It seems that in this country the word ‘kettlebell’ is as fashionable and as common as crocs in Brakpan.

All the globo gyms are handing out coaching certifications like its a Friday night at the soup kitchen.  Hell, a lot of trainers are just attending a couple kettlebell classes and claiming mastery.  Its a revolution!!!

Then there’s those trainers who invest their time and their money into spending weekends with some of the worlds greats.  Learning, performing and enduring the mental and physical stresses of  legitimate, world class certifications. Not just in kettlebell fitness but are also fortunate enough to be moulded into athletes of ‘girevoy sport’ by these masters.

Something that cannot be given to you for ‘mahala’ by some Mickey mouse claiming to be a guru.

We pay the price, we learn the skill.  We become athletes in our own right.

Girevoy sport was popular amongst the old school strongmen both in Russia and the western circles.  GS has been around since the late 40′s and is internationally recognized, in fact it will make its first appearance at the Olympics in 2016.

GS is the pinnacle of kettlebell training, athletes who compete are lifting significant loads for extended periods of time.  A competitor weighing in at 65kg can be lifting 2 x 32kg kettlebells for 10 minutes straight.  Training in this sport builds a blend of power and endurance.

I have met many people who have laughed at the kettlebell lifters, many people who have claimed to have the strength of an animal.  Give us 10 minutes of your time and you may want to rethink your abilities and your statements, these tools will humble just about anyone.

The average sportsmen, gym junkie, soccer mom or weight lifter who trains in GS develops this incredible raw strength as well as focus, patience and discipline.  When you completing a 10 minute biathlon or 10 minute long cycle you have to have monumental strength endurance, 10 minutes weighted is massive volume.  Not only is this a colossal test of power but you need an exceptionally high pain threshold.

At very high levels of GS you see athletes performing amazing feats of strength, Valery Fedorenko of the WKC and world champion kettlebell lifter completed 50 reps of the ‘jerk’ with a 60kg kettlebell.  That is strength.

You have to become comfortable with discomfort.

An athlete who develops the sort of durability obtained from training in GS is going to be harder, stronger, faster and more energy efficient than the average gym goer.  This is the guy you want on your team, this is the guy you want fighting for your win.

We do not just lift kettlebells, we do not just follow hard style training techniques as many coaches have pointed out, we train for volume, power and strength endurance.

This is what sets us apart.

Myself at Synergy in Motion and the team at Flux Motion are not offering the latest buzz, we are offering an opportunity to rise above the mainstream.
We combine the elements of kettlebell training into techniques that enable us to sustain our energy levels for long periods of time.  Skills needed for sport and for life.

We don’t just lift kettlebells, we lift boundaries.

Let me get one thing straight, I am not a muscle junkie.  I am not obsessed, I am determined.

This may confuse people, in fact I know it confuses people.  I was recently accused of being self-obsessed with my physique.  Yes, I am concerned about my figure.  If you meet a women who tells you otherwise, shes lying. Simple.

I spend a good portion of my day in the gym.  I train hard, I eat clean.

I do not spend my weekend smashing bottles of wine, and sitting around fires feeding off fatty pieces of meat.  I choose to be fit, I choose to be healthy and I choose to be strong.  I don’t go out of my way to tell people I follow a strict routine, I do not bop my head to “Girl look at that body, I work out”… one look at my body and you’ll know that I don’t sit on my ass, eating donuts and moaning about where I could be physically.

In no way am I saying that I have reached the pinnacles of physical perfection, but I am saying that I work my ass off to get where I’m going.  Nobody cares about where you want to be, if you not willing to commit to getting there.

I hate to disappoint but the concern surrounding my will to work hard on my body, is not for narcissism, arrogance, pretension or self-worship.  Its for longevity, its for the ability to combat sickness, to recover quicker, to self protect, for efficiency and most importantly,  as a women, a sister and a daughter it is for when my children come, to be strong and able to run with them, climb with them and simply be with them for a very long time to come.

I am not here to make you feel bad, or lecture you about your unhealthy diet or current levels of fitness.  I am here to stand up for what I do,  for what we fitness ‘chics’ do. I don’t do it for the vanity, I do it because its the one thing I have control over.  Its the one thing that I own.

You can take away everything, my property, my cars, my investments and my finance but I’ll always have my body.

My body is a vehicle to transport my brain and my brain deserves a ride that offers extraordinary performance.

