Kettlebell by Mike Mahler The Benefits Of Kettlebell Training For Powerlifters By Jack Reape Most of the truly gifted

powerlifters I know use the most basic of Training approaches. They just Squat, Bench and Deadlift for the most part, with maybe some pause squats, close grip benches, and stiff legged deads thrown in. They are great because they are gifted genetically and work very, very hard and very, very heavy. It must be great to be them. For the rest of us, we have to find ways to make up with assistance work and careful planning what we lack in talent and choice of parents. Kettlebells are not the sole answer to every weakness, but they are an absolute must have in the average Powerlifters bag of assistance tricks. Kettlebells are different in center of gravity, gripability, and in planes of possible movement. Anything that is that different has a great potential to make an improvement in your training. They are amazingly effective for improving General Physical Preparedness, for Prehabilitation and Rehabilitation of Injuries, and for Dynamic/Explosive work. You can also mix them in instead of Dumbbells in many exercises for an effective change of pace. GPP The Kettlebell swing or snatch can be done either for higher reps or in interval type workouts to increase overall conditioning. I like to use them for Farmers walks for long distances. Farmers walks are great for improving conditioning and about the best grip work for holding a Deadlift I know. The fatter and smoother handle makes the hand work harder to hold the Kettlebell. I think the KB is great for throwing on a sled (I use a garage sale metal round flexible flyer) and using for sled dragging. Putting a group of KB movements together back to back in a complex is also a great conditioning approach. SQUAT The heavy single KB swing, or double KB swing is tremendous for Glute and Hamstring strengthening. This is very good especially for wide stance squatters and sumo pullers too. For narrower squatters I like heavy one arm snatches in the squat stance. For Powerlifters with less flexible shoulders or wrists or arms too big for front squats, the double KB front squat is fantastic. Some might say even with double 106s it could never be heavy enough. When I can handle double 106s for reps I will let you know. For me 495x3 in the squat raw is easier than double 88s for 8-10. Not sure why, but like I said different is good and what helps make the biggest changes in your lifts. BENCH PRESS

Kettlebell by Mike Mahler In the bench press Kettlebells are not direct assistance, but are best for change of pace on back off weeks, for the best shoulder prehab work I know, and great for single arm and Renegade Rows. On back off weeks I include KB high rep single arm pressing for higher(20+) reps, and as extra workouts after bench pressing. I warm up with bottom up pressing to recruit all the shoulder stabilizers then do one arm or see saw presses for medium rep, medium intensity work. The center of gravity of a Kettlebell and better plane of motion for a natural overhead range of motion far exceeds Dumbell work. Doing double military presses will hit your chest if you lean back a bit. Westside Barbell uses Kettlebells for tricep extensions. I have also used KBs for floor presses instead of Dumbbells. Floor pressing a KB is easier to get into position yourself but much harder to handle weight wise. Finally, the KB arm bar is not only a great low back adjustment but fantastic for prehabilitation of bench press shoulders. A word of caution on Turkish get ups;if you have shoulder issues and/or you have not done much overhead work, you could easily strain a rotator or rear deltoid. Your shoulder will need a careful build up in the Turkish get up. In other words you will have to use a bell that feels very light as you start to recruit external rotators to hold the bell overhead. Be careful and slow on the Turkish Get Up. DEADLIFTS The previously mentioned wide stance swings and snatches work well here for the DL and the farmers walk is great for grip work. The front squat with KBs is great for building the conventional pull start off the floor. I have only done close stance KB cleans a few times but some narrow stance Deadlifters swear by this movement. The margin of error is narrow here because hitting yourself in the shin with a fast moving heavy KB will leave a mark. ABS The single best ab exercise I know is the renegade row. Do it. Do it again. Dont whine. SUGGESTED TEMPLATES After Squatting: Double KB Swing Heavy 3-4 sets of 7-12 reps. Renegade rows 34 sets of 10-12 reps After Benching: See saw Press or one arm Military Press 3-4 sets of 7-12 reps. KB one arm row 3-5 sets of 7-12 reps After Deadlifting: KB Front Squats 2-5 sets of 7-12 reps, KB snatch conventional stance) or double KB swing(sumo stance) 3-4 sets of 7-10 reps. Conditioning/Extra Workouts: KB snatch 7-10 reps per hand x8-12 sets with 3060 seconds rest. Doing reps higher than this quickly turns into a conservation of

Kettlebell by Mike Mahler energy; great for GS but not great for Powerlifters. Farmers Walks, 2-6 trips of 50100 yards as heavy as you can handle. KB complexes-just mix together 5-7 exercises and do them nonstop for 1-2 giant sets of 7-12 reps per exercise. Example: KB renegade row L+R/KB See Saw Press/KB snatch/KB alternate lunge/ KB Swing/KB Front squat. This will leave you a bit tired. CONCLUSION; I am not sponsored lifter, so every bit of gear or equipment I buy and then give a review of is measured in Return on Investment. If you are a powerlifter who is not a freak, it is well worth it to have Kettlebells in your arsenal.

About The Author Jack Reape is a Career Navy Pilot whose passion is his kids. The lessons he has learned in a life of Military Aviation and high level athletics, and tested on himself and his kids, are available to anybody who needs some help or new ideas at jackreape@hotmail.com

Kettlebell by Mike Mahler THE FIVE PILLARS OF KETTLEBELL TRAINING By Mike Mahler Many trainees often forget that kettlebells are weights and the rules of effective weight training apply to kettlebell training. Similar to traditional weight training, effective kettlebell training requires a balanced approach and an emphasis on the basic compound drill that provide the most bang for the buck. For most trainees, following a regimen with a strong emphasis on a few basic exercises is the way to go. However, putting all of your efforts into one or two exercises long-term is not the way to go. There are five areas that are worth focusing on for balanced development. Lets get going. The Five Pillars:

Press Pull Squat Lower body pull Core

Whatever form of weight training you engage in, you want the five above areas covered. Now lets cover each area with kettlebells as the focus: Press: KB Military Press or KB Floor Press. This includes all of the variations such as the Sots Press, Double Clean and Press, Alternating Floor press, See-saw Press. Pull: Renegade Row, Alternating Bent-over Row, Double Bent-over Row, One-arm Row, Pull-ups with a kettlebell Squat: Double Front Squat, Hack Squat, overhead squat, one-legged squat Lower body pull: Double Swing, Double Snatch, One-arm Swing, One-arm Snatch, Double Clean, One legged Deadlift Core: Windmill, Turkish Get-up, Bent Press, Side Press

Kettlebell by Mike Mahler Covering the above five areas ensures that you build a strong and balanced physique. Many people tend to focus on what they enjoy and neglect what they do not care for. For example, people that like to press tend to spend a great deal of time on Military Presses and not enough time on pulling motions such as rows. When I first started training with kettlebells, I made the mistake of doing too much pressing work and pretty much no pulling work. Sure enough imbalances starting popping up followed by shoulder pain. Once I balanced the training with pulling motions, my shoulders felt better and more stable and my strength went up dramatically. If you feel that covering five areas is too complicated for you, then do not bother getting off the couch. Better yet, do not go out the door or drive on the road. You are a danger to anyone you come across. Lets cover a few balanced kettlebell programs for different levels: Beginner: Here is a good program for a trainee that only has one kettlebell: Monday-Wednesday-Friday

One-arm Clean and Military Press 2x5 l,r (two sets of five left and right) One-arm Bent-over Row 2x6 l,r One-arm Windmill 1x3 l,r One-arm Front Squat 2x6 l,r One-arm Swing 2x10 l,r

Take one to two minute breaks in between each exercise and work on technique. Intermediate: Monday-Wednesday-Friday

Double Clean and Military Press 2x6 Double Bent-over Row 2x6 Turkish Get-up 2x3 l,r Double Front Squat 2x8 Double Swing 2x6

Take 90 second breaks in between each set. Advanced: Monday-Wednesday-Friday

Sot Press 2x5 l,r Alternating Renegade Row 2x5 l,r Double Windmill 2x5 l,r

Kettlebell by Mike Mahler

Double Front Squat 2x6 (2 second pause at the bottom) Double Snatch 2x6

Take 90 second breaks in between each set. The possibility of combinations, volume, intensity, and workouts splits is endless. All of this really depends on what your skill level is, your conditioning level is, and what your goals are. Whatever you do, make sure you cover the basics. Imbalanced programs are fine for more advanced trainees. If you are someone that has a high level of pushing strength and a low level of pulling strength, you can place pressing on maintenance mode and focus on pulling. The same can be applied to any imbalance. Regardless, you are far less likely to create imbalances if you focus on a balanced approach to training.

