Singapore Kettlebell Club

Moved

2010-10-20T13:20:00.002+08:00

I would no longer be posting to this blog. Check out my new blog at http://www.hermanchauw.blogspot.com.

FAQs: Knee Pain

2010-01-23T11:08:00.002+08:00

I commonly this questions on online forums (not exact word for word, but the gist is there):

I have just started jogging recently. I experience knee pain during the run. But the pain disappears after the activity stops. Any suggestions?

And of course there are many things suggested by a lot of people, eg: warm up properly, wear proper shoes, increase your distance gradually etc.

Now the problem with a lot of these cases, and a lot of other people who start physical training is that, their bodies are not prepared for their training. They have not done proper prehab to prevent injury. Some people think that stretching is a good enough warm up. Not necessarily so.

There are many ways to prevent injury, but what i want to highlight here is joint mobility. As people in urbanized society, majority do not have full mobility of all their joints.

The problem does not have to manifest itself through pain. When you do not exert yourself, you won't feel the pain. But once you start to ramp up your activity level, be it in activities of daily living or in physical training, the weaknesses start to become apparent.

How do i know this? Just do a physical assessment on anybody and find out how many people can't squat properly, can't jump properly etc. If you want to be more specific, try asking them to do pelvic tilts.

Pelvic tilts

Or thoracic surge and sway

If you can do these, chances are that you are have better mobility than those who can't do them. Master all the movements in Intu-FlowⓇ joint mobility system and i guarantee you less pain.

Last post here.

2009-11-04T12:20:00.002+08:00

Dear all, from now on, all posts would be posted at www.singaporekettlebellclub.com.

Thank you for your support.

Five Common Mistakes Beginners Make When Starting Physical Training

2009-10-20T16:08:00.017+08:00

In this article we'll look at some common mistakes people make when starting out weight training or physical training in general. This is not to boast how knowledgeable i am but to help you out in your training journey not to make the same mistakes that so many people have committed, including the author. I am also like you and am telling myself the same things as i am telling you these.

If you want to save frustration and injuries in your training journey, follow these advices.

1. Not learning and doing proper prehab and rehab

To keep it in short, prehab = injury prevention, rehab = recovery.

When you have just started, the cumulative trauma incurred in your body is little. You can get by without prehab and rehab. You make progress regardless of the quality of your training program. Until some time, you wonder why the aches and pains that used to go away after a couple of days start to stay on longer and longer. Or worse, you get a training related injury, too much too soon or otherwise.

Prehab and rehab are absolutely important to the long term progress of any training program. This is what makes people who perform seemingly impossible feats of performance going and going. The longer you have been in the iron game, the more trauma you subject your body to, the more you must unload your tissues from the activity. This is what we call compensatory movement or compensation in Circular Strength Training (CST).

2. Not having good movement prior to picking up weights or physical training

I have seen people in the physio clinic who are high level (or supposedly high level) athletes who can't squat and/or deadlift properly, who can't jump properly. And yet they compete in high level sports and are put through some really rigorous strength and conditioning.

Is it any wonder that they get injured?

The very least you can do before getting yourself into physical training is to get your movements rights. If you can't move properly with the body unloaded, what makes you think you can move properly when loaded?

In CST, our fitness hierarchy is:

1. Health - being pain free

2. Mobility - having pain free full range of motion in all directions

3. Function - being able to move normally with good technique

4. Attribute - strength, endurance etc, qualities for performance

5. Physique - having a beautiful body

3. Not learning proper technique for the core weight training lifts

The core lifts in weight training include deadlift, squat and overhead lifts (the list varies among coaches). These mimic movements in manual labour and everyday life. These are the lifts that are worth doing if you can't do any other exercises. These are movements that the average person should be able to do without injury.

It is true that the learning curve can be quite steep, especially if you do not have the mobility to begin with. But they are worth every drop of sweat when done correctly. As has been mentioned in my website, these lifts can give you strength that cannot be gained from machines.

When you have more energy for other exercises, then by all means go ahead and do them.

4. Trying to self-learn or self-teach

Out of every ten people who come for my kettlebell classes, including those who say that they have done kettlebell training themselves, only one can learn the lifts with minimal correction, only one can demonstrate the kettlebell lifts properly without any instruction. The majority will take a lot of movement relearning and correction to get the basics down.

Yes, with the advances in information technology, instructional videos on various weight training lifts abound on the net. As well as websites and articles on physical training. However, without the feedback that a qualified coach can give, people make mistakes without realizing them. Learning from videos is much different from live coaching.

5. Being stingy

I know of many people who have physical goals (whether it be getting rid of pain or losing weight or anything) who are not willing to spend money on instructions. Whether the instructions come form DVDs or live coaching does not matter. As a result, they never reach their goals.

If you need to spend, please spend. Health is a necessity. Would you rather spend the money now, pain free, or would you rather spend the money ten years later, in pain?

If spending a hundred dollars or less can buy you the tools to reach your physical goals, ten times faster than if you don't, isn't it worth every penny? Tools that you cannot get otherwise, unless becoming a coach yourself, which means 3-4 years in school studying anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, sports science etc.

If spending the hundred dollars can save you years of pain and suffering, isn't it worth every penny?

Conclusion:

To save you he frustration that i have outlined here, visit my website and come and learn the proper things about physical training.

Ten More Myths of the Fitness Industry

2009-10-09T14:33:00.013+08:00

Today we'll look at more myths, this time more specific to weight training. These are mostly well-meaning but misinformed advices given by people who do not involve themselves heavily in weight training. These kind of advice never comes from proper weight training athletes or coaches.

