10 Tips for Flawless Squattin’

By Mike Robertson

Originally posted at www.t-nation.com

You’ve heard it a thousand times. To get big and strong, ya’ gotta’ squat. But how many of you are doing it right? The squat isn’t as complex as a clean and jerk, but whether you’re a competitive powerlifter or just the basic trainee trying to put some size on your wheels, paying attention to some of the details of the lift can pay huge dividends.

Let’s take a closer look at how to squat properly, then discuss some common problems and how to fix them.

No More Ugly Squats!

The key to the squat, like all exercises, is to perform it consistently with flawless technique. If you really strive to have perfect technique all the time, you’ll not only add pounds to your lifts, you’ll also decrease your chances of injury.

But what is perfect technique? I’m going to give you what I consider to be the ten most important tips to improving your squat technique.

1) Hands In

Bringing the hands in on the bar can really help those who get “caved over” when squatting. When I say caving over, I mean when the shoulders roll forward, the chest is no longer up, the low back rounds, or a combination of all of these. (Obviously we don’t want you to be totally upright, but excessive lean isn’t conducive to squatting big weights, either.)

By bringing your hands in closer to your shoulders, your upper back and traps “bunch up,” so to speak. Not only does this help give you a nice shelf to set the bar on, but it also activates the synergists in the upper back, creating an extension force that helps keep you more upright and your chest from caving in.

Obviously, this is limited by the flexibility in your wrists/forearms, anterior deltoids and pecs. As you work to get your hands in closer, do so gradually over the course of several workouts. Even if it’s just a finger-width closer each workout, it’s going to make a profound difference in your posture.

2) Back Together and Tight!

Once you have your hands in nice and tight, think of pulling your shoulder blades back and together, squeezing as hard as possible. This will again help to “bunch up” your upper back and give you that nice shelf to rest the bar on. If you’re skinny or don’t have a lot of meat on your upper back, this can really make squatting more comfortable. Set the bar on top of this muscle shelf and you’re ready to rock.

If your upper back isn’t very developed, you’d be well-served to put some beef on this area. Exercises to help develop your upper back include Olympic pulls, cable rows to the neck or face, and prone shrugs.

3) Comfortable Stance with Toes Out Slightly

Once you’ve unracked the weight and are getting set-up, you want to set your feet with a comfortable stance. Those with longer legs and shorter torsos (dolicomorphs) will probably prefer a slightly wider stance, while those with shorter legs and longer torsos (brachiomorphs) are usually more comfortable with a narrower stance. Find something that suits you and stick with it.

Toe position is something that can be argued with regards to pointing the toes straight forward or out slightly. Usually those with a closer stance prefer pointing the toes straight forward, while those with a wider stance need to toe out more. When you squat with a very wide stance and point the toes forward, it’ll be very hard to go deep with the weight. Beyond that, you might have some balance issues as well. Toeing out more can usually solve 99% of the depth issues seen with wide-stance squats.

4) Weight Balanced

While you may not realize the importance of having your weight balanced on light warm-up sets, it’s extremely important to develop the right groove from the start. The weight should be balanced over the mid-foot or shifted slightly towards the heel. Again, comfort is most important here. You want to find a technique you’re comfortable with and that will allow you to move the heaviest iron possible.

Keep in mind that if you get the weight too far towards the heel you’ll fall over backwards and lose coolness points. Also, if the weight gets shifted towards your toes you’ll get rounded over. Neither is conducive to moving heavy weights or your general health!

5) Chest Up, Low Back Tight

This is an extremely important point to remember. Not only will it help your squatting form, but it’ll also aid in keeping your low back healthy. I refer to this as the “muscle beach” effect, where you try to stick your chest out and up. If a beautiful member of the opposite sex walked past you on the beach, you’d want to have great posture and exude your astonishingly high levels of self-confidence, right?

Before you squat, really work to “puff” the chest out and elevate the rib cage. Not only will this help you keep your chest up throughout the set, it’ll help you set a nice arch in your lower back.

For the full list of ten go to    http://robertsontrainingsystems.com/articles/10+Tips+for+Flawless+Squattin%27/

Check out his DVDs

 This article is by Charles Staley from http://www.staleytraining.com/

1) Not training for strength:

Many martial artists feel that strength training is counter-productive, causing one to become too large and slow, despite the fact that in every other sport known to man, it makes athletes faster. Training like a bodybuilder (see mistake number 3) can certainly produce these undesirable effects, but properly designed strength training programs improve strength, speed, agility, endurance, and technical performance. Strength training should be viewed as a tool, the utility of which depends upon the context it’s used in.