Kettlebell by Mike Mahler TAKE THE SIG KLIEN CLEAN AND PRESS CHALLENGE By Mike Mahler My favorite exercise by far is the Clean and Press. I like many of the variations such as the Barbell Clean and Press, Dumbbell Clean and Press, Sandbag Clean And Press, Resistance Band Clean and Press, and my all time favorite the Double Kettlebell Clean and Press. What makes the Clean and Press so great? It works the entire body from head to toe. You use the lower body to get the bells to the shoulders and the upper body to get the bells overhead. Moreover, the Clean and Press teaches coordination, transfer of power, and teaches the body how to work as one unit. Executed with heavy weights and low reps, the Clean and Press is an incredible strength developer. Done for high reps (12-15) the Clean and Press is an incredible strength-endurance builder. Done with heavy weights and high volume the Clean and Press is a great size and strength developer. Regardless of what your goals are the Clean and Press has a place in your program. It is a great exercise for both men and women and if you only have time to do one exercise, you cannot do much better than the Clean and Press. One additional benefit of the Clean and Press is it does not require much equipment. All you need are two dumbbells, two kettlebells, or a barbell. It can be done just about anywhere so there are no excuses for missing out on the benefits of the Clean and Press. (I cover the Clean and press in great detail on my speed and explosive strength DVD, check it out at The Aggressive Strength Online Store. In an issue of Brooks Kubiks' "Dinosaur Files", (www.brookskubik.com) Brooks mentioned that old-time strongman Sig Klein considered the Dumbbell Clean and Military Press to be one of the best exercises for measuring all around strength. Sig stated that twelve reps with two 75lb dumbbells separated the men from the boys. While Sig did not mention women, I do not want the ladies to feel left out. A great dumbbell Clean and Press goal for ladies is twelve reps with two 30lb dumbbells. For those of you that are not familiar with the Dumbbell Clean and Press here is how it works. Place two dumbbells on the floor just outside of your feet. Rip them off of the floor and get them to your shoulders in one motion. This is the lower body portion of the drill. If you swing the dumbbells back behind your feet to initiate the clean you place the focus on the hamstrings. If you rip them straight up the quads come more into play. Once your legs are locked out press the dumbbells overhead until your arms lock out. No leg drive is permissible. The legs must be locked out during the duration of the press. Lower the bells back to your shoulders and take the dumbbells back to the starting position. You just completed one rep. Huffing and puffing already? You are in big trouble as you have eleven more reps to go. Get your puke bucket ready! What should your goal be with the Clean and Press? Simple, take the Sig Klein challenge and work on achieving twelve reps with two 75lb dumbbells. If you are 7

Kettlebell by Mike Mahler a fan of kettlebell training like me, work on pressing two 70lb kettlebells fourteen times. Ladies, work on pressing two 26lb kettlebells fourteen times. While achieving the goal will not get you a ticket to compete in the world's strongest man contest, I doubt that is one of your goals. What you will accomplish is a nice combination of strength, endurance, and mental toughness. No doubt you will achieve some nice physique composition improvements as well. If you want to lose fat, clean up your diet. Get all carbohydrates from low glycemic fruits and veggies. Cut out all starches and sugars. Have a balance of protein, healthy fat and low glycemic carbs at each meal and you are ready to go. If you goal is to add some mass, ramp up the calories. Just focus on healthy food as well to ensure you add muscle not blubber. Whether you choose to use dumbbells or kettlebells for the Clean and Press challenge, avoid using the pre-swing to get the bells off of the floor. Clean the bells from a dead stop on each rep. Why? To make it harder and to ensure that momentum is not being used to press the bells. When you swing the bells between your feet on each rep you make the clean easier and you may find it hard to avoid bouncing the bells off of your upper body. Moreover, to ensure that the Clean and Press is a comprehensive full body exercise we want to make the lower body work harder. Cleaning the bells from a dead stop will certainly make the lower body work harder. In addition to cleaning the bells from a dead stop, pause in the rack position for a second before each press. This will ensure you are not push pressing the bells overhead. Being forced to clean the bells from a dead stop on each rep you will not only teach you how to develop tremendous explosive power, it will develop mental toughness as well. You will know what I am talking about when you give it a shot. Also, pressing the bells after a pause is going to amount to some nice dividends in upper body strength and power. The Clean and Press will soon be on your short list of exercise you love to hate. Lets cover a few performance tips: Clean and Press Performance Tips

Place two kettlebells between your feet jut past your toes. Stick your butt back as if you are trying to sit in a chair behind Look forward at all times. Breathe in at the same time that you clean the bells. Hold your breathe and tighten up every muscle in the body Look up slightly and press the bells overhead. Breathe out in the lock out position and breathe in as you lower the bells back to the rack position. Contract your lats and lower the bells actively rather than letting them flop down

Well, you have the goal, now figure out how to get there on your own and let me know how it works out. Just kidding, I would never leave you hanging like that.

Kettlebell by Mike Mahler Well, maybe just not this time. All right, lets look at some effective battle plans for ramping up your Clean and Press numbers. Greasing The Groove (GTG) Those of you that are regular readers of my articles now that I am a big fan of Pavel Tsatsouline's GTG program. In fact I used the GTG protocol when I trained for a Kettlebell Clean and Press contest I hosted earlier this year. It worked like a charm and I knocked out an all time best of 19 reps with two 70lb kettlebells. Many of my online clients use the GTG system to dramatically improve their numbers on exercise such as pull-ups and pushups. Here is how it works, take 50% of your one set rep max and do several practice sets through out the day. For example, if you can Clean and Press two 70s for ten reps, do several sets of five through out the day. Leave at least thirty minutes in between each set. You want to be as fresh as possible for each set. If any of the sets of five come close to being difficult you are doing way too many sets or you are not leaving enough time in between each set. Each set should feel relatively easy. The point is to get better at the skill of the exercise. The more you practice the better you get. The better you get the more reps you can do. Sounds crazy? Look at how you learn any other skill such as playing the piano. Would you play the piano for three hours every Monday and then take the rest of the week off? Of course not. Daily practice of playing the piano is how you get better. Productive strength training is no different. Get great at the skill of executing the exercise and you will be amazed at what happens. Practice without burning out also makes your central nervous system (CNS) more efficient. The CNS has a great deal to do with productive strength training. Make the CNS more efficient and you will get stronger. This is one of the reasons why it is possible to get stronger without making the muscles bigger. Here is a sample GTG plan to take a 10 rep max up to 20 reps. Scale the numbers up or down depending on your current strength levels:

Week 1: 50% of one set max done five times per day Week 2: 60% of one set max done five times per day Week 3: 70% of one set max done four times per day Week 4: 80% of one set max done three times per day Week 5: 60% of one set max done five times per day Week 6: 70% of one set max done five times per day Week 7: 80% of one set max done four times per day Week 8: 70% of one set max done five times per day Week 9: 80% of one set max done four times per day Week 10: 70% of one set max done five times per day Week 11: 80% of one set max done four times per day Week 12: 90% of one set max done three times per day Week 13: 50% of one set max done five times per day Week 14: take a few days off and do a one set max test 9

Kettlebell by Mike Mahler A few more key points about GTG. Wait at least two hours after waking up to do your first set. The body is generally stiff and tight in the morning. Wait until you have moved around and gotten some blood moving to get the ball rolling. The last thing you need is for your first set to suck. How you feel on the first set will set you up for the rest of the day so make it a good one. On the other hand, your last GTG set should be no later than four hours before bedtime. The last thing you need is a CNS boost before hitting the sack. Do the GTG program a maximum of six days per week and for most five days per week is better. For example, do the GTG program Monday through Friday and then take the weekends off. Since the GTG program is based on taking short "exercise breaks" through out the day it is a perfect fit for busy professionals. You could even bring two kettlebells to your office. Every hour or so take a break from pretending to work and knock off a set of Clean and Presses. By the end of the day it will add up and by the end of several weeks you will wonder why you did not think of taking exercise breaks sooner. There are no excuses for not training when you are cognizant of the GTG program. For those of you that cannot knock off sets through out the day, try doing two to three sets of Clean and presses with five minute breaks once per day. While this is not as ideal as sets through out the day, it is certainly better than nothing. One final point about GTG, it is a great program for increasing one set strength. However, it may not carry over to well to multiple set strength. In other words, while it is a great program for taking your 10 rep max to your 20 rep max, you may find that five sets of 12-14 reps are not happening. What is the bottom line? Training has to be very precise. If you want to increase your one set strength, GTG is the way to go. If you want to get better at multiple sets strength you need to practice multiple sets (Density Training below will work well for this). For more information on the GTG program, check out Pavel's website at Powerbypavel.com. Ethan Reeve's "Density Training" I learned about "Density Training" from top Wakeforest University Strength Coach Ethan Reeve. Ethan is one of the best around and his "Density Training" program is a real winner. The Density Training program builds incredible work capacity and increases strength dramatically. Here is how it works. Pick your target goal. For example if you want to press two 70lb kettlebells 20 times, you will need to do 40 total reps per workout. This can be done one rep at time. For example forty sets of one with 30 second breaks. Or you can start with twenty sets of two or ten sets of four. Where you start is up to you. Regardless with "Density Training" all roads lead to the same end. And the end is more work achieved with less sets. Here is a sample program:

Week 1: 20x2 (twenty sets of two) 10

Kettlebell by Mike Mahler

Week 2: 13x3 and 1x1 Week 3: 10x4 Week 4: 8x5 Week 5: 6x6 and 1x4 Week 6: 5x7 and 1x5 Week 7: 5x8 Week 8: 4x9 and 1x4 Week 9: 4x10 Week 10: 3x11 and 1x7 Week 11: 3x12 and 1x4 Week 12: 3x13 and 1x1

Thus with Density training the sets go down over time and the reps per set go up dramatically. In addition to developing strength you will increase work capacity and strength endurance tremendously. Mental toughness is also a strong component of Density Training so get ready to work hard. Leave at least 48 hours in between each session. For example, do your Clean and Press workouts on Monday and Thursday. When in doubt take an extra rest day where ever necessary. Do not do less than two Density workouts per week though. If you cannot handle it, stick with the GTG program, which is, not any where near as brutal. Well now you have two proven plans for reaching your goal of achieving the Sig Klein Challenge and taking it even further. Of course there are numerous ways to achieve the goal. How do you incorporate the Clean and Press into your program? That is for you to find out on your own and for me to keep to myself ;-) Just kidding, I will cover that in the next issue and also go over some variety programs for the Clean and Press. FYI, I cover the Clean and press in great detail on my speed and explosive strength DVD, check it out at The Aggressive Strength Online Store.