Most of these advices are given either because:

-People really do not know what they are talking about.

-People do not want to spend time teaching clients proper technique, which is absolutely important for a safe and effective weight training program.

Or a combination or both.

1) Squats hurt your knees

I have heard this many times and the people who say this are people who do NOT do the squat as an exercise. However on the other hand, there are people who squat heavy and do not get knee pain.

What's the catch? If you squat wrongly, as a lot of people do, knee dominant style, you WILL get knee pain. If you squat properly, you won't get knee pain.

2) You must not let the knees go beyond the toes in the squat

For beginners, this advice probably is not bad, especially if they squat knee dominant. However this is just the tip of the iceberg.

The truth is that in all normal activities involving knee flexion, your knees WILL go beyond the toes. When you walk, run, jump, climb stairs etc. All involve getting the knees beyond the toes.

What is the catch? It is the hip angle or hip action. If you get your glutes activating properly in the squat, the knees are well protected. Some coaches teach that the most important knee (and ankle) stabilizers are the glutes.

3) You must not squat below parallel, or partial squats are safer than full squats

Another advice of similar type to the above. If your squat technique is poor, partial squats probably are safer than full squats.

But surprise of all surprises, the forces in the knee joints are lower in the full squat than in the half squat. Full squats activate the hamstrings and glutes more than partial squats. Which means better knee stability.

Oh by the way, if you squat fully, you can't help but get the knees beyond the toes.

So we already have 3 points about squats, it is no wonder that so many people shy away from this excellent exercise. If you want to improve your squat technique, please come for my squat class.

4) Deadlifts hurt your back

Related to the first post. Most people equate deadlift with bending down from the spine. They can't differentiate bending down from the waist (ie spine) and bending down from the hips.

Take a look at this diagram to know what is the waist and what is the hip: http://kettletell.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/WHR-Waist-Hip-Ratio.jpg

Bending from the waist is dangerous, but not bending from the hips. In the proper deadlift, the hips is where all the action of the movement takes place. The hips are designed to do this, not the waist.

If you want to improve your deadlift techqnique and prevent back pain, come for my deadlift class.

5) Overhead lifting is dangerous

I don't really know what people mean when they say this. Probably they are thinking of a missed lift and that it is difficult to get yourself out of the way of a falling bar/dumbbell.

But the truth is, it is much safer than the commonly done bench press. Assuming you lift in a safe place (ie not cluttered with equipment, not have people walking past you when you train, with an empty space where you can dump the bar), it is very easy to escape from a falling barbell. Just see a weightlifting competition to see how the lifters do it.

On the other hand, if you miss a bench and do not have any spotter nearby, you are in for a tough time.

Lying down on a bench, there is just no room for you to react if you drop the bar.

One reason why common gyms do not allow you to dump the bar is because they are more concerned with the flooring and equipment than your safety. The floor can be repaired, you only have one body to last a lifetime. So please please please dump the bar if you miss an overhead lift.

Ok, here's a hilarious one. But the point is still the same. Better than having the bar dropped on your chest or throat.

6) Overhead lifting hurt your shoulders

Another false advice from well meaning people. It is true to say that if you lift overhead without the proper shoulder and elbow alignments, you will hurt your shoulders.

The proper way to lift overhead whether with barbell, dumbbell, kettlebell or clubbell®

is to have the shoulder packed into its socket, activating the shoulder depressors (lats and rotator cuff) and the elbow must be locked when getting into the overhead position. Hence the term lockout.

Furthermore, overhead lifting is a good way to maintain mobility and stability and improve strength in the shoulder girdle.

Check out this video on the proper form of the press:

Come for my classes if you want to learn overhead lifting properly.

7) You need to wear cushioned shoes to absorb the impact of _____________(insert any activity here)

Cushioned shoes definitely feel comfortable. However they give you a false sense of security by giving you the impression that they protect your joints better than uncushioned shoes or barefoot.

Do you know that there are sensitive pressure sensors in your feet? Through feedback, the body recognizes signals from these sensors and activate your muscles accordingly. Cushioning alters the pressure distribution on your feet and confuses your nervous system. Resulting in abnormal muscle activation, causing more damage to your joints.

Shoe manufacturers also want you to know that the more expensive the shoes, the more technology they put into shock absorption. So you would do well to avoid these shoes. Save your money and joints.

Proper pressure feedback to the body also increases force production or strength, that is why in weightlifting and powerlifting shoes are non-cushioned.

If possible, do your activities barefoot. But of course it is not feasible to be barefoot all the time. Here are good shoes with little or no cushion for general purpose:

Ultimate Grappling Shoes

Vibram Five Fingers

Adidas Jawpaw

Socks are fine too.

8) You need to max out every time you train

Initially, if you have no training background, it could feel that you are maxing out every time you train. You'd feel sore and achy for a couple of days after your first few training sessions. This probably gives the impression that you need to do get soreness everytime you train.

However progress is not determined by what you feel (although in some sense yes, but that is another story). Progress is determined by what you can do.

Maxing out every time you train is a sure recipe for stagnation and burnout.

You need to vary of training volume and intensity every time you train to progress. This idea is called periodization.

9) Do not lock your joints in weight training movements to prevent injury to them

This advice may have come from the bodybuilding community, whereby they want to keep the load on the muscles and not on the joints. Not a bad idea, at least it serves their purpose.