My profile describes me as a local modern girl with old school philosophies.  I train hard and I train mean, and I strive to follow in the footsteps of those that gained real results from real methods for real reasons.  The Romans, the Greeks, the Soviets trained for optimal performance, not for show.  I believe in these methods because I train for ‘go’ and not for ‘show’, all though the ‘show’ comes nicely along with it.

 
Lets focus on the old school philosophies.  The word that has gotten my attention the most of late is ‘functional’, this term is being thrown around like a loose woman’s name at a frat party.  This buzzword is being described as something that is ‘new’, a ‘novelty’ and the fitness giants have latched onto it like sharks to an open wound.

Over the last few years there has been a huge transition in the fitness industry towards functional training, and facilities are branding this dynamic form of training as something new, advanced and cutting edge.  The only thing that is remotely new about this form of training is the tools that are being implemented into the training and being sold and misinterpreted entirely.  The bosu ball, the balance dome, the TRX, the bloody pvc piping and other bits of balloon that are being fed to the public as forms of functionality.

Functional training is and was where it all began, before the scientifically engineered machines came onto the scene, before our gyms were littered with false plastic gimmicks.  Functional training mimics every day activities, training the body for practicality.  At no point during your day, if you are classified normal, and not a circus act will you be balancing on one hand hanging from a cable from the ceiling while shifting heavy foam pipes with your eyes closed.  That is not practical, that is stupid.

Training is not meant to be entertaining and fun, we do not paint faces and bounce around like the Easter bunny.  Training is only fun if you, like me, enjoy feeling the gradual onslaught of pain surging through your muscles, if you entertain the feeling of numbness through your entire body and enjoy the sensation of energy.  Yes to us, that is why training is fun.

Your training is your time of day you dedicate to improving your bodies performance, improving its function, strengthening its every element.  Doing this requires dedication to the boring, as my coaches always say to me, boring works.

Training like they trained back in the day, the old school way.  For unbelievable strength in the glutes, hamstrings, and back – you deadlift and you squat.  For core strength and upper body power you tackle the bars, your lift kettlebells, you drop and consistently tackle the push up, you flip tires, you do it again, and again and again.  For conditioning you push sleds, pull sleds, battle ropes, lift kettlebells and you do it again, and again and again.

These methods work, kettlebells, pull up bars, dipping bars, bar bells etc are what were used back in the day before the commercialized fad of gyming hit the world, these methods were tried and tested by soldiers in battle.  These methods work, and have always worked, they are not new, they are not advanced and they are not a fad.  They are effective.

Today’s functional is dysfunctional.

So its January, and some of us are sitting with that ghost of  the Christmas pudding hanging a little too comfortably around our waists.  No doubt the majority of the population had their fare share of candy canes, mince pies and one or two glasses too many of the fortified wine.

Now three weeks later, we back at the grindstone and sitting uncomfortably behind our stomachs. With more than half of you having set a new years resolution that included the words exercise, fitness or health. My advice to you is to get up and grab everyday by the bells

Kettlebells are not just strength tools but tools that melt fat off the body.  With correct coaching, within a matter of weeks you will be flushing Boney M’s last Christmas track down the toilet.  When training with kettlebells for fat loss it is essential that you lift heavy and explosively (with progression of course).

When lifting heavy and lifting explosively your body makes use of the strongest of the muscle fibres. Lifting heavy requires more energy, the higher the energy output, the more energy is required, resulting in a higher rate of calories burnt.

The majority of kettlebell movements are performed balistically and these movements such as the swing, clean, snatch and jerk all demand a high energy output.  High energy output again equals high calorie consumption.

Spending 40 minutes of your hour long gym session staring into the abyss while running on a treadmill is just not going to give you the kind of results a kettlebell workout will.  No doubt the treadmill will burn calories, but once you step off, the calorie burn stops.  Kettlebell training combines strength and cardio into its movements, so once that bell touches the floor and you walk away, you are still going to burn calories and this is due to the post exercise oxygen consumption being so high.

The natural movements performed, engage all your muscles, whereby your muscles work together in synergy, the more muscles working as an integrated unit the higher the consumption of oxygen and energy.  With the movements involved in kettlebell training, often your body is in an unbalanced or dynamic state, for example when snatching, there is more weight being distributed to the one side of your body than the other, and this state triggers a plyometric response from your body which results in a higher caloric burn.

