OS/DVRT: WHY DYNAMIC STRENGTH?

By Steve “Coach Fury” Holiner

Original Strength Instructor, Master DVRT, Senior RKC, MFF Coach

I’ve been very fortunate in being able to teach several Original Strength and DVRT workshops and certifications over the last couple of years. At each course, I would have an “aha” moment regarding the connections between OS and DVRT. I’m going to share those moments with you at the OS/DVRT: DYNAMIC STRENGTH workshop.

One big way that these two systems sync together is in the goal of building reflexive strength to improve all movement. We want to make you strong from the inside out. As our reflexive strength improves, our mobility and stability improve as well. When you add those benefits together, you will move with greater ease.

Chasing maximal strength is a solid goal to have but having a triple bodyweight deadlift doesn’t necessarily equate to moving well. Using the OS resets and DVRT together will help you move more efficiently with less compensations. Do you think that would add some pounds to your deadlift?

Yep! No matter what your strength or fitness goal may be, OS and DVRT will help you achieve it. 

Here’s how the collaboration works. The OS Resets and DVRT will begin to take the brakes off of your bodies limitations. At the same time, we’re working within the developmental sequence, we want to start establishing functional movement patterns. As we establish a baseline in these patterns we will want to find the most effective way to challenge them. We’ll then load these movements with the Ultimate Sandbag (USB). The USB is a constantly shifting unbalanced load that adds an intense challenge to both the resets and our function al movement patterns. The DVRT System provides us the perfect road map of progressions and regressions to select the proper challenge levels.

Together Original Strength and DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training will set you up for success.

Please join me at the first OS/DVRT: Dynamic Strength Workshop at the Original Strength Institute in Fuquay-Varina, NC on February 5^th.

*Please note that the OS Pressing Reset or OS Foundations 1 Workshops are a prerequisite for Dynamic Strength. 

CLICK TO REGISTER!

I hope to see you there! Thank you for your time.

-Fury

Steve “Coach Fury” Holiner’s superhero headquarters is Mark Fisher Fitness in NYC. Fury’s an Original Strength Instructor, Master DVRT, and a Senior RKC . He is available for classes, semi-privates, instructor training and programming at MFF. Check out coachfury.com, facebook.com/coachfury Instagram@iamcoachfury and Twitter @coachfury for more info.

INTRODUCING THE OS/DVRT: DYNAMIC STRENGTH WORKSHOP

By Steve “Coach Fury” Holiner

OS Instructor, Master DVRT, Senior RKC, MFF Coach

My training isn’t based on trends. When something interests me, I’ll spend the time to investigate, learn, study and do my best to master it before I share with others. I want to be sure my methods are safe, effective and work. For those reasons, it has been no secret that Original Strength, DVRT (Dynamic Variable Resistance Training) and Ultimate Sandbags play a huge role in my life as professional fitness enthusiast and coach. As an instructor for both systems, I’ve had the fortunate and unique opportunity to travel and teach both OS and DVRT workshops and certifications. Each time I teach one of these courses, the ways in which OS and DVRT connect and strengthen each other become clearer. Now with my new workshop I get to share those connections with you. It is my pleasure to introduce to you the OS/DVRT: DYNAMIC STRENGTH workshop!

Steve "Coach Fury" Holiner, Master DVRT, OS Instructor and Sr. RKC

Here’s the deal, both OS and DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training have a core philosophy on movement over muscle, building reflexive strength and stability and a heavy use of x-patterning, midline crossing and contralateral movements. Once you’ve built proficiency with the OS Resets, DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training is perfect way to add resistance to the resets. Dynamic Strength focuses on loading your X! The same reasons that make the Ultimate Sandbag the perfect implement for DVRT are also why it’s excellent for OS too.

An Ultimate Sandbag (USB) is an unbalanced living weight. As you move, the sand will shift inside the USB resulting in no two reps being the same. The dimension of the USB will also have a dramatic effect on how a movement hits your body. Ultimate Sandbags are not balanced like a bar or a kettlebell. The shifting sand and dimension create a high demand on your reflexive strength and stability to achieve a movement. Oh yeah, the USBs are loaded too. USBs come in four sizes and can go anywhere from five to one hundred and fifty pounds. Does that not sound heavy enough for you? Trust me, fifty pounds of Ultimate Sandbag glory feels way heavier than fifty pounds of iron.