However, locking your joints does not cause injury. Have you stood in a parade before. Notice that your knees WILL lock without you even thinking about them. The fact is that locking of the joints is a natural way to save energy from muscle contraction in normal movement. It is proper structure.

Please note also that your joints need strengthening as well as your muscles. So to eliminate the lockout means letting the joints remain weak. I hope that it is not something that you want.

Furthermore, locking the joints adds stability to certain movements, like overhead lifting. Without the lockout, the structure is weak and you need to use more muscular force in the lift. You can also risk injuring your soft tissues if you eliminate the lockout.

10) Explosive lifting is dangerous

This is another advice that is okay for beginners but not the whole truth about movement. Everyday in your life, you have to do some movements explosively, whether running, jumping or throwing or a combination of these.

Whether the resistance in the movement is your body, an everyday object or a weight training equipment does not matter.

Most of kettlebell lifts are explosive, but there are many, and i mean MANY expert kettlebell lifters from Eastern Europe who continue lifting and breaking records past their fifties or sixties.

That's it for today. I hope you have enjoyed the information i presented to you. Have fun with your training. Please post any questions and comments to singaporekettlebellclub@gmail.com.

Repetitive Strain Injury and the Musician

2009-09-25T22:04:00.006+08:00

Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) is a painful condition caused by repetitive movements. Repetitive movements here is defined as movements that is repeated many times, often through a limited range of motion. It can also be caused by holding static positions for extended periods of time.

RSI usually often develops over time, often without the patient noticing it. It starts with a mild discomfort that won't go away. The pain gradually increases over time, until a certain point which it becomes a nuisance to the patient. The pain associated with RSI is usually not debilitating or crippling, but nagging.

Musicians are a group of people especially susceptible to RSI. Common areas affected include neck and shoulders (eg. violinist), arms, wrists, fingers and lower back (eg. guitarist, pianist).

If you have the above condition, do something ASAP. If not treated, your music career can be affected. There are musicians who have to get surgery from RSI.

Here are some exercises that you can do to relieve this problem. This is a joint mobility exercise program called Intu-Flow®, from Circular Strength Training®. Try it and i guarantee you improvement in your condition.

About Circular Strength Training® (CST)
CST® is a health-first fitness system focusing on injury prevention and pain-free movement. It has helped countless athletes as well as the average person regain pain-free movement. Find out more about CST® at www.rmaxinternational.com.

About the author
Herman Chauw is a local physiotherapist and personal trainer. He is one of only two Circular Strength Training® Instructor in Singapore. He can be contacted at singaporekettlebellclub@gmail.com.

Ten Myths of the Fitness Industry

2009-09-23T11:25:00.007+08:00

1) You need expensive equipment to have a good training effect.

Are you impressed when facilities say they have the latest and most advanced equipment in the market etc? Does that make you want to join a gym more than a gym equipped with simple barbells and dumbbells?

To tell you the truth, high-tech equipment have only come into the fitness scene in the past few decades. Before that, strongmen trained with simple weights. There are people who train(ed) with crude equipment like rocks and still get impressive strength/performance and physique.

Try this workout with a simple sandbag:

2) You need to spend a lot of time to have a good training effect.

Have you been told that you need to spend at least an hour of training up to two hours a day to get the results you want? Does that put you off exercising because you “don't have time”?

To tell you the truth, half an hour or even less can have a good training effect too. The intensity of the exercise decreases as the duration increases. So the highest intensity exercise have the shortest duration. With a well designed training program, five to ten minutes of intense exercise can suffice.

Try this Tabata Protocol, 4 minutes of gut wrenching workout. You can do this with any movement.

3) Running is the best form of exercise to lose fat.

If i had a dime everytime i heard this, i would be rich. There is no best exercise to lose fat. Any exercise can be used to good effect, depending on how you design your training program. Running is a good exercise nevertheless.

As an aside, running is among the top ten most popular recreational activities BUT it is also among the top ten most injury producing activities. Not that running is bad, but most people do not run properly or have insufficient/improper preparation for running.

4) Machines are safer than free weights.

Related to the first point on expensive equipment, facilities spend thousands of bucks buying the latest high-tech machines to attract crowds. They tell you that they are safer than free weights because free weights are more difficult to lift and the exercises are hareder to learn.

However to tell you the truth, not only are they not needed for the general population, they can be more dangerous to your joints that you can imagine. In nature, we have to stabilize free weight (whether it be tools, groceries, babies, rocks etc) with our own muscles. We should simulate movement as we would in nature, not create artificial movements.

Machines can be used for advanced bodybuilders who want to isolate muscles which can't be replicated by free weights. They can also be useful for rehab patients. But if you don't fall under these categories, don't even touch them. Stay away from them like the plague.

5) Progress from machines to free weights.

Related to the points above, some trainers advocate starting with a base of machine exercises and progressing to free weights.

But to tell you the truth, you can and you should start with free weights. As mentioned above, you already are balancing free weights all the time, 24 hours of you life. Your body is already capable of doing complex movements, just that it may have forgotten how.

Anyway, free weights will give you better training effect than machines. So would you rather waste your time doing many machine exercises or save time by doing a few good free weight exercises?

Check out this exercise, called the Mill, trains multiple planes of motion at the same time, great for strength, endurance, joint mobility etc.

6) Heavy weights are dangerous.

You may have gotten this idea from people telling you that they injured their back lifting something heavy. It is true that the heavier the weight the higher the rick for injury. But that is not the whole truth.

