Allison came to me as a very concerned kettlebeller. She was suffering with severe neck and back pain after each workout, even after a few meetings with a certified instructor from an organization other than AOS.  She finally reached out to me before giving up kettlebells altogether.            

 

I made an appointment for her to come into Punch the next day. I couldn’t let another minute go by with her thinking that she might have to give up the bells. No way. When done correctly, kettlebell training is the best thing for her and anyone else. And it’s not supposed to hurt!

 

First things first. I took a look at her swing.  The swing is the most basic of all kettlebell moves. You must master the swing in order to progress to the other movements. Everything builds upon it. In Allison’s case, I saw that she wasn’t bending her knees enough.  She was only bending at the hip crease, and she wasn’t squeezing her butt at all. This meant she was using her lower back and not her hamstrings and glutes.  The key to the swing is loading the weight on the hams and glutes.  Doing the swing otherwise is a surefire way to develop back pain. Allison also began and ended her swing with the kettlebell out in front of her on the floor, not back behind her heels. Starting with the bell behind the heels activates the hams and glutes, and ending the swing there saves the lower back. I used the outlaw swing to get Allison to load her hams and take the weight off her lower back  She instantly felt the difference. She was then able to properly do a regular two-handed swing. Bam. The swing was fixed. Moving on…  

 

The clean. Allison complained about banging her upper arm when she cleaned the bell up. When she demonstrate it for me, I could see that she was swinging the bell out and then curling it in, thus banging it into her arm. So, I gave her a heavier bell, one that she couldn’t possibly curl, a weight she had never used before, 20-kg. I reminded her to begin the movement with the bell behind her heels. She was forced to use power from her legs to get the bell up. She did it with ease. In fact, her clean with the 20-kg looked a lot better than it did with the 12-kg. Clean, check!  Next…            

 

The infamous overhead squat. This was easy to fix. First, I took a look at her windmill. Before she could do a good OHS, she had to have a good windmill. Just as I suspected, she wasn’t loading her lat. We tried it with a kettlebell first. Didn’t work.  So we changed the tool. We did it with a thick-grip, Diva dumbbell, and voila! The lat got loaded, and Allison felt the windmill right where she was supposed to — in the lats and obliques.             

 

Lastly, the mother of all kettlebell exercises and a nemesis to many – the snatch.  It took me six months to perform a snatch well. I remember telling Anthony I couldn’t open up a Punch Gym because I couldn’t snatch. He laughed. Allison complained of banging her wrist at the top of the movement – a common complaint.  Before looking at the snatch, let’s take a step back and look at the high pull. You must master the high pull before even attempting the snatch. Allison’s high pull wasn’t quit right, but it was an easy fix. She just had to get her elbow higher and further back. I told her to imagine elbowing someone really hard, and, of course, to squeeze her glutes at the top of the movement. At the top of the movement, the kettlebell should be above the head and feel weightless. That’s the point of this exercise, to create weightlessness. I see this movement as an extension of the one-arm swing. If the swing isn’t right, the high pull won’t be right either.  

 

Okay – so she’s got the high pull down, and now she’s ready to punch it. Once the bell is over your head and in that weightless spot, you punch your hand through the handle. Remember to lead with the elbow just like in the high pull.  There’s a high pull in every snatch. On her first try, no banging. It’s perfect. Allison even gets it with a heavier bell, one she’s never done before, and she just keeps going, performing several long cycle snatches on each side with a 16-kb bell. It was so impressive to see her use heavy weights, especially since she’s so tiny, weighing only about 115-lbs.  

 

By the end of our session, Allison had done everything with weights she’d never used before and never thought she could handle – and she did it pain free!  

 

Allison’s case shows why it’s important to use kettlebells properly and to work with a good teacher, one certified by AOS.  There are many differences in how form is taught.  I hate to sound like a broken record, but we do it right. It’s easy to fall into bad form if you’re teaching yourself or learning from an inadequate teacher.   

 

There are too many nuances that can be missed by just watching a video on You Tube or a DVD. For AOS, safety is our first concern, and Anthony’s methods enable anyone and everyone to train. We work around any injuries and limitations. There’s never a reason to skip an exercise; there’s always a way.  

