I am an RKC – Russian Kettlebell Challenge Instructor
WOW, what a KETTLEBELL year it has been. 4 certifications, 2 workshops, and hundreds of hours of personal practice and teaching.
Let me sum up the past year for you:
- March 26, 2009 – I bought my first kettlebells – two 8kg and two 12kg
- April 4, 2009 – I posted my first kettlebell youtube video – it got trashed by some guy who basically told me how much I sucked
– this was great and made me take action to get certified and learn how to use kettlebells properly. I wanted to do the RKC but knew I was not ready so I checked out a few other certs and went with them instead. I still had my focus on the RKC down the road. - May 11, 2009 – IKFF – Certified Kettlebell Trainer – taught by Steve Cotter
- May 18, 2009 - Agatsu – Certified Kettlebell Trainer – taught by Shawn Mozen
- June 17, 2009 – taught my first kettlebell class at my new studio Supreme Ultimate Fitness in Boca Raton, FL
- November 7, 2009 – Attended a kettlebell basics workshop taught by Master RKC Andrea DuCane hosted by ATP Kettlebells in Dania Beach, FL – THIS is what got really me interested in getting my RKC sooner than later
- November 29, 2009 – Attended a workshhop on V02Max and Perfecting the Press by Master RKC Kenneth Jay – WOW! Awesome info!
- December 5, 2009 – HKC – Hardstyle Kettlebell Certified Instructor with Master RKC Dave Whitley in Nashville, TN – learned more than I thought and perfected my swings, squats, and get ups
- February 6, 2010 – Prvate coaching session with Dave Whitley at Supreme Ultimate Fitness.
- April 26, 2010 – RKC – Russian Kettlebell Certified Instructor – This is the event I have been seriously training for since April 2009. My journal reflect the final 8 weeks of preperation. Actually the prep started last April so it took me one year to do the RKC
Out of our RKC certification group of 50 people 35% did not pass. Most came unprepared and took the 23 hr grueling course too lightly.
What does it take to be an RKC?
As the demand for kettlebells and kettlebell training grows, many unqualified trainers have begun to advertise their services as kettlebell instructors.
But beware, kettlebell instruction requires an extensive background and training to be truly safe and effective. Don’t risk injury or waste time with subpar instruction when you can take advantage of Pavel and Dragon Door’s growing, worldwide network of highly qualified RKC certified kettlebell instructors.
RKC kettlebell instructors have undergone the world’s most rigorous of kettlebell instructor certification courses and are fully qualified to help you meet and surpass your goals, be they fat loss, strength and power development or athletic success.
The RKC Instructor has demonstrated a high proficiency in the most essential kettlebell drills and shown an ability to effectively teach kettlebell use to others. Below is a picture of my group and the 14 instructors.
Week 6 of 8 RKC prep
Filed under: HKC, Kettlebells, Personal Training, RKC, Workouts, personal stuff
OK so I forgot to post week 5, WTF? Not really sure what I did that week so I will go right into week 6. WAS AWESOME! Snatch test on Friday April 9 was 4:17 and I did that outside of Supreme Ultimate Fitness as my client Alex counted reps and did the timer. Feeling great all day so I did this workout posted from my facebook business page which included swings, get ups, and goblet squats. Then I flipped tires with my client Angel. Was an exhausting day.
Saturday and Sunday I taught a workshop for a couple from Washington State and we did a ton of kettlebell basics all weekend. I will post more on week 7 as I gear up for the big event.
Week 4 of 8 RKC Prep
Filed under: HKC, Kettlebells, RKC, Workouts, blogging, personal stuff
Gonna keep this one short. Great week, I took Mon-Thursday low key just did some swings, jump rope, battling ropes. Snatch test on Friday morning was awesome, did 100 in 4:29 with no issues at all. It is getting much easier. Friday late afternoon I did 2 more rounds of Workout #1 plus more jump rope, battling ropes, sandbag, and TRX. Supreme Ultimate Fitness had a visitor from Huntersville, NC – Scott Shannon. He actually counted reps for my snatch test which was way cool.
Friday 3/26 - morning: Snatch Test in 4:29, workout #1 for 1 round with 20kg – Evening; Workout #1 again with ropes, trx, sandbags and HEAVY presses 36kg 3×3.
Saturday 3/27 – rest since I did 2 workouts on Friday
Sunday 3/28 - morning: double kettlebell workout for 4 rounds, video here. Evening: swings, get ups, ropes, and T’ai Chi
Overall, I feel ready for the RKC in 4 weeks. Looking forward to the experience!
Week 3 of 8 RKC prep
The training keeps getting better and better. At Supreme Ultimate Fitness this week I was able to get in some pretty decent workouts. I was so tired I actually rested from Sunday-Thursday and just did swings, get-ups, and a lot of stretching top open up the hips and allow full hip extension.
Friday 3/19 – Snatch test in 4:35 and Workout #1 for 2 rounds with 24kg – video below
Saturday 3/20 – Workout #2 for 2 rounds with double 16kg plus walking seesaw presses and walking with bells in rack and overhead.
Sunday 3/21 – Workout #3 with 20kg 1 round plus seesaw presses with 2 20kg, bottoms up presses with 32kg, presses with 40kg and a bunch of other strength building exercises
Here is some video from Friday’s workout and snatch test
Week 2 of 8 RKC Prep
This week was much better than last. After a thorough attitude adjustment from a Senior RKC and the help of another RKC. I am back on track with kick ass workouts. I had some great snatch workouts using the Viking Warrior Conditioning 15:15 and 36:36 protocols and I nailed the RKC Snatch Test with 100 in 4:50 on Friday 3/12. In fact here is the video from the live Ustream boradcast of my snatch test and short workout.
