IGX

Overall, a good,solid product. I wish I would have started doing kb
work with this kind of info. I feel like I need to go back to work on some
basics now.

The Good:
-The progression and attention to detail on the technique of the lifts are excellent.
In this sense, I think the title of "kettlebell foundation" is justified.

-The warm up and cool down programs are very well designed. These
are good programs on their own without the emphasis on KB lifting. It seems
like there is overlap in these with his intuflow and yoga stuff, so if you dont
own the other dvds, the KB DVD set is an even better value.

-I was concerned he was going to make use of clubbells like he has in
other videos (dont have any CBs), but this was just kbs.

Criticisms (mostly minor):
-He doesnt cover the double kb jerk. I guess the technique is the same
as with 1 kb, and it didnt bother me, but I could see where someone
would have wanted a bit on it. Perhaps he felt the target audience wasnt going
to do double KB work, even a competition lift like the 2kb jerk.

-The "Training protocol" section was a bit brief. I was hoping for something
more along the lines of the 4*7 stuff he has written about in the past. But
perhaps this isnt the intention of this DVD, and like I said before, he has posted
stuff on the 4*7 protocol for kb lifting on the web.

Feel free to ask questions...

echo everything you said.

In addition I really liked the mobility warm up and cool down. Seemed to be mostly variations of, or more advanced moves from IntuFlow which I also enjoy.

I haven't completed watching all three DVDs, but so far I'd have to agree with all of the above. The separate "follow along" sections on the warm up and cool down discs are a great idea.
Maybe it's just my copy, but I had to use the "title" function to access the menu on the KB technique disc, which was odd. That's a minor technical issue though.

Yeah, it's a bit weird that both the front and back cover feature pics of Scott with two KBs in the rack, when he doesn't cover any doubles work on the DVDs. Speaking of the jacket photos, I can't figure out if that's a sly come hither stare, or if it's sleepy time.

This is totally irrelevant, but I'm going to nit-pick anyways. Sonnon starts the description of the hand-cuff warm up by saying he invented it for KB lifters, then immediately (I think it's the very next sentence) talks about how he learned the move in Russia.

As I said though, from what I've watched so far this appears to be a very well put together product. Excellent work Scott!

I have the dvds but haven't had a chance to watch them yet. How long does the warmup and cool down take?

Without reviewing the dvds yet the only drawback so far is that Scott is wearing a shirt on the dvd case. The smoldering stare almost makes up for it though. Almost.

He mentions that the cool down takes 5 minutes if you do each exercise for the prescribed 20 seconds, back to back. Looks like the warm up would take about 10 to 15 minutes? Not sure, haven't tried either... curious to hear the answer myself.

Update: I did the full JM warmup yesterday, and it took about 20 minutes. I think once I get more familiar with the movements and sequence that'll come down to about 15 pretty easily.

Mickey O'neil wrote:Without reviewing the dvds yet the only drawback so far is that Scott is wearing a shirt on the dvd case. The smoldering stare almost makes up for it though. Almost.

Play on, playa.

Since this is a Foundations set & the focus is on fitness 99.9% of the people out there won't want to do or need to do 2kb jerks.

The technique for 2kb is different from the rack up. Notice how his hip kicks to the side under the bell to support it in the rack. With 2 kbs you can't do that. 2kb rack requires a lot more hip flexibility, upper back mobility, hamstring & calf flexibility.

I've only gone through disc 1. It is good so far. He beat VF to the punch and it is a good thing.
It is a very well done production.

I do wish he had shot some of his demo sets at a 45 degree angle instead of from the and straight on. It's is hard to see some of the movement at those angles. Also the camera guy gets caught off-guard a few times and makes a quick zoom out to show what Sonnon is pointing out with the bell down low.

Sonnon's dvd package is very very good. The instruction and demonstrations are excellent and very detailed. He goes through the different types of breath to use. He demonstrates each movement as one would teach a beginner going from basic movements to advanced. I haven't gone through all of warmup jm dvd but what I have seen of it it is very comprehensive. I'm sure once I get through all of the jm warmup dvd and the cool down dvd I will incorporate these myself, time given that is. So far it is very good stuff.