 

Kettlebells are the “in thing” right now, and unfortunately, people trying to keep up with the trend are losing sight of what the training is supposed to be all about. Gyms are adding kettlebells to their equipment list, usually very light ones. Well, too light is dangerous, especially in, for example, the swing. There’s no way for anyone’s glutes and hamstrings to be properly loaded while swinging only an 8-lb bell. When people thus get hurt, they blame the poor kettlebell when it was in fact only because of poor instruction and poor form.  

 

I sometimes get criticized for being so pro-AOS and insisting there’s is no other way that works. Well, I’ve experienced other forms of kettlebell training, and I do think AOS is the best.  It makes the most sense.  At AOS, it’s not just about the kettlebell; it’s about the movement. A lot of AOS concepts come from how the Oldtime Strongmen used to do it, and, of course, a lot comes from Anthony’s experiences. He had many injuries and ailments to overcome, but he was able work through these by developing what are the techniques we now use successfully at AOS. It’s with these techniques and attention to form that I’ve been able to fix problems like Allison’s and many others. 

 

 

 

I finished the Chicago Marathon yesterday-the day before I turned 40! This race was my first (maybe ONLY) Marathon and it was an amazing and humbling experience. I was one of about 35,000 runners and the course was packed with over 1.5 million spectators and supporters. I actually finished over an hour slower that what I expected, which was a little disappointing, but The most important thing for me was to finish! I felt great during the first 15 miles of the race, then around 15.5, my glute and left hamstring began cramping. I stopped to stretch at several points on the course, but I never really recovered from the cramping. I was in excruciating pain every time I landed on my left leg, and the temperature was cold enough that I felt chilled and actually stopped sweating for the final 11 miles. At one point I had to talk myself into running.  

 

“Ok Harris, run a block, then walk a block”…”C’Mon Harris, you’re one tough B*#@ch” I certainly expected that finishing 26.2 miles was going to be major challenge…maybe one of the greatest challenges of my life. But I was totally unprepared for feeling hurt and having so much trouble with cramping. There is simply no way to prepare for feeling so bad. Funny thing is I got to the start line feeling rested, excited, and ready! I had done all my training, had logged major mileage, tapered properly…I did everything right!  During my marathon training, I did a 20 mile long run without much trouble. My legs felt good physically, I felt great mentally, and knew in my heart that I was going to finish that 20 miles. Why was this race so different and so much more difficult than my 20 mile long run? Everyone says “If you can do 20 miles, you can do 26. No problem.” Well, If that’s the case, what happened to me at 15? I fell apart! I kept saying OMG! I am a really, really tough chick. I can do this….but I still had to stop and stretch about every mile and a half. I got passed by a girl with one leg, the incredible hulk, captain America, and a blind guy. Seriously…I was running so slow I figured the race volunteers would probably need to get home. The good news is that I finished! I even stopped at about 24 (I think! I was out of it) and drank a beer with a bunch of strangers. Upon hearing this, one of my Iron man friends replied “WHO DRINKS A BEER IN THE MIDDLE OF A RACE?!”… That would be me! This marathon was the perfect way to usher out my thirties. I’m 40 years old today! Friends, if I start babbling about running another marathon anytime in the near future, stop me.  

 

 

Stupid log. It’s heavy and it’s big and it sits there practically begging you to try and pick it up. Our client John put it best…”There’s just something about picking up a tree.” So sure I wanted to do it.  But a year ago I couldn’t. Whether it was bad technique or I just wasn’t strong enough - I couldn’t do it. Couldn’t even clean it. So I set the idea aside as a “some day” sort of thing – without any real certainty that it would ever happen. 

 

Then I went about the business of running our new business. We had just opened Punch in Far Hills, and on top of that, I had to get ready to take my AOS certification test! I kept in mind what Anthony had said - don’t just practice the test to get ready for the test. (I had gone that route with, let’s say, less than stellar results.) I had been following the ETK workbook, going through once with a 12k, then again with a 30lb, then again with a 16k. And what I found out was, sure, I knew it would help me with the test but that was becoming secondary.  I really just liked that I was getting stronger. 

 

See, before finally following my dream, I had been a supervisor at a public utility for about 20 years. So I guess you could say that considering picking up a tree “just wasn’t me” – but in reality, it is. You bet it is.  I was always a competitive athlete growing up. That’s not something you just put down.   It’s who you are –  it’s what’s in your heart.  I don’t care if you’re an athlete, a mom, an artist, a scholar, rehabbing an injury – there’s something that drives you to be better.  And for that, to be stronger.  