The Dynamic Strength Workshop is aimed at anyone ready to take the OS Resets to the next level. In the workshop, we’ll look at different movement patterns, how they relate to Original Strength and how to load and progress them with DVRT.

We’ll take a deep look into:

Squatting

Vertical Pushing

Horizontal Pushing

Lunging

Fellow Master DVRT and OS Instructor Seth Munsey

OS/DVRT: Dynamic Strength launches during OS Recess Week on February 5 at the Original Strength Institute in Fuquay-Varina, NC. There will be an opportunity to buy Ultimate Sandbags at a special price for course attendees.

*Please note that the OS Pressing Reset or OS Foundations 1 Workshops are a prerequisite for Dynamic Strength. 

CLICK TO REGISTER!

Come join the fun.

Thanks for your time. I hope to see you there!

-Fury

Steve “Coach Fury” Holiner’s superhero headquarters is Mark Fisher Fitness in NYC. Fury’s an Original Strength Instructor, Master DVRT, and a Senior RKC . He is available for classes, semi-privates, instructor training and programming at MFF. Check out coachfury.com, facebook.com/coachfury Instagram@iamcoachfury and Twitter @coachfury for more info.

WELCOME TO FURY INDUSTRIES

By Steve “Coach Fury” Holiner and Kim “Destroyer” Darmstadt

If you follow Kim and I on social media, you will have noticed a number of pictures and a new Facebook page featuring FURY INDUSTRIES. This has lead to the obvious question…

What the hell is Fury Industries?

First and foremost, it is not a gym and we have zero plans of opening one.

It’s quite the opposite really.

Fury Industries is a place for Kim and I to create, write, train, design, brainstorm, play, question and grow.

Fury Industries is also a place to hang out and lift with friends.

It is a place where the kids get to be a part of what we do.

Fury Industries is our safe place, our happy place.

It is our home.

Please keep an eye out for pictures, videos, blogs and apparel from Fury Industries. 

Thanks for the time. We appreciate it.

-Fury and Destroyer

Fury Industries

Brooklyn, NY.

MFF BLOG: YOU WILL BE TESTED

by Steve “Coach Fury” Holiner, MFF Ambassador of Glory, Master DVRT, Original Strength Instructor, Senior RKC

You will be challenged. You will be tested.

Fact.

Whether it’s financial, emotional, moral or physical… in some way shape or form we will all be challenged and tested. It’s inevitable.

Scary, right?

Or is it?

Our internal reactions to the idea of being challenged are largely based upon how we perceive the notion of challenge itself. Do you view the idea of being tested as a chance at failure? Or, do you view that idea as a means to succeed beyond expectations?

I don’t have the answer. That’s on you. Here’s the good news, I think both states of mind lead to ultimate glory.

What the heck am I talking about?

Resistance

I am big fan of author Steven Pressfield and his concept of resistance. Resistance is the force inside ourselves that tries to stop us from living to our utmost potential. Resistance tells us we can’t. Resistance scares us. Resistance holds us back. Resistance isn’t a figment of your imagination and it is stifling real.

Battling resistance sets us on the path to becoming superheroes. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Resistance can also be viewed as a compass. I believe that resistance is what generates our perception of fear when being tested. What if we learn to use that resistance induced fear as a compass for what we really want to do?

“Are you paralyzed with fear? That’s a good sign. Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator. Fear tells us what we have to do. Remember one rule of thumb: the more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.” –Steve Pressfield

That quote from Pressfield’s The War of Art kicked me deep in the soul. Full disclosure time: I am scared more often than not. Whenever I teach or write, I fear failing. I don’t fear failing myself—I fear failing my family. I cringe at the thought of letting down the friend, peer or stranger that takes the time to read, learn, watch or listen to something I do. Your time and money are precious, and I value it greatly. Given how much I do write and teach and the fear it conjures up, I could take the easy road and stop typing right now.

