Saturday, February 28, 2009
KNOWLEDGE IS NOT POWER!
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Fairfield firefighters pushed by kettlebells
Atlantic City ,New Jersey firefighter John Slattery RKC leads local firefighters in kettlebell training excercises during seminar in Bridgeport CT. (Phil Noel/Staff photographer)
CT Post Article, Saturday February 21, 2009 By Genevieve Reilly, staff writer
A hissing sound was coming from the second floor at Connecticut Tank Removal in Bridgeport. After a sustained period of hissing, there was a series of sharp thuds.
"Okay, now we're going to do hot potato," said Zar Horton, as he lifted the metal ball, called a kettlebell, over his head. "Grab the ground with your toes and we're going to do 20 touches."
Horton shifted the kettlebell -- resembling a cannonball with handles -- from one hand to another as he counted to 20, then had the group begin again, this time repeating the exercise 18 times. It was the second day of a two-day seminar where the group of about 40 people, mostly area firefighters, had been learning how to use the kettlebells for strength and fitness training.
The good-natured groans from the trainees got worse when Charles Bustos took over.
While Horton had introduced the participants to the finer points of kettlebells, Bustos was going to take them through the paces of body tensioning. The participants, like Fairfield Firefighter Wayne Parks, went into a crouch position, arms flexed out in front of them, knees together.
"Squeeze in, not just down," Bustos said. "Drive your feet into the ground."
Faces turned red, sweat popped on brows, and the hissing -- the sound of the exercisers breathing -- became louder. The thuds, of course, were produced as the exhausted exercisers dropped their burden.
"You're making your body work more efficiently," he said.
"We're fixing the weak link."
Each position looked, and sounded, like a mild form of torture to the unitiated, and the firefighters weren't afraid to let Bustos know it.
"I hate you, Charles," said one. "What did your parents do to you when you were little?" asked another.
But despite the barbs, the firefighters were enthusiastic about the class. "I recently started re-focusing on strength training," Parks said, who heard about kettlebell training through his fellow firefighter, Assistant Chief George Gomola. "I didn't klnow what it would be like. I thought they'd take it easy on us, since its just two days."
Kettlebells vary in weight, depending on the user's own weight and state of physical fitness. The average man starts with a 35-pound kettlebell, but they range in weight from 10 pounds to more than 100 pounds. They have been used in training by the Russian military for special forces personnel and, more recently, for the U.S. government's training of elite military units. Gradually, the kettlebell training is filtering down to a wider, non-military audience.
Gomola, who is a certified kettlebell instructor, is eager to talk about the training method, which he feels can be invaluable to fellow firefighters by helping them do their jobs and live longer.
Firefighters, he said, are asked to perform short spurts of intense physical activity after periods of inactivity when they're called to a fire or car accident, and kettlebell training helps train the body for that.
"These principles can be applied to any physical activity from sitting down in a chair to walking up stairs to pulling somebody out of a fire," said Gomola, who is also the strength and conditioning coach for the Sacred Heart University men's soccer program.
Horton, a New Mexico firefighter, recounts case histories of a friend who had shoulder and knee problems and a female firefighter who lacked upper body strength. Both benefited tremendously from physical training with kettlebells, he said.
"Kettlebell training forces you to get in touch with your body and how it works," Gomola said. "It's more like a gateway than an exercise program. Once you get in touch with your body, you truly are on a path to fitness. You'll never get that experience lifting weights in a gym."
About 40 people turned out for the recent seminar, although not all were firefighters or even adults.
Fifteen-year-old Shannon Curry's father, Steve, is an assistant fire chief in Fairfield. A three-sport athlete at Fairfield Warde High School, Shannon said she participated in Gomola's "program one summer with kettlebells and I really liked it.
"I think it's an effective workout."
She said she used to train with weight machines, but has founds that kettlebells meet so many more needs than those did.
After Horton and Bustos took workshop participants through their paces with the kettlebells and muscle tensioning, it was time for some gentle stretching and breathing, as they slowly unwound from the day's workout.
Stamford Fire Capt. Pat Tripodi learned about the program from a flier for the course at his firehouse. "Our union is very big on physical fitness," Tripodi said, especially with the high rate of heart and hypertension problems among those on the job.
