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MyJourneytotheKettlebell

ProfessorStuartMcGill

Thekettlebell

is

special

to

me!

The

journey

to

the

KB

as

atraining

tool

has

linked

me

to

several

importanteventsinmylife.AnditwaspartofthebeginningofmyfriendshipwithPavel(Pavel

TsatsoulinethemanwhointroducedKettlebellsfrombehindtheironcurtaintotherestoftheworld).

MymeetingofPavelisafunnystoryuntoitself.IhadheardaboutkettlebellsandaboutthisMad

Russianabout12yearsago.AtaNSCAmeetingIsawacoupleofKBandstrengthdemonstrationsand

thenIwasontodelivermykeynotetalkaboutbackstrength.Comingdownfromthepodiumaftermy

talktherewastheusualscrumofdelegateswantingtohavediscussion.Pavelwasamongthem.The

groupsoughtthoughtsonstrengthtechniquesandthenPavelaskedWhatdidIthinkofthis?he

askedadelegatetolayonthefloor,instructinghimtowrapthearmsaroundtheknees.Pavelpicked

theman

off

the

floor.

The

gaggle

of

delegates

thought

he

was

nuts

to

attempt

such

adangerous

lift.

TheyweresurprizedwhenIsaidthatwasaperfectlift youappliedseveralprinciplestoachievehigh

performancewhilesparingyourjoints.Thatwasthestartofaterrificfriendship.

OvertheyearsPavelhastaughtmeKBtechniquesandsomeprinciplesfromtheRussianstrength

culture,manyofwhicharenovelinNorthAmerica.Someofthesehaveledtoexperimentswherewe

wereabletobetterunderstandthemechanismsandbenefitstothetechniques.Forexamplewe

conductedaninvestigationofkettlebellmechanicsthatdocumentedjointloadingandthe

neuromuscularchallenge,confirmingtheuniqueblendofstability/mobilityandpulsepowerproduction,

publishedintheJournalofStrengthandConditioningResearch.

Asaback

injury

specialist

we

design

exercise

progressions

that

begin

with

corrective

and

therapeutic

exercise.Thentheremainingsequencefollowsin4stages:stability/mobility,endurance,strengthand

power.Kettlebellscanfigureintoeverystagefortheappropriatepatient/clientandsituation.

Nearlyallpeoplewhodeveloppainfulbackconditionshavemovementflaws.Perhapsthemost

commonistomovethespinewhenitisunderload.Repeatedcompressionofthespinewhileitis

bendingalmostguaranteeseventualdiscbulges.Thespinecanwithstandhighloadsifitispostured

closetoitsneutralcurvature.Thecorrectedmovementpatternrequireshiphingingtobendandlift.

Itwouldbetypicaltostartwiththeshortstopsquatmovementpatternandevolvetheprogressions

toaKBswing.Thisisfurtheredwiththestability/mobilitystagewheretheemphasisbecomescore

stiffeningto

create

afixed

point.

This

allows

the

hips

the

express

their

athleticism.

Dan

Johns

goblet

squatusingaKBisawonderfultooltoenhancehipmobilityandsquatform.

TheenduranceprogressionbeginswithourBig3exercisestoensure3Dcorestabilitywhichwill

eventuallyprogresstovariousKBexerciseswiththeappropriateintervals,andintensity.

StrengthexercisesaredesignedaccordingtothegoalsoftheclientbutalmostalwayshaveaKB

component.Considercarryingexercises.Wediscoveredthattheweakestlinkinthestrengthprofileof

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manyathletesisthelateralcorestrength.Thisisrequiredtoholdthepelvisuporindeedlockthepelvis

tothecorewhichisneededtorunandcutquicklyandskilfully,orexertstrengthwhilemovingontheir

legs(Inotherwordsnearlyeveryathletewhostandsontheirlegsandmoves).Uponfootplantthespine

andpelviswanttocollapsetothefloorontheswinglegside.Alateralcorestrengthcreatesstiffnessso

muscularexplosivecontractionaroundthehippropelsthebodywithoutenergylossesthatrob

performance.We

train

this

strength

beginning

with

the

suitcase

carry.

Then

the

progression

uses

a

kettlebellrackedonthebacksideoftheforearmwiththefistatthechin.Thenabottomsupkettlebell

carryrequiresmorefocusonastiffenedcoresothattheliftpositionandbottomupisnotlost.

Powergenerationcanbefunctionallyenhancedwithpulsingtechniquesduringtheswingandsnatch.

BruceLeeusedtheseprecisetechniquesover30yearsagoasthefoundationforwhatbecameknownas

the1inchpunch.OnceagainPavelshowedthemtome.

Kettlebellworkisnotforeveryoneduringrecoveryfrominjury.However,whenusedappropriatelyitis

auniqueandirreplaceabletrainingtool.

Allof

these

techniques

are

demonstrated

in

the

DVD

The

Ultimate

back:

Enhancing

Performance

availablefromwww.backfitpro.com.Pavelisoneofthestarsdemonstratinghisherculeanstrength.