But I can’t. I’m being challenged as I write this. Tested.

I will win.

As I open myself up to you, I walk head on into a firestorm of resistance that is telling me I’m that I’m exposing my weaknesses. Admitting to fear. Sharing too much. Yet, I will finish this piece. I accept this challenge. I will pass this test.

When this process gets easier, I will find something more personally frightening to write about.

If I can do this, so can you

Recognize and accept what scares you and drive directly into it. You will struggle and you will succeed in the long run. There are some battles we must face to achieve our greatest potential. That is why I’m putting this out there. I want to help you find your compass and embark on the journey of being your truest self, of living full out.

Find your calling

Stop letting resistance generating “what ifs” hold you back. Instead, start answering your own life questions, your calling. Some of these battles will be small and find quick victories while other challenges will be all out war. Both battlefronts are important. You must stay in the fight. Most of us have felt that deep calling inside our gut. All too few of us take the steps to listen to the call. The decision is yours.

You will be challenged. You will be tested.

You can only win if you try. We can only win if you try.

Thank you for your time.

-Fury

Steve “Coach Fury” Holiner’s superhero headquarters is Mark Fisher Fitness in NYC. Fury’s a Senior RKC, Master DVRT, and an Original Strength Instructor. He is available for classes, semi-privates and instructor training and programming at MFF. Follow Fury at:  coachfury.com, facebook.com/coachfury Instagram@iamcoachfury and Twitter @coachfury.

RKC BLOG: NEW FURY. NEW RKC.

by STEVE "COACH FURY" HOLINER on NOVEMBER 4, 2015

I am not tactical. Though I’ve done some work with the Marines, I’ve never been in the Armed Forces. I’m not an operator. The closest I get to tactical are my 5.11 backpacks.

Do tactical pull-ups make me tactical? Nope.

Recently, I taught an RKC Workshop with Master RKC, Josh Henkin at Catalyst SPORT in NYC. The group bonded quickly and in a fantastic fashion. Early on, it was obvious that something special was happening at this certification but I couldn’t quite place it at first.

My first RKC was five years ago. That experience had an incredibly positive impact on my life, and it’s what got me here. I wouldn’t change it for anything. I loved it. But with all of that said, I wouldn’t do an old RKC again. Current day Coach Fury would have walked out the moment someone told me to take my kettlebell to the bathroom. Yes, that happened.

As a middle-aged father of two, what does carrying a kettlebell to the bathroom teach me? Punishment swings and carries? The polite version of what present-day Coach Fury would say about that is “No thanks!”

I can only imagine how actual present/former military personnel felt about these drill sergeant tactics. The RKC is a system of strength and education, so why were we trying to be some faux-military group? While I don’t have an answer to that, I fully admit to buying into it at the time. Fortunately, I’ve grown as a person—and so has the RKC.

Punishment swings, carries, and taking the kettlebells to the bathroom haven’t happened in years, and that’s a testament to the growth and evolution of the RKC. Due to the continued efforts of the entire RKC leadership team, we are purposefully blazing a new path. The NYC RKC is exactly the type of event I would want to attend. The new RKC community is exactly the type of group where I want to be a member.

Education comes first, not intimidation or fear. From a psychological standpoint, the former style of intimidation does bring a certain amount of respect to the material and the course. However, I think there are better ways to achieve the same effect.

The participants at the RKC workshop we held at Catalyst SPORT were an incredibly diverse and open-minded group. This group included local coaches, enthusiasts (like I was at my first RKC), a pack of DVRT instructors, and people who had previously certified with a different group who wanted to see what we were teaching. Josh Henkin and I quickly set the tone for the weekend. People came in nervous and scared. After all, we still have the snatch test, and we still work hard—we’re just not jerks about it! We do our best to get people to relax so they can focus on the material, instead of just thinking about the five minutes of snatches.

Our hosts and assistant instructors, Jason Kapnick, Joe Boffi and Kathy Dooley were stellar as well. All of us freely answered any questions and delivered tips, cues and suggestions without ego or intimidation. We used to wonder why people used to be afraid to ask questions… well the old days of 100-swing punishments may have had something to do with it! But, this RKC weekend was all about the candidates, not about us. In return, the attendees gave so much more back to us. There was so much heart in the room—it was honestly emotional!

