Kettlebell Pentathlon - see what you are made of!

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The kettlebell pentathlon was designed by Valery Fedorenko in order to assess the strength and conditioning of participants. It is a paced event that has a fixed number of reps per exercise per time slot. 5 events are performed for 6 minutes with a 5 minute rest in between for a total time of 50 minutes.

The aim is to increase your overall score by increasing the weight you use for the exercises as the reps are fixed. Your score increases when you move up a kettlebell for some or all of the exercises as each weight has a corresponding number that creates your total score -

8kg - 1

12kg - 1.5

16kg - 2

20kg - 2.5

24kg - 3

28kg - 3.5

32kg - 4

36kg - 4.5

40kg - 5

44kg - 5.5

48kg - 6

So 120 cleans with the 16kg kettlebell would give you 240 points to your total. Go up to the 20kg next time and you will get 300 points and so on.

There is rumour that the table goes up to 72kg and it would be interesting to see this lifted for 6 minutes!

The exercises and reps per minutes are as follows -

Single arm clean - 20rpm

Single arm long cycle press - 10rpm

Single arm jerk - 20rpm

Single arm half snatch - 18rpm

Single arm push press - 20rpm

You can change hands as often as you wish, but cannot put the kettlebell down!

The rpm is the maximum reps. If you find you still had more in the tank then use a heavier bell. However, this tests how you deal with accumulated fatigue and a very brief relative recovery. You only have 5 minutes before you go again for what should be a near maximum effort. Performing too heavy on the first exercise will short change you for the remainder of the event so always go through the entire routine with a lighter weight to complete it and get an idea of how you perform based on the demands.

A video to explain the entire event is below -

The overall aim of the pentathlon is really to test yourself against the only real competitor that matters - yourself. Has your training improved you! It is also a great way to get a very different energy system workout compared to traditional GS with the biathlon and can be used for specific work capacity to develop a weaker event. Like anything, you get out what you put in and it could be personalised for whatever you are specifically training for with some imagination!

There is a rankings table so you can compare your superhero status and motivate yourself to get better -

For Men 

Low - less than 720

Average - 721 - 900

Good - 901 - 1080

High - 1081 - 1260

Extreme - 1261 - 1440

Superhuman - 1441 +

For Women

Low - less than 360

Average - 361 - 540

Good - 541 - 720

High - 721 - 900

Extreme - 901 - 1080

Superhuman - 1081 +

Have fun and feel free to post your scores below!

3/10/2012 - First Attempt 1320 points using 24/20/20/20/16 - really enjoyed it!

10/12/2012 - second attempt 1500 points using 32/20/20/20/20 - rank superhuman - very happy!

Video testing the power of search engines based on keywords in video

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Do not adjust your screen!

This is a search engine test - it does have half decent music :)

Video - 10 Tips to improve your kettlebell clean

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The kettlebell clean is always a technical exercise for people to learn so these tips should make it much easier for you!

UK Olympic Weightlifitng

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Weightlifting, or Olympic Weightlifting, is a fantastic sport both to watch and compete in. Not to mention the challenges is presents to the practitioner and explosive strength gains. As such, it is a common form of training for nearly all athletes that are looking to develop explosive power and strength that can be used effectively in the sporting arena.

The only downside of the sport is that it is possibly the only one that actually gets more difficult as you improve. With any other sport, an increase in strength, fitness, skill set and focus usually means you make it look easy. With weightlifting, every time you get a good lift the idea is to put more weight on the bar and so increase all of the aforementioned demands in order to replicate your success. Basically, it keeps getting more difficult as you progress.

For this reason you could probably survey thousands of people on a busy high street and not find one active weightlifter. The difficulty is reflected by the national level of participants and even those that train some variations of the lifts for sporting benefits will never compete as weightlifters.

So the sport needs a boost. London 2012 was an amazing opportunity to showcase many sports that people may have only heard of and had no previous idea of what was actually involved. Many sporting groups and governing bodies are attempting to embrace the legacy and help many sports grow. One of those directly influencing weightlifting in the UK is UK Olympic Weightlifting.

The main aims of this new company are as follows –

• ·         Increased participation in training and competition
• ·         Increased recognition of the sport
• ·         Forming a weightlifting community
• ·        Delivering knowledge and information through the internet and with events

The great thing about this website is that it is created by the people and for the people and many weightlifting coaches and cubs have already signed up and the articles are coming in to promote education and develop participation in the sport.

If you have ever had the slightest interest in weightlifting or would like to know more – even if you decided you wanted to give it a go and find a local club or professional coach then check them out by clicking the link below -

You can also find them here on Facebook -

https://www.facebook.com/UkOlympicWeightlifting

Kettlebell training and fat loss DVD

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Practical Kettlebell Training is a full instructional and workout DVD and still one of the few on the market that teaches how to properly train with kettlebells and provides you with several workouts to get the most from your training. The product is packed with 2.5 hours of information and used by fitness professionals as well as the general public for correct instruction of the these often unique movement patterns.