2) Training for the wrong kind of strength:

Strength as a bio-motor ability has many expressions. All human movement requires strength, and for this reason, all athletes must concern themselves with developing their strength levels to the utmost. What many don’t know, however, is that there more types of strength than there are bogus ab-training gadgets on late-night info-mercials!

Here’s a partial list:

Maximal Strength: The amount of musculoskeletal force you can generate for one all-out effort. Maximal strength is your athletic “foundation,” but it can only be expressed in the weight room during the performance of a maximal lift. While only powerlifters demonstrate this type of strength in competition, martial artists need to develop high levels of maximal strength in every muscle group.

Relative Strength: This term is used to denote an athlete’s strength per unit of bodyweight. Thus if two athletes of different bodyweights can squat 275 pounds, they have equal maximal strength for that lift, but the lighter athlete has greater relative strength.

Competitive events which have weight classes depend heavily on relative strength, as do sports where the athlete must overcome his or her bodyweight to accomplish a motor task (such as a jump kick). Further, events which have aesthetic requirements (kata competition, for example) rely heavily upon the development of strength without a commensurate gain in bodyweight.

Strength can be developed through two very different means— by applying stress to the muscle cells themselves, or by targeting the nervous system. The former method is accomplished through the use of bodybuilding methods (repetitions between 6 and 12), and results in strength gains through an increase in muscle cross-section. The latter is accomplished through higher intensity loads (repetitions between 1 and 4), and increases in strength are the result of the body’s improved ability to recruit more of its existing motor unit pool.

For martial artists and other athletes who depend upon relative strength, bodybuilding methods should be used sparingly, unless a higher weight class is desired. Most strength training sessions should consist of high intensity, low repetition sets, which improve strength through neural adaptations rather than increases in muscle cross section.

3) Training like a bodybuilder:

My consultations with competitive martial artists reveal that bodybuilding is the predominant paradigm in today’s strength training world, at least in this country. But bodybuilding methods are designed to produce muscle mass, not strength. And while bodybuilders are strong, their relative strength is poor compared to other explosive strength athletes. These methods have some degree of utility for beginning martial artists as a means of attaining basic fitness, but after a year or so, they should be used sparingly, if at all.

4) Using insufficient intensity:

Most martial artists can relate to doing hundreds of pushups, sit-ups, and leg lifts in class, but as soon as you go beyond approximately 12 repetitions, the stimulus is too weak to favorably improve strength values. Think about it: as a martial artist, would you rather have the ability to perform weak techniques for hours on end, or the ability to deliver explosive, powerful techniques when it really counts? In training, you reap what you sow.

5) Lack of variation:

While many people realize that the training load must be progressively increased, few understand that the training stimulus must also be periodically be varied in order to prevent stagnation. Elite sprint coach Charlie Francis recommends changing the training program whenever there is a one week plateau in strength gains. Internationally acclaimed strength coach Charles Poliquin utilizes alternating phases of high volume with phases of high intensity in order to keep his athletes progressing.

Click here for the full list http://www.staleytraining.com/articles/charles-staley/2009/10-strength-mistakes-made-by-martial-artists.htm

His DVD

The following programs are designed to be used on the power station  using some of the additional equipment that you can get with it.

For these circuit you can go for time or reps. If these exercises are easy for you go for time, if they are hard go for reps. In most of these videos I’m using 5-6 reps for each exercise. You can use any of the circuits below to add into your workout, or combine 2 or 3 for your training session.

Perform 2-5 rounds for the circuits with 4 or 5 exercises. Perform 5-10 rounds for the circuits with 2 or 3 exercises. If your going for time you could use 45 work/ 15 rest, 30 work/ 30 rest or do 5 reps of each. Just do whatever is a good challenge when maintaining good form.

power station 

The following is an excellent article by Catherine Imes (America’s first Master of Sports) on how subtle differences in how you move and shift your weight when lifting kettlebells can have quite dramatic effects on lifting efficiency.

Potential Energy

Potential Energy is a term commonly used in physics. It basically means that an object has stored energy as a result of its position. I will illuminate an application of its use in Kettlebell Lifting in what some may find an unlikely place.

Potential Energy is a term commonly used in physics.  It basically means that an object has stored energy as a result of its position.  I will illuminate an application of its use in Kettlebell Lifting in what some may find an unlikely place.

Ideally, our resting positions utilize our skeletal systems.   We rest with the kettlebell on the hip of the hand, the elbow over the hip (iliac crest), and our weight is shifted more towards the heels at rest provided that we have worked on our flexibility.   We do this to take the stress off our muscles so that we may prolong our sets, but we do this for another reason; to maximize our potential energy.

