In this issue:
Video of the week: Pavel's firepower favorite
We've been getting TONS of questions since the release of AOS: Firepower. The #1 question: "Hey, what is drill #13 that Pavel loves so much!?!?!?" This week, we'll show you. Click the play button above to see an excerpt from the instructional section of Firepower. The Firepower DVD comes with a similar lesson for each and every drill.... concise, thorough, and effective.
Mailbag ETK Update
---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: I am NOT a man!
From: "Kim Vanderspek"
Date: Sun, December 17, 2006 4:58 pm
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Dear Anthony,
Last week I finished week 12 of ETK - I believe I finished 12 weeks after you first offered it. 8 weeks ago I told you that my goal was to finish before Christmas and I did it! For the past 3 weeks or so, I kept double checking and I can assure you that I am not a man.
What a difference in everything! First and foremost, and I have to lump these together, my strength and endurance. When I started, I was doing most everything with a 12kg KB, now I'm using 16/20 kg for my C&P, 20/24 kg for my pulls and 20/24 and occasionally 32 kg for my swings. Also, when I started, I could not get through all of Providence with the built in rests. My rests were quite a bit longer. Now, I have no problem getting through Providence as intended and energy for more at the end. I had not done all of Newport before yesterday. There were some things that i really didn't think I could do. When I watched the side snatches I thought, "Nope. That's going to hurt me." I was so wrong! I could do everything without any problem.
My weight has not changed, but my body fat has dropped 6-8%. My clothes fit differently and some of them are just way too big now. I don't care at all what my weight is as long as I can fit into a size 8 pair of leather pants. I'm not quite there, but I should be soon.
Now, as far as my subject line goes... Thank you for omitting the line about being "a man among men" in the ETK workbook. I am clearly not a man, nor will I ever be a man, among men or among women. Who is it who thinks of these lines?
Let's talk about flexibility here. I have never been more flexible in my life (well, OK, I could probably stuff my foot in my mouth when I was a baby, but lately ... it wouldn't have happened) I was stretching my quads this morning and my heel easily hit my butt. I haven't been able to do that forever. I would have severe knee pain if I tried to pull my heel in that far. I can do a full squat without any problem. I can now do, though it isn't beautiful, a sots press. That one sort of feels like the definition of flexibility to me.
As far as joint pain? None whatsoever. I have fought for years with shoulder pain and knee pain. Now there is none. Before I started working with KB's, I could not hold my right arm up over my head. I also could not lie flat on the floor with my arms over my head touching the floor. My shoulder mobility is excellent now and there is no pain.
So ... it all appears to be a Christmas (or fill in your favorite winter holiday) miracle. Thanks again.
Still not a man,
Kim VanderSpek
Ask Dr. Ron - hurt vs harm
by Dr. Ron Tyszkowski
"Why does my back hurt sometimes after I work out with kettlebells?" This is probably the most common question I get asked concerning kettlebell workouts.
One of the keys to a successful Art of Strength training regimen is to develop a solid understanding of what your body is trying to communicate to you. Initially you need to learn the difference between “hurt” and “harm”.
Post workout soreness is a great example of “hurt”. After a intense workout, it is normal to have some muscle soreness. In fact it can be excellent feedback as to the effectiveness of a given workout. For instance if you are just starting your AOS training, you should have soreness in your hamstrings. If you don’t, you are probably doing the exercises wrong (yes, hotshot, I mean you. You are not ready for AOS: Firepower. Go back and re-watch AOS: Providence). A great example of “harm” would be a muscle strain or joint sprain. “Harm” is usually one sided, meaning it involves one joint, e.g. the right shoulder only. If you suspect that you have “harmed” yourself, see your doctor.
(Note: if you go to your doctor, and they only prescribe pain killers without referring you to a qualified chiropractor or physical therapist find a new doctor!! Also, it can be to your advantage to develop a relationship with a good chiropractor who understands the kettlebell training philosophy. This can give you peace of mind and also significantly reduce your down time.)
Now three reasons why your back hurts after training:
Reason One: The easiest answer is that you are doing the core movement AKA the bend and hip snap incorrectly. Review the Art of Strength: Providence, and watch Anthony’s low back during the “swing” exercise. During all phases of the swing, his lumbar spine never moves into flexion. All movement of his lower body rotates around his hips not his lumbar spine. This places the force vector produced by the swing into the large hip joints and not the delicate lumbar spine facet joints and disks. Furthermore, the power is generated by the hamstrings and glut muscles not the lumbar paraspinal muscles.