The truth is that any weight can cause injury. In fact you can injure yourself lifting nothing significantly heavy, like just bending down improperly. Whether you are at risk of injury or not is dependent more on your lifting technique. There are people who can lift heavy weights without getting injured, with proper technique.

If you are not sure of your techniqe, please ask the friendly trainer at your gym and he would gladly assist you.

7) Weight training equals bodybuilding.

Or put it another way, weight training WILL cause you to get big muscles. This probably has been the message that a lot of people have been getting from the media. With physique being glorified in the fashion magazines etc.

To tell you the truth, there can be many purposes of weight training, and not all of them aim to creat big muscles. An example would be weightlifting, a sport whereby the goal is to lift as heavy as possible. The goal and training methods are very different from bodybuilding. Small people in weightlifting can and often do lift mind boggling weights.

Check out this guy, Naim Suleymanoglu, weighing less than 60kg, he can lift 3x bodyweight.

8) Kids can't lift weights.

Some coaches recommend that kids do not lift weights under a certain age, about puberty. There is a certain truth in that heavy, maximal weights can stunt growth in growing (in height) children.

However that is not the whole truth. It is only true when combined with an improperly designed training program. Everybody, and i mean EVERYbody lift weight 24 hours a day – our bodyweight.
Coupled with a properly designed training program which utilises submaximal weights, weight training can be a useful tool to develop strong and healthy kids.

Check out these kids swinging kettlebells:

9) I can't exercise because i have back pain.

Most doctors would prescribe rest for any kind of pain, probably also painkillers. Most people also who have had injuries of some sort shy away from physical activity in fear of aggravating their injury. And yet here are also those who do extreme physical exertions in spite of their injuries.

While the first two types are probably rational way to go about the problem, the third is probably not very wise. You can balance this by doing what we call physiotherapy (or rehabilitation or recovery exercises), of which the goal is to recover from your injury and regain pain-free movement. You need to exercise if you are injured, to get back to normal function.

Take a look at 60+ years old Valentin Dikul, he broke his back as a teenager in a circus act. He can juggle 80kg kettlebells.

10) Crunches/Situps are the best exercise to get a six pack.

Crunches/sit-ups is not a bad exercise when coupled with a proper training program. Any exercise is useful to create a desired effect, depending on the context of the program.

However the truth is that people often do not know the dangers of doing it improperly or doing too much of it. You can get neck strain and postural problems if it is done indiscriminately.

And another truth is that, you will get a six pack regardless of them. As long as you have low bodyfat, a reasonably athletic person would have abdominal definition.

If you like a crunches/sit-up based program, check out the Beyond Sit Ups by Coach Murdock:

The Clubbell(R) Swing

2009-09-17T14:02:00.010+08:00

So this is my first video on Clubbell(R) swinging. Over the next few blog entries, i am going to outline basic CB exercises.

We'll start this with the swing. Similar to the kettlebell (KB) swing, this exercise is the most basic of all CB movements.

Things to take note in structural alignment (also applies to other CB moves):
1. Wrist/Grip: Remote control grip.
2. Elbow: Locked. Turn the elbow pits upward/forward.
3. Shoulder: Packed in the socket. Away from ears.
4. Spine: Neutral.
5. Hip: Drive from the hips.
6. Legs: Drive the earth away.
7. Core: Exhale on effort, inhale on cessation or exhale on compression, inhale on expansion.

To learn more, come for CB classes.

Fun With Sledgehammer

2009-09-09T22:36:00.001+08:00

Click here to view video

The Language of Movement

2009-09-07T21:36:00.001+08:00

Click here to view video

Rear Wheel Drive

2009-08-18T10:58:00.000+08:00

Click here to view video

Prehab and Rehab in Motorsport

2009-07-28T11:11:00.001+08:00

Click here to view video

Why Kettlebells are the Ideal Tool for Weightloss

2009-07-28T11:09:00.000+08:00

Click here to view video

Kettlebell Workshop @ Fight Works Asia 1-2 May 2009

2009-07-08T22:54:00.001+08:00

Click here to view video

Mobility in Motorsport

2009-07-08T22:42:00.001+08:00

Click here to view video

The Best Exercise

2009-06-04T10:39:00.001+08:00

Dear Health & Fitness Enthusiasts,

This is a commonly asked question in discussion forums: what is the best exercise for fat loss? What is the best workout for strength and size gain? etc.

The answer i always give is "it depends on your goals".

Other than your goals, you also have to look at other factors that would determine the best program for you:
-Motor skills
-Injury/surgical history
-Training/athletic background
-Age
-Gender
-Time available
-Energy available
-Equipment available
etc.

There is really no best. What is best for you may not be best for me. What is best for me may not be best for you. If it is, anybody can just copy a world champion's training program and become a world champion.

But no, program design is an art. Much of it is trial and error. A lot of monitoring has to be done daily to determine the effectiveness of the training program.

In discussion forums where very little detail is revealed, there is no way a perfect program can be crafted. So those of you who are still wondering what is the best program for you:
-Stop wondering, start designing your own program and monitor it. Or
-Hire a personal trainer who has more experience designing a program and monitoring it.

A Health First Fitness System

2009-05-27T15:02:00.001+08:00

One of the most commonly asked questions in physical training is: "how do i get bigger?". And a most common and logical answer is: "squat".

Indeed the squat is a great exercise. Utilized by many great athletes and bodybuilders to build phenomenal strength and size.