When you are standing with the bells in the rack position, your weight is likely on your heels to support the bells.  This is also potential energy. The potential energy  exists because you will shift towards the balls of the feet to extend the knees.  If you are fluid (without pause) when shifting the weight, your first bump will be more powerful and will require less effort.  In essence, it creates a wave effect with the first bump: the energy doesn’t stop once you start shifting the weight and this potential energy is converted to kinetic energy; the energy of motion.

The same analogy can be drawn with the snatch.  At the back of the swing the weight will be on the heels, and the legs will be straight or close to straight, as the bell moves forward, the weight should shift to the balls of the feet so that you can extend the knees in a similar fashion as you would in the first bump in the jerk.  This “shifting” is energy and it is energy that you can use in conjunction with extending the knees. This will help you create a more powerful and effortless ascension.  Furthermore, it really reduces the chance that you will pull with your hand too early out of the backswing.  Therefore, it will stave off grip fatigue and reduce the chances of hand tears.

The key point is to be aware of this potential energy.  Shifting your weight from the heels to the balls of your feet creates this energy that can be utilized for a powerful first bump in the jerk, and much more effortless ascension in the snatch.

If you start the Jerk with bent knees before the first bump, then you’ve reduced the potential energy of the first bump.  The same thing can be said for the snatch.  If you don’t shift the weight to your heels at the back of the swing, then you won’t shift the weight back towards the balls of the feet as the weight swings forward.  Consequently, the timing with which you extend the knees to engage the legs will be less than optimal because you won’t take full advantage of the swing and the pendulum effect.

Awareness of your position, so that you have potential energy is very crucial to your success as a lifter.  The more I watch Valery Fedorenko and other elite lifters, and the more I practice,  I realize this potential energy concept is a huge piece in the lifting puzzle.   Beginning lifters stand to really benefit from the application of this concept.  It will help them immensely with their timing and execution.  They will become more powerful and athletic and will add reps to their sets.  Experienced folks, who are unaware or haven’t considered this concept,  may find an immediate boost in their power with little or no additional effort.

This “potential energy” concept as I have described in kettlebell lifting is applicable to athletics in general.   Weightlifters use it.  When an athlete like a football or soccer player quickly changes a direction they are using it.  I personally noticed that my speed and power with my kickboxing improved once I became aware of how to shift my weight.  The bottom line is that whether you are using Kettlebells to improve your conditioning and athleticism for your sport, or trying to improve you numbers in Kettlebell sport, paying attention to your potential energy can make a significant difference in your performance.

The following programs are designed to be used on the power station with minimal additional equipment and minimal adjustment of that equipment.

For these circuit you can go for time or reps. If these exercises are easy for you go for time, if they are hard go for reps. You can use any of the circuits below to add into your workout, or combine 2 or 3 for your training session.

Perform 2-5 rounds. Below I have prescribed 45 work/ 15 rest, but you could use 30 work/ 30 rest or do 15 reps of each. Just do whatever is a good challenge for you.

Full body Circuits

• 1a Sled push (on fat bar) 45 work/ 15 rest
• 1b Incline row (on fat bar) 45 work/ 15 rest
• 1c Conan’s walk 45 work/ 15 rest
• 1d dips 45 work/ 15 rest
• Rest 1 min

• 1a step ups (hight of base of knee cap) 45 work/ 15 rest (each side)
• 1b incline push up 45 work/ 15 rest
• 1c chin 45 work/ 15 rest
• 1d box jumps (hight of base of knee cap) 45 work/ 15 rest
• Rest 1 min

Upper body strength endurance circuit

• 1a 1 arm incline row 45 work/ 15 rest (change arms with each rep)
• 1b 1 arm incline push up 45 work/ 15 rest (change arms with each rep)
• 1c Chin ups neutral grip 45 work/ 15 rest
• 1d Dips 45 work/ 15 rest
• Rest 1 min

Lower body strength endurance circuit

• 1a Forward sled walk (rope needed) 45 work/ 15 rest
• 1b Backward sled walk (rope needed) 45 work/ 15 rest
• 1c Yoke walks 45 work/ 15 rest
• 1d Conan’s walk 45 work/ 15 rest
• Rest 1 min

Assess and Correct is a new two dvd set from Eric Cressey, Bill Hartman and Mike Robertson.

