For as long as I can remember I have been into Special Forces, I
have read almost every book about the SAS (both Australian and British)
and that is half of what attracted me kettlebells, they had been
used by the soviet special forces.
One thing that I have always admired about Special Forces is their
ability to overcome the odds with what ever they have at hand. Again
that is why I like Kettlebells, they are simple and they are a solution
to a lot of strength and health problems that one may be seeking
answer for.
Everyone knows that to get stronger you need progressive resistance;
it is just a plain and simple fact that one must add to his/her
resistance training if they want to get stronger. Kettlebells
do not address this problem they way that a lot of westerners
would like, I have heard arguments that they do not allow you
to increase the weight slowly and I found that I was really starting
to notice this point when I started trying to snatch and press
the 32kg kettlebell. I was really starting to worry that I might
stall in progress and in doing so I would need to add mass which
I really didn't want to do as I am a "wiry" strength
practitioner as I find this is best suited for any kind of strength
gain.
I had practised kettlebell drills for months before I had actually
even used a kettlebell, this strength was still three dimensional
but I was unable to press a 32kg kettlebell due to the fact that
I could only bent press a 30kg dumbbell but due to the displaced
centre of gravity and thicker handle of the kettlebell I couldn't
even press the 32kg kettlebell. I had spoken to Pavel and he assured
me that for my size and weight I was doing great but I didn't
want to be great I wanted to be the best. Kettlebells come in
three "official" sizes 1 pood (16kg) beginners, 1.5
pood (24kg) men and 2 pood (32kg) advanced. I wanted to be advanced
and I wouldn't settle for anything else.
After trying and trying I decided to give it a rest for a few
days just relax and figure out a way to press and snatch the bell.
Days later I decided to re-read Pavels great book Russian Kettlebell
Challenge: xtreme fitness for hard living comrades (RKC) about
the correct technique of the press as I always find my self evaluating
and re-evaluating my technique. I got tired and went for a sleep
then I woke up and just started to open up the book and opened
to page number 145 titled, xtreme kettlebell training - Russian
navy seal style or underwater training.
The protocol:
The scientific name for this training is pseudo-isokinetic resistance
as that is what the water provides, think about when you have
been to the beach, you walk in the water and it is easy yet you
run and it becomes a lot harder to move in, ok well that is what
pseudo-isokinetic resistance is. Now I hear you asking how you
apply this style of training to kettlebells. Good question this
is one of the only ways that you can actually make your kettlebell
training have progressive resistance (special forces mentality).
The following steps are what you will need to do in order to do
your under water training.
1. Find your weak spot, as this is how you can best use pseudo-isokinetic
resistance:
My weak spot is when you have just finished the swing I needed
to really cramp my glutes in order to get the kettlebell above
my head so.
2. Use the above information to determine the depth of the water
you will need.
Different depths will have different effects on your training
and resulting strength, try ankle deep water and all momentum
from the kettlebell will vanish.
3. Get used to being cold.
The water will be cold after a while and you can't start to wimp
out when the going gets tough.
4. Use lower reps,
Pavel explains this in his book Power to the people and if you
use low reps 3-5 you will retrain your nervous system to remember
the gains that you have made (you can work on endurance later
when you can do three reps).
5. Pick your drill:
this is really important, after a bit of experimenting I would
say that best drills would be the regular swing style snatch and
long cycle clean and jerks (underwater training will help with
your technique). Remember that the faster you move, the more resistance
you will add but its your choice as to how fast you go, I would
suggest that you try and go as fast as you can.
6. Get into the water and have at it.
Again self-explanatory.
The only thing that I could caution you about is using a heavier
bell than you are ready for, for obvious reasons. Just start out
light and be careful when the bell comes out of the water as your
muscle fibres really kick into warp drive.
Here is an illustrated guide of how to preform your Navy seal
style underwater drills.
I would have to say that underwater kettlebell training is one
of the best way's to train, you get this whole feeling of being
at one with your surroundings the water flows around you it really
is great. Now what are you waiting for? Don't wait for me to tell
you that under water training is easy because I wont tell you
this why? Because it is added resistance to you're kettlebell
training. Is it worth it? Hell yeah! Remember that we train with
kettlebells in case civilisation is temporary (Rob Lawrence),
the carryover that you will receive from underwater training has
been for me well worth the cold, and I can now snatch and press
something that I was unable to before underwater kettlebell training.
Get out of the gym go to the beach or a pool and really give this
a go as Pavel promises it will make you a better man. Just remember
to dry your kettlebells once you have finished you diving adventure
and don't over do it with underwater training try it only twice
a week if that I have had great success on one day a week underwater
training and 4 days normal training but I would have to say that
it works like singles if you have a bigger bone structure you
will get away with it for a bit longer.