So should you squat?

If only things were so simple.

Let's have a look at Circular Strength Training's fitness value hierarchy:
1) Health
2) Mobility
3) Function
4) Attributes
5) Physique

Let's see how this apply to the squat:
If you have have creaky joints, especially the hip, knee and ankle (Health), it is going to affect your mobility (Mobility).
If you don't have full mobility in the hip, knee and ankle (Mobility), it is going to affect your ability to squat (Function).
If you can't squat properly without weight (Function), it is going to affect your improvement in strength (Attributes) through doing the squats with weights.
If you can't build reasonable strength (Attributes) in the squat, it is going to affect your ability to build muscle (Physique).

Of course this explanation is very simplistic. But i think it is sufficient to bring across the point that you really do need to build all these fitness goals in order. Many people have injured themselves during training because they have not addressed a goal higher in the hierarchy.

Got Fish?

2009-05-13T11:24:00.002+08:00

How many times have you come across rehab/physiotherapy establishment offering things like massage, spinal adjustment, heat treatment, acupuncture etc? Sure these are good stuff and to be commended. However these are what we call "passive recovery" methods. Which means that the healing comes from without the body.

I want to bring to your attention "active recovery". Which means that healing comes from within the body. Specifically i want to talk about motor skills practice. This is a most important factor in rehabilitation that is lacking.

Movement is highly specific. If you want to perfect a movement, you have to practice it perfectly many times over. Surely passive recovery methods bring pain relief. But it is temporary. When the patient goes back to his normal life, because his motor skills have not been corrected, he keeps getting himself injured and the pain comes back. So he goes to the physical therapist again and again without actually getting better overall.

Why is motor skills so important? With proper technique in all movements, all activities, the body is using its available resources efficiently. With improper technique there is abnormal wear and tear which cause degeneration and pain.

You think you know how to move because you have been doing it all your life? You cannot be more wrong. Have a look around, how many people know how to squat properly? How many people know how to deadlift properly? If they know, why is it that back pain and knee pain are so common? Why is it that weightlifters and powerlifters can do these movements with heavy weights (some of these athletes are riddles with pain but that is another story)? How many people know how to run properly? Why is it that people keep getting knee pain from running? The problem is not the movement, the problem is HOW you do the movement.

I function primarily as a "movement coach", not as a "rehab therapist". There are enough people out there giving fish to their clients. I want to teach people to catch their own fish.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Give a man a fish and you have fed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you have fed him for a lifetime.

Want to catch your own fish? Start with daily joint mobility and basic motor skills.

Strength or Endurance?

2009-05-06T11:17:00.000+08:00

I attended a wrestling seminar once and the guest of the event was World Champion Sergei Beloglazov (http://www.sergeibeloglazov.com/). He mentioned that in Russia, when people take up a sport, they would only compete when they have trained for FIVE years. All this time the training consists of a lot of technique work, day in day out.

With today's "i want it now" mentality, it is no wonder that a lot of people give up physical culture after just a short time in it. How many times have you heard of people saying "oh, i used to go to the gym" and things like that? How many times have you heard people saying that they tried this diet, that diet and are still fat?

The problem, in my opinion, is not that their will is not strong enough. The problem is that their will is not ENDURING enough.

Raplh Waldo Emerson said "a hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer".

Every elite athlete started out just like any other man. But they work at their endeavour longer than any man. Just have a search on wikipedia on any famous athletes and you would find years of training behind them. Not only that, a lot of elite athletes started out weaker than the average man. With their enduring will, they brought themselves into great physical performance.

--

Are You Training or Working Out?

2009-04-28T16:11:00.001+08:00

I have often been asked by people "so do you work out?".

If you are just a recreational athlete or weekend warrior, this statement may not make much difference to you. After all a "training session" is legitimately called a "workout" in real strength & conditioning circles.

But the implications of these two words are very far apart.

"Working out" has a connotation of expending energy, making your body tired physically. Probably it also means maxing out in the training session. The goal of "working out" is the session itself.

On the other hand, "training" has a connotation of working for a long term goal. The goal of a "training session" is maybe months or years away.

When somebody is going for a competition, you don't ask "what do you workout for?". You ask "what are you training for?".

For me i am training. Every training session is bringing me closer to my goal, no matter how far away it is. I don't workout to "keep fit". I started with a lousy level of performance. If i were to "keep fit" my performance would still be pathetic. I don't want to "keep fit". I want to be more fit for my goal.

So are you training or are you working out? Are you going for higher levels of health & fitness or are you "keeping fit"?

What do you want to be?

2009-04-16T22:08:00.000+08:00

I have received many enquiries from people about my services and what it can do for them. Right now Singapore Kettlebell Club's mailing list has about 90 people. However there are some people i see once or twice but never/has not turned up again. Some have never even turned up once. I don't know what is hindering you, but let me ask you some simple questions to inspire you.

First is what is your goal(s)? The fact that you made some enquiries means that you already have some goals in mind. And see that something can help you reach your goal(s).

So after finding out what can help you, what do you do next? Are you going to wait for miracles to happen? I have been to various entrepreneur talks. One common theme is to "dream big". With regards to fitness goals, what kind of dreams do you have? It may be big, such as becoming the World Champion in a certain sport or it may be small, like just getting rid of your daily pains.

Whatever your goal(s) is, are you going to let it be just that, a dream? Are you committed to reach your goal(s)? What are you going to do to reach your goal(s)? What is hindering you from taking action?