It’s a step up from their previous work Magnificent Mobility.  It is a more comprehensive toll than Magnificent Mobility because it creates an individual program for everyone.  It does this by having two parts, not surprisingly the “assess” and “correct” sections.

There are 27 assessments, mainly looking at muscle length and strength defects, which are a great screening tool.  If you fail any of the assessments, the “correct” dvd will help you fix it.  The “correct” dvd has 78 exercises/progressions designed to work specifically on any defects illuminated via the screening process.

There is no BS, just a short clip with two camera angles and a voice over with instructions and cues, then a written description.  This format allows them to pack in lots of good information in the 2 dvds, but there is a baseline knowledge that they assume you have.

Assess and Correct is ideal for a trainer who is looking for a new tool to help their clients feel and perform better.

To get your own copy of Assess and Correct please view this web page.

The following interview was done by Ice Chamber Coach Maya:

Master of Sport, Elena Viktorovna Yurysheva is from the Vologodskaya region in the city of Vytegra, Russia.  She is 25 years old and weighs between 60-61 kilograms.  Elena credits her coach, Vyacheslav Yakovlevich Ogarev, for helping her become one of the first women in the world to snatch the 24kg kettlebell over 120 times in competition.  Here are a few of Elena’s opinions on women’s participation in the sport and about her goal to break a world record this year…

Maya: Please tell us how you became involved in Kettlebell Sport.

Elena: I practiced a variety of sports, but in our small city it was only possible to achieve great success in kettlebell sport, and because of a strong coach!! We don’t have the possibility of doing some other kind of sport (not in gyms or in stadiums). And by nature I’m active and I’m more attracted to active sports.

Maya: What are some of your personal records?

Elena: Snatch 16 kg kettlebell – 220 times. Snatch 24 kg kettlebell 121 times!

Maya: What Championship titles do you hold?

Elena: World Champion and Champion of Europe

Maya: Tell us about your training regimen.

Elena: I try to train everyday for two hours, but it doesn’t always work.  I train alone because I train at home!

Maya: How do you feel about female kettlebell lifters performing jerks and participating in the Biathlon?

Elena: It’s very good that they are competing in the jerk and in the biathlon.  First of all, it’s interesting!  Secondly, there are more opportunities to prove oneself. Thirdly, because of the increase in the number of female athletes.  Whatever each person does better in, that is what they should compete in.

Maya: Do you perform jerks in training for the snatch?

Elena: Yes, I always do jerks in the training process. I jerk one and two 16 kg kettlebells and I also jerk 20kgs, but of course, just for a little bit.

Maya: Do you go to school or are you working?

Elena: I work at the city sports committee as a senior instructor-methodologist.  I don’t have any free time; I work more during my breaks and if it happens that I get free time, then I train!

Maya: What advice do you have for people just starting out?

Elena: Of course they need patience because they won’t get it right away and results don’t happen immediately!

Maya: What are your aspirations for the future?

Elena: To complete the standard for MSWC (Master of Sports World Class) although I have already completed it [in training].  …and to achieve a world record in my weight class!

Bands are not a new thing, but short bands offer a new and alternative way to use resistance bands. The micro resistance bands offer a simple and convenient way to perform warm ups/activation drills, improve form and increase the challenge of traditional exercises.

WARM UPS/ACTIVATION DRILLS

Micro resistance bands can be used for activation drills, which is a great addition to any warm up. Activation drills are an exercise that targets specific muscles to improve their performance or to help prevent injury during the work out. Once a muscle has been stimulated it will be easier to activate.

Common activation drills for the lower body are the supine bridge and the x-bands walks (walking side to side). Supine bridge works the hip extensors, but when you add the micro resistance bands to the movement you work the hip extensors, external rotators and the abductors. For walking drills you can have the short bands around your knees or ankles. If you have any knee issues putting the short bands just above them will reduce the stress on the knees. Having the bands around the ankles increases the resistance the bands create.

Wall walks can be used as an activation drill for the upper body. Have both arms inside the bands, fix one to the wall as the other moves. These movements are the most important: side to side thumb pointing in/ out and diagonally up focusing on squeezing your shoulder blade down and back. Thumb in uses rhomboid a little more, thumb out simulates middle traps more and diagonally works lower traps more.

IMPROVING FORM

Micro resistance bands can be used to create good habits or reinforce proper technique. A common error when beginners are leaning to squat is their knees drop in. You can use the band as a kinaesthetic queue to teach them to fight against the pull of the band to improve their knee alignment. The same error can occur at the bottom of a squat in more experienced squatter when they are using maximal weight. This is more likely to be due to relative weakness in VMO and the glutes. In this case you could use the bands in conjunction with sub maximal weight to reinforce good squatting form and strengthen the appropriate muscle groups.