 

So in December I passed my AOS certification test, which to me, was such a huge achievement. It really mattered to me – still does.  But the next thing on the agenda, naturally, was the log.  I watched other people do it – and tried to get a better idea of the rhythm of the lift, and what I would need to do to get there. And every once in a while, I’d walk over and give it a try - getting it up from the floor and having to put it right back down. Then came a real turning point - Strong Man Weekend this spring on TV. 

 

It was fascinating. Strong Men picking up really heavy things. 700lb. deadlifts for reps. The wheelbarrow race with a pick-up truck.  And of course, the log clean and press. So I watched the entire competition – even watched the replay of it.  And I marched in to the gym the next day confident in the fact that I would just be able to walk up to that log and show it who was boss. Let me tell you, it doesn’t work that way. Oh I cleaned it and started it on its way up, and felt every muscle in my back protest.  Back down it went.  And that’s when I took it off the list.  I told myself then and there it was just not something I needed to do. I had found my limit, and that was ok. My mom and my chiropractor would certainly be happy with that decision.  (But there was still the stubborn kid who said “…or not…”) 

 

So I started to incorporate Strength in Motion into my workout routine. It’s awesome. Unsurpassed in building leg strength (for driving a log clean – if I was ever going to do that), core strength (for pressing a log over head – if I was ever going to do that) and endurance (for the triathlon I like to do each year but otherwise neglect to train for). I did it at least a couple of times during the week, along with the daily kettlebell classes where I was either teaching or participating or both. I found I was able to do a Jerk with a 20k bell, and I said to myself “Hey, if I can do that it’s almost like picking up the log. Even though I’m not going to do that ever…but it’s almost like that!” On a trip to Providence to help out with a Certification Class Weekend, I discovered I could do a DOUBLE jerk with 2-16k bells. That’s a lot like picking up the log too…if I was ever going to do that. 

 

I could clean the log by now. I did it routinely after classes as a drill. And that was fine – I was perfectly content with that. It was more than I had ever thought anyway, so it was very cool. And a couple weeks ago, the cleans felt a little lighter, and the log felt like it wanted to keep going. So I gave myself a good solid base and gave it a good push.  And it went!  Holy crap!  So I set it down, and did it again, just to show myself it wasn’t a fluke.   

 

So there was no grand plan. I didn’t continually practice lifting the log so that I could lift the log. The best training I did for the log was not to train only for the log (“…don’t just practice the test to get ready for the test.”)  I did ETK, I do the classes, and I do Strength in Motion because I like getting stronger, and I love the feeling of accomplishment. And the things I wanted to achieve followed from that – even some things I had convinced myself were out of my reach. 

 

 

FIT TIP 

 

DO THIS 

 

 

 

This is one of staci’s favorite pieces to wear this time of year.  Equal parts form and function, it allows her to train hard and still look more hot than hot mess when the training is over.

 

This two-in-one piece made out of breathable, wicking and quick-drying Velocitek fabric can be found at Athleta, check out all the details here… 

 

 

 

Tis the season to be spicey. With chilly hands of autumn well upon us and that crisp fall smell permeating our senses comes all the flavors this season has to offer. As drinks switch from iced to steaming hot we bring you one of the tastiest seasonal drinks you’ll ever wrap your lips around.

 

The key to the flavor of pumpkin spice lattes is the syrup. The pumpkin spice syrup is quite easy to make. Just make a simple syrup (equal parts water and sugar (I used 1 cup each) simmered on the stovetop, stirring often, until sugar is dissolved).  

 

Add in pumpkin pie spices (I used 2 T ground cinnamon and 1/2 t. each ground cloves, ginger, and nutmeg) and simmer for five minutes.  

 

Strain the spices and grit out of the liquid by pouring it through a few layers of cheesecloth 

 

Add a tablespoon of pure vanilla extract.  

 

To make a latte, combine 2 shots of espresso with about 2 T spice syrup, then add steamed milk. For extra decadence, top with whipped cream, sprinkle cinnamon or nutmeg on top, and pop in a cinnamon stick. 

 

You can store the cooled syrup in a glass bottle or jar, away from direct sunlight, or in the fridge.