Probably there are enough success stories in the business world that you know of so i shall not quote them. Let me tell you some real life stories in the fitness world to inspire you.

I had a shoulder injury. I took up kettlebell lifting to cure my injury. I went from not being able to press the 16kg with pain to pressing the 24kg without pain and beyond. Since i picked up kettlebell lifting in 2005, my performance has increased tremendously. There are many things i can do now that i can't imagine myself doing then.

Jonathan Boey, another RKC in Singapore, also took up kettlebell lifting to cure an injury. He was in much pain from his knee surgery and couldn't do many movements that normal people take for granted, like climbing stairs, squatting etc. After two months of swinging kettlebells, his injured knee became as strong as the good knee.

These are just some real life testimonials to prove to you that ANYBODY CAN DO IT. You are not going to expect yourself to transform into a superman/woman overnight. Baby steps is the way. Slow and steady. With consistent practice, what seems to be impossible now can be achievable in the future. Whatever it takes. However long it takes. Even if it takes you a decade, or a whole lifetime to achieve your fitness goal(s), you can do it. BY STARTING NOW AND TAKING ACTION. If people like Scott Sonnon (www.rmaxinternational.com) who had learning disabilities can become MASTER OF SPORT, how much more the rest of us who are normal.

Okay enough prep talk. I am going to give you a special offer for this week only.

The first TEN people who come this saturday at 10am will get additional 10% off from whatever packages you sign up for (except one session). Pick up your phone now and book your classes NOW.

Kettlebell Lifting Program Design Part V: The Training Day

2009-04-08T19:58:00.000+08:00

In this installment we will look at some ways to structure a training day.

The first thing i am going to assume is that you have:
-A few kettlebell weights
-Non-adjustable kettlebells, so that means increments are in denominations of 4kg.

We will look at strength training and endurance training separately.

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For strength

Ladders
This is a simple progression to allow you to build up your reps with a fixed weight.

Select a weight that you can do for at least 5 reps. Better still, maybe around 8 reps or so. Anything heavier than that is too heavy to make progress in this manner, except for the very beginning stages.

Basically the idea is to:
-do one rep more than your previous set, building up to a max (or near max)
-dropping the reps to one and
-repeat the whole process.

Eg:
1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,4,5
Each series sets is called a ladder, each set in a ladder is called a rung.

You can build up to any number of reps and/or sets. If you go to your RM in a ladder, it can look like this:
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
1,2,3,4,5,6
1,2,3,4,5
1,2,3,4
1,2,3
1,2
1

You can start each ladder with a different number:
1,2,3,4,5
2,3,4,5,6
3,4,5,6,7
4,5,6,7,8

You can increase the number of reps in any multiples:
2,4,6,8,10
2,4,6,8,10

or
5,10,15,20
5,10,15,20

And many other variations.

The beauty of ladders are:
-you can do many total reps without maxing out every set
-you can vary the difficulty every set, which is a cycle within a cycle
-you can build up to really big numbers from a small number without burning out
-you can make a weight that feels heavy in the beginning to feel light in the end

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Weight ladders

This is assuming you have at least three different weights. Eg: 16kg, 24kg, 32kg

16x3, 24x3, 32x3
16x3, 24x3, 32x3
16x3, 24x3, 32x3

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Rep and weight ladder combined

This is assuming you have at least three different weights. Eg: 16kg, 24kg, 32kg

16x1, 24x1, 32x1
16x2, 24x2, 32x3
16x3, 24x3, 32x3

You can play around any of these variables in ladders:
-weight
-number of reps
-number of sets

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Endurance training

As has been mentioned previously, the priorities are (not counting technique):
-volume
-duration
-tempo
-weight

We shall look at a simple way to progress from one priority to the next seamlessly: Density Cycle.

In simple terms, the goal of Density Cycle is to do more work in a shorter amount of time.
You can:
-keep the work constant and reduce the time
-increase the work and keep the time constant
-or combine both

Say you have a goal of 100 jerks. This is a sample progression
10 sets of 10
9 sets of 11
8 sets of 13
7 sets of 15
6 sets of 17
5 sets of 20
4 sets of 25
3 sets of 34
2 sets of 50
1 set of 100

Ok, the last two workouts maybe too big a jump. You can break it down to:
2 sets of 50
60 + 40
70 + 30
80 + 20
90 + 10
1 set of 100

-------------------------------

There are many more ways to wave the load from set to set but i have not been able to figure out how nor am i qualified to design one.

For more stuff on waving the load, you can refer to Pavel's Beyond Bodybuilding or other literature.

That's all folks for the series of articles on Kettlebell Lifting Program Design.

I hope that you have learned something that you can apply to your training program. Please do not hesitate to ask me if you have any questions.

Stay healthy.

Kettlebell Lifting Program Design Part IV: The Microcycle

2009-04-08T19:57:00.001+08:00

"How many times a week should i train?" This is a question often asked in discussion forums. And the answer is "any number of times necessary to achieve your goals".

In this installment we will look at a few classic program designs, starting from the most often to the least often.

We will refer to the sine wave again. Take note that you have to balance the peaks and valleys. The more often you try to push, the more often you have to back off.

For our purpose of kettlebell lifting, we will only consider full body training. Body parts splits have no place for us. However you could split your training into Jerk Days, Snatch Days, Assistance Lifts Days or any combination of these.

Check out www.girevoysport.ru and http://girevoysportafter40.blogspot.com/2009/01/two-roads-to-same-end.html for some of these programs.