Micro resistance bands can also be used to improve pressing form. Placing the bands around your wrist is a great kinaesthetic queue to teach someone to press with proper upper body alignment, rather than arms out to the side.

INCREASING THE CHALLENGE

Adding the band to any exercise will stimulate more muscle because it adds another dimension to the resistance. For example the torch press with the power clubs and the bands around the wrist is a great exercise for shoulder strength and stability. At the bottom of the movement your elbows are at 90 degrees, wrists inline with your shoulder resisting the pull of the bands, your rotor cuff muscle are very active in this position, they must work really hard to maintain good alignment as you press up.

Micro resistance bands will also help to work out imbalances, increasing the challenge to your weaker side. This happens because the stronger side will maintain its alignment and the weaker side will be pulled in, forcing the weaker side to work hard to maintain alignment and therefore increasing the challenge.

TRADITIONAL EXERCISES + Micro Resistance Bands

For more information about our full range of resistance bands and accessories please tap this link.

Power ropes are an excellent tool for fat loss and conditioning because you use your whole body with all of the exercises (see video below) .

Power ropes are ideal for interval training.  Most beginners struggle to maintain good form for 45 seconds, so start off with short intervals, tabata works well.

Tabata = 20 sec of work at high intensity, 10 sec off, for 8 rounds, total of 4 mins.

Ropes are also great in circuits.  In the circuit below one station out of 4 is power ropes. This would allow you to increase the work periods to 30-45 secs, rest 10-15 secs.

• 1a battling ropes
• 1b swings
• 1c clean & press
• 1d squats

When you’re a bit more advanced, you can increase the interval length or start using reps.

Alternatively, you can try using power ropes until you speed starts to drop off, at this point rest 1 min then repeat.  Start off with 5 sets, then try 25 mins resting as needed.

You can also use the rope as a one way cable machine. This can be done by wrapping it around a pole. The more time you go around a pole the harder it will be. This works really well for rowing movements.

Be aware of the surface your wrapping the ropes around as rough surfaces may damage the ropes.

Here are some rope and sled combo exercises that will give you a serious full body workout.

Ice Chamber Coach Maya interviews Valery Fedorenko :

Maya: Describe some aspects of your childhood that led you to Kettlebells.  Did you play any other sports or consider yourself athletic as a young man?

Valery’s Master of Sport Badge/ID from the Ministry of Sport Dept. USSR/Moscow

Fedorenko: I’m not sure I considered myself athletic when I was young. Actually I wanted to be strong and athletic, so I turned to kettlebells. I was an active kid but most of my friends were naturally stronger than I was, so it was some motivation to make this skin and bones into something. As for other sports, I did attempt acrobatics, doing flips, jumps and such until I broke my arm. I guess it wasn’t for me. I do remember having to work with a really weak left arm after the break, but even though it’s not my dominant arm, I made it equal or even better than my right with the kettlebell. It didn’t heal straight, but maybe it healed stronger, I don’t know. I also did some Martial Arts training and some Boxing. I just figured kettlebells were more healthy for the long term, and I’ve since realized it’s true.  Recently I reconnected with some of those guys that used to be stronger than I was. It was a shock for me to see them, but unfortunately some of them can’t even safely exercise they are in such poor health. There are a lot of things that contribute to such conditions, but I remember when they stopped being physical and active, it was about the time I considered myself just starting.

Maya: At what age and from which organization did you first earn Master of Sport in the Biathlon?  What were your numbers then?  How many years did it take you to achieve that rank?

Fedorenko: I was 16 yrs old when I did the required number of repetitions 45 Jerk and 45/45 Snatch, but when I was 17 I got the official paperwork from the Minister of Sport Department USSR/Moscow. Around that time my best was 68 reps Jerk and 55/55 Snatch, as well as 46 LongCycle at body weight of 68kg with 32kg kettlebells. I was a pale skin pink cheeked kid still [Valery laughs].  Actually from that point on I was practically doing Master of Sport numbers in the gym everyday because I began professional training then and had bigger goals, like Champion. This is when I started to get creative with my training. I felt like I knew nothing about kettlebells at that point, and I was right. I kind of “began” kettlebells when I was 12 years old, but it was not serious. Then I was more into juggling kettlebells and putting together routines with my friend for the girls in our building. It was like a show. I wasn’t thinking about Champion anything and didn’t even think about Master of Sport or understanding what it meant until 15 years old. So, I guess you could say it was a few years of training to get to Master of Sport, which I think with enough commitment and a good coach, anyone can do.

