I was GOING to write a CK-FMS blog post...

... but Mark Snow, RKC did it better than I could have. Here is how he said it:

Are you Helping or Hindering Your Performance?

MAY 24, 2010

tags: RKC, david whitley, HKC, Functional Movement Screen, Gray Cook, Brett Jones, FMS, CK-FMS, training for RKC

by mrsghp

Hope everyone is dong very well. I just returned from a fantastic event, the RKC’s Certified Kettlebell Functional Movement Specialist Workshop. What a wonderful 4 days Nikki and I had with our RKC brother/sisterhood.

Throughout all the lectures, labs, and exercise breaks I started thinking to myself: “who would not want to be FMS screened and/or attend CK-FMS?”

Think about it for a second. For those of you who have trained for RKC level I or II, how many of you had to deal with some kind of setback/injury? How many of you when training or attending RKC was informed that your technique was sub par and really struggled with proper technique?

Did you ever think that your setback and/or injury may have been due to a limitation that may exist in your body? How about the thought that this limitation puts your body in a position that you cannot perform the RKC standard for exercise technique?

That is the beautiful thing about the FMS.
It sets a baseline that gives you an idea about what your limitations are (be it asymmetry or imbalance). It provides you with a proven method of correcting these limitations whether it be improving on mobility, stability and/or motor control.

The reason why I am talking about it is because I have seen it as well as experienced it. I have seen individuals training for HKC and RKC get setbacks in their training due to a limitation. I have seen those same individuals fail their certification because they would not take the time to work on that limitation.

I am no better!!! I had alot of trouble getting my snatch numbers as well as being able to demonstrate RKC competency in my press and snatch in the lockout position. I was very fortunate enough to understand my shoulder/thoracic limitation in my FMS score and addressed it during training and taking a step back from training to get my shoulder mobility score to where it needed to be. Then I slowly progressed back into proper technique with corrective exercise and help from my instructor Master RKC David Whitley.

So if you would consider some advice:

If you are planning on training and attending a RKC level I or HKC. Take the time to get a FMS and work with an RKC. Better yet, get with a CK-FMS and get the best of both worlds. Then you can make sure that you are limitation free and that your technique is solid.

If you are RKC Level I, attend CK-FMS. This is a terrific opportunity for you to better yourself as a Kettlebell instructor. Knowing your clients FMS score helps tremendously with guiding you as a RKC to determine what patterning will work best to get your clients training with proper technique. Remember what I said earlier, poor technique may be due to your client’s limitation

Also you are giving your clients more value to your training by helping to get them in fantastic shape AND prevent injury!

Nikki and Imade a very good decision and went to CK-FMS before attending RKC II. This gives us all the tools to keep our limitations at bay and have the optimal ability to train for the rigors of Level II. Also, another smart thing we have decided is to attend the Summit of Strength to help us get our technique on target to train limitation free and with solid technique!

Training ADD and Random Acts of Variety

MRKC Mark Reifkind uses the term "Random acts of variety" to describe training with no purpose - doing random exercises with no real objective - or at least no real focus. I have had, in the past, training ADD and if you follow the blog know that I have put myself on variety restriction. What my training has evolved into is:

2 days of the MRKC David Whitley's "Furnace" (one round with a 12kg, one round with a 16kg, one with a 20kg, and one with a 24kg - because each training session with the Furnace has two rounds)

1 day of Geoff Neupert's "Deep Six" (using the 12kg and 16kg - trying to work up to all 5 rounds with the 16kg.)

A couple of days of playing around with heavy deadlifts (usually 9 single sumo deadlifts with 2 48kg's) just because I love deadlifting.

I love this schedule. I feel like by sticking to the basics my RKC skills are staying sharp. I dont feel like my head is spinning trying to figure out what program to do and never actually doing anything purposeful.

Big Mike Bottoms Up Presses the 40kg!

Mike is a naturally strong guy but he topped himself this week by bottoms up pressing a 40kg kettlebell. He's pretty close to the 44kg!

Before You "Rep it Out" Read This Article by Pavel

This article explains the fine art of the grind. Enjoy!

Slow is Smooth and Smooth is Fast

By Pavel
© 2010 Power by Pavel, Inc.

This article was inspired by Marty’s insightful Rep Speed: Velocity Versus Grind piece and its title by Jordan Vezina, RKC Team Leader.

“Slow is smooth and smooth is fast”. If lifters picked up this paradoxical cue from shooters, there would be lot more strength to go around.

Understanding a perfect ‘grind’ calls for a short lesson in Newtonian physics. F=ma, force equals mass multiplied by acceleration. This formula has at least two implications for a lifter. First, to quote influential Russian coach Sergey Smolov, ”…more strength is needed to lift a heavy [weight] fast than to lift it slow and, accordingly, the slower is the… lift, the greater weight can be lifted.”¹ Say, F equals 4 units (forget Newtons for simplicity’s sake). You can arrive at F of 4 by different combinations of m and a: 2×2, 1×4, 4×1, etc. If the first number represents mass, it becomes apparent that you will lift the heaviest weight with lower acceleration: 4×1, not 1×4. (Theoretically, one would lift the most weight at a near zero acceleration—e.g. 4=400×0.01— but then we run into an endurance problem as one’s max force output drops off in seconds.)

