I've been having problems with my snatches so I went back and watched Cotter's segment on the snatch on the  "The Boys are back in town DVD ". I realized I have been shorting my backswing and while my grip was ok, the hand placement wasn't. I was gripping more towards the center of the handle rather than the corner. It made a world of difference.

The other day I attempted 10 mins (5mins each arm with 1 hand switch) and got 3min  R & L @15rpm, then 2mins L&R @ 15rpms and it was hard. Today I did 5mins R @12 rpm and 4mins L @ 12 rpm. The last minute my hands started getting very oily (I don't chalk when I snatch) and so I wond up setting it down twice, but I still did 12 rpms during that time. It was fairly easy, Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) on a scale from 1 to 10 it was about a 4.

It's amazing what a slight change in techinque has on results!

Chances are, if you’ve been training intensely for any length of time, you’ve sustained at least one injury at some point. The causes of sports- and workout-related injuries are numerous and include overtraining, sloppy form, and lifestyle choices (i.e. bad diet and sleep habits). The good news is that injuries are not inevitable, and in fact most are completely preventable if proper precautions are taken.

It seems as though these days everyone takes some kind of dietary supplement. Whether it’s a multivitamin or creatine, supplementation has become so commonplace as to be taken for granted. This article will address a common concern about this confusing and misunderstood topic: Should I take supplements? If so, what kind?

First of all, supplements aren’t magic. Any supplement will only work as much as you work with it. Supplements are meant to supplement – that is,

For today's 12:30 class we did the same WoD as 5-20

The ladies today kicked ass.

Jeanette snatched the 20k for multiple reps & sets with both arms

Lisa did 5x5 with each arm with the 16k and Marylin did the 16k with the right arm and worked on high pulls on the left.

Congratulations to them on the new PRs!! 

The Tuesday night class did the following strength/power workout:

2 handed swings 40/30/20 using light/medium/heavy kbs

Those were followed by 2 kb front squats

15, 10/9/8/7..../1, 15 squats with 2 moderate kbs, then a descending ladder with 2 heavy kbs

Next up they did pushups and renegade rows. The pushups were done on the bells.

10 pushups & 10 Renegade rows

8 pushups 8 Renegade Rows

6 pushups 6 RR

4 pushups 4 RR

2 pushups 2 RR

 The rest time between all of the sets for all of the exercises was 1 to 2 minutes, whenever they felt ready.

The last part was heavy snatches, they were to do 3 sets of 3 to 5 reps as heavy as possible.

Bekah, a petite young lady snatched the 16k for 5x5. She attempted the 20k but wasn't quite there.

Pete snatched the 32k, Jerry 24k, Aaron snatched the 24k for the first time and Tamas did the 24 as well.

Congratulations to them on hitting new records in the snatch! 

Here are the results of today's evening workout, Bitchin Betty

5 presses each arm

10 snatches each arm

15 swings each arm

as many times as possible for 20 mins, followed by 5 mins of as many pushups as possible. Finishing with the 4 minute plank dril

Today they ladies couldn't decide what they wanted to do. I was going to let them decide but since they couldn't I pulled a rabbit out of my hat.

Tabata thrusters 2kbs racked, squat and explode up driving the bells over head 15sec work, 15 sec rest 4 mins total

rest 2

Snatches 15sec work, 15sec rest, then switch arms & repeat 12mins total time. Try to maintain your pace. You should be going as fast as possible. This is hard style snatching. Short, powerful movements. Ideally getting 10 to 12 rpms.

They were complaining about their tired arms  

 Sandbag bent rows - 3x10

sandbag shouldering & squat 3x10 alternating sides each time (so really 5 reps per side per set)

Prowler pushes - 30 sec low post, rest 30 (the other person goes), then 30 sec high post & rest 30 sec while the 2nd person goes. 3 sets.

 Much fun, especially watching people rive the prowler in to the wall. Of course they didn't have shoes on so getting traction on the carpet was tough.

This week we have been testing everyone by doing the 50/50. The table below shows the date, kb used & how long it took to complete. The increase/decrease shows how much faster or slower were than the last time. A few people slowed down because they went up in weight or used the same weight throughout as opposed to the last time when they dropped down a size on the push presses and jerk 

 Lisa stayed with the 8k the whole way so she slowed down by 3:02 over her last time. Jason used a 16k all the way vs a 12k last time so he slowed down by 3:43 which isnt bad considering the 4k increase in weight.

My time of 38:31 was 3:20 faster than before with the same weight of 24k. It didn't seem as hard this time either.

As the rest of the crew comes in this week, I'll be updating the table. 

I plan on testing everyone about every 6 weeks so they can tell f they've made progress in their strength, endurance or both. 

Congratulations to everyone! 

The 50/50 workout is:

50 snatches  each arm

50 dead cleans each arm

50 front squats with the bell racked on one side then the other

50 swings each arm

50 push presses each arm

50 jerks each arm

You have to use the same size bell throughout. You can set the bell down and rest but you may not change hands until the first side is done and yo can't change exercises until you have finished the current one.

This is a prety tough workout and makes for a great test! 

DR - You recently formed the International Kettbell and Fitness Federation, IKFF. Can you tell us why you felt this new federation was needed?

SC - Because there are more and more kettlebell instructors being developed, yet very few skilled teachers. I don't believe in the over-hyped approach that has become popular in the internet-fitness industry; basically getting people to buy into the idea that they can show up to a 2 or 3 day course and walk away a world-class subject matter expert. That sales approach is dishonest and fundamentally lacking in integrity.

It takes time to develop skill as a teacher and the first step in cultivating expertise as a teacher is studying and understanding the communication process.

I have an extensive background teaching Chinese Gong Fu, and my teaching reflects that---I focus on the teaching process, and this focus is a distinguishing attribute of the IKFF courses. One cannot learn all there is to learn about effective teaching and coaching in 1 or 2 or 3 days. Really, even a weeklong course can only accomplish so much on that level. I have discovered that fitness professionals need to learn how to think about movement and how to present information in a manner and form that is easily digested by the individuals and groups that they are in front of.