There is just no waisting of energy when it comes to these awesome bells, you have to use a lot of energy to lift them, so with every lift, every swing and every movement you are generating a burn.

Make the change today, find yourself a certified coach and get fitter, get faster, get stronger and get leaner.

The only time it is ever too late to change yourself is when you’re dead. Until then, you are simply making excuses.  Write that down

I am one of those people who loses my breath when I get over excited.  As a sports fanatic, whether it be football, athletics, or curling, watching the final moments of a battle can be a life or death situation.  Ussain Bolt’s 100m world record left me hyperventilating.  Jason Lezak’s historic split literally had me blue in the face.

To put you on my page, you need to go back to the Beijing Olympics of ’08 – men’s 4 x 100m freestyle relay.

Possibly thee most exciting chlorinated race of all time, in my opinion anyway!

Jason Lezak, an American Olympic swimmer, all though a well regarded figure amongst the HTH henchmen, this single feat propelled him right into the sporting hall of fame. Lezak is no doubt an elite swimmer, who has no personal coach and in ’08 he was the oldest man on the US swim team.

He rose from behind in the final 25m of the 400m freestyle relay event, being led by world record holders France, who were convinced and had already claimed bragging rights to the Gold medal prior to the start of the race.  Lezak tailed Alain Bernard by a full bodies length advantage, yet split a 46 flat in the final moments, making it the fastest 100m freestyle split in the history of the sport.

I’ve attached this clip so you can really understand the sheer exuberance of the race:
Jason Lezak

I have watched this video over and over, I have downloaded several versions of the race to allow me to dissect every stroke.  Lezak smashing a historic split in the time that he did is phenomenal, it is almost as if someone hooked him and dragged him like a tuna on steroids through the final meters of the pool.

Getting behind the physical swim I saw that Lezak gets into the water at 2.38, to a first time viewer his stroke looks pretty similar to his french opponent.  His first turn is at 21.50 next to Bernard’s 21.27, he is trailing behind like a dead fish, yet in the final 25m he runs down Bernard like he has been fuel injected.

Analyzing Lezak, I learnt that he is a full inch shorter than Bernard. His swim form displays a change in the last 50m, his left arm delays longer than the right which causes an interference with his breathing, therefore he is taking in less oxygen, which just poses more questions.

The lack of oxygen  effects the maximising on the purchase of the water and looking at Bernard, his efficient strokes vent smaller bursts and Lezak is literally launching his torso further out the water, requiring more energy, so physically how did he propel forward at such a pace?

I just cant get my head around it, the change of form, the interfered breathing, the energy required to plummet his body further out of the water, yet he rockets a full 9 inches forward in a matter of seconds to win the race!

I can only put it down to chemical synthesis.  Epinephrine or adrenaline as we know it, caused this incredible feat.  When the body surges adrenaline there is an increase of energy sent to the muscles, which boosts their ability to react.  Adrenaline finds its way to the heart which immediately boosts its rate and strength which increases the respiratory exchange.  More oxygen equals better performance.

Lezak is the human equivalent of a formula 1 car with fuel injection.  The science behind this victory is mind boggling.

Simply amazing feat of strength and power!

I used to be absolutely shocking at kettlebell snatches, a few months ago I’d hang from a bar like a dead fish, and doing one rep of a deadlift (correctly) was something I always struggled with.  Training for hours every week made me physically strong and fit, no doubt, but I just wasn’t performing as optimally as I knew I could.

Doing high repetition drills were nightmarish, I felt like I had the physical strength, but my hands just couldn’t keep up with the pace. The same goes for my pull up power, I could pull off one rep of a chin up, on a narrow bar while kipping, but the chance of me completing a strict wide hand pull up on a 2″ bar was as believable as Bill Clinton’s statements surrounding Monica Lewinsky.

It just made me realize that there really is no such thing as a person with weak hands and a strong body, it just does not work that way.

The sad reality of the situation is that very few people actually work on this area of strength, and we can only put that down to ignorance.  If you are going to attack the gym day after day with no guidance from a professional, its an area you are going to think very little about.  Improving your grip strength has a positive correlation on your over all strength.

Try flipping a tire or grabbing a sandbag and actually pressing it, running with it, rowing it, or throwing it.  If you cant hold the damn thing, how are you going to move it? Weak hands are going to effect your potential in so many areas.  Weak hands, wrists and fingers are only going to limit your potential.