"One thing we talked about for a couple of years was kettlebells," Tripodi said, and he and a few of his men signed up. When Tripodi returned to work after the Saturday session, "a lot of guys had questions and wanted to know about it."
Using the kettlebells, he said, also appears to be a quick and cost-effective way of maintaining firefighters' fitness.
"This is ideal for the kind of work we do," Tripodi said. "You can get the benefits in a 20- or 25-minute workout." And with the cost of a kettlebell at approximately $75 each, it would cost his department less than $1,000 to provide enough kettlebells for an eight-person shift at a firehouse.
Monday, February 16, 2009
An AMAZING EXPERIENCE Thank you!
I was really impressed by the enthusiasm and turnout which equals committment in my book.
As you know, firefighters are a "tough sell" on many things and not too fond of change- to put it mildly. So, to see the number fo participants really floored me. I was equally impressed to see family members in attendance. I was humbled and truly excited to share the gift that was given to me by PAVEL TSATSOULINE.
I can speak for all the instructors when I say everyone exceeded our expectations. It was a very special group of instructors I was privledged to be with. My brother in AFD Charles brought you a special brand of pain. The tensioning is essential for truly effective and safe kb training. John Slattery is an excellent instructor who was mindful of form and the group as a whole and when to make changes in the program to keep everyone safe.
Tom Sher- I cannot say enough about the rare opportunity and appropriateness of the cool downs he took us through. They were perfect for recovery and oxygenation. Those sessions I believe were largely responsible for the high level of function everyone came to day 2 with.
Chief Gomola- I cant say enough about how much this man cares and wants to share with his fire family a way to perform our jobs better, live better, and go on into our retirements with health and longevity. What a quality group of people!!! They are closing the cafe I am writng from...
pulling the plug.. more to come- If I can help, please write me at zar@firebellz.com
Train Hard
Stay Safe
Finish Strong
Zar
KEEP SWINGING
20 swings
5 push ups
:30 plank
5 bottoms up press
:30 sec wall sit
1 tgu right
1 tgu left
work your way up to 10x with no rest and let me know how you feel. Enjoy the pain.
Feedback
It has been a week since the seminar and I can already notice an increase in energy, better flexibility and reduced stress. I look forward to continuing my training and the results it will bring
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Basic Work Out - 300
Neck - Front, side to side, ear to shoulder, thriller, turtle
Shoulders - figure 8 - one arm small to large, front to back,
Shoulders - Egyptian (shoulder spiral)
High Rotation - tap lung meridian and low back
Pelvic Tilt - front/back, sides, connect the dots
Hip rotations - hour glass
knee rotations - wide stance, rotate in, rotate out, figure 8
ankle rotations - perfect circles
hip rotations - perfect circles
Warm Up - Dynamic
Dead lift sequence (no weight) - A, B, C - no bell - just movement - 5x each,
3 sets, Align bell between shins for for A and touch handle with each rep. step forward half step so bell is in B position - touch handle with each rep. Use crotch as marker for C position - focus on hip movement (get out of the way)
active rest - hot potato - 10 x between each set
Dead lift sequence (w/ 16kg) A, B, C 5 x with 16 kg 3 sets
active rest - 1 TGU each side - no weight between each set
Work Out - Kettlbell Swings
50 swings w/16kg
(10 two-hand/10L/10 two-hand/10R/10 two-hand)
75sec on, 45sec off
6 rounds - 12 minutes - 300 swings
Cool Down - Stability Training
TGU - 1 x each side - with 16 kg bell*
TGU - 2 x each side with no weight
Repeat 3 times
* if you experience any instability stop the movement at that interval and grease the groove - example - if you have trouble at the first part of the movement - just do that part with the 16 kg, repeat 2 or 3 times - then work other side, same movement, then complete the full TGU with no weight. Our goal is perfect practice.
Train hard, train smart - Stay Safe, George Gomola RKC
Saturday, February 14, 2009
How it Works!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Seminar Analysis
Firefighter Kettlebell Seminar – February 7 and 8, 2009 - Post Event Analysis and Summary
Participant Comments taken from Evaluation Form:
"I doubted it at first, but once I saw the instructors and literally felt the work out, it was great. The yoga/breathing was awesome and the core work was awesome."
"The instructors explained everything really well, made all the guys feel like we were part of something."