I never assume myself to be the best coach in the room. And if I am the guy who knows more about kettlebellsin the room, that doesn’t make me better than anyone else. All the attendees registered, paid and spent their time to be there. So, I’m going to deliver a positive experience and do my best to show them why I love the RKC.

I know that I am not alone in this, the RKC is more than a system, more than an organization, and more than a team. We are a family.

We are the new RKC.

I’m very proud to be a part of this change. John Du Cane, the entire leadership team, and all the new RKCs are part of our progression. I want to thank everyone for their role in our growth. It’s exhilarating to see it happen. The RKC has evolved and so have I.

Sign up for a course near you.

I hope to see you there.

-Fury

***

Steve “Coach Fury” Holiner’s superhero headquarters is Mark Fisher Fitness in NYC. Fury’s a Senior RKC, a DVRT Master Chief, and an Original Strength Instructor. He is available for classes, semi-privates, instructor training and programming at MFF. Check out coachfury.com, facebook.com/coachfury Instagram@iamcoachfury and Twitter @coachfury for more info.

THE BIRTHDAY GIFT

*On October 21st (Back to the Future Day), I turned 43. Double legal plus! I was deeply touched by all of the calls, texts, messages and social media posts I received that day. I'm humbled that so many people took a moment to think of me.

Below is an incredible birthday message I received from a former student of mine. I don't share this to brag. I share this as an example of why I do what I do.

This is the power coaches have when we focus on the work and not image or ego. The message here also shows the value of investing in a good coach versus winging it in a gym.

Please take a moment to read:


Steve.

My birthday gift to you is actually feedback and a progress note of something that you did for me. You drilled paying attention to form into me and with my injury list. Quality over quantity is my mantra.

Over a year without upper or lower back injury (for the first time in 20 years). Shoulder is never going to be 100%, but it is stronger and injury-free and I'm back to pull-ups. I keep to simple stuff: pushups and planks, pull-ups and hanging planks, swings, cleans, crawls, squats, lunges, deadlifts. All while remembering your cues.

My main recent accomplishment was at a GORUCK Challenge a few weeks ago. After covering multiple miles, carrying heavy shit and getting smoked doing calisthenics for nearly 12 hours, our last task was to cover a mile. That mile was split between bear crawls, walking lunges and buddy carries, with rest breaks for overhead presses and pushups. To further break it down, exercises for roughly half a mile, buddy carries for the other half. It was a constant rotation and it took a long time (about an hour), so it's not a straight crawl, lunge, carry, but still very hard. The biggest thing for me was the buddy carry. Half a mile split with a partner: I carry him, he carries me, so quarter mile per person. While this is something that's not that hard to accomplish for some, it's a big deal and a benchmark for me. I carried a 195lb dude, plus his 40lb pack, plus my 40lb pack for total of quarter of a mile.

To borrow a saying from one of the GORUCK event cadre, "Nobody cares what you can do when you are fresh". After being beat for almost 12 hours, I kept my mind focused and kept my form. Your coaching gets full credit for my performance.

Thank you. Happy Birthday.

Keep doing what you're doing.

-D.G.

DVRT BLOG: READY. SET. CRUSH!

By Steve “Coach Fury” Holiner

Master DVRT, Senior RKC, OS Instructor, MFF Tattooed Menace

 

*This article is for the enthusiasts out there. If I can do this, anyone who cares can.

Five years ago I signed up for my first certification with DVRT Ultimate Sandbag creator Josh Henkin. The cert was a birthday present to myself. At the time, I was simply excited to become proficient with Ultimate Sandbags. I had zero idea of the impact that course would have on my professional and personal life. 

Here’s a bold statement: 

If you like how I coach or write, it is because of what I got out of that innocent one day.

Truth!

That first cert (then called LIFT) occurred just as I was transitioning from an enthusiast to a professional. Whether I was using Ultimate Sandbags or not, DVRT became the backbone of my work as a strength coach. Henkin melted my face off with his approach on movement over muscles and thoughts on progressive overload. Not a new concept to many, but I definitely learned how poorly applied it was! 