Here is a review of my week:
Saturday 3/6 - 10 sets VWC 36:36 plus 2 rounds workout #2 with double 16kg
Sunday 3/7: Snatch test plus workout #3
- 50 swings w/24kg
- Snatch test = 90 in 5:00 – felt great, went slower and did not fatigue – VERY big accomplishment
- Workout #3 w/20kg for 1 set
- 3 Get Ups each side VERY SLOW with 20kg
Monday 3/8 – REST
Tuesday 3/9 – Swing ladders, VWC 15:15 25 sets, heavy presses
- Swing ladders = 24kg, 28kg, 32kg, 36kg up and back down 3 times 5 reps each set for 65 Swings
- VWC 15:15 for 25 sets w/16kg bell at 7 snatches/15 seconds
- Get Ups – 16kg, 20kg, 24kg – one each side
- Double 32kg presses – 2 sets 3 reps
- Double 28kg – C&P, squat, renegade row – 3 sets
3/10 – REST
3/11 – Swings and Get Ups – no record of what and how much
3/12 – See video up top of this post. – Snatch test of 100 reps in 4:50, plus Get Ups and Workout #1
3/13 – All 6 basic movements for 3 hours while teaching a workshop – EXHAUSTED!
Week 1 of 8 week RKC prep
For my first week of RKC prep workouts did not go as well as I wanted. I did not do as great on the snatch test as I would have liked and totally underestimated the high intensity level of the prep workouts so got sick mid week and bounced back with a strong workout on Friday March 5. I am following this workout by Brett Jones, Master RKC. He has 3 different workouts that I follow so when I label them #1,#2,#3 go to his link and find the exact workout.
You can click on the links in these workouts to view videos on Youtube
Here is the breakdown of my workouts so far:
2/26/10 – Workout #1 done with a 16kg for 2 rounds:
- 20 reps 1 hand swings
- 5 reps Clean & Press each side
- 20 swings
- 5 Clean and squat each side
- 20 swings
- 3 Get Ups each side
- 20 swings
- 8 snatches each side
- 20 swings
2/28/10 – Snatch test plus Workout #2 with DOUBLE 16kg for 1 round
- Snatch test – 90 reps in 4:30 with 24kg
- 5 Clean and Press
- 3 Get-ups each side
- 5 Clean and Press
- 5 Clean and Front Squat
- 5 Clean and Press
- 10 Swing
- 5 Clean and Press
- 8 Snatch each side
- 5 Clean and Press
3/2/10 – Snatch Test – 85 reps in 4:30 with 24kg
3/3/10 - 30 min Get Ups – 10 each side w/16kg
3/5/10 – VWC 15:15 plus Workout #1 for 2 rounds
- 20 sets VWC 15:15 with 16kg at cadence of 7 reps/15 sec
- 15 Swings – 28kg
- 4 Clean and Press each side w/20kg
- 12 Swings – 28kg
- 4 Clean and Front Squat each side w/20kg
- 10 Swings – 28kg
- 3 Get-up each side w/20kg
- 10 Swings – 28kg
- 8 Snatches each side w/20kg
- 10 Swings – 28kg
Rating myself this week = B- :
- Snatch test = B-
- Prep workouts = B-
- Strength = B
- Endurance = C
- Attitude = B
I know I can do better, and I will. I need to focus more on endurance and clean up my nutrition to take me through the next 7+ weeks of hard training.
Check out the VWC book on the link below
Viking Warrior Conditioning
The Scientific Approach to Forging a Heart of Elastic Steel
All of the videos on this blog were filmed at my gym Supreme Ultimate Fitness in Boca Raton
My 8 week journey to the RKC
Filed under: HKC, Kettlebells, My Websites, RKC, blogging, personal stuff
Well it’s not really an 8 week journey, it’s actually been a 10 month journey and will be just over 1 yr since I first picked up a kettlebell and got serious about learning how to use them. Along the way I opened Supreme Ultimate Fitness in Boca Raton, FL to teach others what I have learned about fitness, kettlebells, and functional training
I remember it was April 4, 2009 I bought two 8kg and 12 kg bells and posted a video on YouTube just to have it trashed by some guy who I can’t even find anymore. I should be thanking him because it forced me to get certified if I was going to teach anybody how to use a kettlebell. So I signed up for my first cert with Steve Cotter of the IKFF in May, then a week later took my second cert with Shawn Mozen of Agatsu.
Last November I took 2 kettlebell workshops, one from Master RKC Andrea DuCane, and the other from Master RKC Kenneth Jay. A month later on Dec 5th I got certified as an HKC – Hardstlye Kettlebell Instructor and then registered for the RKC – Russian Kettlebell Challenge for April 23-25, 2010.
So last Friday, Feb 26 started my 8 week prep for the RKC, which includes very intense and physically demanding kettlebell workouts to condition my mind and body for the 3 day weekend. In addition, I also have to easily do 100 kettlebell snatches with a 24kg (53lb) kettlebell for 100 reps in 5 min. My last test over 3 weeks ago I did it in 4:40. I would like to have more padding and get to the 100 snatches in 4 min by the test day which is April 23.
So, here I am posting my workouts and progress along with my emotions, status, state of mind, physical being, etc. Enjoy!
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