with 2 32kgs
12 jerks with 2 32kgs
13 jerks with 2 32kgs
14 jerks with 2 32kgs
17 jerks with 2 32kgs
23 jerks with 2 32kgs
25 jerks with 2 32kgs
at Atl 35 jerks with 2 32kgs
at Moscow 28 jerks with 2 32kgs

Snatches

29/29 
36/36
38/38


2006
When doing snatches after jerks
35/35
32/30
35/35
40/40
43/44

Her is where I got messed up with technique.  I had worked so hard no knowing at what I was doing and drastically trying to change something that set me back

2007

Jerks
56 Jan
56 Feb
56 March
61 April
60 May
37 June or July.  

August or Sept 67-68

Nov 66(MS)

Snatches (2007)

November 87 but keep in mind I had changed something and only did minimal to get what I needed.

Jan 2008 100 snatches in 8 minutes.  



Thursday, June 26, 2008

Competition with a focus of intramural sports

There are aspects about them that I do not like.  

This is perhaps one of the biggest ways to get injured yes.  Of course professionals exert themselves the most and develop injury.  You are talking elite competition.  

I use softball as an example.  Office workers and untrained individuals with pot bellies and high blood pressure doing this for "fun".  

Another favorite is basketball.  

People like to compete, period.  

What people don't like is to lose.  

If someone knows his level is close to someone elses in a given sport he/she will try most cases.  Its not hard to know.

Without sounding too condescending but I have no other way to describe it, people playing Intramurals can be are sorts of people.  They become very competitive and unhealthily so.  By that I mean mentally.   They don't appreciate hard work that goes into practice to be a professional.  Should they?  I'm not saying that.  

But it would behoove them to research a sport before trying it if they become competitive at any level.  

The reality is that they don't and this is where injury becomes all too real and all too common.  I have heard about people running to first base(all out) and breaking a femur because their body walked very little to get from point A to point B.   I have heard of someone that exerted themselves too much in basketball only to drop dead from a heart attack.  This false impression of being "Active" is when people run into this.   They don't prepare their bodies for a sport.  

Remember that I am talking about an ideal situation that may not coincide with reality.  A lot of coaches may not be available and knowledge is scarce and people in general are not patient.  

There are no standards for strength and conditioning and therefore no standard of fitness when it comes to intramural sports other then who does the best on tryout day.   Some intramurals there are and some there are not.  

Kettlebell sport can be competitive on many levels which reinforces acquiring a coach.  It doesn't have to be VF.   But thats a loaded statement:]  If I wanted to learn Basketball I prefer Michael Jordan(no brainer).  If I wanted to learn about boxing I would learn from Mike Tyson.  If I wanted to golf I would like Tiger Woods to be my coach.  Are these realistic expectations?  Probably not.  

If you can get these people to coach at their given sport then thats amazing.  With kettlebells you can.   

Lifting 32 kgs all the time is professional level.  At this stage one should have all the tools of knowledge with which to use.

24 kgs for Masters is also competitive.  
16 kg  for Juniors.
I'm not keen on 16kg for women ;) but thats ok.   20 kg soon. 

Intramural is something less then listed above.   The high repetitions occur but with less weight and varying times.  The main/key points and philosophy should not be looked over especially for this category.  Most people who just want to be fit still/especially need the basics.  If I wanted to learn basics for a fitness standpoint in  boxing, I would still like an opportunity to ask Mike Tyson.  Or ask Tiger Woods about golf.  I've seen boxing classes for fitness.  Mike Tyson wasn't teaching it.  

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Motivation/Interest/Adaptation

Kettlebell Sport (we sometimes refer to fitness sport) Competition requires motivation like anything else.  

My second day of consistent training I almost had a mini fever and wondered "how am I going to keep this up?"  dreading tomorrow.  I was already motivated of course to have considered this.  

Kettlebell Sport is a highly individualized sport but those compete understand the suffering it takes to achieve levels.  Yes there are considerations for already athletic individuals and those with ideal body types etc.  

