Those of you who know me know that I am about more than kettlebells. The same thing goes for the Hardstyle system propagated by Pavel Tsatsouline and Dragondoor Publications.

Here is a great summary of the Hardstyle method:

If you are interested in learning more about the hardstyle method I highly recommend the following books and DVDs:

“Power to the People” – Barbell strength
“Naked Warrior” – Maximum strength with bodyweight exercises
“Russian Kettlebell Challenge” – The original kettlebell book
“Enter the Kettlebell” – Hardstyle Kettlebell Training, level I
“Return of the Kettlebell” – Hardstyle Kettlebell Training, level II
“Viking Warrior Conditioning” – Progressions for cardio with kettlebells
“Fast and Loose” – Russian methods for speed and movement
“Relax into Stretch” – learn true flexibility
“Super Joints” – Intro to joint mobility
“Strength stretching”
“Martial Power” – Encyclopedia of hardstyle tips and tricks
“Loaded Stretching”
“Kettlebells from the Ground up” – Corrective training strategies with kettlebells

Loaned from Lumosity.com:

“Aerobic exercise is great for the brain!

But anaerobic exercise seems to have little effect on cognitive function. Weight lifters and other strength trainers, take note: blood flow throughout the body will help neural circuitry and neuroplasticity, but targeted exercise doesn’t achieve that flow and fails to show any effect on the brain.

Strenuous aerobic exercise sets off a chain reaction of growth factors that require additional blood flow, which can only be supplied when the body is moving at a rate that prompts unusually high blood flow.

These findings are the result of several studies conducted in rats and humans that tested abilities to perform higher cognitive functions before and after aerobic exercise. In one experiment, published by the American College of Sports Medicine, college students were asked to memorize a string of numbers, which they were tested on after they’d either sat down, lifted weights, or run on a treadmill. Each student was tested after each activity. Students performed much better after running than after either of the other activities.

Similarly, elderly patients were tested on cognition after either brisk walking or stretching. The walkers improved on cognitive tests whereas the stretchers did not, showing that even moderate aerobic exercise can be good for maintaining and even increasing what we usually think of as “intelligence!”"

Warm up:
Z-health
Breathing techniques
FMS drills

Light day:
3 x Snatch-press combo (2×24kg):
1 snatch – 1 press
1 pullup (bw+16kg)
1 snatch – 2 press
2 pullups (bw+16kg)
1 snatch – 3 press
3 pullups (bw+16kg)

Double Kettlebell Deadlift:
20 reps x 2 x 32kg
20 reps x 2 x 24kg

Just a light day to get a feel for the approach Pavel describes in Return of the Kettlebell.

Afterwards I did some bodyweight get ups, light windmills and bent presses.

Hi guys

Time goes fast when you’re busy living a life. Between being a dad, studying, training people, doing extracurricular studies (CK-FMS, Z-health, bodywork etc.) and keeping up practical skills little time is left. So I guess one area of progress for me is making time

I’ve signed up for Z-health R-phase in November, and since I have actively been implementing the concepts for a while I really look forward to the course, about which I’ve heard nothing but solid endorsements. It’s also refreshing to sign up for a course and receive a load of suggested reading. This seems to be a cornerstone in the Z-health educational policy which continues along the chain of different seminars (R, I, 9S, S, T etc.).

My training is back to focusing on the basics with a “train by feel” approach. Lots of heavy pressing, goblet squats, zercher squats, kalos sthenos get ups with a lot of varieties, rope climbing, swings and running. Running has been centrered around a minimalist approach and some obstacle work with a parkour’ish feel to it.

In school I’ve been following two practical courses this term, so I’ve had 3 hours of basketball and swimming respectively. Swimming was a continuation of three previous courses, so the practical stuff was based on butterfly stroke, medley and waterpolo, which by the way is hands down the hardest sport I have ever tried.

Dragondoor has a new kettlebell certification on the market, and I would just like to recommend anyone who is interested in learning the basics of the Hardstyle method and/or getting a deeper appreciation of teaching and moving. It’s called Hardstyle Kettlebell Certification or HKC for short. Dragondoor also has a favorable price on attending RKC after a HKC so if you are thinking about attending an RKD, this is a no-brainer in my opinion.

