There we are again, with one of those ‘end of the year posts’ – after the previous one, about things I learned, here are some books I read and some stuff I used and liked within the past 12 months. You will find more than one kettlebells-related resources in the list, plus a couple of training books and a couple or products promoting recovery: 2011 was the year I decided to take my kettlebells training to the next level and in order to do this I had to work a lot on ‘weak links management’ - at the age of 42, it somehow gets to be that way...
THE KETTLEBELL SYSTEMA UNIVERSITY WEBSITE, BY COACH DENIS KANYGINI was quite impressed by Denis Kanygin’s Science of Kettlebell Sport DVD set, which was released in 2010 – there is no other instructional that I have watched (and I have watched quite a few) with a better biomechanical breakdown of the Girevoy Sport competition lifts and a more detailed progression of training drills in order to perfect them. Still, the new members’ website launched a couple of months ago by Coach Kanygin exceeded my expectations by far. The sheer amount of information you have access to as a member (for the cost of 25$ per month) is overwhelming by any measure and I honestly mean this, since I have been a member since October and I haven’t yet managed to read/watch everything in there! Whether you are into fitness training with kettlebells, Girevoy Sport, or kettlebells juggling, the Kettlebell Systema University website offers a mind-boggling combination of articles and video tutorials for the lifts themselves, programming and training periodization articles, full yearly programs (including all the workouts), plus injury prevention strategies and drills. One of the best investments I made this year by far!
THE ESSENTIALS OF KETTLEBELLS LIFTING BOOK, BY COACH NICO RITHNER
Another excellent resource on kettlebells training, literally a breath of fresh air in this world of ‘plug and play programs’, ‘secrets of training revealed’ and ‘workout of the day’ idiocy. Rithner’s book is essentially an introductory guide to strength and conditioning training and how kettlebells can be used to apply proven scientific concepts, whether you want to compete in Girevoy Sport, or you just want to become stronger, more explosive or more athletic. The chapters contributed by Thierry Sanchez on the history of kettlebell sport and Peter Van Dorren on the biomechanics of the competitive lifts are also very good. This is a nice addition to any training library – you can buy it from Rithner’s website.
Another excellent resource on kettlebells training, literally a breath of fresh air in this world of ‘plug and play programs’, ‘secrets of training revealed’ and ‘workout of the day’ idiocy. Rithner’s book is essentially an introductory guide to strength and conditioning training and how kettlebells can be used to apply proven scientific concepts, whether you want to compete in Girevoy Sport, or you just want to become stronger, more explosive or more athletic. The chapters contributed by Thierry Sanchez on the history of kettlebell sport and Peter Van Dorren on the biomechanics of the competitive lifts are also very good. This is a nice addition to any training library – you can buy it from Rithner’s website.
SPECIAL STRENGTH TRAINING MANUAL FOR COACHES, BY PROFESSOR YURI VERKHOSHANSKY
The late professor Verkhoshansky, one of the foremost Russian experts in the field of sports training, introduced the world to a number of revolutionary concepts and methods from the 1960s on, such as ‘Shock Training’ (commonly known as plyometrics), the Block Training System, the Long-Delayed Training Effect and Special Strength Training among others, while he is also known as the first scientist who applied the Physiology of Adaptation in the theoretic analysis of the sport training process. Verkhoshansky was indeed a ‘renaissance man’ of sport science and reading his analysis of the theoretical aspects behind his Special Strength Training methodology in the second edition of this book (the first one from 2006 included mainly descriptions of training methods) is in a sense as fascinating as reading John Cage writing about sound and music, or Rudolph Laban writing about movement – except that Verkhoshansky is way more specific in describing his revolutionary concepts, that reveal how much he was influenced by the complex system approach, self-organization and the physiology of adaptation. Do not misunderstand me: this is a resource containing a tremendous amount of practical knowledge and applications of Verkhshansky’s methodology to cyclic, acyclic and team / combat sports (which should be taken with a grain of salt), but treating this only as a ‘how to’ book might not do justice to the ingenious ideas presented in here. This can be an incredible eye-opener to people who are stuck to a mechanistic understanding of the training process – it’s not an easy read by any measure, but it is a very important one. You can buy it from the site of Professor Yuri Verkhoshansky.