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Kettlebell by Mike Mahler USING KETTLEBELLS FOR POWERLIFTERS By Louie Simmons I am asked all the time what we do with kettle bells. Although they have been around forever, they have once again become the rage. There are kettle bell camps and certifications. Pavel has several DVDs on kettle bell workouts for strength training and flexibility. Zach Evan-Esh has an excellent DVD on combat training with kettle bells. He has really thought out a system for conditioning and strength endurance. But what does Westside do with kettle bells? We do very few kettle bell swings and cleans. At the Arnold Classic, I arranged with Kieran Kidder to have Valery Fedorenko do a demonstration. He jerked a 70 pound kettle bell for an unbelievable 2006 reps! Once he cleaned the first rep, he never touched the floor again until the last rep was completed. Kettle bells are good for mobility, flexibility, and strength endurance, as noted by the 2006 reps made at the WPO finals. At Westside, some will do a few swings for a warm-up on dynamic squat day or max effort day for squatting or deadlifting. A few will do some cleans or snatches on these same days. For shoulder therapy we do them with the bottoms up. Here the lifter holds the handles tight while stabilizing the bells with the bottom of the kettle bell on top. Thanks to Pavel for this one. We also do kettle bell bench shrugs with the bottoms up. For shoulder traction, bend over holding onto a kettle bell. With your arm straight rotate the shoulder internally and externally. This will help most rotator injuries. For GPP we work up to a half mile holding the kettle bells. Its great for grip and shoulder traction. Passing a kettle around the body is very therapeutic for the shoulders as well. We do a lot of presses from incline, decline, and seated positions, a few flyes, and a lot of triceps extensions with the kettle bells. Because the bell is either in front of or behind the wrist, this makes pressing very awkward but effective. To make the exercises more difficult, we double up a set of minibands through the handles and do the exercises by holding the doubled-up minibands. This causes the kettle bells to move in all directions, creating a chaotic movement. This system will not only build superhuman strength but also build stability, and with light to moderate weights, this is very therapeutic. Tony Ramos took it a step further by attaching the bands and kettle bells to the bar for all types of pressing. First, it truly teaches you to press correctly. This is accomplished by contracting all the pressing muscles. This includes the arms, delts, lats, and chest. To most effectively use kettle bells for bar pressing, double up a mini-band around the handle of each kettle bell and hang them from the bar. This can be very taxing and very precarious. Be sure to use spotters. We have experimented with kettle bell and band pressing for over a year. It works. While lowering the bar to the chest, you of course must stop the bar from accelerating, but now you must stop not only the bar but also the kettle bells. This is not easy, as the bands elasticity causes the bells to lower further even as the bar stops. The bells continue to move not only downward but in all directions, as an oscillating 12

Kettlebell by Mike Mahler pendulum, creating a chaotic state (as noted by Joe DellAquilo, Ph.D., physics). After reaching lock-out, the bells continue to move upward. All the pressing muscles must work together, as they seldom do, to provide stability. Light weights and high reps will rehabilitate the pecs and delts. Do those before you suffer any injuries as prehabilitation? Heavy weights for lower reps will build muscle mass and great strength. I suggest you try this combination of weight, bands, and kettle bells. It is not just for the powerlifters but also for ball players and fighters of all types.

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Kettlebell by Mike Mahler

EDT + Kettlebells = Major Strength and Size by Mike Mahler, Senior RKC

I research a lot of training programs and when I come across something that looks promising, I use myself as a guinea pig to make sure that it is worth doing before sharing it with my clients and readers. Recently, I hit some plateaus in my own training and decided to try a program called EDT (Escalating Density Training) by top strength coach Charles Staley. Here is how EDT works. Take two antagonistic muscles for each workout such as the quads and hamstrings. For example, lets use squats and stifflegged deadlifts to illustrate. Go back and forth between squats and stifflegged deadlifts for as many sets as you can in a designated time period such as twenty minutes. Charles refers to this twenty-minute period as a "PR Zone." Choose a training load that you can complete ten times with solid form and do multiple sets of three to five for as many sets as possible in each "PR Zone." While training to failure should be avoided, feel free to take your final sets to the limit in order to achieve as many reps as possible. Just do not compromise form to do so. Keep the rest breaks short in between each set and only rest as long as you need. I recommend that you use a stopwatch to stay on track. Make sure to take advantage of a training journal and record the number of total reps that you complete for each exercise after each "PR Zone." For example, if you completed forty total reps on squats with 315lbs, your goal at the next squat workout is to achieve a minimum of forty-one reps. As long as you are doing more reps at each workout, you will make progress and increase strength and size. Here is an example of an EDT program that I tried recently with kettlebells:

Day 1: Upper Body PR Zone 1 (20 Minutes) Military Presses with two 72lb kettlebells Renegade Rows with two 72lb kettlebells Five minute break PR Zone 2 (15 Minutes)

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Kettlebell by Mike Mahler Alternating Presses with two 72lb kettlebells Alternating Rows with two 72lb kettlebells Two minute break Core Work 2x5 (two sets of five) of Windmills with an 88lb kettlebell Day 2: Lower Body PR Zone 1 (Twenty Minutes) Front Squats with two 72lb bells One arm snatches with an 88lb kettlebells Five minute break PR Zone 2 (Fifteen Minutes) Overhead Squats with a 72lb bell Double Swings with two 72lb kettlebells I took a day off in between each workout. For example, I would do workout one on Monday, take Tuesday off, and then do workout two on Wednesday. Then I would repeat workout one on Friday. Prior to doing EDT, my personal best on kettlebell military presses with two 72lb kettlebells was six reps. After only two weeks of EDT, I nailed nine reps with perfect form. On front squats, my previous best was ten reps with two 72lb kettlebells. After two weeks on EDT, I nailed fifteen reps and felt like I could have done much more. In addition, here is what one of my clients had to say about the EDT program that I designed for him after only one week: "I just had to write and tell you that the program is kicking ass for me. I tried to get a two-arm military press with the 72's two weeks ago and could barely get one rep. Today I got twelve sets of triples and probably could have gotten four or five for the first few, which I'll try next week." In addition to being a very effective program, EDT is also really enjoyable and it is probably a lot different than any program that you have tried. Give it a shot for four weeks and let me know what happens. Also, if you find that two "PR Zones" is too much volume for you, just try one "PR Zone" or take some extra days off between workouts.

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Kettlebell by Mike Mahler

WESTSIDE INSPIRED KETTLEBELL PROGRAM By Mike Mahler Louie Simmons is one of the best strength coaches in the business and a legend in the powerlifting community. He has produced some of the strongest men and women in the world with his innovative and unconventional methods. One the foundations for Louies Westside program is the emphasis on speed. Louie states that if you are fast he can make you strong. While powerlifting looks like a slow sport, the intent is to move the weights as fast as possible. Your fast twitch muscle fibers are what make you strong and incorporating some speed training is very important. As a result, Louie has a few training days each week that are focused on speed training. For example, he will have an athlete take 50-60% of his one rep max on the bench press and do several sets of three as fast as possible with short breaks. The speed that is developed from such training carries over well to heavy training. The faster you can move a heavy weight, the less time you are under tension and the less likely you are to fail. Seventy-two hours after doing some speed work, it is time to have a maximum effort day to apply your new skill set. Focus on one exercise for a few weeks and build up to a new PR (personal record). Then switch to another exercise that is similar and repeat. For example, in month one, focus on the Double Military Press. In month two, focus on the seated Military Press and in month three focus on the Alternating Military Press. The following program is outstanding for trainees that want to get faster and more explosive for the purpose of getting stronger for training. While this program can also be beneficial to athletes, you do not have to have a sport-specific purpose in mind to benefit from this program. In other words it is a great program for the purpose of simply getting stronger for the sake of getting stronger. Monday: (Speed Day: Upper Body Focus)

Clean and Speed Press 8x3 (eight sets of three and take one-minute breaks in between each set) One-arm Hang Snatch 6x3 l,r (six sets and one-minute breaks) Renegade Row 2x5 l,r (two sets of five and one-minute breaks)

Tuesday (Speed Day: Lower Body Focus)

Explosive Lunge 8x3 (eight sets of three and take one-minute breaks in between each set) Explosive Double Swing 6x3 l,r (six sets and one-minute breaks) Turkish Get-up 2x3 l,r (two sets of three and one-minute breaks)

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Kettlebell by Mike Mahler Thursday (Strength Day: Upper Body Focus)

A-1: Double Military Press 5x5 A-2: Double Bent Over Row 5x5

Do A-1 and A-2 back to back. In other words do a set of A-1, rest for ninety seconds and then do a set of A-2 and rest for ninety seconds. Keep going back and forth until you have completed 5x5 for both exercises. Use heavy kettlebells. The last set should be very difficult and a maximum effort should be applied. Rest for a minute and then do

Double Windmill 3x5 l,r (left and right and one-minute breaks in between each exercise.

Friday (Strength Day: Lower Body Focus)

A-1: Double Front Squat 5x5 A-2: Double Swing 5x5

Do A-1 and A-2 back to back. In other words do a set of A-1, rest for ninety seconds and then do a set of A-2 and rest for ninety seconds. Keep going back and forth until you have completed 5x5 for both exercises. Use heavy kettlebells. The last set should be very difficult and a maximum effort should be applied. Rest for a minute and then do.

