An AMAZING EXPERIENCE Thank you!

To all who participated in the KB workshop- Participants, logistics/ "long-gistics" , hosts,tour guides----- I just want to say "Thank you " once again.

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

I would like to first say thank you all once again for all of your hard work. Zar and I could not believe how well everyone did and how much effort everyone put in to the entire weekend. I hope everyone is still swinging away. I also wanted to say dont forget the hip snap and do not forget to create tension. You have to retrain your body to work as a single unit instead a bunch of isolated muscles. Here is a basic workout to try out
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

The seminar held in Bridgeport was great. The team of instructors assembled for us was top of the line. It helped that they were all firefighters. They understood how we think and how we learn. Each instructor brought a unique aspect to the training.
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

Basic Work Out - 300

Warm Up - Seminar Version

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

How it Works!

By now the sore hamstrings have become a distant memory. But so will the skills you have learned if you are not practicing them daily. Our blog is your tool to document your training success and also to encourage and motivate those who shared our weekend of pain. You should have received a link to join our blog as an author - If you have please use it. If not send us an email and we will re-send the link. Post photos, video clips, ect... we work best together. Train hard, train smart. George Gomola RKC

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.

Kettlebell Training for Firefighters - Class of 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.

CT Tank Location - Burr Court

Only 2 more days!

Our seminar weekend is only 2 days away. Get a good night sleep on Friday - hydrate well - eat some good carbs - nothing too heavy - and show up early. Registration and equipment issue starts at 0800. Please wear your department or Local T-shirts to training if you have them. We have invited some special guests and want to give you and our brothers the recognition you deserve for the efforts being made to take your game to the next level. Stay Safe, George Gomola RKC