Here are THREE KILLER THINGS you should know about DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training.

1. DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training is a fully realized, yet easy to understand, strength training system. Send me a person and I’ll find the right DVRT movement for that individual. We can meet anyone where they’re at. We can make anyone stronger. 

2. Through our approach on movement and the use of living weights we focus on building strength inside and out. DVRT looks to build stability and reflexive strength in addition to high tension techniques. We create real 3D real world strength.

Doesn't get any more real than on the farm with Coach Anderson!

3. Hey, gear costs money and Ultimate Sandbags have a huge return on investment. Since we’re not solely load based, you can get a lot of usage from a single Ultimate Sandbag. 

Hopefully, I’ve got you pretty pumped on Ultimate Sandbag Training right now. What’s the next step? Brothers and sisters, find a DVRT Workshop or Certification near you. Like Professor X, Henkin has assembled an uncanny leadership team to teach these courses. Spending a day or two learning from one of our Master Instructors will be money well spent. Heck, you can see what it did for me. Always remember, I was one of you, I was a fan first. 

You can find a course near you at HERE

Worried that there isn’t a course coming up yet, or you’re still on the fence about what to do next? No problem. Fury’s got your back. 

Here’s a simple (not easy) workout that I put together with fellow DVRT Master Instructors Sean Kim, Dio Vujich and Larisa Lotz. We call it READY. SET. CRUSH! While some workouts may seem random, this one has very specific purpose. The intent is to get you on your way to owning the DVRT essentials and help you be workshop/cert ready. Here it is. 

READY. SET. CRUSH!

1) Clean and Press x8

2) Bent Over Row x5 to Front Loaded 1 1/4 Squat x5

3) Max Lunge x5 per side

4) Iso Pull x:05 hold per side

Minimum :60 Rest
3-5 rounds

Spend some time with this and I assure you it will make your workshop or certification experience a brighter place. 

If it feels like I’m pushing hard for you take a course, it’s because I AM!

DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training is the center of all things Fury. I want you to experience the power of it and nothing beats hands on experience. 

Give the workout a shot and let me know what you think. 

Keep an eye out for the next evolution of Ready. Set. Crush. The full four day a week CERT KILLER program is coming!

Thanks for the read!

 -Fury 

SELLING THE STRENGTH EXPERIENCE.

By Steve “Coach Fury” Holiner

MFF's Godzilla Geek, Master DVRT, Original Strength Instructor and Senior RKC.

*This is the start of a new series of "FURY FOR COACHES" blogs aimed directly at helping fitness professionals. 

We are teachers. We are salespeople.

Teaching’s the rewarding sexy part. Selling is usually the stress and conflict inducing side of things. That feeling of sales anxiety is really based on our perception of sales and the act of “selling.” If you dread it, change your perspective and see if that helps.

I have a visual effects and advertising background. I learned to hate the notion of sales over the years. The main reason was that while I fully supported the companies I worked for, I could rarely back the products sold in the commercials we worked on. Those feelings of unease remained attached to my notion of selling until I learned to love what I do.

You see I love strength training, DVRT, Mark Fisher Fitness, the RKC and Original Strength. Most importantly, I love helping people. My grand victory in life would be to share those passions with as many people as possible. Did you read the key word there? SHARE. Getting people to register for courses is my way of having the ability to share what I love on a bigger scale than I can in classes, semi-private or personal training. I am a ripple. I can only train so many people in a day, week, month or year. On the other hand, if I can teach hundreds of other trainers and enthusiasts to do what I love, that ripple becomes a mighty tsunami of strength.

Sharing equals Selling. Selling equals Sharing.

Sharing is a significantly more positive concept to embrace. Yes, there will be a financial transaction. Think of the cost of a course (or your training) as a life necessity that enables you to continue sharing. We are experts in our field with limited time. The cost involved by someone buying our expertise is what makes all of this possible.

Now just what are we selling?

