Mike, how did you find out about kettlebells? What has been your impression of kettlebell training so far?

Back in the 1960's while a student at Notre Dame, my coach, Fr. BHB Lange had some kettlebells in his gym. Also, as a weightlifter I heard about the KB use from the eastern bloc. The big Russian lifters- Rigert, Vardanian, Alexeev- used them. When I read articles by Ethan Reeve from Wake Forest, it renewed my interest and really I have never looked back. KB's are the best functional equipment a coach could have in their gyms.

What type of workouts do you run in your P.E. classes?

It varies, but we do card workouts: a diamond = a press, a heart = snatches, clubs = 2 arm swings, spades = 1 arm swings. We also do Density Training style workouts: snatches on the minute as outlined by Coach Reeve.

Could you tell us about your son, Casey, and some of his lifting
accomplishments. Have you added kettlebell lifting into his training
program at all?

Casey is one strong dude!!! He holds junior records in the 105 KG class in the snatch, clean and jerk and total. His best snatch is 165 KG (365 lbs), a clean and jerk of 200 KG (440 lbs) and the total of 365 KG. They do not have KB's at the Olympic Training Center, but I encourage him to do them with dumbbells while he is there. When he comes home he does swings, snatches, snatches + overhead squats, Turkish get-ups and some clean and presses. He normally does his weightlifting workout, then after the workout he will do KB exercises. He has performed the snatch balance, also known as the drop snatch with the 2.5 pood 5 times without any problems.

Tell us a bit about your training background and how you became interested in the Iron Game.

I played football at Notre Dame under Ara Parseghian. I was a defensive back that was 5'10 and 165lbs. The coaches wanted me to gain weight, so they sent me to Fr. Lange, the strength coach. He was big in the explosive movements. I loved them and took to them right away. I went from 165 to 185 in 6 months and increased my 40 yard sprint from 4.5 to 4.4. That sparked my interest as well as my desire. Notre Dame had a weightlifting team, so I started competing and did really well.

As one of the top Olympic Weightlifting coaches, what do you recommend for a person who is looking to start Olympic lifting? Is there a specific learning sequence you employ or any resources you recommend?

I would for sure join USA Weightlifting as an organization and then I would find a quality coach that is in your area. Gyms like LA Fitness, Golds, etc, do not like platform lifts because of the chalk and because of the weights dropping on the floor. So the gyms are few and far between, but USA Weightlifting has lists of coaches all over the USA that are certified and very knowledgeable in teaching the patterns. I teach a certain way that has worked for me. A by the numbers approach works well with my teaching.

Would kettlebell training be a good starting point for someone interested in learning Olympic lifts?

Sure, KB's are great for functional training as well as unilateral training. I like the way they enhance work capacity and the way they lend themselves to increased flexibility. All of my lifters use KB now and have improved on their platform lifts. KB's allow one to see weaknesses in general areas. Very rarely can one see a left arm weakness while performing the snatch or clean and jerk using barbells. But one can for sure identify the weakness using KB's. Great tools!!!!