Slow and Controlled Sit-ups 3x5 (4 seconds up and 4 seconds down

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Kettlebell by Mike Mahler 5x5 Size And Strength Program For Kettlebell Training By Mike Mahler 5x5 training is a standard protocol that has been around for many years. It is also an extremely effective way to pack on size and strength. It was a favorite of legendary bodybuilder Reg Park who just happened to be Arnolds idol. Here is how it works. Pick a training weight and do five sets of five reps. If and when you can complete all sets of five, increase the weight by five to ten pounds and shoot for five sets of five again. Take three-minute breaks in between each set. Obviously incremental weight increases are not possible with kettlebell training so we have to look at other factors to manipulate. One factor to manipulate is time under tension. When you can do 5x5 with a quick tempo, increase the negative to four seconds and the positive to two seconds. When that becomes easy, try five seconds up, a pause at the bottom and five seconds down. Another factor to manipulate is the breaks between each set. Instead of taking three-minute breaks in between each set, take two-minute breaks. When that becomes easy, decrease the breaks to ninety seconds. When that becomes easy, go to sixty seconds. When you can do 5x5 with one-minute breaks and slower tempos, I have no doubt that you will be ready for some heavier bells. A third variable that can be manipulated are the training exercises. When you can do 5x5 on the standing Military Press, work on 5x5 on the seated press, and then 5x5 on the Sots Press. When you can do double swings easily with 5x5, move up to double snatches. There is always something that you can do to make an exercise harder or a training regimen more effective. Here are two sample 5x5 kettlebell programs Option One Monday A-1: Double Military Press A-2: Alternating Renegade Row Do A-1 and A-2 back to back. In other words, do one set of A-1, wait a minute and then do a set of A-2, wait a minute and then do another set of A-1 and so forth. Keep going back and forth between A-1 and A-2 until you have completed all five sets. B-1: Double Kettlebell Front Squat B-2: Double Kettlebell Swing Same directions as A-1 and A-2

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Kettlebell by Mike Mahler Wrap up with Double Windmill 2x5 l,r (left and right) Take two minute breaks in between each set. One complete set equals five reps on each side. Wednesday A-1: Double Floor Press A-2: Double Bent-over Row Same directions as above B-1: Double Front Squat B-2: Double Snatch Same Directions as above Wrap up with TGU 2x5 l,r (left and right) Take two minute breaks in between each set. One complete set equals five reps on each side. Friday A-1: Seated Military Press A-2: Renegade Row Do A-1 and A-2 back to back. In other words, do one set of A-1, wait a minute and then do a set of A-2, wait a minute and then do another set of A-1 and so forth. Keep going back and forth between A-1 and A-2 until you have completed all five sets. B-1: Double Kettlebell Front Squat B-2: Double Kettlebell Swing Wrap up with Double Windmill 2x5 l,r (left and right) Take two minute breaks in between each set. One complete set equals five reps on each side. Option Two

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Kettlebell by Mike Mahler Day 1: A-1: Double Military Press A-2: Double Bent-over Row B-1: Double Floor Press B-2: Double Renegade Row Wrap Up with TGU 5x5 l,r (left and right) Day 2 A-1: Double Front Squat A-2: Double Snatch Wrap Up with TGU 5x5 l,r (left and right) Take a day off in between each workout. In other words, do day one on Monday, day two on Wednesday, and then Day 1 again on Friday. Key Points Option one involves three full body workouts per week. This is a great program for people that have solid recovery abilities, lifestyles that are not too stressful, and solid nutrition each day. Option two is for people that need more time between each workout. You have more days before a training day repeats itself and more time for recovery. The workouts are split into upper body one day and lower body the next day so that you have less to focus on. Both program work very well. One will work better for you than the other so try them both out and monitor your progress. Stick with the one that works best for you.

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Kettlebell by Mike Mahler UNLEASH THE POWER OF HEAVY KETTLEBELL TRAINING By Mike Mahler Many people believe light to moderate kettlebell training is ideal, 53lb kettlebells for men and 26lb kettlebells for women. This line of thinking is a great way to miss out on the benefits of heavy kettlebell training. For example, 53lb kettlebells are not challenging to me at all and if I based my training on 53lb kettlebells, I would not have the strength, size, endurance, and explosive power that I currently have. Moreover, my clients would not make the improvements that they have made if they stuck to light bells. Even if your goals are cardio and muscular endurance, why not work up to heavier kettlebells for reps? Do you really think that knocking off ten double swings with two 88lb kettlebells will not be beneficial? Do you think that ten clean and presses with the 70s will not benefit you as an athlete? Of course both will. An athlete would clearly do better with do twelve clean and presses with two 70s than thirty clean and presses with two 53s. If you can do thirty reps with a weight, it is too easy to have any dramatic benefit for athletic activities and strength (unless your sport is GS, a kettlebell sport), especially, for combat athletes. The heavier the kettlebells you can handle for muscular endurance, the more benefit you will have for your sport. Using Olympic lifting as a back drop, an athlete who can Power Clean 315lbs five times is going to have much more explosive power than an athlete who can Power Clean 135lbs fifteen times. Moreover, the athlete who can Power Clean 315lbs will be able to do far more than fifteen reps with 135lbs. Heavy training improves light training, but not the other way around. So why even bother with light training? With the exception of working on form and back-off weeks, I would say do not bother. Personally, 70lb bells are the lightest ones I own and I only use them for GTG (Pavel's Greasing the Groove in which you practice an exercise daily for neurological facilitation) for presses and sometimes high-rep Front Squats. Recently someone asked me how many reps I can do for the ten-minute Snatch test with a 53lb kettlebell. I have no idea as I have never done the test. With all due respect to the test and the great people who have participated in the test (lots of impressive numbers by people who have taken the test), I'd rather have an athlete knock off twenty Snatches left and right with an 88lb kettlebell and eventually the 105lb bell. Sounds like too much? I can do 17 Snatches left and right with a 105lb kettlebell and I am far from a gifted athlete. A few months ago I knocked off 50 reps per arm on One-arm Snatches with a 53lb bell. I am not breaking any records, and there are a few things you should know. I never train with light kettlebells; I rarely work on high reps (over ten reps per set), 21

Kettlebell by Mike Mahler and the 50 reps left and right was easy for me. The power and endurance that I built with heavy kettlebells carried over very well to light weights for high reps. However, take a man or woman who can do 50 snatches with a 53lb kettlebell who has never trained with a heavier kettlebell and I promise you that he or she will not be able to do more than a few reps with a 105lb kettlebell. More than likely, he or she will not even be able to do one rep. If you are an athlete, light training it is not ideal for the majority of your workouts. Once you have the technique down, ramp up the intensity. Heavy kettlebell training will do far more for explosive power and when done in high reps will develop muscular endurance that will transfer to your sport. Now I am not blowing my own horn here or trying to convey what a great athlete I am. Again I am not a great athlete and certainly not a genetic freak. My anabolic hormone levels are good, but certainly not exceptional. Thus, I do not have tremendous recovery abilities either. I did not even start lifting weights until I was 18 and got pinned with 100lbs on the bench press when I first got started. I never played sports in high school or college. Thus, if I can work up to the numbers above, it should be no problem for gifted athletes. I am just an average guy who learned how to train smart, recruit the CNS, and use my own leverage points to handle heavier bells - more about leverage points later. My point to drive home is that heavy kettlebell training is not just beneficial for size and strength, but for muscular endurance as well. The muscular endurance you build with heavy kettlebells is much more beneficial than light kettlebells for athletes. In addition, heavy kettlebell training engages the CNS more efficiently, teaches you how to master your own leverage points, and if used correctly, probably has a great benefit to optimizing anabolic hormones. Of course this is far more complicated than just training. Let me make it clear by stating that I do not think heavy weight low-rep training takes the place of muscular endurance. That is not what this article is about. Of course you need to work with high reps and lots of volume or frequency to ramp up endurance, but you should not be afraid of heavy kettlebell training. If muscular endurance is your thing, have a goal of working up to some high reps with some heavy kettlebells on the Double Clean and Press, Double Swing, Double Front Squat (or Double Clean and Front Squat), Double Clean and Jerk (or Clean and Push Press), Double Snatches, One-arm Swings, and One-arm Snatches. Heavy kettlebells are bells you can only do a few reps with, say 2-4. Start with low reps to get used to the heavier kettlebells. For example, if you can Clean and Press two 53lb bells ten times, do a few sets of two reps when you start working with the 70lb bells. Make each rep perfect. Once that gets easy, start building the reps. When you can do ten Clean and Presses with the 70s, get a pair of 88s and do the same thing.

