We’re pleased to announce the newest 2 day Ageless Body Workshop:

Go HERE for more details.

Here are some reviews of Andrea DuCane and what the participants of the first 2 day Ageless Body workshop said:

“The Kettlebell Goddess possesses a razor sharp mind and the kind of attention to detail that separates the high-end professionals from the also-rans.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           -Pavel Tsatsouline, Chief RKC Instructor, author of “Enter the Kettlebell!” “Relax into Stretch,” and “Super Joints” and Introducer of Kettlebells to the Western World

“….it makes me do what I know I need to do but won’t.”   -Dan John, Senior RKC and Masters Weighlifting Champion and Author of “Easy Strength”

Testimonials from the Inaugural Ageless Body Workshop:

This is the question of the day.

New York Times article “How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body” is currently ranked no. 2 on their website

I respect yoga.  Yoga has existed for over 5000 years and has helped countless people regain health and flexibility that is useful for anti aging.

But we need to understand what yoga is and its proper context as both a mode of training and its relation to anti aging.

The New York Times piece cites a yoga teacher of 40 years, Glenn Black (not Glenn Beck) and gives some of his insights on the benefits and cautions of yoga.  ”Black is, in many ways, a classic yogi: he studied in Pune, India, at the institute founded by the legendary B. K. S. Iyengar, and spent years in solitude and meditation.”

To say Black is merely saying “proceed with caution” in the practice of yoga is an understatement:

Black has come to believe that “the vast majority of people” should give up yoga altogether. It’s simply too likely to cause harm.

So what is yoga for then?  Who is it for?

Instead of doing yoga, “they need to be doing a specific range of motions for articulation, for organ condition,” he said, to strengthen weak parts of the body. “Yoga is for people in good physical condition. Or it can be used therapeutically. It’s controversial to say, but it really shouldn’t be used for a general class.”

Our primary concern is for people who train flexibility, whether yoga or other similar modalities WITHOUT a strength component to balance it out.

Black points out where most yoga poses originated, and how they did not emerge from and for the sedentary, modern day American:

According to Black, a number of factors have converged to heighten the risk of practicing yoga. The biggest is the demographic shift in those who study it. Indian practitioners of yoga typically squatted and sat cross-legged in daily life, and yoga poses, or asanas, were an outgrowth of these postures. Now urbanites who sit in chairs all day walk into a studio a couple of times a week and strain to twist themselves into ever-more-difficult postures despite their lack of flexibility and other physical problems.

It isn’t just flexibility for the sake of flexibility that is a problem for all bodies, its the teachers who measure themselves and their abilities by how fast they can get you into more advanced poses, that aren’t good for you anyway!

“Today many schools of yoga are just about pushing people,” Black said. “You can’t believe what’s going on — teachers jumping on people, pushing and pulling and saying, ‘You should be able to do this by now.’ It has to do with their egos.”

It should go without saying that an instructor respect the clients’ abilities.  The health and anti aging of the client is the goal.

And perhaps the biggest problem is the condition some of the teachers are in:

When yoga teachers come to him for bodywork after suffering major traumas, Black tells them, “Don’t do yoga.”

In all Ageless Body workshops, Andrea uses a movement screen -to assess strength and flexibility- and a few chosen, proven flexibility exercises that both rehab the body, relieve aches and pains – but are also conducive to kettlebell and bodyweight strength exercises.

Strength and mobility are the basics of building an Ageless Body.

I work with people frequently who have what I refer to as “yoga bodies.”  These bodies have too much flexibility and not enough strength.  They are usually injured or susceptible to injury.

Think of it this way: Newborn babies’ bodies have huge amounts of flexibility (to protect themselves) but no stability, or strength, even enough to stand up.  As they develop, they gain strength and stability.

As we age, we have to keep both of these qualities, ease of movement and strength.  Both must be trained, intelligently.

Pavel mentions the two opposite extremes: The hulky powerful whose face turns red when he ties his shoe, and the yogi who can contort themselves into a pretzel but cannot lift 100 pounds without hurting their back.

Obviously, training your body for extreme feats of flexibility and strength at a certain age, when your goal is health and longevity, gives you diminishing returns.

An Ageless Body is comfortable in flexibility and strength exercises.

As our bodies age, they need strength.  Strength is ESSENTIAL for longevity.  Kettlebell and bodyweight strength training combined with strategic flexibility exercises, some borrowed from yoga – will help you obtain an Ageless Body.

Remembering Enter the Kettlebell!

By Sean Schniederjan RKC

The reason kettlebells are so popular is because a.) they work and b.) they work.  Just do swings (safely) and see how you feel.

Some people simply get addicted after that first time.  They get over exuberant and start talking about kettlebells all the time, harass their family and neighbors about how great they are, and constantly think about the next time they can ballistically load the hips with their beloved kettlebell.