The bottom line as our results/numbers get higher and higher we tend to notice a few things.  

- More motivation occurs with realization of transformation aka adaptation
  -- That said, cutting out the foods(that have little to no nutrients per calorie) will aid performance.   This is noticed most when we for some reason think its a good idea to eat   burger king, Mac Donalds etc.   I did that the other day(onion rings from BK).   I almost died. 
      
  -- People adapt to fast food in that their bodies crave it and processed food/sugars.  What tasted good before I can't really eat now(ice cream/soda/cake/candy etc).  Now what I didn't have that much I like now.  (Fruits/vegetables/sweet potatoes without sugar etc) actually tastes better.   This was somewhat gradual but it helps to have recommendations along the way.  When I went through this transition I slowly came to ask questions of my own from various sources about what to put in my body to help with performance.  I still have yet to learn the ideal combination of nutrition but have come a long way when knowing my body and how it responds to different foods.  This correlates to competition when we are faced with less then desirable conditions.  This is much more pronounced when we are in better shape.  

So when I'm on the platform, I wanted to do 60 reps in LAtvia when I should have tried for 50 not accounting for the travel.  In Miami the same thing happened.  I started out at 8 reps a minute to get 66 but probably would have been good with 70 had I started out at 7 rpm.  Its experience and realizing exactly what can do in that exact moment at that exact place and whether you feel like it or not.  Adaption on the spot is an action wrought of experience.  The more competitions or public attempts I perform the better I get at learning to perform in almost any condition within reason.   
  
  -- Having a pre-workout drink can hinder more then help sometimes.  Food especially.  The consideration is how long before and what is consumed and how much.  4 oz of tea before is fine but we have this society were we have a drink in our hand all the time.  I don't drink water in the 3 hours at the gym and see guys carrying a gallon of water around for a body building routine.  Are they wrong?  I don't think so.  They are trying to make their muscles bigger.   Drinking water while working out will do that.  Its a different goal with emphasis on muscular hypertrophy and strength.  

--  When women do sets of 10 - 20 reps they're bodybuilding as well in some form.  They use light weights in the hopes that they tone and are "smaller" looking.   The rep range follows the body's reaction.  They will gain mass and a little bit of strength.  

Getting back to motivation when I realized how quickly(in most difficult activities) how much better we perform from nutrition, we change on many things.  You crave the things that are essential to eat instead of just doing it because "its the right thing to do" .   That latter reasoning is at times what causes us to quit.  I actually get motivated to go to the grocery store and get the healthiest things I can think of so that my numbers go up.                 

Again, the process is measured in baby steps.  I'm interested in many things, technique, training harder(breaking my records), researching about nutrition etc and adapting as I move along.  In my experience with this, I can't start out thinking "I'm really motivated to do this!!!"  I had to take baby steps and do the right things.  As more and more "right things" were implemented, it would speed of the progress and motivation.  In turn progress motivates us even more.  

So if you are only slightly interested or motivated in the beginning its ok.  Consider it healthy skepticism.  That is kind of where I was when I did 2 24kg jerks for single digits.  

For example about measuring success,  "I'm at Rank VI and I am going to make Rank V etc."  1 month later the person is Rank IV.   And BTW, for those specialize in other areas of activity, it can sometimes be fun to go back and see what is different in terms of how this progress affected other activities.   

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Training: Coming back is different the first go around


My de conditioned workout .

one armed LC for 20 minutes with 12 kg.  I used one switch.  

105 reps each hand.  The gym had been on the warm side and I sweat a little.  
I felt tired and though the weight had been light I still felt tired. 

It amazes me how easily the "downhill" can occur.  

This pattern of returning will be different for the first time 
around so those who have the ability to do this with difficulty will have a different pattern/frequency then what I do for the next month.  So if you are following along keep in mind that I don't recommend this as a training routine for progress simply because its different. 