It is filmed in a split screen format to show you exactly what the body is doing from multiple angles and all of the 10 basic exercises are completely broken down with modifications so that they can easily be followed by poeple new to kettlebell training.

The first disc also has 2 minute timed sets on kettleblel sport and introduces the snatch, double jerk and long cycle clean and jerk so you can really test yourself. Advice is given on which weights to start with and also how to set up circuits for class based training.

The main thing about this DVD set is that disc 2 provides 7 timed workouts ranging from 5 to 15 minutes of full body training. You have the 5 minute swing test as well as the infamous 5 hit combo and then full body sessions to target every muscle group and improve your fitness. Most of these circuits also boost your metabolism and are axcellent for fat burning and weight loss. In fact, you can even combine sessions depening on your requirements and time avalable to train!

Amazon still regularly promote this product as it is one of their best selling fitness DVDs and always at, or near, the top of their listings for kettlebell DVDs. Thousands of copies have sold globally and many people have enjoyed the freedom of being able to take back control of their health and well-being with just 1 hour a week of consistent work. Just 20 minutes 3 times a week is enough to achieve lasting results.

After 1 week you will feel the difference

After 1 month you and your friends will see the difference

Many customers report losing up to 5kg per month just following the workouts on a regular basis and adapting to a healthy lifestyle.

It really is not that difficult and I wish you every success with your journey!

Simply click the image to buy direct from Amazon with free shipping - 100% secure and with our 100% cast iron guarantee!

The Strength Academy is live

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I almost forgot - just shows you how attention can be diverted!

The Strength Academy is finally live in the truest sense of the word - website done, fully tested, payment method implemented, products live and services booked in with several gyms that all have marketing material. Phew!

After viewing the new venue for the Foundry last week I immediately booked in 2 events. There is the standard kettlebell public workshops that shows people how to use the kettlebell properly and with some routine ideas so that they can take personal responsibility for their fitness. The results I have seen from the thousands of people I have worked with are astounding and you really can become a mini spartan!

The event is below - just click the image!

As it is a high performance centre and they have a lovely set up of platforms, bumper plates and weightlifting bars, we also decided to run and introduction to Olympic weightlifting for anyone that may have caught the Olympic bug and wants to know more about this rewarding form of taming the iron.

The event is below and aimed at beginners wanting some new skills - just click the image!

I mentioned the venues and have spent the best part of 6 weeks compiling a spreadsheet with multiple gym chains in places around 3 hours from where I am now based. The events can all be found on the following page -

http://www.thestrengthacademy.com/courses_and_workshops/kettlebell_public_workshops_dates_C163.html

So far we have

Basingstoke

Gillingham

Huntingdon

Bromley

Clapham

Norwich

Peterborough

Reading

Surrey

There are several others that may appear in 2013.

I think any more than that will get complicated. more so when multiple events are ready such as the instructor courses and others planned!

As always there are a million things to do and the key to it all is to make sure that constant action stops the pile from getting too big. I am slowly learning to focus on the important rather than the urgent and it will be a lesson well learned.

Once more into the fray....

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Strange title - that will all make sense by the end!

This is a long overdue post and finally sees a lifelong ambition come together for me. I have always loved seeing how far the body can be pushed and always wanted to do a big charity event and now it is booked.

A few years ago I had the idea of the 10000 rep challenge that featured 1000 reps of 10 different exercises involving kettlebells and bodyweight. The aim was to try to complete the challenge in 24 hours with the odd power nap here and there. Basically, with an event like this you put yourself on the line and then have a week off.

However, it was decided that the challenge would grow into the 1 million KG challenge where the aim was for the various people crazy enough to join in for all or part of the event would try to tally the grand total of 1 million kilograms of weight moved - or 1 thousand tons. Quite a session!!!

With factors for bodyweight and the kettlebell used I have worked out my own 10000 reps contribution to be close to 1/3 million KG and will add it whatever I can additional to this to try to get to the half million mark myself. I am actually aiming to get as close to 1 million KG myself, but will only know half way through the event if this is even humanly possible in a greatly and continuously fatigued state.

It will require silly amounts of food and liquid to ensure weight loss is addressed and rectified as well as selected time for that all-important power nap to get a fresh boost and go at it again.

If you think of doing all of the events in the Olympics in one day you will get an idea of the training we will go through and it will be relentless. This is because we are raising money for Great Ormond Street - the world famous children's hospital. It is not about the athletes; it is never about the athletes and I am sure people have done even more ridiculous things than that. However, we could just send them £20 and get on with our lives, but we would rather stand up to the fight and give it our all. For just one day to fight the good fight and break all barriers and boundaries. There is a feeling that you cannot even explain to another person when you have completed something off of the charts.

The link for donating is below so please help if you can as it will be going to a very special place to help some very special people -

https://www.justgiving.com/StephenAish

Oh and the title should all make sense now as I am going in and coming out with this one.....

Once more into the fray

Into the greatest fight I'll ever know

Live and die on this day

Live and die on this day.....

Slightly modified from - The Grey