By the way, the microcycle does not have to be one week long. It can be as short as three days. I don't know what is the longest. But one week is a common one and easy to program.

Seven days a week
This should only happen once in a blue moon. The body needs rest at least once a week.

Five to six days a week
A classic program utilized by professionals. Needs a lot of variation in the training load. Tricky and can be mentally taxing. Generally the two rest days are consecutive days.

Four days a week
Another classic. Two days on, one day off, two days on, two days off.
Eg: Mon strength, tue endurance, wed off, thur strength, fri endurance, sat & sun off.
Another variation is to separate the two consecutive days from the other two days.
Eg: Mon - wed - fri - sat.

Three days a week
I think this is the most common program followed by recreational/amateur athletes. Has a good balance of training and non-training days. Easy to program.
Eg: Mon - wed - fri, tue - thur - sat.

Two times a week
Should only be done ocasssionally. Maybe for a back off week or when travelling or tapering for a competition.

Three times in two weeks
This maybe useful if you split your lifts. I see this in some powerlifting programs. Say you do Jerk on mon - fri - next wed, snatch wed - next mon - fri.

Once a week
I don't think this is worth considering at all. Too infrequent to make any significant loading and therefore progress.

The back off week
Every three weeks or so, you should take a back off week to recover from all the training load. Start over on the fifth week with a load slightly higher than the first week or you can continue the progression from the third week onward.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now these are some examples of waving your load. Load is defined as either volume or intensity or both. The numbers refer to the load, which is an arbitrary unit. This is as simple as it gets. For further details, refer to Pavel's Power to The People.

Three days a week, two steps forward, one step back.
Week 1: 10 - 11 - 12
Week 2: 11 - 12 - 13
Week 3: 12 - 13 - 14
Week 4: 6 - 6.5 - 7 (Back off week. Half the load of the previous week)
Week 5: 11 - 12 - 13
Week 6: 12 - 13 -14
Week 7: 13 -14 -15
Week 8: 6.5 - 7 - 7.5 (Back off week. Half the load of the previous week)

The number of steps forward and back can be any number depending on your recovery ability.

Three days a week, forward for three weeks, start over from second week.
Week 1: 10 -11 -12
Week 2: 13 -14 - 15
Week 3: 16 - 17 - 18
Week 4: 8 - 8.5 - 9 (Back off week. Half the load of the previous week)
Week 5: 13 - 14 - 15
Week 6: 16 - 17 - 18
Week 7: 18 -19 - 20
Week 8: 9 - 9.5 - 10

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The 4x7
We cannot discuss microcycle without discussing The 4x7. The program looks like this:
Day 1: Moderate (strength), RPE 5-7
Day 2: High (endurance), RPE 8-10
Day 3: No, Intu-Flow(R), RPE 1-2
Day 4: Low, Intu-Flow(R) and Prasara Yoga, RPE 3-4
RPE = rate of perceived effort. It is assumed that RPT is => 8, and RPD is =<3.

So far this is the most interesting program that i have tried. Because you can have more than one goal in one cycle and progress for all of them.

Think of The 4x7 as two different programs back to back. So the Mod Days are one cycle and the High Days as another cycle. The High Day is a peak day. Peaking every four days is very frequent by most standards but it is balanced by the two recovery days.

The different intensities are supposed to be done in this order. Follow the program to the letter and you'll experience the magic.

You can take more recovery days but not less. Example if you a travelling take an extra No or Low etc. This is the only program whereby the recovery days are dictated. And yes, you must take recovery days to keep progressing. The more you subject your body to abuse, the more you need to compensate for it (refer to sine wave again). As it has been said, most people don't overtrain, they underrecover.

There is no need to take a back off week with 4x7 as recovery is already built-in.

As to how proven is this program i have no idea. There is no papers published comparing 4x7 to other programs.

Check out Scott Sonnon's blog for more details: http://www.rmaxinternational.com/flowcoach/?p=41

Next Instalment: The Training Day

Kettlebell Lifting Program Design Part III: The Mesocycle

2009-04-08T19:56:00.001+08:00

As mentioned in the previous instalment, we need to do different training goals in each mesocycle to achieve maximum adaptation to the training program.

Now we go through why the mesocycles are ordered this way.

In general Strength and Conditioning:

1) Hypertrophy Mesocycle
The goal in this cycle is anatomical adaptation. Also called structural adaptation. Basically this means you are building up the physical strength and size of your tissues. This cycle can be likened to upgrading the material of a weapon, say from iron to steel.

2) Strength Mesocycle
The goal in this cycle is functional adaptation. Basically this means you are maximising the performance potential of the tissues that has been built up in the Hypertrophy Cycle. When the Hypertrophy Cycle focuses on volume, the Strength Cycle focuses on intensity. So that the tissues are stressed and the quality improves. This cycle can be likened to tempering steel so that it becomes harder and more suited as a weapon.

3) The Competition Mesocycle
The goal in this cycle is fine tuning of whatever qualities that have been built up in the previous cycles and fit them into your sporting activities. This is the time to decrease the volume (and/or intensity, depending on your goal) of your Strength and Conditioning and focus more on your sports skills. Hopefully the improved strength you gained can add 5km/h to your tennis serve. This cycle can be likened to polishing and sharpening the edge of a weapon.

After the competition is over, it is generally recommended to take some time off to unload the body for recovery purposes.