Improving this strength is not only for enhancing your lifting potential but is essential for combat athletes too.  Weak hands are disastrous for performance in battle, your hands are what generates and transfers your strength throughout your body.  Weak hands produce very little force and strong hands do damage.  Weak hands equal weak fighters.

A strong grip improves your dexterity, enables you to lift heavier, builds endurance in your hands and builds injury resilience.  Then again its also not what you do, but how you do it.  There are so many gadgets on the market today for improving your grip strength, but if you don’t want to get your ass handed to you its going to take a lot more than some mechanism to enable you to bend horse shoes.

When using kettlebells probably one of the best things you could do is juggling, and anything that involves bottoms up moves and pinch gripping, otherwise incorporate bar hangs, rope work, rope pull ups, wrist rolling (I was recently introduced to this, and it has already done wonders for me) otherwise if you with a trained professional work on levering and plate pinching.

I still have much to learn about grip strength, but with the little work I have done improving this area I can already feel the vast difference and have already broken more personal records having incorporated it into my training.

So come to grips with your weaknesses and get a grip on your strengths.

I am a gypsy.  I have lived in fourteen different cities around the world, five of which have been in South Africa alone. Two years ago I found myself moving to Durban, and have not looked back since.  This has got to be one of thee most prismatic, diverse, and captivating cities of them all.

As I am up at dawn, grabbing life by the bells, I am constantly surrounded by some of Durban’s finest poison.  These addicts are unlike the common habitue, they don’t have excuses for anything.  These guys are getting high no matter what the circumstance. From the honest cyclist, runner and athlete, to the soul surfer, the paddlers, the rugby boys and the serious lifters.  These guys are out their searching for their natural high, pursuing their passion, chasing that perfect wave, beating the odds, and smashing their limitations.

As well as these Durbanites, there also comes the infamous weekend warriors, MMA wannabees and gym junkies filtering through the atmosphere.  This special lot are just as feisty by week day.  Smashing the machines, chugging down the top of the range supplements, trawling the local gyms for a taste of the exercise high and smashing back cold beers by night.

Regardless of whether the locals are serious about sport or serious about having six packs to flash the beach babes on the weekends.  Durbanites are passionate about being active.

Whether thier goal is to complete the comrades, win the Mr Price Pro, bring home the Curry Cup or simply to look amazing in a gym vest while you cruise the beachfront with your hat backwards, each one of these ninjas need a sound gpp program (general physical practice) to make them better, faster, stronger, harder and fitter!

Combining the conditioning from kettlebells with the strength work from calisthenics into their daily routines will blast their fitness levels straight into Superman’s underpants.

Whilst kettlebells develop your posterior chain, building solid cores, improved athleticism and strength endurance, bodyweight training gives you reaction power, improved co-ordination, balance, synergy and raw strength, making you more efficient, effective and functional on the field, in the water and on the beach front.

We are proudly Durbanites, we are proudly active and we are damn right colourful. Getting out there and involved in real training the real way, forgetting the tug toners, bosu balls, pec-decs and treadmills and getting a taste of ballistic training with kettlebells and old school strength training will give you that edge above the rest.

Practical methods of training will improve your sport, your life and your functionality no matter what drives you.  No matter what drives Durban.

I’ve signed up to run the Two oceans half marathon in April next year.  I do not run. This is not my forte.  I do not intend on running for placement, I am not running competitively.  I’m running because as someone who doesn’t run, this is a challenge of great measure.  It does not matter if I come first, somewhere in the middle or stone cold last, I want to say that “I have finished”, there is a lot of satisfaction in that.

Not only is the marathon a personal test, but as I work with runners on a day to day basis I feel that experiencing a part of them will help me, help them.  I want to put myself in their shoes, I want to expose myself to their highs and their lows.  Lets call it research.

I’ve always said to my clients that working with kettlebells will boost their levels of fitness, increase their cardiovascular output, and strengthen and develop their ‘go muscles’ because this is what I have experienced first hand.  However only now that I have hit the road running have I literally felt the surge of all the years of training come together.  My first 5km run, having not even run 100m in over five years was an absolute walk in the park.  My first 10km is still trying to catch up to me.