This is it for now.

Train hard, eat right and believe in yourself

Dennis Frisch

First of all I’m sorry for having posted in a while. I have been troubled with some major dysfunctions which have surfaced after recognizing the superficial asymmetry. It’s a journey which have taken me through some interesting thoughts.

To start anew I signed up for a parkour training camp called “European Gathering 2009″ at the Gerlev Sports Academy. Bear in mind I have had no training in this kind of movement before. The great guys from Danish Streetmovement are great organizers and teachers, so I’ve learnt a great deal about philosophy of movement, flow, community and play. Several of the original Yamakazi crew are attending as teachers, and watching them brings a whole new level of what it means to be a natural athlete. I’ve done a small token of my appreciation by talking a little bit about physical training, rehab and prehab. Due to the great efforts of Line Hovmand and Sebastian from Streetmovement Z-health, jointmobility, functional mobility and balanced tension/relaxation is dawning in this exuberant and youthful community.

One of my issues have been my inability to release the tension in my body, specifically the t-spine, neck, hips and forearms. During my search for pain free movement a good friend of mine, Kristian Elbo, who is a phenominal golf trainer, pointed me to a system by movement therapist Per Gjeding. The therapy have provided instant release through the connection of specific movement patterns and breathing.

My training is focused around finding flow in what I do, carefully releasing tension after strength training and as always going towards the ideal movement. My methods as of now include but isn’t exclusively kettlebell training, yoga, parkour, clubbells, tree, rock and urban climbing, barefooting and play/games of all sorts. I hope to include more z-health and pose-technique in the future. Similarly I’m reading through some of the stuff concerning alexander technique and egoscue’s movement therapy.

Personal note:

Magne, my magneficent 4 months old son, is truly a joy to nuture and watch over. His exurberance is inspirational beyond belief and his joy in movement and connection makes me think about how important it is that we enjoy life and share that joy with those around us.

“A person is not a person without other people”

Joy is a funny mathematical size. It grows simply by paying attention to it. By adding you joy to that of another person quadruples it. Gratitude works the same way, plus it is a great antidote to fear.

I hope this message finds all of you well.

Kind regards

Dennis

Hi everyone

Just a few words, while you’re hopefully out enjoying the summer, moving your body under the open sky.

Here at Raakraft things are moving along nicely. I’m doing a lot of FMS screens and constantly improving on my approach, catching the finer points during each tests.

With the screen I’m also getting pretty good with my shoulder mobility and led raise, but both still take some movement preparation to get where they need to be. It feels awesome, though, to be able to move freely in the shoulder and hip joints.

I’m working my way into the Viking Warrior Conditioning Regime and I love it, despite/because it challenges me real nice. I try to get 4 VWC sessions in every week and wave cycle the number of sets in order to make it bearable. It is really tempting to rush to the 80 sets and move on to 36/36, but I keep reminding me that I’m in it for the benefits of the protocol, not just to rush through it and say I did it.

On the strength side I’m working on getting my pullups, TGU and squats tighter. I’m still training very much by feeling and enjoy throwing some running and climbing/crawling into the mix as well. It feels great and even though I don’t feel quite as strong as I did 6 months ago, I love being pain free and the feeling of athletic natural movement.

I hope this message finds you all well!

All the best

Dennis

Training of the day, Wednesday 1/7 2009

Did some “train by feel” in the morning:

ASLR and shoulder mobility progressions

Brettzel progressions – starting to feel solid

TGU progressions (Jeff O’Connor showed us some really nice variations for hip/shoulder mobility)

Clean n’ jerks: 2×28kg x 5-6 reps – Felt easy and comfortably in the lockout

Bent press: 40kg – very smooth and seamless

Swing progressions: 28kg and 48kg – starting to feel very rooted and able to work in some foot work – Feels awesome.

In the afternoon I took my advanced class through 45 sets of berserker conditioning protocol. It felt a lot better than this weekend so I guess Kenneth is right about the enzymatic benefits kicking in really fast. Still a heck of a long way to 80 sets.