For the purpose of Kettlebell Lifting, the goals in the different mesocycles are the same as mentioned above, but achieved in different ways.

1) Anatomical Adaptation
This is achieved by volume, with light weights, in the competition lifts. In addition, weaknesses should be addressed with assistance exercises. Assuming your technique is fine; in the Jerk, the part that will gives out first is the arms; in the Snatch, it is the grip. Assistance exercises like One Arm Jerk and Swings are good for improving the Jerk and Snatch. In addition, if you lack strength, you can add heavy barbell work for strength like Squat, Deadlift, Military Press etc. If you lack endurance, you can add general cardio work like running.

2) Functional Adaptation
By this time, weaknesses should more or less be ironed out. Of course this will never happen 100%. There is always a weak point to be improved upon, just different ones at different times. The volume of competition lifts should increase and assistance lifts should decrease. In this cycle you want the strength or endurance gained in your previous cycle to translate to a higher competition lift number.

3) Competition Phase
This is the time to fine tune the competition lifts. The volume of competition lifts should decrease and intensity increase. Intensity here refers to %RM. Where RM is the competition max in the previous competition. Volume should decrease so that the body can devote more energy to the increased intensity. It is a useful thing to do a near max sometime before the actual competition. For mental confidence. The final week should be mostly spent doing active recovery work. The day before the competition, it is good to do a little bit of lifting to warm up for the actual event.

In CST, periodization lingo is different. Check outCoach Steer's article for a simple explanation:
http://www.bettersbetter.com/2008/07/csts-training-hierarchy-pyramid.html

I hope i didn't bore you with too many technical terms. Just ask if you need more clarification.

Next installment: The Microcycle.

Kettlebell Lifting Program Design Part II: Periodization

2009-04-08T19:54:00.000+08:00

The basic idea of periodization is that the body has periods of high performance and low performance.

In a simplistic way, we can view the body's performance as a Sine Wave (see attached picture). But every succeeding peak is higher than the previous peak. And every succeeding valley is higher than the previous valley.

I don't think i need to prove this to you. Just try running a marathon (or other max effort performance feat) everyday. It is impossible.

The name periodization comes from the idea that there are "periods" of different goals in a training cycle.

The training cycle can be divided into:
-Macrocycle: refers to the entire training program. It also sometimes implies one year of training.
-Mesocycle: refers to the type of training/phases being performed. It can be as little as 6 weeks or up to 12 weeks/3 months.
-Microcycle: A phase of training of around one week in duration.

Example:
-In a one-year macrocycle,
-you can have four mesocycles, each one three months in duration, which are the Hypertrophy Cycle, Strength Cycle, Endurance Cycle and Competition Cycle.
-Weekly you have 3 training days, Low, Moderate and High (Intensity).

Why must we cycle?
The body has an amazing capacity to adapt to training demands. However if different (and maybe opposite) attributes are trained at the same time (Cocktail), eg Strength and Endurance, the body may (or more likely to) not be able to reach both goals optimally.

So to keep it simple: Cycle or Circuit but not Cocktail.

For the purpose of kettlebell lifting, different coaches have different ideas of which attributes takes priority: Strength, Endurance or Strength-endurance. In the olden days, Strength was believed to play a major role in kettlebell lifts numbers. Recent times however Endurance seems to be emphasized more.

Without trying to confuse you any further, the best kettlebell lifters have very good endurance.

Check out this blog. Eugene has very good articles which he read and translate from Russian:
http://girevoysportafter40.blogspot.com/2008/09/strength-or-endurance.html

Furthermore the AKC also emphasize volume with lighter kettlebells to build our base. So i think we can take it that Endurance takes a higher priority.

To make things simple, tying in with the priorities mentioned in Part I, a Macrocycle could have:
-a Volume Mesocycle
-an Intensity Mesocycle
-a Competition Mesocycle

If you like to learn more on Periodization, look for this author Tudor Bompa. In addition, Pavel's books like Power to the People, Enter the Kettlebell, Naked Warrior, Beyond Bodybuilding also outline many simple ways to design a training cycle.

Next instalment:
Kettlebell Program Design Part III: What to do in each cycle.

Kettlebell Lifting Program Design Part I: Priotities

2009-04-08T19:52:00.001+08:00

Disclaimer: I am not a Master of Sport and this is by no means the only way to train with kettlebells. There are many programs out there and different coaches have different methods. These methods are what i have gathered from various sources.

Priorities in kettlebell lifting:

Technique
Choose a kettlebell weight that is relatively light and allows you to have consistent technique (RPT) of 8/10. Err on the lighter side if you don't know. Also if you can't do a competition lift with RPT of 8, do a lower sophistication lift and work your technique.

Volume
You have to do a lot a lot a lot a lot of volume in the competition lifts to be proficient in them. Every rep you do you are improving the skill of the lifts. If you can only remember one thing, it is this.

Duration
Your sets are measured in minutes. The goal is to work longer sets. Work your way up from one minute to ten minutes (or more).

Tempo
Measured in reps per minute (rpm). Minimum recommended is 4rpm for jerk, 10rpm for snatch. When you have reached ten minutes with a certain tempo. Drop the duration and start over increasing the tempo by 1rpm.

Weight
This is the last priority. When you have hit a certain number of total repetitions with a certain weight, it is time to move up a weight and start over the progression. Some recommended numbers:
-2 Arm Jerk: 100
-1 Arm Snatch: 200
-2 Arm Long Cycle: 70

Next
Part II: Periodization