In January 2016 I began work on a long-term goal: meeting
the requirements for the Kettlebell Level II Certification as decreed by Agatsu
Inc. In November 2013, I achieved the
Kettlebell Level I certification, but this was mostly about showing up, learning
techniques, demonstrating ability to perform them, and passing a physical test
at the end. The course took place over
two 8-hour days. If you were in reasonable shape, you could pass it. The next
level is orders of magnitude beyond level I.
I practice and teach kettlebells regularly, so I am less
concerned about the kettlebell component. However the certification is about
more than swinging kettlebells. It is about a demonstrating a high level of
strength, flexibility, balance and technique.
The requirements are: 10 chest to bar pull ups; 10 pistols each leg (on hold); 3 min bridge; 10
toes to bar (performed on stall bars) ; 10 ring push ups with external rotation;
100 snatches in 5mins (one hand change); 35 double jerks
The reason this is a great goal for me is training for it
will build my base. What I have learned is where my weaknesses are. So I am working on those. If you’re like me,
you might think everything is your weakness. But it’s useful to isolate where
you are weak relative to the rest of your body, so that you can focus on those
areas. I am repeating what I wrote in
last week’s blog about training motivation when I say that if you are training
your strengths, you are getting weaker!
For years I trained upper body and hit my legs by riding the
bike until I discovered that, despite all the cycling, my legs are actually not
very strong! After all, cycling is an aerobic activity. And although you
deplete your leg muscles during hard cycling, you don’t necessarily make them
stronger. Your cardiovascular and respiratory system get stronger. I also
trained conventional free weights but seemed stuck at the same strength. I imagined I was on a “maintenance program”. When I got bored with that I spent several years
varying my training among TRX, kettlebells, bodyweight, free weights, and
clubbells. In January of last year, I hired a personal trainer to give my training direction.
You might be surprised that as a personal trainer I also have
a personal trainer. Not only do I have a trainer, but my trainers, who are
world class athletes as well as world class teachers, also have trainers. I
learned this at one of the certifications I took from Agatsu: everyone needs a
teacher.
Not only do my sessions with Agatsu help me in my own
training, they have in turn helped me to become a better trainer. I am always
learning something new from them and pass the knowledge on to my students.
I now train 5 days a week and over the course of those 5
days, I hit all major areas of the body. The weaknesses are quickly revealed, as
are the imbalances. The training includes mobility, joint preparation,
locomotion, strength building, endurance, conditioning and stretching. If it
sounds like a lot of work, it is! But it’s worth it. If I ever wonder if this
is time well spent, I remind myself of this quote from Socrates:
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