"The workouts make everything else I have done seem pointless, can't wait to see where it takes me."
"the fact that they are RKC was great. Anyone who trained under Pavel definitely has walked the walk!"
"It would absolutely help with the way we operate on the fire ground."
"I haven't had too many classes where the instructors are so focused & dedicated to educate me on a subject. They incorporated humor when appropriate while constantly maintaining the focused learning environment. They are truly exceptional instructors."
"Total body work out that I can take home or to the firehouse, even teach my wife."
"It can be easily adjustable to your own home and the benefit from the program is exactly what is needed for today's modern firefighter."
"It was real life training that can be done anywhere."
"It will improve my performance, especially when I have to work with 20 y/o kids!"
"Loved this class!"
"Great Program! Don't change anything"
"The best thing for this program would be to continue to introduce it to new brothers and continuing the education of the bell and it's benefits."
Evaluation Summary - all instructors received a score of 10 out of 10 for every evaluation received, except for Zar Horton – who received a score of 11 from one student. Every participant would recommend this course to a friend or brother firefighter. Every participant would like to take another course of this type, either a refresher in 6 months to a year or an advanced kettlebell course. Every participant felt this program would help improve their performance on the job. The food and the facility received high ratings from all participants.
A very special thanks to all who attended the first ever "Kettlebell Training for Firefighters" Seminar held last weekend at the CT Tank facility in Bridgeport CT. We had over 41 participants. Firefighters attended from all over the State, representing Norwalk FD, Stamford Fire Rescue, Poquonnock Bridge Fire Dept., Milford FD, West Haven FD, Stratford FD, and Fairfield. Some brought their wives, and some brought their sons and daughters. The diversity of the class was amazing – from age 12 through age 63, from a few years on the job to retirees, firefighters through Chief Officers. The physical conditioning ranged from athletic to highly deconditioned. All participants performed EVERY exercise and participated in every training session. With the exception of sore hamstrings and one dropped bell there were NO reported injuries in 2 days of training in this eclectic blend of hard style Russian Kettlebell training, flexibility, strength training and yoga. The program was made possible through the generosity of CT Tank and it's owners – Joe Palmerie and Rob Kellerman. Thanks for sharing your space with us. A very special thanks to United Indoor Soccer - Gus Florez and Lourdes Gonzalez for their generous donation to our event which helped pay for our lunch on Sunday. We are also extremely grateful to the Fairfield Firefighters Benevolent Association and it's members – Frank DeAngelo – head cook and bottle washer – Jeff Denitto – social director, Mark Harry and John Callandriello – long-gistics.
As Zar put it so well on the ride back to the airport – we learned kettlebells with the hope that some day we could teach our brothers what we had learned. Thanks for giving us the opportunity. Train hard, train smart.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Basic Work Out
RKCFIREPROWORKOUT – FIRST 3 WEEKS
The following excerpt is from Pavel's book – Enter the Kettlebell. There is no need to re-create the wheel, we will keep it simple and learn from the master. Your instructors encourage you to purchase Enter the Kettlebell, available from Dragondoor Publications. A direct link to purchase this book will be available shortly.
The Break In Plan:
Practice the swing, the get up, the remedial drills and stretches almost daily – or at least 3 times a week.
Practice, don't work out!
Practice for 30 minutes. Finish stronger than when you started.
Stay on the break in plan for as long as it takes to develop good swing and get up technique.
You may keep doing whatever lifting or athletic training you have been doing.
Remember – do what you can, perfectly. Train smart, never to failure. If you have difficulty with a movement that is where you need to put your effort. Practice the TGU without weight until your technique is perfect. Add weight safely – use a training partner as a spotter. Practice the ¼ get up with the bell you are swinging – baby roll, firing range position, safety check, slap the floor, get tight, crunch and punch to elbow, back down slow – 3 times each side is the goal – do what you can. Your straight leg should lengthen, your gaze should be on the bell, you chest should be extended. Perfect practice, never to failure. When you can perform 3 - ¼ get ups perfectly for 3 sets then increase to 5 reps, then to straight arm, then to high bridge, etc….. Grease the groove. Remember – do not use speed as a substitute for stability. The movement should be smooth and controlled on the way up, slow and tight on the way down. Train hard, train smart.