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Kettlebell by Mike Mahler One important thing to keep in mind is that training form needs to be modified as the bells get heavier. Let's use the Clean and Press as an example. With light kettlebells, you can keep the body fairly loose and still maintain proper technique. You can easily keep your body upright as leverage is not a necessity. However, once you start doing Clean and Presses with heavy kettlebells, you are playing in a whole new ball game. You have to tighten up and apply more tension to have a solid foundation. You will have to let your back "sit back" and push your hips as far forward as possible for optimal leverage. Your breathing will change. Now you have to hold your breath or apply "power breathing" to keep the tension high to get the bells moving. An another example is the One-arm Snatch: When I do Snatches with a 105lb bell my form is much different than my form with a 70lb kettlebell. I drive through with much more power and pop the pelvis through and let my back sit back for more explosive power and leverage similar to what Olympic lifters do. As the bell goes overhead, I bend my knees slightly to get under the weight and catch it. When I return the bell to the starting position, I keep it close to my body for maximum control. I also do not swing the bell back as far between my feet as that also throws off the leverage. It is almost a completely different exercise all together than a One-arm Snatch with a lighter bell. One final example is the One-arm Military Press with a 105lb kettlebell. At my bodyweight of 193, I can One-arm Military Press a 70lb kettlebell easily without having to shift my weight at all for optimal leverage. When I press an 88lb bell, I shift my weight a little bit. However, when I press a 105lb kettlebell, I need every leverage point that I can take advantage of. I kick my hip out under the bell; I take the bell behind my back so I can engage the lat more and acquire more leverage and stability. Then I shift my weight in the opposite direction similar to a side press to keep the bell moving, and once I have the bell moving, I shift my weight under the bell to finish the move. I saw Steve Cotter, founder of Full Kontact Kettlebells, One-arm Military Press a 105lb kettlebell recently and it almost looked like a Kettlebell Windmill. Steve started the press from under the chin and quickly got the bell behind his back to reach the optimal leverage point. Some of you may feel that this is cheating. To retort I say you either weigh a lot more than Steve and do not need leverage to press a 105lb kettlebell, or you are not even close to pressing a 105lb. Do you really feel that mastering leverage with a heavy kettlebell is not beneficial to athletes? Isn't that what athletes do all of the time? Judo and wrestling have a lot of techniques in which the ideal leverage is used to take the opponent down efficiently. In football you do not just ram into your opponent haphazardly, you go for a particular spot to do the most damage. One of the strong benefits of heavy kettlebell training is that you ultimately have to master all of your leverage points to get the job done. Right now, I am working on the Double Clean and Press with two 105lb kettlebells. The only way that it is

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Kettlebell by Mike Mahler going to happen is if I apply my ideal leverage points. These are points I have not found yet as I have not needed to apply them with 88lb kettlebells and below. Regardless, I will find these points and I will press the 105lb kettlebells. It is only a matter of time and the learning process in and of itself is a lot of fun. I really enjoy the challenge. When I work up to a Clean and Press with the 105lb kettlebells for reps, you better believe that it will improve my numbers with the 88s and 70s. No doubt about it. I will leave you with this. Even if you do not want to train with heavy kettlebells, if you want to improve your numbers with the bells you are currently using, get some heavier kettlebells. The 88lb kettlebells always felt heavy to me until I started training with 105lb kettlebells. Now they feel light and the 70s feel so light that when I went to do a Double Clean and Press yesterday, I almost ended up doing a Double Snatch by accident!

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Kettlebell by Mike Mahler THE KETTLEBELL SOLUTION FOR SPEED AND EXPLOSIVE STRENGTH By Mike Mahler We all know that kettlebells are fantastic for building muscular endurance and core strength. Moreover, I showed clearly on my last DVD, "The Kettlebell Solution For Size And Strength", that kettlebells can be used effectively for getting bigger and stronger. My latest DVD is on how to use kettlebells to get faster and more explosive. Even if you are not an athlete, developing more speed and explosive power will enhance your goals. The more fast switch muscle fibers you can engage the stronger you will be and the more muscular endurance you will be able to tap into. Thus, my DVD will enhance any program that you are on. In this article, I am going to go over a program that is heavily inspired by Louie Simmons and the westside barbell club (Westside-Barbell.com) for increasing speed, strength, and size with kettlebells. Check it out: Monday: Speed Day

Double Clean and Speed Press 8x3 (pick a weight that you can press 8-10 times and press the bells as fast as possible while remaining tight. Do a clean before each press and take one-minute breaks in between each set. Double Kettlebell Box Squats 8x3 (pick a weight that you can 8-10 times and take one-minute breaks in between each set. Squat down to a box just below parallel, sit on the box for a second and stand up as fast as possible) Double Kettlebell Swing 8x3 (pick a weight that you can do 8-10 times and focus on driving through as forcefully as possible. Keep the bells at no high than chest level. The focus should be on your hamstrings. One-minute breaks in between each set)

Doing the speed work first fires up your CNS and gets your fast twitch muscles engaged for the work to follow.

Double Kettlebell Bent-over Row or Weighted Pull-up 3x6 (stay one rep away from failure and take two-minute breaks) Double Kettlebell One-legged Deadift 2x6 l,r (left and right one-minute breaks) One-arm Windmill 2x5 l,r (left and right and one-minute breaks. Go heavy on these, but do not train to failure)

Wednesday: Medium Intensity Day

A-1: Double Floor Press 2x6 reps A-2: Renegade Row 2x6 reps l,r

Do A-1 and A-2 in alternating fashion. In other words, do a set of A-1, wait a minute and then do a set of A-2. Keep going back and forth until you have completed all of the designated sets. 25

Kettlebell by Mike Mahler

B-1: Double Front Squat 2x6 reps B-2: Double Snatch 2x5 reps

Do B-1 and B-2 in alternating fashion. In other words, do a set of B-1, wait a minute and then do a set of B-2. Keep going back and forth until you have completed all of the designated sets. Wrap up with

Turkish Get-up 2x5 l,r (two sets of five left and right and one-minute breaks in between each set)

Friday: Maximum Effort Size and Strength Day

A-1: Double Kettlebell Military Press 5x5 reps A-2: Weighted Pull-up or Double Kettlebell Bent Over Row 5x5

Do A-1 and A-2 in alternating fashion. In other words, do a set of A-1, wait ninety seconds and then do a set of A-2. Keep going back and forth until you have completed all of the designated sets. The last set should be very hard on each exercise. When you can do 5x5 with an exercise, add another set.

B-1: Double Front Squat 5x5 B-2: Double Swing 5x5

Do B-1 and B-2 in alternating fashion. In other words, do a set of B-1, wait ninety seconds and then do a set of B-2. Keep going back and forth until you have completed all of the designated sets. The last set should be very hard on each exercise. When you can do 5x5 with an exercise, add another set. Wrap up with

Double Windmill 2x5 l,r (two sets of five left and right and one-minute breaks in between each set)

Every thee weeks change the exercises on the maximum effort day to avoid burnout, boredom, and lack of progress. For example do the Sot press instead of the Double Mil Press or Double Lunges instead of Double Front Squats.

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Kettlebell by Mike Mahler

Full Circle with the Get-Up

Adam T. Glass After years of heavy get-ups, this is my feedback. A few years back I submitted an article to Dragon Door in which I shared my training of Turkish get-up. This article will be considered the Part II for "Mastering the Turkish get up for total body power." This article can be found here http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/418/ First, the revisions: Mastery is a process. It is not an end goal in its self. The master is better than everyone else, yet he continues to find more, refine more, and polish more. I once thought I had mastered the Turkish get-up. I now know I have many more years to learn and improve. I can now stand up with 185lbs. with a 7-foot bar in one hand. Many people told me this would never happen, yet I accomplished it in under three years. Now I am eye-balling 225lbs. The same people who said I would not get 185lbs. are telling me 225lbs. is impossible. Fools! Mastery is about improving, even when many think you do need to improve more. I do not know where the line falls in the sand, but I know I will be the one to call it, no one else.

A bottom up get-up with a 40kg kettlebell. Photos courtesy Adam T. Glass On variations of the get-up. There are many types of get-ups, and, depending on your goals, some are better than others. If you want maximum strength you need to lift a lot of weight, i.e. the Barbell version. If you want your shoulders to have some crazy strength-endurance, use a Kettlebell and go for time. The recent FMS changes to Hard Style have brought in some variations of the get up by prominent RKCs such as Dr. Mark Cheng such as the hip bridged get-up. The classic use a sand bag for the get-up is an invaluable tool for grapplers. The point I bring to you; know the outcome you want before selecting your tool. The get-up and the general population. There are 4 drills I personally believe every

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Kettlebell by Mike Mahler man and women in the world should do, The Deadlift, The Get-up, the Swing, and the Goblet Squat. The get-up is the primary upper-body drill in my opinion for 99% of people who are beginning a S&C program. A light weight bell such a 16kg will be all the resistance most men can handle for the first month of training. At Unbreakable Fitness it's not an issue of "can you do 1 rep?" The issue is "can you do 1 rep perfectly 30 times non-stop?" If the answer is "no," then you cannot even touch my heavier bells until you reach this goal. The get up as a first class strength tool for advanced athletes. "I have trained for years now. I can military press half my body weight. Why do I need the get up?" My first thoughts"Why not?" The focus of difficulty for the get up is a shifting beast. At first, people have to have the core strength to simply get their shoulders off the floor. Then the issue becomes shoulder strength and stability. For the overhead lunge, it may show you a weakness in the legs/hips. At the top of the rep is shoulder mobility and control. On the way down is where we spot your real control over the weight as you lay down on the floor while dominating the weight. For the advanced athlete, this gives you a variety of drills thrown together. Some people think advanced means "use a lot of drills" but remember what I said about the masterhe refines and polishes. He takes away what he does not need. Mastery entails being the best while using the least amount. A master carpenter makes the fewest cuts, uses the least amount of nails, and produces the strongest, best looking house. To me a drill that does this much sounds like a tool worth hanging on to. The end of the line, or the beginning of the journey. If you're paying attention, the Party line is to begin your KB training with the get-up as the Program Minimum and progress to the ROP. What happens when you pass the ROP? You return full circle and begin the next trip. You can always improve with this lift. You can now do a rep with the 40kg, Great job! Now go for 5 minutes. You got 5? Now do 10 minutes. I don't want to toot my own horn here too much, but I can lift more in this lift than most people in the world can military press. If I make it a point to strive for 20 minutes with a 48kg, than I feel it is a good addition to your program as well if your goal is to have a strong body. Trust me; I wouldn't lead you down a wrong path.