The ballistic training from kettlebells has increased my power output. My obsession with the kettlebell snatch has not only improved my technique and allowed me to lift heavier for longer but has built strength in my lower back and hip flexors which are vital muscle groups required in running.  My ability to keep running is owed to the fact that kettlebells have improved my conditioning and muscular endurance with less fatigue and lactic acid build up.

The two oceans is known as the worlds most beautiful marathon, I am excited to be a part of it.  I am nervous to be challenging my potential, yet I’m thrilled to be facing the truths of the journey to the end.

To the runners, this half marathon may be a quick afternoon run for you but a nerve racking task to me.  I feel light headed just thinking about facing the road. All though even if I fall flat on my face, at least I will be moving somewhat forward. I respect your sport and look forward to experiencing my first ‘runners high’, I salute you!

Time to get out the running shoes

Do you ever sit and watch the guys from the NBA? I mean really watch the sportsmen, not the game? Besides the fact that these altitudinous men could easily trip over Tom Cruse and fall with their faces in another hemisphere, these guys can jump.

A sportsman’s height or physique has little to do with their abilities to elevate themselves beyond their center of gravity.  Football players, MMA fighters, gymnasts, rugby players, these sportsmen all require explosive power for optimal performance. However even the weekend warrior, housewife or average gym junkie should include explosive training into their regimes.

Developing raw strength and rapid power increases your muscular endurance, efficiency, function and capacity. It improves your rate-of-force production, improves your performance, boosts metabolic rate, enhances your ability to burn calories and of course gives you samurai like characteristics to run raster, jump higher, throw further and punch harder.

Training for fast powerful movements is done through methods of plyometrics.  Plyo’s involve using the resistance of gravity to elevate stored elastic energy in muscles during the eccentric (muscle lengthening) contraction.  Energy is then discharged during the concentric (muscle shortening) contraction which results in an explosive burst.  Therefor increasing the muscles performance.

In ninja terms your muscle is contracting before it is expanding.  These fast powerful movements improve the way your nervous system works and therefor enhances your functioning and efficiency.  However plyo training does require a pre-requisite of strength work.  Smashing out plyometric push ups (clap push ups) are going to be virtually impossible if you don’t already have the core and upper body strength to handle a normal military push up.

Plyometric exercises load your muscles and then contracts them in a rapid sequence. Training your body to contend with the speed or force of the contractions takes time. Rome wasn’t built in a day and assuming after 10 box jumps you are going to be able to crack out slam dunks like Michael Jordan, is just going to leave you face down on the floor, in your own sweat.

Include vertical jumps, over head throws, tuck jumps, slams, drop jumping, squat jumps, and plyo push ups into your drills and perform them in a smooth and integrated fashion as quick as possible with as little ground contact time as possible.

Soon enough you will jump like Jordan and bend it like Beckham.

I am not an addict to fitness, I am not obsessed and I am not an extremist. Yes, I push my body, I push my own limits, I break my own records, I challenge myself. I choose to feel alive rather than hungover. I choose to release my spirit rather than contain its potential.  Lazy is your choice, dedication is mine.

Why do I choose to sweat?

1) Nobody can understand a comfort zone quite like someone who distances themselves from it entirely. Spending an hour in the rain pushing iron to the elements, fighting fatigue, challenging your muscles potential and holding on when your body is begging for you to stop.  When that weight hits the ground, that moment the pain subsides, that feeling, that rush of blood to every muscle in your body.  That feeling of being completely alive.

2) Setting yourself a physical challenge, whether it be completing the comrades or finally smashing the 20 dead hang pull ups you have been working so hard to achieve. Achieving it.  That feeling of knowing that you have tried, tested and smashed it. The possibilities are endless.

3) Finally seeing how mental strength over powers physical strength tenfold.  Your body begs for mercy but your mind gives it horns. Believe me when you smashing out 12 minute planks, your fatigue sets in at 6 minutes, your body has given in by 8, the last 4 minutes were all mental.

4) I am not competitive, I do not care if you can jump higher, run faster or push heavier than I can.  I sweat because breaking my own records is the most rewarding and fulfilling conviction I have experienced

5) Being in the zone.  You can only really understand being in the zone when you in it.

I can be cliche and continue on about how fitness and strength will change your life forever, how it promotes longevity, how good it is for your heart, your blood pressure and preventing thousands of diseases.  But for me its more about how it changes the way you see and experience the world.

In French they say “Qui s’excuse s’accuse” He who excuses himself, accuses himself

I am not obsessed, I am dedicated