Tomorrow I will be attending the American Kettlebell Club Certification under World-Champion Girevik Valery Federenko. For those of you who do not know, Girevik is Russian for kettlebell lifter. If you don’t know much about kettlebells read my article What is a Kettlebell and Why Use One? I am not sure exactly what to expect. Previously I had been schooled in the Hard-Style of kettlebell training as popularized by Pavel and Dragondoor. In fact, when I first attended the RKC there was a guest teacher there and that was Valery. What he displayed was impressive.
For the first time I saw the differences between Hard-Style and Girevoy Sport lifting techniques. A talk by Brett Jones on that day about the two styles still stands out in my mind.
Not too long ago a rift occurred in the organization and part of it had to do with the supposed ‘real’ style of kettlebell lifting.
My goal with this is not to enliven the flames and hatred of some people who are so set in one style that they can’t see the benefits of another method. My philosophy is to learn from (and get good at) everything.
Personally I am not going to knock any style of training that works and makes you stronger and more fit. The way I see it now, is that both have there uses.
Will I be singing a different tune after these two days? I doubt it, but time will tell.
The big picture that this brings up is why do you train the way you do and what are you shooting for as your end result?
I will keep you updated on the happenings and see if I can get some video up of the event (at least some of us playing around with the bells).
My goal at this event is to increase my kettlebell lifting technique, broaden my horizons, become a better coach, and of course, have some fun.
I’d be writing more but the drive down to LA was long and now I’m tired. Stay tuned tomorrow for an update.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Kettlebells, Strength Training Concepts by on Sep 28th, 2007. Comment. 
A little while ago I bent my first ever legitimate 60-penny nail. I did this in the reverse grip meaning my hands were facing opposite directions. Since then I have bent one in the double overhand position which I am working more on.
Bending steel has been something that has interested me for a while. What originally got me into it was reading Spiritual Journey of Joseph L. Greenstein: The Mighty Atom
Once you get into bending you will probably be visiting your local hardware store to buy different lengths and qualities of steel to prepare your own. The Bag of Nails also comes with a hand pad (necessary so that you don’t damage your hands) but I prefer strips of leather instead.
Just saw a red nail get bent for the first time ever. While assisting at the RKC in Minnesota a couple weeks ago, one night we had some fun up in the hospitality suite. We bent steel, tore cards and phonebooks in half. Brett Jones took care of the red nail. It was very impressive. He also gave us some tips on bending and other feats. Very helpful and a great guy.
Why should you consider bending nails? Bending steel requires whole body tension. It will teach you how to use your entire body in one concentrated effort. People may think that it as a grip feat but that is only a piece of the puzzle.
It will also build your mind powers. This feat is really all about mind over matter. You will never bend a piece of steel you don’t believe you can. Wrapping your mind around the feat is as important as building the strength to be able to do it.
For example, the first time I ever bent a yellow nail (which is a hefty step up from the green) is right after my friend told me he had bent one. Now that it was ‘possible’ I finished off my first one. It took me about 15 minutes with a long break in the middle but I did it. This kind of thing happens very often which is a good reason to train with other people at least some of the time.
Another reason bending steel is great is because it is satisfying and fun. Perhaps I am weird like that, but knowing that you can demolish a piece of iron is very gratifying. Besides it is quite amazing to your average person and thus a great party trick.
In strength,
Logan Christopher
Filed under Feats of Strength, Hand Strength by on Sep 20th, 2007. 1 Comment.