Ok I wasn't quite finished.   In the next few weeks I don't know whats gonna happen.  This set felt like (when I was conditioned) what 20-24 kg would have done to me for that amount of reps for that length of time.  It is not a direct comparison because after a workout I feel somewhat decent but I felt tired for the remainder of the day.  It hits you in all areas.  Mental state, physical state etc.  I just felt blah.  

Friday, June 20, 2008

Technique refinement, the never ending process and what is good technique?

Ok.  This is something that I find fascinating.  When I went to Moscow I talked about how the technique was "different"  then when I saw VF in San Diego I thought that understood what I thought good technique was.  I was wrong.  

Looking at VF during his competitive days I saw a similarity to the Moscow competitors that I didn't see in the current VF so I asked "Whats going on?"  

As we train ourselves we develop our muscles to being sharper at the activity.  For Example, the Jerk tends to have a sharper movement with a competitive athlete(who trains professionally) then someone who trains for fitness or for cross training.  They simply have more refinement due to higher levels of training.  

I remember one of the certs, VF said the last time he did a set was the cert prior.  That said his leg muscles though strong are not what his competition legs were in terms of quality of muscle.  Therefore his dip in the jerk would be shorter when he was professional.  His legs were stronger.  

Take a look at this competitive video

Now look at a video here

Both techniques are correct but one looks sharper then the other.  More refined.  That is simply a training effect.  I'm stronger therefore need less ROM to initiate the same amount of power for jerk.  

When I understood what aspects of technique were important I realized what was correct and what wasn't.   

Sometimes something that looks different does not mean that it is wrong.  In this case, it simply means the athlete's muscles are more honed to perform the Jerk.  It is a crisper or sharper looking movement if you will.  

- Proper alignment, proper kettlebell position for safety on the wrist etc 
-  Where the hand resides in the kettlebells.  
- What constitutes a good rep where safety is equally important as performance
- What the main points are assistance exercises are for, ie swings, Jerks etc.  

In the beginning it can be overwhelming to learn all these points but the beginners are at an advantage.  I've seen this in the hundreds of people I have helped certify and in myself.  

It is better to learn it right the first time then to change something.  When you work with professional weights(32kg) already it becomes much harder to improve your technique.  That is why beginners have the advantage. 

In this video of Lauri you have beginners and some others who do decent.  

In 2 months their technique will be much improved just based on what I see with Lauri's technique in this video.  


Lauri had technique issues to work on before but based on this snatch video she has improved to the point where the things that need work are minuscule and while little details make a big difference, she is mostly done with her technique here. 

 I don't expect overnight experts.   

 That is why we train.  We learn through repetition and coaching hence the title "the never ending process" of learning.  Lauri is continuing to learn and already has done well with technique improvement.  

I have many witnesses that can vouch that it took me about a year to improve my snatch technique to the point where I felt confident about it.   I had to relearn what I was doing and it had been frustrating because I had already worked myself to a certain level.  

And while hard work is good, hard work with the best technique is better and 1200+ hours in the gym helped me to understand that.   Its why I got stuck at 80 snatches but I'm good now for over 100.  And soon when I get better the numbers will go up significantly.   

Regards

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Coming back from surgery/Working within our parameters


I will keep this short and sweet.
I tried a one armed long cycle with 12kg for 6 minutes switching hands on the minute with an emphasis on technique.   

I did 6 reps per minute for the first 4 minutes and 14 reps per minute on the last two minutes.

It did not feel sufficient for the day.  

And since I don't want to push the weight I need to do more reps but I'm impatient and wanted to do 1000 reps in minimum time.  

So, on a whim I did 12 kg one armed swings for fun, one switch.  It pans out to 500/500 and took approximately 28 minutes.  

I can't or should try to lift heavy for about 4 weeks but I can get a good workout with 12 kg. Granted I've been laying around doing nothing for two weeks straight and had lost a quart of blood or more.  The low iron count from the blood loss affected my energy level and walking around and interacting became taxing.  

As of yesterday I felt normal in that it wasn't.  
Its about how you feel and I felt good about this set of 1000 with 12 kg.  So the work done was 12000kg in one set.   