I was and remain one of these people.  I’ve since mellowed out with the harassing family and friends part (they just aren’t on our level, lol) and instead put on workshops where I can be around like minded people who can appreciate a set of swings.

Why ETK

One of my fondest memories of the early part of my kettlebell lifting “career” was realizing and confronting a problem.  I had gotten to the point where I could snatch a 53 pound kettlebell fairly well.  I felt comfortable.  But the problem came when I first tried to do the secret service snatch test.

I could put together some nice sets of 10 r / 10 l so if I really kicked it into gear, doing 200 total snatches in 10 minutes shouldn’t be a big problem.

The first try ended badly.  At 120 total snatches in about 7 minutes I was done and done.  I think I blacked out for a little bit.  Never before or since have I been that out of breathe and winded.  I was stumbling around in the backyard trying to pull myself together.

200 snatches in 10 minutes was a problem.  A big problem.  And I had no idea how to increase my numbers in the dramatic fashion that the test required.

Then…something happened.  A how to book on conquering the secret service snatch test AND increasing your press written by Pavel himself was released back in 2006.

2006…Those were the Haight-Ashburydays of kettlebells.  It was before the scene split up and a lot of the RKCs left to form their own businesses.  And EVERYONE (on the dragon door forum) was doing ETK.  It might as well have the only kettlebell program in existence.

Ageless Body?  There was no Ageless Body.  Kettlebell Burn?  RETURN of the kettlebell?  Easy Strength?  Kettlebell Sport?  IKFF?  Z-Health?  Those kettlebells that look like purses endorsed by some bleached hair abomination at Walgreen’s?

In those days we rolled the dice before we did swings.  Back in the day we took a week off before testing our press.  In those days it was OK to do 75 presses on each side with a relatively heavy kettlebell on your heavy day.  We only snatched on the easy day….Medium and Heavy days we were doing swings and a lot of pressing.

The dd forum was like this:  Have you done your ladders?  Have you done your test day?  What did the dice roll today?  Some guy just nailed the SSST!  This comrade just barely missed his goal press.  Someone just made a useful spreadsheet!

And the stuff was so much better back then…people were PRing left and right.  The majority was all about one, or two things.  Everyone shared the same workout consciousness.  If someone wasn’t getting it, 20 people would chime in and offer help.  And it was always the same: just do the program as it was written.

I won’t bore with the details here but suffice it to say that hitting the SSST felt really damn good.  It did for everyone back then who broke through to the other side.

That program worked.  It was written at the time were KBs were getting big but hadn’t exploded yet.  And everyone was using it.  Everyone wanted to earn their own “Rite of Passage.”  When you got there the elders were there waiting to congratulate you.

I wrote an article back then that I’ve since lost, but remember saying that you could take elite level athletes and they would fail the SSST miserably on their first try.

If you can handle 200 snatches in 10 minutes with a 24kg bell that is no joke.  It’s a fast and easy way to doing something, not elite by any means, but something not many people, even athletes can handle.

You can walk a little taller knowing that you’ve conquered a test that a Secret Service Agent has to pass (Pavel tells the narrative of the SSST in the book).

Now that I’m a little older, a little wiser (not really) I can still look at the book and see there is more to it than tools to passing the snatch and press test.

There is “Ageless Body” type stuff in there.

-The Joint Mobility moves – the halo and “pump” are essential to hip and shoulder joint health.  I never did them back then and that caused some problems.

-Don’t snatch too much, especially if you’re pressing.  Improve your conditioning by doing swings instead and spare your shoulders.

-The Turkish Get Up will make anything you do stronger.

-You can ignore the variety days.  Just rest up and recover.  You’ll make progress faster.

You can still get the book but you can’t get that atmosphere back.  Those times are gone forever.

But the how to book and the immortal program remain:

Enter the Kettlebell!

By Andrea Du Cane, Master RKC

Ageless Knees

Understanding How the Knees Work

Ask anyone over the age of 30 if they have ever had knee problems and the likely answer will be yes.  Knee pain is one of the most common complaints among all age groups, athletes and fitness/lifestyle backgrounds.

One of the reasons for the vulnerability of the knee, is the way the knee is designed.

It’s a hinge joint held together only by ligaments that connect the femur (thighbone) to the tibia and fibula of the lower leg. These lower bones connect the knee to the ankle and the femur connects the knee to the hip. There is no ball in socket, like the hip and shoulder, just the ligaments holding the knee in place.

Add to this structural challenge, the fact that the knee is the link between the upper body and the feet. To put it bluntly it takes a beating! It has to support the weight of the body while being vulnerable to injury do to its inherent design.