My thoughts on how much and how often. The get-up does not kill the shoulders as 28

Kettlebell by Mike Mahler much as volume snatches or presses. By "kill" I mean how much it cuts in on your recovery, not as in "destroy". I have had weeks where I did get-ups daily, and I have had weeks where I did them 4 days, or 3 days. Now I usually do two days a week. One day is heavy volume; I take a 32kg or a 40kg, and work for up to 30 minutes of get-ups, continuous movement. This is a workout in its self and is great when you're pressed for time. The second day is heavy singles with a barbell working from 135 to 180. I typically do 3-5 singles. You do not need a ton of volume when the intensity is that high. The barbell requires much more focus, and a vise grip is needed to prevent it from tilting or rotating out of control. On the safety of the lift. The get up is much safer than people would think. Practice the skill of dumping the weight before tackling heavier get-ups. Don't forget you have two hands either. It would be a shame to see someone get crushed because they were too stupid to use their off hand to prevent the bar from striking them. As far as injuries for doing the drill, I have not heard of any, but I know that does not mean anything. Think about itthere is no ballistic movement, there is a lot of movement, but it is all gross motor skill movement. There is not a ton to mess up when you're working with a 12kg or 16kg bell learning it as long as you pick it up correctly and remember the golden ruleNever do anything you could not do with a 106lb. Kettlebell. Closing thoughts. I started the get up because a hard man wrote how they fixed his shoulders. I kept doing them because I was got stronger and stronger. I will continue to do them because I know they are first class for strength. My list of strength achievements grows every month, and I will continue to attribute the gains to many years invested in this all-around power movement.

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Kettlebell by Mike Mahler

A College Strength Coach Puts Kettlebells to the Test Part II: Its a new day in San Jose

Chris Holder, MS, RKC Team Leader, CSCS The Move Picture this it is a cold day in San Luis Obispo in December of 2005. I am coming off one of the most incredible football seasons of my coaching career. My Cal Poly Mustangs made the Division I-AA playoffs for the first time in school history and we beat the mighty Montana Grizzlies at their house, in the first round, a feat that few schools can claim, and put up a valiant effort against Texas State in the semis before being eliminated. My program was rolling, the kids were dialed in, and the whole system was so efficient that it almost ran itself truly a strength coachs dream. Then, I received a call that would change everything. San Jose State was preparing to hire a full-time, football only head position and I was on their short list of potentials. Now, unless you slept through the first paragraph, I had no reason to leave Cal Poly. I was happy, my kids were working, the relationship that I had developed with the Mustang Head Football Coach, Rich Ellerson, was about as perfect as it could have been. On top of all that, we were coming off three winning seasons and seriously becoming a force at that level what would make me even entertain a call from another school? Even more, why would I consider San Jose State? SJSU was a school where the program was struggling, there had been some major turnover in staffing in the recent years, and I would be inheriting a group of athletes that were a major contrast to what I was used to at SLO. Was I willing to let go of something that I single handedly built, from the ground up, at Cal Poly and leave my comfort zone for the chance of being part of an unlikely turnaround at another university? The answer was, yes. When I interviewed for the job, the first thing that resonates is the facility. My weight room is beautiful. 10,000 square feet of working space, 60 yards of field turf outside the door, three football fields worth of grass, and all the support that a coach could want from an administration. But, it was my one-on-one interview with Spartan Head Football Coach Dick Tomey that was the difference maker. Those of you who dont follow college football wont know that name, but those of you who do know that Dick is single handedly responsible for the turnarounds at the University of Arizona and the University of Hawaii. He is the mastermind behind the Turnaround and he was entering his second season with the Spartans on my interview day. So, like anyone who walks into an interview situation, I came prepared. I walked into the meeting room with two things in my hands. First, a copy of my Masters project- a 275 page, research saturated, breakdown of my program that illustrates why it works. Second, a VHS tape with my Mustangs doing

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Kettlebell by Mike Mahler kettlebell exercises. Thats all. No barbell squatting, no Olympic lifts, just kettlebells. I dimmed the lights, put on the video, and 20 minutes later, Dick was sold. All of us kettlebellers out there should know that Dick Tomey is probably more passionate about the kettlebell and what it is capable of than most of us RKCs. What he saw in that video was a potential for the future of Spartan Football a major piece to his already in motion turnaround he had planned for this university. The next morning they called and offered me that afternoon I was giving my two-weeks to Cal Poly. So, I packed my motorcycle up with all that I could carry and on February 1, 2006, I went to work for San Jose State. Now make no mistake, Coach Tomey knows what he wants and makes no bones about what he expects. One of the greatest aspects of this move is I was exclusive to football only. I had 20 sports at Cal Poly here at San Jose, I had ONE. My focus was on one team and they were going to get the best of me, whether they liked it or not. The first couple of weeks revolved around installing the program. And believe me, it wasnt easy. The former strength staff ran a program that was dramatically different than mine and we had to get these 105 football players sold on my system and get them to take the leap of faith that was required in trusting me that we would give them the best instruction and program, anywhere. Part of my contract was to equip me with enough kettlebells to fill my facility but, for those of you who work in the college setting know, the required 85 forms that have to be filled out and miles of red tape to purchase anything delayed it. So, like any good coach/RKC, I got a truck and drove down to San Luis Obispo, and brought my own KBs up here to use in the meantime. (I know what most of you are thinking, but remember, I rode a motorcycle up here, so give me some slack). Doubles of 8s up to 48s and every size in-between is all we had to start. I hand picked about a dozen Spartans to start on and we spent time after hours to get the KBs moving. Its extremely comical to watch the pain that the kettlebell delivers. No matter how fit you are, how young or how strong, the kettlebell is so unique to itself that it humbles even the most elite of athletes. Dont believe me? I had, in my crop of athletes to teach at first, a young man who ran a 4.27 40-yard dash for the NFL scouts this spring, a defensive tackle who squatted 600lbs in a bucket with ease over the summer, and my Graduate Assistant at the time, Jeremy Layport (now an RKC, National Level Olympic Lifter, and the 3rd man alive to tame the beast in June of 06), to name a few. These guys are not slouches by any means. All as high end athletes as you can find, and when the first hour of instruction concluded, everyone was on the floor and the fear of what was to come over the next months resonated in the eyes of each young man. Once my shipment arrived, we quickly went into kettlebell mode. Serious, serious teaching that lasted several weeks. After about a month, my program, the traditional weights, speed program and KB work were all finally installed and we never looked back. For those of you keeping score, by this time, it was April and we went into

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Kettlebell by Mike Mahler spring ball immediately costing me another month. So, in May, we put our head down and really began to train. I know it seems bizarre that it would take 3 months to get my program up and running but remember, these kids were asked to unlearn everything that they had been taught and now re-learn it all in my philosophy, AND, become gireviks. Not an easy task. The Summer When June hit, we came out swinging. The program I wrote was going to do one of two things: First, kill everyone who was FOOLISH enough to give it a try, or; Damn near kill everyone who was SMART enough to give it a try and enter training camp in the best shape of their life. To be perfectly honest, once Jeremy Layport and I finished writing the program, I was seriously worried that what I was asking these young men to do was going to be too much. Understand, though, I was out of time. I had roughly 8 weeks to get this group in the kind of shape that would help our coaches lead this team to a winning season. We had the talent, we certainly had the right instruction from one of the best coaching staffs Ive ever been a part of, and we had the hunger that most teams lack. We attacked these kids from every angle. The traditional weight training aspects of the program included the BEST of all the disciplines: squatting, the Olympics, unilateral work, multi-directional work you name it, we covered it. Take that and now inject a full helping of kettlebells. Swings, pistols, the grinds, modified lifts, get ups we hammered these guys. Now, after brutalizing them in the weight room for 90 minutes, we would follow it up with 60 minutes of speed/conditioning work. We did this to them Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday all summer. There were days when we probably should have had an ambulance standing by. As a testament to these young men, the dedication and toughness that they displayed should make everyone involved proud. I swung the crap out of them. Mondays and Thursdays they had a minimum of 100 heavy swings or swing variation. Typically, we did 10x10 of a given exercise (heavy two hand swings, double swings, double snatches etc.) Later in the summer, we worked up to 10x15. Now I know that Pavel might not totally agree with some of the stuff that we did (in terms of weight), but I have footage of Layport doing double swings with two 48s. 10 sets of 10 reps and all swings are above ground parallel or what I like to call above your eyes, to give you an idea of how heavy this stuff got. Tuesdays and Fridays were just wrong. Tuesdays: We would end our lifting session with a Man-Maker. My staff and I would sit around and think of the most cruel and unusual swing circuits that we could devise. I would have a volume total that I set as a goal everyday, and then we would plug in the nastiest swing variations we could think of to hit that number. At the beginning of the summer, my target was 160 and the end of the summer, we were at 300. We did Man-Makers that now live in Spartan legend that will be repeated this summer. Named Helter Skelter and The Shitter (a routine that my

