| This month we profile one of the most prolific members of the Dragon Door discussion board, Andy Komorny, better known as Andy69. Since this interview was completed, Andy competed in the World Championships and broke several more world records and was "best lifter" in his class. Andy was also a member of the first class of kettlebell instructors. Expect to here more from him here at Girevik magazine in the near future. |
Andy, congrats on bringing home some trophies
in your first powerlifting
meet. What was the experience like?
Ha ! I was obsessing about it for the last 2 months and vacillated about
even going. There were seven different lifts and I knew nothing about
how
to do most of them. I was afraid I was going to make a complete fool
of
myself. However, the guys involved are absolutely the best and showed
me
enough of everything I needed to know after I got there.
For instance the first lift was the one arm clean and jerk with a 7'
bar.
I had my form all wrong while training for it and it was pathetic. Then
they
showed me how to do it to get the most out of it and I one arm cleaned
and
jerked about 20 pounds more than I ever did before!
All in all it was a major thrill...especially pulling a 1000 pound hip
lift. Never did that lift until the meet!
It sounds like you had a pretty interesting training program leading
up to
the meet, what was it like training for so many different lifts? How
did
you approach this competition?
I trained mainly with the kettlebells and rubberbands focusing on basic
lifting technique and core strength work with the kettlebells...weighted
pullups, pistols, Janda situps. Then once a week or so I've been hitting
the deadlifts. My longer range goal there is 700+. I will first get
it
from about knee level then work it down to the floor in very small
increments. The last session I had 12 wheels on for 585 and was squatting
with 750# of rubberband pull over the shoulders. That doesn't translate
to
a 750 squat with a barbell by any stretch but it's great for the psyche.
I approached the competition with the assurance of John McKean that
they
would show me how to do those crazy lifts and that I would do just fine.
What was life like for you in your pre-Pavel days? I remember reading
that
your shoulders were wrecked and that you had other long-standing injuries?
Pre-Pavel days I was going on 68 and fearing the usual decrepidation
and
soon to meet the grim reaper like most oldsters. His methodologies
dramatically changed all that. I was able to recover a respectable level
of strength rapidly and rehab my bad shoulders and back to 99%. The
grim
reaper can kiss my ass.
How did you find out about Pavel? You are one
of his most enthusiastic
followers and understand his Party line as well as anyone. How long
have
you known Pavel?
My son gave me a copy of PTP. At first I thought the simplicity of the
training proposed couldn't be true but the more I thought about it the
more
it made sense to me so I gave it an honest try. In a relatively short
time
I pulled 600# from knee level. I had never done any meaningful deadlifting
before that. A number of years ago I tried to lift about 100# like that
and hurt my back. Nobody could ever tell me how to do it. I first met
Pavel
at the RKC cert. seminar last September. That was the most enlightening
physical training experience of my life. I can't say enough about him
and
the work he is doing. Once he shakes your hand he's a genuine friend
for
life.
You are a member of the first class of Kettlebell
instructors, have you
trained any people yet? Also, I read that you are a physical therapist,
What type of clients do you work with?
I've run several people through the intro to kettlebell lifting and
have
given some pointers here and there. I talked to the Marines and Navy
Seal
recruiters here about running a clinic for the guys that fail the PFT
but
that hasn't materialized yet.
I'm not a physical therapist but a rehab counselor and psychotherapist.
Over the years I've been involved mostly with injured workers and
hospitalized psychiatric patients in regard to helping them find a way
back
into the mainstream.
You're one of the most frequent and interesting
participants on Pavel's
discussion board. What do you enjoy most about being on the forum?
This discussion board is the most fantastic experience. There is a
collection of very brilliant world class people scattered all over the
world all coming together as a family sharing and learning some very
high level
stuff. What I get from it means a great deal to me and has been a major
milestone in my life.