That’s the reason so many people have knee pain and injuries.

How to Improve Knee Function

What can be done to help prevent knee injuries and pain? The first step is to build up the muscles that support the ligaments of the knee and the second is to encourage proper function and movement of the hips and knees.

The beauty of the pattern for the RKC swing, is that it simply achieves both objectives; proper movement patterns and strengthening of the muscles that support the knee itself.

Keeping the angle of the hinge close to or just a bit beyond 90* while under load, is key to preventing knee pain. For instance, I have a client in her 60’s who was an avid runner until she wore away the cartilage of the knee. Now she has bone-on-bone pain unless she is extremely careful about how she moves and where she is putting her weight. When she first started training with me she could not squat and had difficulty in all her “hinge” and deadlift patterns.

This is key; knowing how to move from the hips and not push the weight forward over the patella (kneecap), is what makes or breaks the pain/movement cycle.

Now she can not only Kettlebell deadlift close to her bodyweight, she can double front squat to rock bottom.

The Hip Hinge and How it Helps Knees

The first step is to learn how to push the hips backwards while letting the knees start to bend – only as needed – to create the hinge/deadlift pattern. Another way to look at this is thinking about keeping the shin as vertical as possible as the hips move backwards. However you achieve this, it is going to take the load off the knees and put the load on the hips where it should be.

Kettlebell deadlifts, followed by Kettlebell swings are the best way to build up the knee. Within the deadlift patterns, I’ve found that single leg deadlifts can also be very beneficial in strengthening all the muscles of the leg, all the way down to the big toe! Just make sure not to torque your knee if you start to loose your balance, just put your foot down or hold onto a chair for support in case you loose your balance.

Kettlebell Progressions for Knees

I’d recommend starting with the Kettlebell deadlift, where the Kettlebell is placed between the feet and building up in strength. Then go to the 2-handed Kettlebell swing. When moving onto the dynamic Kettlebell lifts, be very careful not to “jam” the knees back into hyperextension, instead think about “pulling” up the kneecaps as the knees lock out.

Once your knees are feeling good and your legs strong, move on to the single leg deadlifts and goblet squats. Always making sure you keep the shin angle close to verticle while performing the movement.

Like this information?  Click on the free report on the upper right and get over 15 pages of anti aging info, a clinic on the kettlebell swing and deadlift – and join our email community.

I learned some cool neck mobility drills from Andrea at the Ageless Body workshop.  They’ve really helped my neck and shoulders.  She shares some of them in the Ageless Body Book.

I asked Andrea why neck mobility matters.  Check it out:

Why is Neck Mobility Important?

By Andrea DuCane, Master RKC, CK FMS

Neck or cervical mobility is extremely important in the overall health of a person.

Structurally, it is very important because the spinal column connects to the brainstem at approximately C1 & C2. If there is a problem in this area, you can develop many physiological and neurological problems.

The neck is supposed to be very mobile to allow for the head to move freely. This of course, is to allow for humans to respond to stimuli in their surroundings using their visual and auditory systems.

Because of the extra mobility and the weight of the head the cervical spine is very vulnerable to damage to the vertebra. Car accidents, falls, working at a desk and even just getting older can result in limited range of motion and lead to pain, headaches and various other health problems.

One of the most important things a person can do is try to regain the mobility and stability of the area. Gentle neck mobility exercises can help to restore some of the mobility and perhaps lessen pain and other symptoms.

For obvious reasons, if you have severe neck pain you need to be seen by a specialist. I am not going to go into Chiropractic or other medical care, that is a personal choice, but if you have neck pain, please check with your doctor or chiropractor.

A few other causes of neck pain: sitting at a computer or desk that is not correctly adjusted for you, sleeping with the wrong type of pillow, certain types of athletics and movement.  Here are a list of the most common types of activities that can cause neck tightness, mobility issues and pain: cycling, martial arts sparing or boxing, some dancing, running and swimming can all cause neck pain in some people.

Of the above, cycling and spinning classes are probably the worst for neck health.

If you enjoy long bike rides or spin classes, you will need to do lots of gentle neck mobility exercises before and after you workout.

There is another interesting fact that has been studied at great length.  A healthy neck corresponds to a stronger athlete. This has to do with the fact of the brain stem extending down into the upper cervical area.

What’s extra interesting in this fact, is that during exercise you can weaken your body by how you hold your head. For instance, when you squat if you hyper extend your neck during the squat your nervous system will protect itself by making you weaker. So next time you squat or press, try and keep your neck as neutral (natural curves of the neck) as possible to be as strong as you can be.

[Editor: If you enjoy this kind of in depth information on Health and Aging, please sign up for our 15+ page report on defeating Aging on the upper right, plus you'll get on our email list for more information and special offers].