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Kettlebell by Mike Mahler good friend John Francis- Director of S & C at San Diego State, came up with Ill give you 3 guesses WHERE he came up with it and WHAT he was doing when he thought of it, but you probably will only need one), we put together the most evil things we could think of to not only foster true toughness in these guys, but pump massive amounts of conditioning into them. Fridays: As with Tuesdays, we would end the day with a circuit, but this was a culmination of all that is great about the kettlebell. I named it the Chain of Pain. Everything is done with two KBs. We put together a chain of exercises to be performed one after another, swings and grinds. Each chain had a certain amount of links, and only one entire trip though each link in the chain would count as one rep. They always had 4 sets of 10 reps. The beauty of this was each week, we would add a link to the chain. For example: Week 1- Doubling 20s, swing, snatch, clean, double press. (Easy enough) The last week: swing, snatch, swing, clean, press with left, swing, clean, press with right, clean, and double press. Not easy at all. In fact, if you do the math, we had 100 reps of various exercises, doubled, for each set. 4 sets equaling 400 reps. All of my guys were required to use 20kg kettlebells. The only exceptions were my very small guys (kickers and such) and they used 16kg bells. One side note, my staff, minus our Director, was required to endure the pain with the guys. The last week, in the middle of my Chain, I screamed at one of our running backs, Patrick Perry, who was counting for me and I thought he wasnt paying attention (understand, the fatigue prevents you from being able to keep count on your own, and your hands hurt in a way that will make you lash out at those you love the most). That last week, James Jones, our stud wide receiver (eventual 3rd round draft selection of the Green Bay Packers), and Jeremy Layport did their last set with 28s. One word: stupid. We plowed through the summer and when the smoke cleared, we had 0 injuries and, of the 60 or so guys who participated over the summer, we had a team that was at an all-time high in regards to strength and fitness. The 2007 Spartan Football Season Let me set this up for you. San Jose State Football is a Division I program. We are a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). We were entering a season where the teams of 2003-2005 Spartans won a combined total of 8 games. Three years, eight games this will be important as this article comes together. When the ball was kicked off to open the 2007 season, we found ourselves in Seattle, Washington, versus the U. of Washington Huskies. What a place to play. First thing that comes to mind (after you get over the beauty of Seattle and the fact that Dave Matthews, lead singer to best band ever, Dave Matthews Band, is a resident) is the noise of the stadium. Wow. Fortunately for us, the stadium was not filled and we found out something about our character that day. Even though we finished the afternoon with a loss, 29-35, we saw signs of something great that was going to take hold over the duration of the season.

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Week 2, we hosted our cross town foe, U. of Stanford. (Another PAC-10 school) This day turned out to be a defining moment for this team. It was truly a dogfight of epic proportions. What I witnessed was a team who was expected to lose come back from a 20 point deficit in the second quarter to win one of the most exciting football games I have ever seen. The sight our student section, in their bright yellow Spartan Squad t-shirts, pouring onto the field by the thousands at the end of the game will live in my mind forever. Final score - Spartans 35 - Cardinal 34. The third week had all the makings of a Pepto-Bismol day for your boy here. My former team, the Cal Poly Mustangs made the trip up the coast to play my Spartans. Talk about pulling the heart strings. I am coaching a team of young men that I have grown to love, and coaching against a team of young men that I STILL loved. John Kaupp, RKC, is the new strength coach at Poly and so I knew that the Mustangs were going to be prepared physically, and I knew that nothing would have made those Mustangs happier than handing me a loss. All love, but totally true. Fortunately for me, my Spartans did what I needed them to do and we finished the football game with a close win too close. Final score - Spartans 17- Mustangs 7. Week 4 brought the Aztecs of San Diego State University to my door. Once again, I was facing a school who train with kettlebells and coaching against one of my good friends, Strength Coach John Francis. I understand the edge that the kettlebells give so the previous week and this week were nail biters for me. As the game progressed, my nervousness calmed because my guys were playing brilliantly. Hustle, hitting and execution brought a 31-10 victory for San Jose State. Week 5 we are in our fifth game and only now are we starting conference play. The Utah State Aggies made the trip to my place to open conference play and they didnt disappoint. It was a great game with a final score of Spartans 21 - Aggies 14. In five games, my Spartans had won more games than any of the Spartan teams had won in their respective seasons dating back to 2003. Week 6 was the shot in the arm that every team needs from time to time. We loaded a bus to Reno to play the U. of Nevada Wolfpack. I dont know if we were overconfident, if it was a nationally televised contest, but one thing that I am sure of, that Wolfpack team could play some ball. They came right out and punched us in the face and continued to do so until the last second ticked of the clock. We licked our wounds all the way back home losing 7-23. Week 7 was a scary game because after the Nevada game, you begin to question yourself some and wonder if you are really as good as you thought you were. Thankfully my Spartans regrouped and played a smash mouth game against one of our conference foes, Louisiana Tech. Final score - Spartans 44 - LA-Tech 10. Week 8 was an important week. We were on the road and playing against a New Mexico State team that had one of the most high-powered offenses in country.

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Kettlebell by Mike Mahler These guys moved the ball. Throw, throw, throwdid I mention that they throw a lot in Las Cruses? You non-football fans need to know that when you play against a team that throws a bunch, a big lead in your favor doesnt mean much. A team that throws as prolifically as NMSU does, they are never out of a game. When the smoke cleared, we won 31-21. What made this victory so sweet was this was the first road game the Spartans had won in over three years. Week 9 this one was a tough one. Did anyone happen to catch the Boise State miracle win against the Sooners of Oklahoma during Bowl Week? Probably the best football game most of us have ever seen, right? Well, with three seconds left on the clock, in the 4th quarter, San Jose State was tied with the Broncos, 20-20. A 37yard field goal sealed the deal for the Broncos to remain unbeaten and to eventually go on a thrill us all with that crazy victory against OU. Congrats to them, they are an awesome team. Final score - Spartans 20 - Broncos 23. Week 10 was like getting a kiss from the prettiest girl in the school, followed by being punched in the back of the head by the biggest, strongest, nastiest bully in town. We boarded a plane and flew to beautiful Hawaii. I dont need to go into how nice it is there, but I will comment on how hospitable the people of the Hawaii are. If you havent gone, go they are wonderful and they go out of their way to make you feel welcome. We were all smiles with our colorful shirts and pretty leis, and then the Warriors put on a whoopin that we wont soon forget. Another team that can score at will and on that day, they did. All business. So good that I dont have any clue as to how an opposing team can travel over there and win. Ugly, ugly, ugly Spartans 17, Warriors 54. Week 11 found us in Moscow, Idaho. It was a cold and snowy day (but thankfully, indoors). And we faced a tough game against a tough team and a tough coach. My guys rallied and in the end, we finished on top after that nightmare game the week before. Spartans 28, Vandals 13. Week 12 was the week we all had been waiting for, whether we would admit it or not. Fresno State, our bitter rival. Its tough to call a 12 game, 16 year losing streak a rivalry, but the Bulldogs of Fresno State was that must win to put the icing on the cake on a dream season. We had a lot to prove and even though we had already surpassed the expectations of everyone involved, the community as a whole wanted this win as bad as you could possibly imagine. The Spartans played brilliantly. Final score - Spartans 24 - Bulldogs 14. At the end of the regular season we were 8-4, an accomplishment that exceeded everyones expectations. But the best was yet to come. After our final game we accepted a bid to the Inaugural New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Bowl game for San Jose State when was the last time SJSU was in a bowl game you ask? Try 17 years ago. Week 13 We arrive at Christmas time in New Mexico. The hosts of the New

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Kettlebell by Mike Mahler Mexico Bowl pulled out all the stops. The Bowl people do a wonderful job making sure that these young men get a once in a lifetime experience, and the New Mexico Bowl was no exception. They spoiled these kids. Our opponent just so happened to be the New Mexico Lobos. A home field advantage for our opposition is one of the many things that can make a team uneasy going into a contest like this one. Similar to the Hawaii trip, the people of Albuquerque made us feel like family and treated us wonderfully. Fortunately for us, unlike the Hawaii game, we came to play. And, ladies and gentlemen, your San Jose State Spartans finished the day hoisting the trophy for the Bowl high in the air. Final score - Spartans 20 - Lobos 12. So, the math on that one leaves my SJSU Spartans with a 9-4 season. As most of you were reading, you were probably thinking to yourself that this was supposed to be a kettlebell article and not some forum for some ego maniac strength coach to brag to the kettlebell world about various scores from a season he was part of. Right? So let me tie this all together. Rewind please We all know the outcome of the season. Now, did you know that the 2007 Spartans shut out 5 opponents in the second half of their respective games? Did you know that the Spartans mounted comebacks against Stanford, Utah State, New Mexico State and Idaho? And of those 4 games, 3 of them were by 13, 14 and 20 points, respectively. I bet you didnt know that. Did you know that the 2007 Spartans, winning 31-10, snapped a 31 year losing streak to the San Diego State University Aztecs? Did you know that in beating the Stanford Cardinal on September 9, 2006, the Spartans, for the first time in 23 years, beat a PAC-10 team at home? I bet you didnt know that. Did you know that the last time SJSU won a Bowl Game was in 1990? I think I mentioned that. Now, did you know that the SJSU Spartans do zero running/conditioning during practice in the fall? Did you know that the only formal conditioning that the Spartans do are the kettlebell swing sessions during the two mandatory lifting sessions over the course of the week? I bet you didnt know that. Have you ever heard of a football team that doesnt run/condition during the season? Now you have. How and Why I am not arrogant enough to imply that the kettlebells and my program are the reason for the huge success of this past season. On the contrary, I have already mentioned how hard these kids worked for me and what an amazing football staff we have here at SJSU. I know the role of tough kids and kick ass coaching, and we are loaded in both departments. But, take the Stanford game for example. We were down 20 points near the end of the 2nd quarter. Am I to believe that the Cardinal packed their tents at halftime and decided to come out and play tiddly winks with

