With just two kettlebell exercises, takes you from raw newbie to solid contender—well-conditioned, flexible, resilient and muscular in all the right places.

Nothing gets lost on the professional and serious amateur level. Everything gets lost in the mass market. It does not bother me. People who buy pink kettlebells and similar nonsense live in a parallel universe I have no interest in. They are flakes drifting from one "build muscle fast" and "lose fat tomorrow" scheme to the next. They will never achieve their goals, and I have no intention of wasting my time motivating them. I preach to the choir.

Strength Secret of the Soviet Supermen

He lays out a simple progression in the book which takes you from entry level to more advanced, along with periodic self testing you can do to determine where you stand. Sergey lost more than 100 pounds; became fast, wiry. And went on to become the numberone kettlebell lifter in the world—170 jerks with a pair of 70-pound kettlebells in 10 minutes!—and Russia’s sport legend. The president of Russia awarded Mishin a medal “For Accomplishments for the Benefit of the Motherland.” (II degree). In Russia kettlebells are a matter of national pride and a symbol of strength. In the olden days, any strongman or weightlifter was referred to as a girevik, or “kettlebell man.” Steeled by their kettlebells, generation after generation of Russian boys has turned to men. A century before Mishin, another young boy, Pyotr Kryloff, found kettlebells at a butcher’s shop. It was love at first sight. Pyotr never parted with his kettlebells, and when he became a merchant marine he took them with him around the world. Eventually the kettlebell fanatic became a circus strongman and performed until he was 60. The public called him The cover of a 1915 issue of Hercules, Tsarist Russia's strength magazine. the “King of Kettlebells.” Kryloff could cross himself in the Russian Orthodox manner with a 70-pound kettlebell, military pressed the same kettlebell with one arm 88 times, and juggled three of them at once! Pyotr Pyotr Kryloff, “the King of applied his kettlebell power to all sorts of feats. He broke stones with his fist, bent coins, made “ties” and “bracelets” out of Kettlebells,” could strips of iron, broke horseshoes, jerked a cross himself in the “barbell” with two beefy soldiers sitting inside two hollow spheres, and set a few Russian Orthodox world weightlifting records. manner with a 70pound kettlebell, military pressed the same kettlebell with one arm 88 times, and juggled three of them at once!

Right after StrongFirst was founded one of our instructors apologized for a slip of the tongue—saying "RKC" instead of "SFG". Our CEO Mark Toomey responded: "There is nothing to apologize for. We are RKC. The Chief, the people, the system, the traditions—they are all here." He suggests using ladders, starting low. Switching hands, resting. Then slowly building up to fifty repetitions, one hundred repetitions, in a short period of time. Eventually, as one progresses, one will build 1 ladder (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.) to 2 ladders, 2 ladders to 3 ladders, and so on. This can take a few minutes, a few hours, or even a full day. The most intense and complete instruction training course I have ever experienced. A level of detail of instruction I have not found anywhere else. Pavel's depth of knowledge on all aspects of training is amazing. Nothing else is even close." Simple and si nister. —A U.S. Secre t Service Counte r Assault Team in structor on the RKC system of trainingIf you failed any of the above requirements, you need to practice the following drill daily until you pass. No kettlebells until then, Comrade.

Anyone have a favorite progression program to build to a pullup? I have suspension straps, a sturdy table, and a pullup bar, so my thinking was that I would start by getting straight leg under the table horizontal pulls down, then do raised leg horizontal pulls with the suspension straps, then eventually move to negative pullups. Thoughts? Now, Pavel honed his amazingly effective Enter the Kettlebell! masterplan for elite strength and high-performance conditioning in the trenches of his RKC kettlebell instructor certification training programs... The program consists of three parts. A 10 minute warmup at the beginning of each workout, and four days working out. Two days doing swings and two days doing getups. Since I had a significant amount of previous experience I jumped right in with a heavy 24 kg (53lb) kettlebell for 1 month. It is suggested that the average male start with a 16kg (35lb) kettlebell. Several years ago this is what I started with and have since moved to the 20kg (44lb) kettlebell then to my present 24kg (53lb) one.

While I made improvements in my fitness, and i do feel stronger, this program is more of an opportunity to learn the ropes and practice proper technique rather than the workout itself. I would expect to be comfortable with the kettlebell and prepared for the next phase. Ronen Katz, a StrongFirst instructor and 6th Dan in Kyokushin karate, told me a parable. A villager asked a wise man how to find water. "Dig down 10 meters," was the answer. A few days later the villager returned complaining that he had done as told and found no water. The wise man came over to take a look: the villager had dug 10 holes, each 1 meter deep. There’ve been a lot of changes in my life since this conversation earlier this year – got a new job, moved to Milwaukee, wife is pregnant… The summer and spring were very busy but now things are settling down and for the last few weeks I’ve been in a consistent KB routine. You must have noticed that, unlike dumbbells, kettlebell weights do not go up in small increments. There is simply no need for extra iron. Inventive gireviks don’t need a ton of weight to provide progressive resistance. And you get to save money and space. “Pavel, the RKC course marked such an incredible time in my life. The pain and suffering was all worth it. I will never forget it. It is with me for life!!!” —(Doug Nepodal, RKC)