Maya: Many people do not know that you’re also ranked MS World Class in the Long Cycle.  How did you make the time to train for both Biathlon and Long Cycle?

Fedorenko: Everyone on the team would spend four months out of the year on LongCycle and eight months training for the Biathlon.  We competed together in the LongCycle one time per year between 1990 and 1996 so I trained for six years at the professional level.

At 75kgs, Valery had to compete against lifters 10 pounds heavier to become the 80kg World Champion and an Honored Master of Sport by the age of 20. “To get somewhere in life, to be Champion for example, I knew I had to pay the price.” -VF

Maya: I always thought you trained alone.  Please tell us more about your team.

Fedorenko: Yes, well, at first I was invited to live at the Olympic Development Center by the Minister of Sport Department of my country [Kyrgyzstan].  The Minister was an Olympic gold medalist in 1980 and he helped me a lot actually because I was able to study, train, and live there for one year with the other weightlifters and national athletes from other sports.  I took lots of classes and had to eat special food like them, but I was the only kettlebell lifter.  By 17 years old, I went on my own living in an apartment because I was paid by the government to train with kettlebells professionally.  The apartment was kind of like a special gift too.  The Mayor of my city invited me to live there after I won a few important competitions.  I wasn’t rich, but it was enough to get by.  I trained as a member of the national team with six other kettlebell lifters twelve times per week because we trained twice each day.  Three hours in the morning between 9 and 12 noon and then four hours in the evening from 5 to 9 o’clock, six days a week.  That’s what was different about training at the professional level; we were always together as a team.  It made training easier.  At home alone is not easy.

Maya: So you were training seven hours a day / six days a week before the age of 20.  How did you handle all of that responsibility as a young man?

Fedorenko: I clearly understood that I had to decide whether to go party, have fun OR go train.  I decided that first I had to become somebody.  I needed to get some titles and keep working hard.  After that, maybe, I figured I could have more fun, but I never worried about that really.  To get somewhere in life, to be Champion for example, I knew I had to pay the price.  I didn’t have to go anywhere; I didn’t have to drink or go to the night club to find out what I wanted and needed to do.  I had to have discipline with my schedule like 100% of the time.  That’s THE secret. [Valery laughs] Training needs to be stable.  It’s like 50% of your results actually.  A lot of people don’t realize that a stable training schedule is that important.

When I first moved out on my own as a teenager, my mom tried to surprise me by knocking on my door at 8 0′clock in the morning one day.  When she realized I wasn’t there, she got upset and went straight to the gym to give my coach a hard time, thinking I had not slept at home the night before.  But then my coach, Filikidis, told her that I was already five miles into my morning run!  [Valery laughs] You see, nobody controlled me.  I already had the discipline.  For sure, I was always in bed before 11 o’clock at night because I knew I had to train in the morning.  Not everyone can handle that lifestyle.  I think most World Champions are just not normal people.  You may see them happy and smiling on TV, but you have no idea how hard they are working everyday.  I’m thinking normal people naturally want to have more fun in life. [Valery laughs]

Maya: How does one earn an “Honored Master of Sport” rank? Are there many Honored MS ranks issued today? At what age did you earn the title?

Valery’s 1993 World Championship Gold Medal from Lipetsk, USSR

Fedorenko: Well, several things are considered, such as level and multiple champion in your sport. For example, Olympic Champion, World Champion, European Champion, National Champion and so on. I think that me being the first 80kg World Champion and having had very high results and records at a young age contributed to that decision. There are not many Honored Masters of Sport in kettlebell lifting in the history. The USSR took this title seriously, and I assume Russia does today. In fact, many Distinguished Masters of Sport are given for special contributions to various sports, but an Honored Master of Sport must be eared on the platform. You don’t even have to be Master of Sport to get the Distinguished MS Title. So, if Arnold Schwarzenegger comes to WKC Worlds in Chicago, I would present him with Distinguished Master of Sport without him touching the kettlebells, but he would have to train really hard for Honored Master of Sport [Valery laughs].  I was 20 and under when I did these performances that allowed me to be considered for this title and send in the application for processing, but 21 when they finished it. Don’t get me started on bureaucracy in the USSR then…

Maya: Please describe your most significant achievement.

Fedorenko: My most important achievement was realizing my goal of coming to the USA in 1999 and bringing the kettlebells to this country. Now, I just keep living this and want to do more and more.

Maya: What Personal Record are you most proud of?