Monday, June 16, 2008

Sources of inspiration


I don't want to name drop too too much.  

After having been told here and there I was a source of inspiration, I say that the honor was and is mine.  They were the inspiration.  A truly positive thing.  New youngsters like Garrett inspire me with what they could become.  The bottom line is to achieve greatness.  Andrew Durniat, Steve Cotter, Scott Helsley, Susanna Baxter, David Zink, Lorraine Patton, Catherine Imes have all achieved greatness.  The inspire everyone, especially me.  I brag about them constantly to people who don't know about kettlebells.  I brag about Eric Liford's success story with kettlebells.   Jon Hoskins inspires me with his technique perfection.   VF goes without saying.  

Here is a video of results and cohesive effort.  YouTube - IGSF Long Cycle Championship



But what is interesting are the new people who get caught up in the spirit of competition even if it is on the sidelines.  Some of them later compete and continue to encourage.  Chris Duffy, Philip H, Rebecca and Lauri, Scott Shetler who are all supportive are achieving greatness.  Stop and look back to where you were when you started and assess where you are now.   

I remember Lauri when she started out and had been frustrated but always tried and tried and tried.  That is inspiration.  I saw her video recently and her snatches have improved so much. Lots of good things going on.  I say this as example of very many coaches who have come a long way.   

To me it doesn't matter your level but where you want to go.  How fast you get there almost doesn't matter as long as you continue to move.  Since VF has provided the method it becomes methodical and with the right elements to decide who you want to be.  

These people are driven which indicates that to succeed they all have to lead by example.   So in a sense we have a bunch of leaders.  Some lead by example, others coach and there are those who do both.  

I am saying what I had always been thinking but had been too busy training.   Since I'm on the sidelines, its easy to see everyones' progress.   

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Kettlebell Sport Athletes with different backgrounds


KETTLEBELL SPORT ATHLETES 

I talk about this all the time, the different people with very different backgrounds that come to the competition.  Since Strength/Endurance is a spectrum people can put up the same numbers starting at the opposite direction from each other on the strength/endurance spectrum.  

To put it simply, some come with more endurance background and some with more strength. 

To turn things sideways, technique mastery plays a role but to a point.  For Kettlebell Sport 32 kg had been chosen as the weight to use.  It affects many in different ways.  For some it may seem heavy, so the focus for them would be strength if they have endurance as their forte.  The other side of the coin are those who have strength to lift multiple x 32 kg for one rep.  Their endurance will need work.   No brainer.  

I like to put myself next to a few individuals of Team of America.  I won't name drop right now but will say that one has more endurance then me.  With one armed 32kg/ two armed 24 kg he would beat me I think.  With two armed 32kg I would beat him.  There are others who would beat me with one armed 40kg that would match me with 2 32kg.  Its a game because athletes need to toggle back and forth as they improve.  Unfortunately, it would seem that it is all relative.  

How do we know what area we need to work on???

 Sure in the beginning of our quest to improve our condition we improve by leaps and bounds.   For someone who has been involved for a while needs to continue it becomes harder.  He/she may need to build strength and endurance together.  This is where the health aspect is probably the most important.  I need to recover better then before so I can train more volume to improve both strength and endurance together.  A high level athlete could be considered high level health(ability to recover faster). 

They have to....  

Sleep schedule and diet become more and more important.  Casual drinking is gone, drinking sodas or sweet drinks are gone.  Eating out casually is gone.  It depends how far you want to take it.  There is no limit because the result based on how many reps is what matters.  

I leave on a few questions:  

What kind of work capacity would I need to perform 220+ jerks for 10 minutes with 2 24 kgs?(There are people of varying bodyweights who have done this)
What kind of Vo2 max would I have?
What kind of strength would I possess?  

Just think about how fast that pace is with 106lbs for that amount of time.  Its quite a thing:)
This person has the best technique, the best endurance and plenty of strength.

