IronGarm

From an AKC coach's perspective:

http://firefightersworkout.blogspot.com/2007/09/east-coast-kettlebell-club.html

Blah, blah, blah....all fine and well. Some of the natural handleball people are drinking Kool-Aid way the fuck stronger than the hardstyle kettleball people. I'm quietly organizing a TRUE test using the achyball--since it's origin is as a unit of measurement for the Russian version of goober farmers, not for repetitions liftings over times. It will involve farm animals, baling hay, low-level violence and of coarse, vodka. It should be fun....and most importantly it will be a TRUE homage to the ball with handle that makes so many, so nutso, so easily. My dvd will be out very soon.

Just as annoying as the worst Pavel asskisser.

Gee funny thing is most of these big name athletes, actors and MMA fighters are not doing GS. (Sadly some are doing it with no real training.)

Article on Jason Stratham in Men's Health says he is workoing with Logan Hood of GymJones, using Kettlebells and those boys are'nt trying to be efficient, their hitting it hard.

Dylan,

Hitting it hard is what I did tonight when I did 37L/40R Jerks with a 24kg bell without setting it down for 10 min (Switching hands once at 5 min)....I was almost screaming because I wanted to set that fucking bell down. I did a drop set with a 16kg bell 8 min later and was still dying. So, the mis-conceptions continue.

Quite frankly, the days I go back and do a met con workout where I can set the shit down even for a few seconds is easier than my snatch or Jerk sets where I can't......I'm going hard and fast then and it is still easier to me.

Is the metcon stuff effective, sure..and it is tough as hell but just because one does an exercise efficiently (really..let's just say with good technique), doesn't mean their sets are easy. It just simply means they are doing it in such a way as to enable them to do more..safely.

CI

Cate,

With all due respect to you, what relevance does that have on this guy's blog post?

HVLN,

I addressed Dylan's comment about hitting it hard and efficiency and his perception of what it is we do( Notice: I addressed him directly ).Which quite frankly had nothing to do with the article.

I'll continue to clarify that point to anyone who hasn't bothered to train this stuff.

CI

We eagerly anticipate the Inagural HVLN Achyballs Tourney/Drunken Russian Biathlon

Look, since the true origin of the ball with a handle on it are more important and more mysterious than anything Nostradamus has posted on his blog, I figure we better do something to pay our respects, or else we might end-up like those poor people on Atlantis.

LOL, I saw that issue on the stands and said "Holy shit! what's Pavel doing on the cover of Men's Health?"

Cate,

No one with a brain is saying what you do is not tough, or good, but it can be boring to many and some would rather string 3 or 4 drills together and get in shape with out all the bullshit you have to go through to get the great results you have.

Cant you just realize that you guys dont have have exclusive rights to how a KB is used? You do know that these things were somewhat common in the US for years and people did lots of different things with them.

They are alot like a Swiss Army knife, you can do alot of different things with them.

And Americans want to look great when they get into fitness, they want to get ripped up and some of your crew fits that bill but many dont, even with all the ability and impressive conditioning they show, they dont look much better than the average normal weight person. The fuckers coming out of GymJones look shredded.

I think what you do is badass and admirable, I have been a fan of your's since Sterling Va. and Marty is impressive in what he does but alot of the way your crew is comming off is just as insulting and cultish as "The Party Line". It reminds me of the kids back in the day who would be Strait Edge one month, A Vegan the next, then a Metalhead and end up a Skinhead.

The fact remains the Kettlebell is making waves but GS is not, no one in any of the many fitness mags, journals and other media is saying shit about GS, but KBs themselves are becoming what I have been saying the would be, another tool in the kit, not just a stand alone answer to everything but part of a larger stew for fitness.

GymJones, CrossFit and Mahler have advanced KBs towards the common person more than Pavel and Fed have because they way they present it and the results are impressive and look like fun to people, whereas GS sounds like torture, even if the results are incredable.
Now the above efforts and exposser will lead SOME people to get more into them and yes some will want to enter your World and learn to master the tool to the obviously higher level, for that tool but many will never give a fuck.
It's like internal MA, it takes a long time to be able to use it in a fight, whereas Muay Thai, Pekiti Tarsia, BJJ or CQC can have you doing so in a shorter amount of time.
I would not fight with pure Daito Ryu at this point, but when I am 75 I probably will, like GS it is efficient as Hell, but takes alot to get anywhere with.
So be happy to be the Hsing-I and Daito Ryu masters of Kettlebells, but realize most people want to slam and bang and fuck up shop right away.