The second lesson from the F=ma formula is that acceleration must remain positive until the completion of the lift. If you have been moving as fast as you could from the start of the lift, you will be forced to slow down at the sticking point because you are at you most disadvantageous leverage to exert maximum force. This deceleration will finish off your already low force output, compliments of Newton. The moral of the story: do not accelerate when it does not count, so you can when it does. According to Dr. Thomas McLaughlin, an expert max lift is characterized by relatively even, low acceleration.
You should teach yourself to lift in such a way that even the heaviest weight is slightly speeding up towards the lockout. Boris Sheyko, Marty Gallagher’s Russian counterpart, emphasizes that “The barbell must leave the platform unhurriedly but afterwards it should move with constant acceleration…” I would like to underline that he said “constant acceleration”, not “constant speed”.

Senior RKC Dan John has a few things to say on this subject. “My Coach, the late Ralph Maughan, taught us the key to throwing anything was “Constant Acceleration”. Anybody can start fast, but speeding up after starting fast gives little [explosion]. Starting by grinding your “off foot” and letting things build allows you to snap the implement at the right time. “It is difficult to teach this as the beginner wants to generate all the speed at the start and coast to the finish. And, by the way, the beginner is REWARDED at first with this method as the neophyte’s light weights can be jacked overhead. That is why many people love the first months of training, but success comes when frustration arises. After missing over and over with just enough to demand better technique, the athlete tends to give in, grind it up, snap it at the right moment and continues on the path. “That is why so many people like to “dabble” with the first fleeting success of lifting. Then, then try 5K runs or bike races or whatever. Greatness comes when you decide to be patient enough to take the time to lift/throw right.”

Dan has a brilliantly simple self-correcting method of teaching one to smoothly squeeze the barbell off the platform and “constantly” accelerate it: use a thick bar. If you jerk, your fingers will peel open. But if you think like an expert marksman, “Slow is smooth and smooth is fast”, you will make the lift. Consider using the double overhand grip and taking a pass on the chalk in your deadlift warmups to learn and reinforce this lesson.

Let us sum up.

A grind is a non-ballistic lift done with a low positive acceleration throughoutthe range of motion.

A grind is a professional mindset for lifting the most weight. A mindset that takes years to practice and perfect.

A grind is not jerky or panicked. It is not sluggish or artificially slow either.

A grind has composure. Like a space shuttle, it lifts off at its leisure and slowly picks up with the unhurried inevitability of an unstoppable force.
A grind displays the confidence of real strength.

38 percent of the participants at this RKC PRed on their Strict Press

In spite of fatigue, at the end of the second day of the RKC kettlebell instructor course at least one third of the students (38% at the course at which this photo was taken) set strict military press PRs. We teach them how to ‘grind’.
Photo courtesy www.DragonDoor.com

1. If you want to learn what the Russian science has to say about ‘grinding” versus exploding, refer to my book Power To The People Professional ↩

Helpful Tip for the TGU

As mentioned in an earlier post, MRKC Jeff O'Connor recently came to Condition and taught an Advanced Basics workshops covering the swing and Get-up in-depth. The piece of information I came away with that was the most beneficial is the following: I never knew you could pivot on the heel of the planted foot. Duh! It only makes sense because you want your toes and your knee pointing in the same direction. I was trying to come out into the bridge on the way down with my foot planted when I needed to pivot on my heel. It makes a HUGE difference. You may already be doing that, but if not it really helps.

Experience so far...

Last week, I posted my simple training plan. I modified it a little and also did the Warrior Diet starting Wenesday. Here is what happened:

Monday: Furnace workout with a 16kg both rounds

Tuesday: OFF

Wednesday: Deep Six (I decided to sub MRKC's Deep Six workout for one of the furnace days I was planning.

Thursday: Convict Conditioning focusing on Pullups

Friday: Furnace workout with 20kg first round and 12kg second.

I weighed myself Saturday and had lost 3 pounds since Tuesday... And felt awesome.

My experiment

I decided that I am tired of trying to juggle a whole bunch of exercises in my training. I want to get GOOD at something. And that something is pull-ups. I also want to maintain my strength for other exercises. My program that I am going to follow for the next 6 weeks is

3 days Furnace: starting out 1 day/week 16kg, 1 day 12kg 1 day 20 kg. Hopefully by the end it will be 30kg, 16kg, 24kg. Two days will be pullup protocols from Convict Conditioning.

Yesterday, I did the Furnace with a 16kg so today will be pullup day. I'll let you know what happens...