We’re selling an experience, based upon the systems we love and believe in. Please read that previous sentence again. If you don’t love and believe in what you teach, stop now. You’re still a fantastic human being but it’s time to reevaluate the path your on. Selling and teaching courses is a ton of work and a waste of time if you’re not fully invested in the material. Your bosses and the attendees will pick up on this.

Let’s talk about the course experience.

“The purpose of a pitch isn’t necessarily to move others immediately to adopt your idea. The purpose is to offer something so compelling that it begins a conversation, brings the other person in as a participant, and eventually arrives at an outcome that appeals to both of you.” –Daniel Pink. To Sell Is Human.

Pink’s approach to selling was a game changer for me. The best part of courses is the hands on participation. The attendee gets to learn and train directly in something that we already know they have an interest in. How far they take that interest will depend greatly on their experience at the course. The sharing/selling doesn’t stop at the point of registration. That is only the beginning. This is why it so necessary to believe in what you do. You must be authentic in how you represent the material. You must be authentic in how you represent yourself.

Please take Allan Jason Pasco for an example. Allan is a wonderful guy and software developer from New Jersey. He’s also a dedicated strength enthusiast. Allan took a DVRT Workshop with me over a year ago. That workshop was a small group and I was sure that each attendee got plenty of personal attention.

Through that, Allan and I stayed loosely in touch on Facebook. Based on his experience with me as the coach and respect earned at the course for Josh Henkin’s material, Allan registered for an RKC with us. This is completely different material but he trusted in Josh and I to deliver another great experience. When his RKC was over, Allan wanted more and he signed up for a DVRT Level 1 with me. This isn’t a brag about me, but an example of how delivering a memorable experience will surpass the content at the course. People will not leave a workshop remembering everything you taught them.

They will remember you.

A software developer from Jersey has spent thousands of dollars and several days of his time away from his family to learn with me. I find that incredibly humbling. That is the goal for all of us. We teach to grow the tribe. We sell to grow the tribe. We share to grow the tribe.

That is how we build our community.

Thanks for the read.

-Fury

Steve “Coach Fury” Holiner’s superhero headquarters is Mark Fisher Fitness in NYC. Fury’s a Senior RKC, a DVRT Master Chief, and an Original Strength Instructor. He is available for classes, semi-privates, instructor training and programming at MFF. Check out coachfury.com, facebook.com/coachfury Instagram@iamcoachfury and Twitter @coachfury for more info.

THE BEST THINGS YOU AREN'T DOING WITH YOUR KETTLBELLS

by JOSH HENKIN on OCTOBER 14, 2015

Senior RKC Steve Holiner Squats with mis-matched double kettlebells

Recently, I had a blast teaching the first RKC in Sacramento, California. We had a fantastic group of people—coaches who wanted to learn. We are all coaches, even if that simply means we are coaching ourselves. When I teach RKC Workshops, my goal is not just to teach people great technique, but I also teach why we do what we do. The RKC method is a powerful functional fitness system because of the deeper understanding we have with our drills, along with our detailed techniques.

Is all this information really that important? Isn’t it just about having a great kettlebell swing? While the answers to those questions are ultimately up to the individual, the old saying, “knowledge is power” still holds true. The knowledge from an RKC Workshop gives so much more power and value than most people expect. Each time we teach the deeper explanations behind “just” another clean, swing, snatch or squat variation, it is exciting to see everyone’s eyes light up.

The best part is the realization that powerful results don’t require complicated applications. Using two different sized kettlebells for double kettlebell drills is a wonderful example. Of course using mismatched kettlebells can simply be a way to perform double kettlebell drills when only a few kettlebells are available, but there is also a better reason to train with them: setting up progressions for RESISTING rotation. Many coaches also refer to this as anti-rotational training.

Before we get into the details of anti-rotational training, we should acknowledge that you may already be using some forms of it. Snatches, one-arm swings, presses, and cleans all represent anti-rotational movements. Renegade rows, suitcase carries, and other similar drills are additional variations of anti-rotational movements. Overall, I think one of the BIGGEST benefits of kettlebell training is the number of anti-rotational exercises that can be performed.