The late professor Verkhoshansky, one of the foremost Russian experts in the field of sports training, introduced the world to a number of revolutionary concepts and methods from the 1960s on, such as ‘Shock Training’ (commonly known as plyometrics), the Block Training System, the Long-Delayed Training Effect and Special Strength Training among others, while he is also known as the first scientist who applied the Physiology of Adaptation in the theoretic analysis of the sport training process. Verkhoshansky was indeed a ‘renaissance man’ of sport science and reading his analysis of the theoretical aspects behind his Special Strength Training methodology in the second edition of this book (the first one from 2006 included mainly descriptions of training methods) is in a sense as fascinating as reading John Cage writing about sound and music, or Rudolph Laban writing about movement – except that Verkhoshansky is way more specific in describing his revolutionary concepts, that reveal how much he was influenced by the complex system approach, self-organization and the physiology of adaptation. Do not misunderstand me: this is a resource containing a tremendous amount of practical knowledge and applications of Verkhshansky’s methodology to cyclic, acyclic and team / combat sports (which should be taken with a grain of salt), but treating this only as a ‘how to’ book might not do justice to the ingenious ideas presented in here. This can be an incredible eye-opener to people who are stuck to a mechanistic understanding of the training process – it’s not an easy read by any measure, but it is a very important one. You can buy it from the site of Professor Yuri Verkhoshansky.
THE HOW TO SEQUENCE THE TEACHING OF TECHNIQUES AND TACTICS BOOK, BY LUIS PRETOI have posted a review of Luis Preto’s book about a month ago, so there’s no need for a detailed description here.
In a few words, in this book, Luis presents an approach to teaching martial arts that boils down to the following guidelines:
• Teach the technical elements of your style by explaining the tasks (as opposed to describing the movements) that must be performed and make sure the students understand the logic behind each technique.
• Sequence these contents into a step-by-step system that makes sense.
• Allow tactical skill to be developed simultaneously with technical proficiency.
Although I’m way more into unarmed combat training than weapons work, Luis’ approach to teaching applies almost universally and belongs to that category of ideas that are ‘so simple they’re ingenious’. You can buy Luis’ book from Amazon.com.
THE FROLOV RESPIRATION TRAINING DEVICEUnlike the rest of the breath training devices in the market, that simply offer resistance training for the respiratory act, the Frolov Device is a sophisticated method of breath training that has a broader, systemic effect on the body . Besides improving external breathing (the exchange of gases that happens in your lungs), it also helps optimize your internal breathing too, i.e. the oxygenation of your cells and thus, your metabolic energy production. I used breath training with the Frolov Device as part of my preparation for the Tactical Strength Challenge Competition, which took place last September – a customized program was designed for me by Dr Sergey Zinatulin, head of the scientific department of the company that produces the device. The effects I noticed was a stronger and more effortless breathing function, much improved quality of sleep and better recovery between training sessions, significantly improved levels of energy during the day and, most importantly, reduced inflammation in my chronic injuries despite the much increased training volumes and intensity. Although I have done quite a lot of Qigong breathing exercises during my years in Chinese martial arts, it is only after using the Frolov Device that I believe for the first time that there are significant health and athletic performance benefits in breath training. If you live in Sweden, you can find more information about the Frolov Device and buy it at the website of Vitalt Koncept AB.
EARTHING GROUNDING MAT
The idea behind the Earthing Connection Products is pretty simple: ‘grounding’ yourself, i.e. somehow placing your body in direct contact with the ground, equalizes the electrical potential of your body to that of the earth, and can revitalize your health, by reducing free radicals and inflammation. The scientific research behind that series of products seems to be rather solid. I got an Earthing Connection mat after the recommendation of a good friend and have been using it (you basically connect the mat to the ground port in a socket and then place the mat under your feet when sitting or lying in bed) for about six months now. I was especially impressed when, during a training session I got hit with a heavy foot-stomp on my instep, which caused my foot to swell so much that I could not fit it in my shoe. Surprisingly, my foot was back to normal size the next morning, with no icing, no compression and no elevation, after placing the Earthing mat under it during sleep. If you live in Sweden, you can buy Earthing products from this website.
So, that's all for 2011. I hope this year was as insightful, productive and fascinating as it was for me, and I wish 2012 is even more so for all of us. Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year, everybody!!!
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