A first time for everything...

Lessons in keeping your hands up...

Blogging is the last means of self expression to which I expected to subscribe. Recently, having been considering the numerous ways in which my lifestyle has become more fluid and open to change, it didn't seem like a bad idea. 


Which brought to mind the question: Are we too set in our ways? So many of us live a lifestyle that we're not prepared to change or compromise because we're comfortable. People are happily allowing their lives to become dominated by all the things they'd rather not be doing. We become comfortable in situations where we work 12+ hours a day. We defer any quality time we could spend with our loved ones to a later stage because we have to take care of more important things. Like what? 


Through chats with some of my colleagues, it became apparent to me that we as Fitness Consultants, Strength and Conditioning Specialists, Personal Trainers - choose your favourite Euphemism - are privileged enough to have 1 full hour of our clients undivided attention. No Phones. No Laptops. No Interruptions. It's our opportunity to have an effect on their lives, no matter how small the changes may seem at first. Engaging with and training our clients is an end. The means of doing that, doesn't have to be limited to static unchanging, uncreative training. 
Expand and expound upon. Keeping sessions interesting and always keeping the client working at their max. Their session becomes an opportunity to research, learn and share as much as possible with them. The hour becomes an opportunity for self improvement for both client and trainer.


Encourage your client to actively take up a sport if they don't already. Take into account their limitations or weaknesses. You have an hour of their undivided attention - discover what they're interested in. Take them outside, climb a ridge, run a marathon. Do it with them or show them how to do it alone. Give them the tools with which to manage their own Fitness. Create their own style. Engage. Expand. Expound. 


In some small way I hope that by expressing myself and my thoughts in this blog from time to time - I can do the same. I hope to bring something of value to you in the hopes that it can help you to shape your body and style your life.

Organised. Committed. Determined.

Below is a short article I posted on Facebook a while back on the benefits of Kettlebell training. 

Kettlebells: beyond the hype - What are the benefits?

by Wesley Adriaanse on Thursday, 20 October 2011 at 13:37

(no - this is not George Walsh ) :)

 George Walsh, a famous British bodybuilder from the late 1930s:

“There is no such thing as a secret exercise which will produce miraculous results. There are no mysterious appliances which will work wonders for you. Progressive exercise against resistance-whether furnished by the weight of your own body or by an appliance-and adherence to certain rules of living, will infallibly produce results for every fit man”.

There has been a massive hype internationally on the impact that Kettlebell Training has on the body. The benefits, the so called miraculous results, the ease with which it can be performed and the often mentioned but no doubt difficult to practice - portability of the Kettlebell. Allowing you to take it anywhere anytime. Lets scratch that one off the list right now, short of driving internationally, carrying an 8 - 24kg kettlebell around in your luggage or as your 'carry on' is just not practical.

Origins:

 It is generally accepted that Kettlebells originated in the heart of Russia and were used for many, many years prior to becoming popular on the training scene in the late 90's early 2000's. Their first appearance in the dictionary being in 1704. However some sources can be quoted saying that they came from the Highlands of Scotland as a training method for the Highland games. "...they originated in the Highlands of Scotland...  In freezing temperatures, picking up a round stone covered in frost in the midwinter gloom can be a tricky proposition. Therefore, a cast iron handle was attached to the stones to make them easier to handle.  (R.Brennan - Kettllebells-An Antidote to the Hype 2003)

Whatever the truth the Girya or Kettllebell was used by "Strongmen" as a means of comparing strength and skill against each other. More recently the kettlebell has been used by such people as Dr. Valentin Dikul, a Russian strongman and therapist known for juggling 90kg (198lb) kettlebells on stage. In the western world the kettlebell is now used by the US Marines, Special Forces, FBI, and the Secret Service. It is taking off with members of the RCMP. Now everybody from housewives, to professional athletes and mixed martial arts fighters, to firemen and police officers, to post-rehab patients are learning and benefiting from everything a kettlebell can help you achieve.(http://flexyourmind.net/kettlebells.html)

What do they Benefit you? 