Also I agree with everything Dave says about 2kb stuff. Once I work with the 1kb for a couple of months I am going to switch to 2kb work and will adjust technique at that time.

Been watching these a bit at a time... there's a LOT of material.

appa wrote:-The "Training protocol" section was a bit brief. I was hoping for something
more along the lines of the 4*7 stuff he has written about in the past.

I think what he's got will work for most people, although I don't like that he suggests working with 15 second increments (just too much of a pain in the ass to keep track of, but maybe that's just me). Also, unless I'm misunderstanding, the ultimate goal seems pretty insane:
3min./3min. sets of 3 exercises for 5 rounds, with 30secs. rest between sets means you're doing 90mins. of work with 10mins. rest (total). Even with a relatively light weight that's a lot. Not to mention with 15 - 20mins. for the warmup, and 5 - 10mins. for the cool down your workout is going to be 2hrs. or more. That's fine by me, but it's not exactly the quick & comprehensive sort of workout that attracts a lot of people to KBs in the first place.

Dave wrote:Since this is a Foundations set & the focus is on fitness 99.9% of the people out there won't want to do or need to do 2kb jerks.

The technique for 2kb is different from the rack up. Notice how his hip kicks to the side under the bell to support it in the rack. With 2 kbs you can't do that. 2kb rack requires a lot more hip flexibility, upper back mobility, hamstring & calf flexibility.

I know, and I agree that one arm work comes first (and will be enough for many people), it just irks me that he's holding two KBs in the photos on both the front and back of the case, when he doesn't cover any two arm work inside.
You're right about being able to tilt your hip to the side for the one arm rack as well, although I've been advised that if you plan on doing two arm work you should try and keep your hips as square as possible, regardless. But as Mickey pointed out you can make that adjustment later on too, just thought I'd mention it.

Having been to the AKC cert, that content is basically what the technique portion of this DVD set is, *without* the language barrier that is sometimes a problem when Fedorenko is trying to teach the finer points.

That alone, I thought, was worth the price. The addition of the joint mobility and cool-down makes this a great value.

Tommy D wrote:This is totally irrelevant, but I'm going to nit-pick anyways. Sonnon starts the description of the hand-cuff warm up by saying he invented it for KB lifters, then immediately (I think it's the very next sentence) talks about how he learned the move in Russia.

I picked up on that too. The "handcuff" also appeared in the compensations portion of the "Forward Pressure" DVD.

I think in context, he meant that he "invented" the idea to use the technique as a kettlebell compensation/warmup.

This is a very, very good package, well worth the wait. I am very pleased to have it.

Abandoned by Wolves wrote:I think in context, he meant that he "invented" the idea to use the technique as a kettlebell compensation/warmup.

I took it that way as well.

Abandoned by Wolves wrote:This is a very, very good package, well worth the wait. I am very pleased to have it.

I very much agree.

I just finished watching the videos.
The kettlbell portion was a good review of the basics. There was nothing here that I had not already heard, credit to my coach I guess.
The warm up and cool down are very very interesting and made the purchase worthwhile. I will be using them from now foward.
The warm up is focused joint mobility drills. The cool down is yoga like stuff that will challenge my stiff body.
Good stuff.
The down side is that there is little programming or actual training ideas.
The door is still WIDE open for real GS style training dvd.

I watched this too, recently.

KB Lifts

The instruction was very in-depth, as seems to be a hallmark of Scott's work...in some instances I thought it was too repetitive, but that's not a bad thing for a neophyte, just an example of my impatience.

Warm Up/Mobility

Good stuff, as always. Well thought out and useful.

Cool Down/Compensation

For me, some of the stuff is damn near impossible, however this section is well thought out and potentially very useful. I cannot, for example, sit down on my heels in the kneeling position due to quad and knee tightness. My gut also gets in the way of some of the twisting stuff.