My beginner class had the pleasure of being introduced to David Whitley’s furnace workout. The BJJ class on the mat beside us started complaining that we emitted too much heat LOL

EvolutionRace

One of my current goals is competing in the combined “strongman”/endurance event “EvolutionRace”. The concept is 10 km cross country running with 10 challenges interspersed during the race. Challenges include rope climbs, climbing along ropes and horizontal posts, stone lifting, farmer walks, tire dragging, precision stone throw, cold water swimming etc. The route is really hilly throw a beautiful wooden area with plenty of steep ascents and slopes. This year I plan on doing the run in Vibram Fivefingers, of course.

Finally I am home again after a long trip across the Atlantic Ocean. It feels wonderfull to be back with my fast growing little son and my beautiful wife.

I have passed the tests of the RKC II, and have gained new insights into the Hardstyle method. The ranking of RKC II is hard earned and among the people who have obtained it are highly skilled individuals;

- Adam Glass; Truly world class strongman, coach and friend

- Jason Marshall; US state and national record holder in powerlifting

- Dustin Miller; US national record holder in powerlifting

- Dustin Rippetore; CEO Way of Strength

By the way, Dustin is hosting a 2 day seminar with two of the giants in the RKC community; Senior Instructors Jeff O’Connor and David Whitley. Both did phenominal presentations at the RKC II and had I the option I would gladly cross the Atlantic the third time this year in order to attend. Check it out at www.wayofstrength.com.

All these guys, along with many unmentioned, are incredible athletes, coaches and human beings, and that being exactly what we strive for here at RaaKraft it is very exciting to train and hang out with them. Your standards are the average of the expectations of your peers, which in this case means your standards will be raised. As they say the bar will be raised and that fact alone will improve standards you set for yourself.

The RKC is divided into “levels” of sofistication. With the new introduction, Hardstyle Kettlebell Certification, there will be HKC (goblet squat, swings, get ups), RKC (clean, press, snatch, front squat, double kettlebell exercises), RKC II (jerk, viking push press, wind mill, snatch, tactical pullup, pistol and limited corrective exercise) and CK-FMS (the gold standard in corrective exercise). This division provides a clear progression and allows for a path of movement mastery. At the same time every single exercise is tied together with all the others in a way that builds toward very efficient power production, pain free mobility and strong flexibility. By allowing time between going from simple (not easy) exercises to more complex the instructors can obtain understanding of each and every exercise before progressing. Way too often we jump the gun a want to do all the sexy stuff right a way. By doing this we will miss out on the amazing benefits there are to be found in the simplest of exercises. After Sr. RKC Jeff O’Connorhave shown me a number of ways to delve deeper into the movement in the swing I’ve found myself reaping incredible benefits carrying over to a wide spectrum of activities.

Another amazing aspect of the RKC community is the fantastic feeling of coherence. We all know what it takes to go through the RKC and even more important upholding the Code of Conduct. We are truly a warrior tribe and the quality of warriors is truly something special in this age of McDojos and 4 minutes a day fitness programs.

Training of the Day

Did some work on the brettzel and some yoga-stuff after coming home from the airport. Later I’ve worked very lightly on some athletic swigs with the beast. They felt awesomely and with a little practice that bell will float effortlessly overhead.

Tomorrow will be the Berserker Conditioning Regime after a lot of skill work. I can’t wait!

Yesterday I landed in St. Paul ready for 3 days of intensive learning at Pavel’s RKC level II seminar.

Presenters will besides Pavel be Kenneth Jay on kettlebell training for VO2 max, Jeff O Connor on kettlebell training for youth athletes and David Whitley on kettlebell classes and fatloss.

I’ve already spent some time with another danish RKC over here, and can’t wait to meet old friends and make new ones.

As usual I taught my classes at CSA tonight. First a beginner class with lots of get ups, hardstyle pushups, squats and swings.

Afterwards I get to train an advanced kettlebell class where I can get away with training a bit my self as well. To night the emphasis was on double clean n’ jerk, side raise snatches, Kenneth Jay’s VO2 max for cardio and low crawl to finish off.

The low crawl was alternated with abdominal roll outs with our new bi-rolls (see the shop). It pretty much feels like being kicked in the gut by a horse so the abdominal muscles get worked really hard.

Before the classes I did two FMS screenings. I’m getting pretty good at the screen it self, and the corrections are starting to get better. It’s going to be interesting to see if I can keep people compliant.