Regards

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Styles and Methods: interpretation of AKC/WKC method

A. Lifting methodologies and my understanding of them.


When someone demonstrates a lift, what matters are the mechanics of the exercise and how much weight.

Bodybuilding: 7-20 reps with weight. Muscular hypertrophy and strength gain with an emphasis on hypertrophy


Powerlifting: 1-5 reps with weight. Muscular Hypertrophy and strength gain with an an emphasis on strength


Kettlebell lifting(WKC method): 30 reps - beyond with weight. Strength/endurance gain and the emphasis depends on duration(3 min to 3 hours or anywhere in between) from 8kg to 48 kg.


A kettlebell can be used for strength training provided the kettlebell is heavy enough for that rep range. But the best kettlebell lifters can do more reps with heavy kettlebells.


B. The Jerk and energy systems associated


I can use kettlebell for different purposes.


But, let us not confuse variety with results. The higher the intensity and the duration of that intensity determines the work output. Work output is the ultimate goal and work output in a the least amount of time determines an optimal workout. Heavy weights are key if the rep range is enough with increase joint resiliency, endurance(aerobic capacity), anaerobic capacity(mid distance and higher heart rates) and our explosive power(10-20 second bursts). People want variety but variety comes from the concept of bodybuilding. I get to work "all my muscles". With a few lifts I work all my muscles all ready so I've accomplished what "variety" intended to.



How is this accomplished?


I will explain the jerk utilizing three energy systems.
This lift is not cyclic in that these three components(explosive power, anaerobic and aerobic) are all used.


Explaining energy systems and explosive power from the jerk:
I believe that with kettlebell lifting, we can increase the duration of our anaerobic capacity and even explosive power. If I lift 5 reps per minute a lift called the jerk, the majority or most of my energy is aerobic. With 10-20 reps per minute I become more anaerobic.


Most people who had seen a kettlebell before had no concept of how to explode with the legs in the lift known as the jerk when they came to the certification and thats ok. With most of those it is like starting over.



Each time I project the kettlebells overhead the explosive component of the jerk I use a fraction of that explosive power endurance( taking something out of that 10-20 second burst). The range of motion for the vertical component of force is a handful of inches varying on the power of the individual. It may look "soft" because it is fast(the concept of the one inch punch).



The next question is how do we get such speed and power and the answer is practice. I practice the one inch punch concept every time I do a rep. I have to think about it. I have learned to contract and relax so fast that it is automatic. That destroys the misconception that we don't use tension. We do. We use the right amount and you can't see it because it is enough to get the job done. The weight goes up. Of course with max efforts(1 rep) I have to tense like crazy and there are techniques.


Let us not confuse looking strong with being strong.


Mastery of relaxation and tension is key for athletics.


This is why kettlebell lifting for time is NOT mundane or cyclic but mentally taxing as well as physical. I have to explode with the same amount of power for rep 66 as I did for rep one. I can't "Slow down" on the explosive component of the lift or I am a goner.




C. Myths


This concept of style implies a lot of myths about WKC methods that I can explain.


1. More work is being done per rep with the same weight, distance and time
2. It is more explosive because there is more tension involved in the lift.
3. Good technique takes away from conditioning.
4. Density training versus hanging on to the bell.


1. More work with the same weight means unfocused energy which means I train my body to become unathletic. I'm sure there a lot of accomplished athletes who argue the point but read the words of this blog before you respond and think about what they convey. Real life is about efficiency. If I am more efficient then the next guy in the boxing ring and our strength is equal then guess what: I will hit harder. Nothing prepares you more for real life then efficiency of technique. Technique is in everything. 100 reps with 16 kg doesn't measure against 100 reps with 48 kg.


2. If I perform an explosive lift with more tension I get in the way of my power. I slow down because I can not relax. It "looks" harder. I see people in youtube do a set with the half the weight I use and I find myself noting how hard they look like they're exerting when they are working. And even though I feel like sh$# I look like I'm ok and its almost dissappointing at times;) You learn how to deal with hell with a semi clear head.