According to renowned physical therapist Shirley Sahrmann, anti-rotational training is important because, “During most daily activities, the primary role of the abdominal muscles is to provide isometric support and limit the degree rotation of the trunk… A large percentage of low back problems occur because the abdominal muscles are not maintaining tight control over the rotation between the pelvis and the spine at the L5-S1 level.”

Learning to resist movement decreases the risk of back injury and allows us to move through the hips—the way the body was designed to move. The ability to resist excessive motion also gives us a foundation to progress and learn more complex movements over time. The first and foremost of these more complex motions is rotation. As many coaches have said, “We can’t produce what we can’t resist first.”

Rotational training is really important for punching, kicking, throwing, and almost anything which requires a great deal of power.

With so many different anti-rotational exercise options available with kettlebells, why choose mis-matched kettlebell training? First, it gives us many more progression possibilities. Secondly, it will allow us to introduce the concept of anti-rotation very gradually. Most people struggle when complex ideas are taught in an overly aggressive way. Lastly, mis-matched kettlebells will make some of our classic exercises that much smarter!

Implementation

Instead of just throwing some random weights together, we will start sensibly. This will allow us to meet an individual client’s needs, as well as easily see when they have hit their limit. In general, I find starting with a 4kg difference works well for most people. For example, a good starting place might be performing mixed kettlebell front squats using a 16kg and 12kg.

Next we’ll need a dowel rod, chalk line, or mat line for measurement on the ground. It will give us some important feedback. During a mis-matched kettlebell exercise, we will predominately watch the front and back of the movement to see if the trunk or hips are moving in rotation, or leaning. Many times, the trunk and pelvis will hold still, but the feet will move to compensate for the instability applied to the body. So, placing the a dowel rod along the toes, or lining the toes up to the edge of a chalk line or edge of a mat will provide quick and easy feedback. How much movement of the feet should we allow? My rule of thumb is “really technical”, if you actually need a tape measure to determine the amount of movement, then you are doing fine!

Remember, you will be switching sides, so keep that in mind when programming. The easiest solution is to use even numbered sets and just switch off on each set. However, if we use an odd number of sets, we will typically perform half of the set with the weights one way and switch halfway through.

Progression

You probably guessed that the most obvious way to progress is to add more weight… While that is true, I actually find that increasing the difference between the two kettlebells is even better. For example, if we are doing front squats and start with 16kg and 12kg kettlebells, we have a total load of 28kg. If it goes well and we want to increase the challenge, instead of just going heavier (which we still could do), we might try the same front squat with a 20kg and an 8kg kettlebell. Even though the total weight is the same, the larger weight difference between the kettlebells increases the challenging anti-rotational effect.

Another option is to change the position of the load. If we use this strategy with an exercise like a lunge, we can hold the load low by the hip and simply move the weight to the rack position, or finally overhead. That changing leverage will make anti-rotational challenge harder and harder. Keep in mind, during more unstable drills like single leg deadlifts, step-ups, and lunges, the anti-rotational forces are more difficult due to the instability of the movements.

The overall goal is to eventually move to true single arm exercises. If you have been around kettlebell training long enough, you will probably notice that as simple as one-arm exercises sound, getting people to do them really well is not so simple.

On the other hand, it is also a really cool way to making jump towards heavier loads. For example, double 32kg swings might just be out of reach. But, swings with a 32kg and a 24kg might be very possible. While the weight is quite a bit lighter, working on resisting the rotational forces will not only allow us to build upon heavier loads, but build a stronger and more stable foundation.

As we often say in DVRT, strength is not just what we lift, but what we resist. Try using some of these mixed match kettlebell ideas in your training and let us know how your kettlebell training takes another leap!

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Josh Henkin, Master RKC, CSCS has been a RKC instructor since 2003 and has implemented kettlebell programs for major Division I programs, SWAT teams, and many different general fitness programs. Josh is also the creator of the DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training system where he is a highly sought after presenter worldwide. He can be reached at info@ultimatesandbagtraining.com or http://DVRTFitness.com. Josh Henkin is also the author of DVRT, The Ultimate Sandbag Training System now available in paperback and ebook format.

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