Fedorenko: Snatch 110/110 with a 32kg kettlebell, because it’s still a respectable number even for Super Heavyweights today. But I was just 75kg when I did this.  I almost can’t believe this myself.  At 36 I look at young guys now and think about what I did at their age. I was an intense young man. I think I just didn’t know how impossible it was supposed to be, what I was doing.

Maya: Will you ever compete or attempt a world record again?

Fedorenko: For my personal ego or ambition, no, I have no feelings to compete or win now. I’m not too old, but I have a different goal. I want to popularize this kettlebell as one of the greatest fitness tools someone can choose. I like to coach other athletes too, and I like to feel free to give all my secrets so that their win is also my win and our organizations win. If this country needed me, for example if kettlebells became an Olympic Sport, I would go compete for Team USA if asked. I think I would need 8-10 months of hard training to get back to my past level, or even higher. I have an advanced program that I never got a chance to try.  So, if I didn’t make the team I’d for sure coach it!

Maya: Describe key areas that are unique to the WKC Rank System?

Fedorenko: Many people do not know that I was Vice President in the International Federation.  So when it came to developing a rank system, I considered all the things of the old system, both positives and negatives.  I used insight from my experience as athlete and board member to make a rank system that was safe, productive, and logical.

The USSR had, and Russia and other republics still do have, an abundance of 16, 24, and 32kg kettlebells. By way of system, they had to work with those kettlebell weights in their rank system. In the USA and now the rest of the world, we have produced in mass professional kettlebells in the same size and shape from 8kg up to 32kg, and actually up to 48kg. The WKC Rank System is actually more applicable to Kettlebell Sport. Our upper ranks are very similar to the standards of many Russian federations, but the lower ranks and the ranks of women are different. In the Russian federations relatively strong people who never touched a kettlebell before could have the strength for a pretty good rank. For example, they could have the strength to LongCycle 15 reps without any specific practice and get a mid level rank. This is not right.  It doesn’t reflect much power-endurance or skill in kettlebell lifting. Actually, some of these same people could not perform a lower rank which requires many more reps but with 24kg kettlebells, so the system does not follow logic.  Our rank system with World Kettlebell Club is easy to understand, has clear progression and is much safer. We basically have a target number of reps that is considered applicable to your weight-class, and you progress in rank by achieving those reps with the next kettlebell by 4kg increments. Men start with 12kg, and move to 16, 20, 24, 28 and 32, but target the same number of reps.

We also made some strides in Kettlebell Sport for women on several fronts. One is we added One Arm Jerk to the Snatch to make a Womens Biathlon. We also introduced One arm LongCycle so that women can choose a single, but complete exercise to contest. The Russian federations used just 16kg Snatch for women for the few years they allowed women to compete there. We saw right away when creating our rank system that 16kg was just not enough weight to hand out Master of Sport ranks, and it made judging practically impossible since women quickly surpassed the speed at which reps could be clearly fixated and counted. So, we moved the Master of Sport rank to 20kg. One of the Russian federations has moved the women to 24kg Snatch only, but this seems illogical and for sure premature. To make my point as to why is rather easy.  Just take Snatch since we have the most data with that lift and Russians are only allowing women to do that lift in competition. To date, just a handful of men including myself, maybe 5 or 6 have done over 100/100 reps with a 32kg Kettlebell. Hundreds maybe have done 90/90 reps, and thousands upon thousands have done 80/80 or so reps. To date, no women have done 100 reps each hand with 24kg Snatch. Actually, we have no women who have shown us over 100/100 reps with even 20kg. The absolute record for a woman with 24kg in Snatch is not more than 80 reps each hand, and that’s just ONE woman. A few others are close to that, but it is so far from the comparable class of men that it is a dangerous and ill-conceived notion. Should the sport for women be more leaning towards strength than endurance than it is for men? For the growth of the sport, we feel not. It should be as equal as possible. I urge any organization to reconsider that direction and adopt the 20kg for high level women until they have several who can do over 100 reps each hand with that weight. Still, we do not feel our rank system is set in stone either.  It will continue to be revised and updated based on records and statistics in the future.

Maya: Why do you believe in issuing a low-hand score?