3. Good technique enables us to potentially do more reps and safe reps. This means I can do more work and thus have my body adapt to be better.  If I se a heavy kettlebell I want the technique that has the least likelihood of injury.  Heavy weight in any endeavor will by its nature carry more risk.  


4. Let me clarify about switching hands, as it has been brought to my attention.  I meant to say putting the bell down.   I've been informed that in grappling switching hand position occurs.  Let me say this.  Putting the bell down relieves the body from time under duress.  In a UFC fight they are under duress for quite some time.  

D. APPLICABILITY
Let me bring up a story about functional strength in use

I don't have technique.  Technique would certainly help.  


I don't know how credible this kid's story was but he claimed to be a North Carolina state competitor in wrestling. My cousin talked me up and the challenge was on. I am not a good wrestler and worse grappler but it is something I would like to potentially get into at some point in my life. I don't know any submissions so I can't submit someone without hurting them. Wrestling you can hold the person on their back and they give up. This guy put a cradle on me and was very very quick and clinical. A cradle is when he locks hands holding one leg and behind the neck. I simply straightened my leg out of it and wrestled him using brute force and ignorance.


I am not saying that Kettlebell lifting makes you great at wrestling but imagine if someone my size and my level(Master of Sport  and beyond in kettlebells) competed in grappling or wrestling. since Russia has hundreds of MS in kettlebells it could be very likely.


I can't take a break during a contact sport or carrying someone from the field to the helicoptor or someone out of a smoke filled house.   


Time under tension enhances joint (connective tissue) strength/durability. Time under tension is about the aerobic portion and joint resiliency enhancement of timed sets. Reps of 10 the body tries to body build as an adaptation. But the joints will not be as taxed, strong or resilient compared to an individual who does timed sets with the same weight.


E. Calling us "GS" but what is GS?  What does the side effect embody?  


"GS" style refers to the technique we use and people who try to validate mistakes in technique say they use both without ever having been to a seminar. Again nothing personal but the key points are being missed in what they consider what they do a "GS" style snatch. People ask questions, some wanting honest answers and others in challenge. For the latter, I am not sure what to say. I am not being personal, only trying to help others avoid the same mistakes I made. These mistakes are technical mistakes and are easy to fix and understand as mistakes with an open mind.


For the record, the original methods in the Russian Military reference WKC methods. WKC is a name but it represents high level athletes.


There is more to methods then variances in body postures. WKC methods(Denisov, Fedorenko, Fugelev, Anasanko). I repeat there is more then body posture variances when it comes to methods.


Regards

Stepping back to step forward


Well here goes on my first blog:
With this jaw surgery I am set back a few months.  It was not fun for the last two weeks to say the very least.  In about three weeks I can start stable training to get back to where I was.  I predict that it will seem difficult especially at first.

First of all, congratulations to all who competed in Hamburg.  As for unfavorable conditions and bad days I've had my share.  It sucks.  I have to adapt on the spot and "its experience"  like VF says.  Work with what you got.  Well done anyways.  
Getting back to stepping forward after having stepped back... I have worked with professional(32kg) kettlebells, with less then optimal technique but it seemed to have "felt" more comfortable but was the very thing holding me back from 60-70 jerks and 80-100 snatches.  

This is what Fedorenko said all along and I think because (experience wise) I had more time under the bells then most, I had a problem going back to unlearn and undo bad habits.  I didn't have a coach!  The year 2007 throughout changed that and part of 2008.   Since technique is even better now, I predict more gains. Technique will grant me potential to push myself harder and ultimately make myself better in a strength capacity and endurance capacity.  It is not quite one or the other entirely.  We as humans don't necessarily function with strength or endurance alone.  More for endurance to take a side but I am not a marathon fan.  While I respect it, it is too much in my opinion.   Work capacity is what we have potential to exude in copious amounts.

And since kettlebell lifting is yet to be researched on many levels, it will be interesting to see how using them to their fullest potential will affect the human body.