KB Technique Workshops Nov. 15th in Seattle

This is Mikhail (Misha) Marshak demonstrating a One Armed Jerk with a 32kg/70# KB at one of our KB Technique workshops

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There will be a Beginners Level and an Intermediate Level workshop at Level 4 CrossFit in Seattle on November 15th.

The Beginner workshop will be focused on learning the Kettlebell Sport swing (one handed), the clean, the press and push press. The jerk and the snatch will be introduced, but the focus will be on mastering the aforementioned basics. Many unique and time tested drills will be shown and explained.

The Intermediate workshop will focus on the Long Cycle Clean and Jerk, with 1 and 2 KBs, the competitive snatch, and the 2 KB Jerk. You will learn many fine points of technique and training, things that will put you on the road to mastering these lifts. Detailed training programs and assistance lifts will be covered.

These workshops will be taught by myself and Mikhail (Misha) Marshak, who is an expert Competitive Kettlebell lifter from Moscow, who moved to the Seattle area two years ago. He trained under World Champion and highly decorated Coach and Trainer Sergey Rudnev. Misha brings a huge amount of training knowledge and technique experience to each workshop.

You can see a short video of Misha lifting during his competitive days in and around Moscow on the YouTube clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDYAb0tkMQk

The Beginners Workshop from 12 noon until 2:30 pm, $70 cash or check.
[$60 for members of Level 4 CrossFit.]

The Intermediate workshop will be from 3pm to 5pm. $50 cash or check.
[$45 for members of Level 4 CrossFit.]

Directions to Level 4 can be found at www.crossfitseattle.com

Any questions? Email me at kbfiremantom@yahoo.com

Intro to Kettlebells Class on 1/19

[the picture above is of Lance Armstrong swinging a KB. I know how serious Lance is about training, so if he has added KBs to his fitness regime, you want to consider trying them out, too.]

Misha and I will be putting on an Introductory Kettlebell class at Local's Gym in Lynnwood on January 19th. It will be from 7:30 until 9pm and the special discounted price is $20. We will just cover a few exercises, but you will get a good sense of what KB lifting is like, and see what it can do for you.

Go to www.localsgym.com for directions. It is east of I-5 just off 196th street.

Look forward to seeing you there!

Beginning Kettlebell DVD for sale

For those interested in kettlebell training for general fitness, I have made a DVD which covers all you need to know to get started. It covers the basic moves and variations, safety guidelines, training tips, a complete warm up, and examples of kettlebell circuits and training. I also cover Frequently Asked Questions and have added a bonus section on the Kettlebell Snatch.

The DVD can be purchased for $20 at www.bluecollarfitness.com , under the section "Buy Kettlebell 101". You are directed to PayPal, but you can buy it with just a credit card, you don't have to have a PayPal account. 

A highlight of this DVD can be found on YouTube. Go to the site and put "kettlebell + corrigan" in the search function and you'll find video of the promo and others of me lifting KBs.

New KB Technique Workshops this Fall

There will be two upcoming beginner and two intermediate level KB Sport Technique workshops happening this Fall. The Beginner workshop will be focused on learning the swing, clean, press, jerk and snatch. The Intermediate one will focus on the Long Cycle Clean and Jerk, with 1 and 2 KBs, the competitive snatch, and the 2 KB Jerk. You will learn many fine points of technique and training, things that will put you on the road to mastering these lifts. Detailed training programs will be covered.

These workshops will be taught by myself and Mikhail (Misha) Marshak, who is an expert Competitive Kettlebell lifter from Moscow, who moved to the Seattle area last year. He trained under World Champion and highly decorated Coach and Trainer Sergey Rudnev. Misha brings a huge amount of training and technique experience to each workshop.

The first will be at Level 4 CrossFit in Seattle, Sunday October 26th. Beginners Workshop from 10am until 1 pm, $75 cash or check. The Intermediate workshop will be from 2pm to 4pm. $50 cash or check. 

Directions to Level 4 can be found at  www.crossfitseattle.com

The second set of workshops will be at Local's Gym in Lynnwood, Saturday November 8th. Beginners from 11am until 2 pm ($75) and Intermediate from 3pm until 5pm. ($50).

Directions to Local's Gym can be found at www.localsgym.com

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I strongly suggest that if you have attended one of my beginning workshops, you should consider attending one or both if you really want to improve your results with Kettlebell training. If you have practiced and trained a bit, the intermediate workshop would be the best. If you need a refresher and/or haven't been doing KB Sport technique as much, you should come in for the beginner class again. There will be a $10 discount for repeat customers.