Fedorenko: There are so many reasons why low-hand scoring has been chosen for WKC that it would be hard to explain all the intricacies here and now. Simply stated, I consider it more sophisticated, so therefore more rich. It’s healthier to balance the body. In bodybuilding, symmetry is valued for aesthetics. I believe for this Sport, balance should be valued just as highly but for fitness reasons. We consider this a Fitness Sport. That is, a sport that tests fitness on many levels and at many points, one of which is health. Basically, the more perfect the athlete is, the better they can perform. It’s good to train this way, and the rules you are required to contest by will dictate that training. It is my experience that it is possible to balance almost perfectly. If there is a problem with one arm then it reflects imperfection in your body and/or your training. For sport sake, it’s more tactical and more difficult to balance hands. You have to use your head to plan when to switch hands, and then have the mental fortitude to match that hand. If you do not have this responsibility, it takes away an element of the sport. Also, a more balanced athlete that has been competing with the low-hand score system can always go down to an unbalanced performance/meet, but an unbalanced athlete has a harder time coming up to a more challenging lowest-hand scoring system. In other words, it is lower level athletes or inexperienced decision-makers that could have a problem with low-hand scoring. It identifies weakness, and some don’t like that One does not have to look far in other sports that overuse or favor one arm like arm-wrestling or baseball where pitching creates a less than healthy situation sometimes. These sports do not claim or focus on health and fitness, which is fine, but we do. Besides, if someone wants to perform a feat of strength, they can show how strong their single arm is, and I’m ok with that. When organizing a sport to grow within the masses to have thousands and thousands compete for the same goal, one that has so many health benefits, it makes sense to me to have it in the rules to find and present the most healthy specimens.

Maya: What other lifters have matched or surpassed your total in the Biathlon?

Fedorenko: No one has beat my record under the same circumstances. The original Kettlebell Sport system required weigh-ins same day of the competition, just a few hours before sometimes. Now they have changed this and do it 24 hours or more before the performance. This allows otherwise heavier lifters to enter different categories. It’s equal for them now who are competing, but you can’t compare the records of old with these people in any category except Super Heavyweights. I was about 75kg most my professional career, but then we did not have a 75kg class for some reason. I competed with guys 10 pounds heavier than I was, and now they are comparing my record to guys that could be even 15 pounds heavier. Actually, then I surpassed even 90kg lifters, so that’s over 30 pounds difference. They also originally had the lowest-hand scoring on Snatch, so it was harder. I did 225 reps total (127 Jerk and 100/98 Snatch) which was only surpassed by Mishin who was over 100kg. I’m happy with my result and how it stands even with the looser rules of today in the Russian federations.

Maya: What contribution to Kettlebell Sport are you most proud of?

Fedorenko: I would say the creation of the American Kettlebell Club and World Kettlebell Club Systems. I’d love to coach more athletes, but what is more rewarding is having a system that allows us to instill good coaching and proper technique in others so they can go out and duplicate it in a geometrically progressive way. We take the many trainers who desperately need a safer and more productive way to use this so called “hot tool,” the kettlebell, and give them what they ask for.  It further filters down to more heavy duty coaches who need to enhance professional athletes of other sports, and then moves into the Kettlebell Sport enthusiast that wants the most from the kettlebell for themselves or those they wish to coach themselves. It’s really beautiful how it’s turning out. We can give ultimate fitness, ultimate performance, and even ultimate Kettlebell Sport results, all from the same system. So basically I am happy that a new way to finance the sport has been created by fitness, and all of them can get along, understand and respect each other.

Maya: List five of the greatest kettlebell lifters of all time:

Fedorenko:

1. Ivan Denisov
2. Fedor Fuglev
3. Sergei Mishin
4. Roman Mikalchuk
5. Fedor Usanko

Maya: What attributes do great lifters have in common?

Fedorenko: Patience and focus are big ones. I think great lifters must be eager to do well, but have to be patient to wait for it, and focus hard to achieve it. Without stability, a kettlebell lifter will not get far. A chaotic life or mind will not work after a certain level.  Sometime during the early steps of kettlebell sport lifting, a great athlete must become a fanatic for this sport. They cannot be in it for money because money can’t make you work this hard. I’m always happy to find that the greats are always humble. They talk about what they did, and they are proud of it, but they know that there is someone out there, many in fact, that have the same ambition, skill, capacity, reason etc. to do the same or better. When they meet their likes, they respect them because they know what kind of people they are. Arrogance has no place in this sport. I’m always aggravated by those who call out what they will do at some future date. When some inexperienced lifter calls out a feat that only 5 or 10 lifters have ever done, not even coming close in training, and then shows way less than what they “projected,” they disrespect those that did that level and themselves. I try to teach my students to keep ambition and dreams inside and in check until you achieve something. Make public announced estimates smaller than what you actually do on the platform. It’s a trait among all greats.

(The original post of this interview can be found at http://www.ickbgirls.com/valery-fedorenko-interview/)