D,

Sterling is w/ Gymjones & we talked quite a bit after our match.
As you might see from the video, the dude is shredded.
His opinion?
3 things, no order:
Good genes
Fewer calories
More exercise

2/3 are controllable, & don't have to be perfect in order to get results.

Marc

Dylan speaks 101% truth....very good post.

Well Dylan, I was just responding to your efficiency statement...Because a statement made like that from someone who hasn't really tried this is a BS uninformed statement.

Where the fuck did I say that KBs could only be used in one way or another?

Yes, they are a tool. I've never said they were the only tool or that they only had one usage...I have said that if you don't have an interest in the high rep ballistics, that you may be better served with a barbell set and cheaper dumbbells if money is an issue..or making your own fuckng sandbags.


I've said repeatedly that this will not be mainstream in terms of 10 min sets. But, what I did notice this weekend is how easy people picked up on the ballistics as I taught them using things Valery taught me...I'm talking people who hadn't touched a KB. So, the technical points we learn can be mistaken as efficiency but the bottom line is that they are good for you...they are good for your shoulders, your elbows if you intend to do higher rep jerks and snatches. As I stated many times, I can do the reps I do and I don't have any joint issues, it may behoove people to take a few tips even if they never compete because even with their lower volumes they can benefit from the tips..and trust me when I say we aren't talking Rocket Science. There is a reason Valery's cert is only one day....


CI

Thug Fitness started in a small Lithuanian town,.......

The Stalin is strong in this Jedi...

...he has cut Pavel out of his history book.

Hahahah.

I just read that. He's definitely attempting a purge.

Ridiculous.

Das some funny shit! Furman gets honorable mention.

What's goofy is that you STILL find Russians, Ukrainians, etc, who use the kettlebell any damn way they want, not just how the "kettlebell" sport folks use it. Granted, it seems very basic with swings, snatches, cleans, jerks, pressing and juggling, but that isn't essentially the sporting method.

So, who's right? The people who just us it, or those competing in kettlebell lifting?

And kettlebell lifting in the olympics is about as likely as powerlifting or bodybuilding in the olympics.

Curling is still an Olympic sport? Mop mop mop all day long, not exactly what I would call Olympic caliber.

The thing is..It can be used for many things. It is my opinion that it is best used for high rep ballistics given their handles and their shape (better than swinging or snatching a dumbbell, or cleaning and jerking for very high reps)

If they are all you have and you want to press them, squat them, TGU ect..whatever, go for it. My guess and it is just a guess is that KBs are cheaper in Eastern Europe. So, I wouldn't doubt that they are used for many things there. Valery's coach can be seen doing a seated double bottoms up press with the 32s on the recent Youtube video. Valery at the last AKC Cert in Cincinnati did a 10 min Press set with the 32kg (35L/35R) with one hand switch. Of course, this is considered high rep.

Advocating primarily high reps won't sell as many KBs here though. The fact that they are advocated for maximal strength means that some have to spend more money when you hit the party's prescribed 5 reps for grinds or get an intermediate 20 or 28kg to brigdge the gap to the next .5 pood.

If your primary fitness goals are maximal strength and you have no interest in the high rep stuff, a barbell set or dumbbells are going to be a more economical choice.

CI

People will be asking the same thing about barbells in 100 years. "Yes! I saw ACTUAL VIDEOS of Steves Shafleys doing it that way! No, no! Video: it's what they had before holograms!"

I mean c'mon: look at the training logs on the p&b. Can you find 2 people doing all the same shit the same way?

People are going to use the fucking things for what they want to.

Those drawn to GS will do that kind of shit. Those drawn to circuits and stuff like that will do that. Etc, etc, etc.

There's no "one way"

There never was, and there never should be.

Hear, hear all those in favor say "Ya". All those oppose say "Nay".

I say Ya!!!

HLVN:

You're right, this achyball shit causes more madness than pussy!