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Kettlebell by Mike Mahler us? No shot. Our coaches made the necessary adjustments and the kids went out and executed. Oh, and their conditioning was such that they were able to go out and dominate the second half of the game. And this was not some freak occurrence. Five times the Spartans came out during the season after halftime and shut the opponent out. In fact, anyone who followed us this season will tell you, as the season wore on, we got better. The kids got into the zone and we really flew around out there. Our team speed seemed to improve and we never looked tired. As a season reaches its final weeks, typically, teams tend to slow down because of the pounding they take. Injuries, fatigue, and the drain of school (because remember, these guys are student-athletes and are taking a full load of classes too) add up to a team that cant go like they did in September. I once heard that a football game is like getting into a car accident, in terms of the total impact of the repeated collisions. In that line of thinking, my guys were in 13 car accidents in four months, and we were in tip top shape and arguably stronger at the conclusion of the season than we were before we started. So what do I attribute this to? Like I mentioned above, we dont do a formal team conditioning session at the end of practices. No formal runs of any kind. Yes we have full speed practices and there are periods during practice that are intense, but these are few because we are trying to save their legs for Saturday. Anyone who understands basic human physiology knows that we live in a world of adaptation. Whatever stimulus you introduce to your body, your body will make necessary adaptations for the next time. This isnt just for a heavy squat or high volume pull ups this goes for sitting on the couch and watching CSI. Your body will adapt to the inactivity read the obituaries in your local newspapers you will find the end result of that adaptation in every issue. So, ummm, we ran the pants off of these kids during the summer, and once training camp started, our running came to a screeching halt. So under the laws of human physiology, we should have started to de-condition and slow down. But wait we sped up. We got faster and my guys had energy to burn in the 4th quarter. Ladies and gentlemen, I will be the first one to admit, STANDING HIGH ON THE ROOFTOPS AND SHOUTING, that I dont understand the total intricacies of the kettlebell. I have two degrees and Im certified out the wazoo and I cant make heads or tails of it. It defies all that is logical and goes against every grain of science that the traditional weightlifting research deems as law. Part of the sexiness of the kettlebell and the Hard Style of kettlebell training is that it giggles at the traditional. And more importantly, for me, my peers tend to smurk at the notion of us using them. We are silly and I have bought into some gimmick and I am wasting time doing some foolish exercises. Then they go back to their chains, stability balls and jump ropes and get some real work done. The swing is the perfect exercise. The next time you watch someone swing, take a mental picture of what it looks like, pay particular attention to the bottom or

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Kettlebell by Mike Mahler loaded portion of the swing. Better yet, shut your eyes right now and get that mental photo in your mind. Now, think of the starting position, pre-snap, of virtually every position on the football field. Weight evenly distributed, hips loaded and back, knees slightly/moderately bent, low back arched, upper back tight, and eyes up. Sounds eerily similar to the swing, doesnt it. Finally, think about how the swings we do here at SJSU translate into victories on Saturdays. Take my summer, for example. 10 weeks or so long and we do a minimum of 600-700 swings a week. That means, over the course of the summer, my Spartans are in that loaded, football position a minimum of 6000-7000 times. And better yet, they have to bring the wood, out of that position, to get the bell to move. The reason the Spartans dont get tired is because we have trained them in a manner where, from a neurological standpoint, the movements, positions and actions of the kettlebell swing are identical to that of their sport. The CNS is so conditioned that when my kids step on the field, that ready position pre-snap costs us absolutely nothing because we have been there thousands upon thousands of times over the summer (and now we are in that position without the load of the kettlebell. Then, when the ball is snapped, we make contact with the opponent and extend our hips in blocking and tackling. Once again, this is a motion that we have done thousands upon thousands of times, in the summer, with a kettlebell in our hand. Again, from an energy economics standpoint, we dont have a high price to pay because we have done the work in June and July. Add a couple hundred swings a week during the season and you have a team who won more games in one season than the previous THREE Spartan teams won combined. So, in conclusion, if you are training football players swing. If you are training female volleyball players swing. If you are training male swimmers swing. If you are training MMA fighters swing. If you are training baseball players swing. If you are one of my opponents, get back to your Bosu ball training and get some real work done.

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Kettlebell by Mike Mahler

Navigating Girevoy Sport Training

Lorraine Patten, RKC Pavel asked me to write this article upon returning from The Veterans Snatch Classic 2006 meet in Hamburg, Germany. After I finished swearing, I realized I've wanted to organize my thoughts about training and this presented a very good opportunity to do so. I turned 45 in 2001 and for some reason decided a bit of strength would do me a world of good. You can't go far searching strength training on the Internet without running into Dragon Door and so I bought Power To The People! In that book, Pavel asks that we only do two things so I gave it a try and it worked nicely. I was making decent strength gains. He then unleashed his kettlebells and I thought to myself, no way in hell am I interested in this. Since one could substitute dumbbells I reluctantly decided to spring for the book. And four weeks later my 16kg kettlebell arrived. I spent a considerable amount of time trying to figure out how to get it off the ground. I bore you with all this so that you can appreciate where I started. I started from nothing - unable to snatch the 16kg during six solid months of trying. Andy68, a former member of the dragondoor forum, came to my rescue. He said, "get the damn thing over your head somehow and make sure you are stable in that position. If you are, just go for it". And so it started. Pavel let it be known that not only could kettlebells serve as a convenient home gym but also that there was a sport associated with them called Girevoy Sport. Twenty people decided to give it a whirl and on May 15th, 2003 we did just that in a field in Virginia. We did our best interpretation of GS on that day and once again with Pavel's help we were off and running. Fast forward to 2006. In May I did 126 snatches in San Diego and 104 in Hamburg. (More about the discrepancy later.) Now, they are certainly not the best numbers in our country today. For those you'll have to look at folks like Jen Morey and Catherine Imes. They are our talented female athletes and the secret weapons for the future. My numbers are pretty average but they represent a ton of work, analysis and consistent training. My strength lies in perseverance, analytical thinking and observation. I think I've learned a thing or two along the way, which I am more than happy to share. 1. Building the foundation. I used the density training protocol. For an explanation of Ethan Reeves's density training please see dragondoor post # 70795. I chose a number that was too high and wound up doing 160 snatches each and every workout. I developed a shoulder injury that took two years to heal. Yeah, yeah, yeah - my fault and if I had it to do over I would do the same but with half the volume. I would have also added some basic strength routines involving heavy good mornings and heavy overhead lockout

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Kettlebell by Mike Mahler military presses. A dear friend suggested these and I've benefited by listening. 2. Working hard but going nowhere. I hit 80 reps in late 2004. That was my max for a long time. I contacted my good friend Steve Cotter for his help in getting me off of this plateau. While working with him I discovered how to analyze my current weakness. Since it always changed I had to stay on top of it with proper assistance exercises. Grip, endurance and proper recovery could now be assessed and I was now able to track my progress. Duh. Such hindsight always makes me feel silly. 3. Hitting my stride. With Steve's help I made some progress. I must say that making progress, no matter how small, feels wonderful. I am just as excited now, as I was when I did my first snatch. Here is how my training is cycled now. Strength Phase - Two plus months using Pavel's 3-5 workout (see Beyond Bodybuilding). I do squats, deadlifts, barbell military presses and chin-ups during my workday. I'm lucky to have my own business and my lovely staff knows where to find me during down time. When I'm at home I'll use kettlebells and alternate heavy cleans, presses, front squats jerks, swings and get-ups intelligently. Low reps with the number of sets dictated by how I'm feeling. There will be no injuries for me these days. I also do not snatch during the first month. The second month is more of the same but I add low rep snatches with the 20 and 24 kgs. And take away whatever exercise is currently irritating me for whatever reason. Volume Phase - I spend two months trying to increase my snatching volume. I go back to a density type workout gradually increasing the total reps and decreasing the time. One thing I've found helpful is to only work on one hand at a time. An example would be - ten sets of seven snatches on the right side with 20-second rests. I then rest for however long I need and then proceed with my left side. I may do a bit more on the left, as it is my weak side - maybe 12 sets. I gradually increase the workload throughout the month, waving it weekly. Of course long sets of swings are also imperative. I do strength work very sparingly during this time. GS in Earnest - Four to six weeks max! Now is the time to do max sets about four to five times a week. Now, what has made a tremendous difference for me is to once again address only one side at a time. That would mean going for a long set on the right side followed by a rest and then a long set on the left side. Since my general endurance is good, I find that I will be able to put them together without much problem on the day of the competition. I was aiming for between 120 and 130 snatches in San Diego and it wasn't much of a surprise for me to combine both arms and get 126. If you separate the two sides you can reap all of the benefits of a very long set without the mental burden of one long combined set since you are doing this four to five days per week. I start the week out doing a fairly long set and each day go a bit higher. I take Friday off and then go for a true max on Saturday. I then take Sunday off and start out a bit higher than the previous Monday. I make

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Kettlebell by Mike Mahler Saturday my max effort day, as Saturday is usually the day of any given competition. So there you have it, a basic blueprint for navigating my GS training. On the trip to compete in Germany I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Paul Tucker in Hamburg. He's worth a trip to Tasmania! Anyway, prior to the meet he mentioned to me that if you were accustomed to a certain kettlebell, you would experience a 20 percent drop in your total if you use another type of kettlebell such as the competition bells. He said he found this to be true as he switched bells during his stay in England prior to the German meet. Damn if that wasn't the case! I hadn't given it another thought until I did 104 and 20 percent of 126 is 101! Pretty clever man that Paul. This is just something to think about if you are in a similar situation. Perseverance and patience are the traits necessary for GS. If you don't have these traits GS is an ideal method to develop them. GS is a lesson in diagnosis. You must analyze each set. Something will cause you to either stop or at least want to stop. Carefully discover what that particular weakness is. Work patiently until you have overcome that weakness and you'll find that it no longer exists but there will be another in its place. There will always be another weakness but along the way your numbers will go up. Tenacity is the key and you can learn a lot about yourself during the process.

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