Reason Two: If you are confident that your form is correct, yet you are still experiencing back pain following your workouts, it could be that your back is “remodeling”. The soft tissue in your body (muscles, ligaments and tendons) molds itself around your posture. Western lifestyle usually includes a tendency toward a bent forward or flexion dominant posture. This is a biomechanically disadvantageous posture as it places a majority of the stress of lower body movement on the disks and facet joints of your of your spine. This in turn accelerates osteoarthritic changes and exposes you to an increased risk of disk injury. Art of Strength training pulls you out of this pathological posture and re-trains you in an upright posture with a focus on extension not flexion. Extension is the proper position for your lumbar spine and will lessen disk damage over time and limit your risk of significant injury. The process of “remodeling” these soft tissues from flexion dominant to extension can sometimes be uncomfortable. The “hurt” should follow similar patterns to post work-out muscle soreness and begin to fade after 2-3 days. If it doesn’t, please consult your doctor.
Reason Three: Art of Strength training focuses on upper and lower body stability during all exercises. All overhead lifts should be accompanied by contraction of the gluteus, abdominal and lattissimus dorsi muscles. All three of these muscle groups have insertion points in the lower back and pelvis. Therefore it is possible to have normal post exercise muscle soreness in the lower back because these muscles are used extensively in a properly executed Art of Strength workout. Once again the “hurt” should follow similar patterns to post work-out muscle soreness and begin to fade after 2-3 days. If it doesn’t, please consult your doctor.
In conclusion, mastering the principle of hurt vs. harm will give you the confidence to up the intensity of your workouts without fear of injury and will help you reach your goals sooner!! Good luck!!
*****
Dr. Ron Tyszkowski is a chiropractic physician practicing in Providence, RI. He is also director of the Chiropractic Program at Women and Infants Hospital, a Brown University affiliate. Dr. Ron has lectured throughout North America to patients and physicians concerning exercise, rehabilitation, and musculoskeletal health, and has had his opinions published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Ron avidly trains with kettlebells and is a black belt in Okinawan Karate.
Got a question you'd like to see Dr. Ron answer in an upcoming Minute of Strength? Please send it to mos@artofstrength.com!
How to sell your firehouse - part I
by Lieutenant Anthony Grokaitis
I love introducing firefighters to kettlebells. They generally start with a sideways glance and a smirk. After a just a few swings and presses, they start getting excited. The excitement inevitably turns to concern and they ask, “How can I get my department to accept (much less pay for) kettlebells over traditional training?”
I wouldn’t suggest shooting for “acceptance” right out of the gates. “Awareness” is the first step. You know that you have planted some seeds when you get guys at least joking about them! When you hear some regular chuckling around the firehouse about your “cattleballs”, acceptance is on the horizon.
I have always worked out… not always correctly, and not always efficiently. I went the typical “bodybuilder” workout route for a long time. Chest on this day, back on that day, legs here, arms there. Don’t get me wrong I put on size and got a little stronger, but a lot of the strength I gained I couldn’t use. There isn’t a lot of “incline bench pressing” while fighting a fire. That and lateral raises don’t give you a lot of the muscle endurance or stability your shoulders need to do a lot of the overhead work that firefighting requires.
I, like many other firefighters, was suffering the little nagging injuries that firefighting produces: lower back strains, shoulder tweaks, knee cranks, etc. I knew there had to be a better training regime that would “pre-hab” me before a lot of theses little injuries got worse.
A fellow firefighter, from Calgary, Canada, informed me that there was something better. He got me in touch with “functional“ training. It was a whole new fitness paradigm stressing “muscle intergration” over “muscle isolation”. Intuitively, this made a lot of sense to me. You can train a muscle in isolation, but muscles perform by using integration. For example, you can do preacher curls, and your biceps will get bigger and you can work up to curling larger and larger weights… but if you analyze the act of picking something heavy up, you do way more than a curl. You squat, lift, pull, curl, and push the object away in a highly coordinated fashion. This is a pretty basic concept that everyone should be able to understand. Learn how to repeat it with confidence!
After feeling the benefit of this style of training, I started to spread the word. If you are part of the fire service (especially the “old school” east coast fire service), you know that “change” is a dirty word. “Traditional” is the golden rule. I found two common responses to the notion that this new training would curb injuries and make the body feel, move, and perform better.
The older guys generally said, “we never had to work out before, so why do I have to know?”
The younger fitness buffs were inclined to stick with their typical bodybuilder routines and said, “What I do works for me. I’m comfortable with it. Why change?”
Both responses demand different approaches if you want to see kettlebells accepted in your firehouse. The first step is to master kettlebell training for your self. As your job performance and rate of injury improve, you’ll have the required passion to begin “selling” kettlebells to others. You’ll also speak with more authority.
My goal here is simply to prepare you for a surprisingly uphill battle. Who would have thought a simple hunk of iron could be so controversial!?!? You’re going to hear lots of jokes and dismissive comments. Be prepared for that and stick with it. In time, I’m confident you can win most people over and improve the health and performance of your firefighting brothers.
Watch for part II of this article in the next Minute of Strength for more specific tips that will help in your quest.