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To sign up, please email me at  kbfiremantom@yahoo.com  and be sure to put "Kettlebell" in the subject line of your email. If you can't make either of these dates, there is a good chance we can add some this Winter, so you can request to be put on my mailing list to be told about upcoming events. I am also available for small group training, and I can bring the KBs to wherever works for you.

Thanks for attending my recent workshops

[ In the the picture above I am commenting on the Rack position of Mikhail Marshak, who is a Russian Kettlebell Master of Sport (equivalent to All-American status) who recently moved to the Seattle area from Moscow. He assisted me at all my KB Sport technique workshops in November and December. The picture was taken by Fran Mason of Level 4 CrossFit in Seattle.]


I just wanted to thank everyone who attended one (or more) of my kettlebell workshops this Fall. I was very impressed by the attention and effort put in by everyone. A lot of information was covered and I hope you are all progressing with your personal fitness goals. Please feel free to email me with any questions you may have. If you weren't able to attend, please stay tuned for upcoming events.

This Spring I will be doing some more workshops, but in the meantime I will be focusing on my "Safe Lifting Practices" program for firefighters. I am currently working with Fire District 1 in Snohomish County, and have been approached by a few other departments. If you are interested in the program, please send me an email with "Firefighter Training" in the subject line.

KB Sport Technique Workshops on Nov 11th and 18th

I will be putting on two KB Sport technique workshops on Nov. 11th (at Level 4 CrossFit, on Leary Way) and on Nov. 18th (at NWCrossFit, near Green Lake). There will be two different workshops each day; the first will be from 10am to 1 pm., and the second will be from 2pm to 5 pm.

NOTE: while there are Seattle Seahawks football games on both days, both games start around 5:30pm.

I will be covering the KB Sport Swing, Clean, Press, Push Press, Jerk, Snatch and Long Cycle Clean and Jerk. I will also cover information on training for fitness as well as progressions for competition.

All these techniques work great for not only competitive KB lifting, but also for endurance and strength endeavors. The fitness benefits obtained from high rep KB lifting are enhanced by using techniques that are easier on your joints and callouses, but push your strength-endurance to a new level.

Please send me an email at kbfiremantom AT yahoo.com , and I can send you more detailed information, and a flyer for the event.

Kettlebell Workshops in Oct. and Nov.

Been very busy getting my DVD "KB FIRE" out to the general public, and it is featured at Dragondoor.com . At that site they have a complete breakdown of the chapters, a preview, and there's an article on firefighting and kettlebells in the article section.

I will be having a couple of KB workshops on both October 20th and November 11th. There will be two beginner sections and one intermediate section each day. The October classes will be at a new CrossFit affiliate gym in Lynnwood, on 196th st., just East of the Freeway. The November classes will be at Level 4 CrossFit, which is an offshoot of the CrossFit North CF affiliate, led by Dave Werner.

To sign up, please send me a email at kbfiremantom AT yahoo.com , and be sure to put "KB workshop" in the subject line of your email. I will be sending out more details soon, but the classes will be 2+ hours. If you can swing, clean, press, and squat the KB fine, consider taking the Intermediate class, which will cover the snatch, jerk, double KB drills and other exercises.

Fun with a Heart Rate monitor...

[ The picture above is from a Russian KB website, and it shows how to do the Snatch "Old-School", in which you lower the KB down to your shoulder after you finish locking it out. This is now called the Half Snatch.]

Decided to do some KB training with a Heart Rate monitor on, basically doing some "sprint" sets. Went with Long Cycle Clean and Jerks with a pair of 35#/16kg KBs, and Snatches with a single 35#/16lg KB. Decided to go 5 minutes on each and see how high my HR would go, and what my average HR would be for the 5 minutes.

Did a quick 45 second warm-up with the HR monitor on, then go right into the LC set, and ended up doing around 58 reps. Averaged 167 Beats per Minute, which is around 95% of my predicted HR Max at 42 years old. Without the 45 second warm-up, it may have been around 170+ BPM.

Took a five minute break and then did a set of snatches with a 35# KB, going as fast as I could with good from. I went 30 R in minutes 1 and 3, 30 L in minutes 2 and 4, and finished the last minute with 15R and 15L. Average HR was 173 BPM, and by the end of minute 5, my HR was 183, which is 103% Max HR. Within 2 minutes my HR was down to 122 BPM, which is an indicator of good heart conditioning ( a drop of over 60 BPM at the 2 minutemark following exercise.).

Finished off my workout with some "Tempo Presses" done Tabata-style (20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest, repeated 8 times). The first 4 sets I did with the 53#/24kg KB - 15 R, rest, 15 L, 14R, rest, 14 L, rest. Then did sets of 15 with the 35#/16kg KB on the last 4 sets, doing 15 reps on each set.