The benefits of any form of resistance training are widely known. Improvements in strength, gains in size, body shaping and core strength to name a few. Two conflicting sources which are readily found on the web debate the usefulness of Kettelbels in this regard.

For example: Michael Labovsky of http://flexyourmind.net/ - states "Kettlebells are perfect for martial arts. As I have already mentiond, they help to develop a great deal of explosive, dynamic strength and coordination. They also help to develop a great deal of strength endurance and superior conditioning through the use of kettlebell circuits." Clearly illustrating the benefits according to him, of incorporating KB's as a resistance tool in Martial Art training.

Conversely Raymond Brennan of http://ejmas.com feels as follows: 

"As a martial artist myself, I respectfully but emphatically disagree.  The single activity which benefits martial arts the most (whichever art you’re talking about) is the art itself.  Practice makes perfect-and nowhere more so than in the dojo or dojang. No appliance, apparatus or piece of equipment  can replicate the experience of being thrown, of applying a wrist-lock, of performing a leg sweep or leglock or of having one applied to you. Only another martial artist can provide this (which may be why we train in classes)....  Only in these ways can you improve your body alignment  (eg. Getting the hip behind the strike, moving off the opponent’s centre-line), learn to put force into the technique (whether taking someone down onto a dojo mat or applying a side-kick to a heavy bag), learn limb retraction (an iron ball is not able to grab your wrist or ankle after you grab or strike it) and countering (as an iron ball cannot hit back)."

Okay - But who is right?

What is clear is that, although proffessionals may disagree on the results of specific applications of KB's, the combination heavy weight training & aerobic/cardiovascular benefits of KB's mean improvements in VO2max, enhanced cardiovascular function and an absolutely blistering fatburning effect not to mention explosive, dynamic strength, coordination, endurance, conditioning, power. While traditional free weights also have excellent benefits including many of the aforementioned traits. What they lack is cardiovascular intensity. The Fatburn. 

Free weights move resistance through locked, movement patterns designed to maximise the growth of the muscle or muscle group being isolated. The area of gravitational pull on free weights is consistent. Always on the side /outside of the hands, centred and controlled.

With KB's the area is in motion. Due to the position of the weight relative to the handle,offset ahead of the hand, its always heading straight down, in order to stabilise and support this additional stress, activation of additional proprioceptors and motor units is required - essentially activating more muscles to stabilise and support the weight. Certain exercises such as the KB swing have the benefit of working numerous muscle groups simultaneously. 

Clearly this leads to results between the two styles which are considerably different. In general descriptive terms, those working free weights tend towards larger rounder muscles, while those using KB's tend to be leaner with a more angular appearance to their physiques.

"One study by Voropayev in 1983 suggests just how effective kettlebell training is. In this study two groups of college students were followed over several years. One group used a standard military regimen of pull-ups, 100m sprints, standing broad jumps and a 1km run.

 The experimental group used nothing but kettlebells and kettlebell exercises. Both groups were then tested using the same traditional exercises as the standard military group. The kettlebell group scored higher in every test - even though they hadn't practiced those particular exercises!"

Right - so without swinging in favour of or against Kettlebells - what is becoming apparent is that, the physiological benefits of this type of training are more holistic. By using your whole body to perform the exercise,you effectively optimize your body's overall ability. Enhanced coordination results from improved neural responses and motor neuron activation. In fact - this also improves your body's effieciency at performing these tasks simply through practice and while the following statement would hold true for Freeweight training as well, it would be limited to the isolated movement patterns used in the training-the reapeated activation of neural pathways leads to the brain using fewer and fewer motor units (nerve clusters) to activate the relevant muscles in order to perform a task. I.e. leading to an optimized, effiecient strong body.

It Boils down to Choice then. Use free weights and "Go Big".Or Use KB's and "Live strong" to paraphrase a certain Tour de France winner...

Lance Armstrong