By Sean Schniederjan RKC

Strength: The Secret to Staying Young

My day job has me working, often times, with senior citizens.  Today I spent the morning with a woman of 93.  She was in phenomenal shape.  She was very quick getting out of chairs, going up and down stairs, and walking.  She was very astute mentally as well.  She still drives.  It was great to spend the morning with her and asking her questions.

I asked her what her secret to longevity.  She attributed it mostly to genetics. Not satisfied with that answer I pressed her further.  She told me that she had walked three miles a day with her husband up until about 10 years ago. She said she didn’t go out on walks as often because she doesn’t go out as much.

Still Moving and Overcoming Resistance

She told me doesn’t like to sit still and so walks around her house she’s lived in for close to sixty years and up and down the two flights of stairs in the home.  Her hips were strong, probably from the stairs.

What really struck me was that she was just a strong person, generally.  A few times she grabbed my arm and one time she sort of punched me.  It didn’t hurt (tongue in cheek there) but it was noticeable, especially for a woman of 93.  I wish I could get her to try to close an easy captain of crush gripper, like the trainer, because I would not be surprised if she could do it.

How is it that some people fall apart and some don’t?

I really think the answer is to stay mobile and stay strong.  This 93 year old woman has done that.  She also reads for at least 4 hours per day to keep her mind up with her body.

Strength Gives You More Strength: Resiliency

Another very important of staying strong as we age is resiliency.  

We were talking about the weather and I mentioned “the really hot day” that we had had in Minnesota this summer.  She said she knew the date because that is the day she “fell on her face.”

How many elderly people fall down and don’t get up?

I tried to determine if she was exaggerating someone by saying she had fallen on her face and she wasn’t.  She tripped over something and her forehead slammed into the ground.  She said a fall like that “isn’t a big deal,” its falling and hitting the back of your head you want to avoid.  ”I was black and blue for a few weeks.”  93 years old and still a veritable tank!

There is ice on the ground here in the Twin Cities and I asked her if we should avoid the icey parts of the parking lot.  ”That’s why I wear my boots!”  This woman is awesome.

You don’t have a choice.  If you want to stay young, you have to stay strong.

I wish I would have asked her what she did with her hands to keep her grip strength, but I didn’t.

OK, now I wanted to mention this woman because getting strong and staying strong is one of the most important things we have to do to stay young.  Strength is the mother of all physical qualities.

How Do I Get Strong?

Enter Andrew Read, RKC 2 and head of www.dragondooraustralia.com.  He recently shared some training information about his mother, Noela Read, 70 years young and some of the results she is enjoying.

Here is a sample of her workouts and a video of her deadlifting well over her bodyweight easily:

“Today my mother and I celebrated her birthday by doing DL singles. Warm up was 10 swings with a 16kg and a get up each side with a 10kg, twice.

Then we did 32kg x 2 reps, then:

40kg x 1
45kg x 1
50kg x 1
55kg x 1
60kg x 1
65kg x 1
Missed 70kg, which she was really pissed about. The video of 65kg is here

(this will only work if you have a facebook account)

- https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v…type=2&theater

In training all we do is super joints, swings and get ups, then DLs and Goblet squats along with some rib pulls, crawls and a few more swings.

She goblet squats 20kg for 5s easily and has done 24kg, but doesn’t like it. She swings a 20kg for sets of 10 pretty easily.

She hits a golf ball further than most young lady pros she caddies for (which leads to all kinds of problems when it comes to recommending clubs for them) .
My point? She’s awesome  Also great proof of how well the body can still work when you pay attention to strength and mobility even at an advanced age. Go mum.”

I admit, I love the feel of Dragon Door kettlebells, even though I also admit that any kettlebell will give you a good workout if you know how to use it (or them, in the case of doubles).  

I’ve used two other brands besides Dragon Door over the past 7 years of lifting, but ditched them because I just liked the feel of the DD bells. The other brands felt more awkward in the rack and overhead position.

Being the curious lad that I am, I asked Pavel about why he chose the specific design he did.  I knew that he had a reason for it.

These bells have been used to certify over 3000 instructors world wide.  We use them for the Ageless Body Workshops.

Here’s what Pavel said about design:

“Some features were my requests, our engineers came up with others and and we liked them. We wanted a slightly thicker handle for greater grip loading. The relatively low height of the KB helps with the over the top HS snatch. The 16 has a relatively heavy handle to make cleans and snatches more forgiving for beginners.”

Check out RKC Laurel Blackburn’s video on why to invest in Dragon Door Bells:

Grab one (or two) and see if you can tell the difference:

By Dave Clancy RKC, CSCS, CKFMS

My Hapkido grandmaster once joked that at the “Martial Artists Old Age Home” Advil and Tylenol are available in bulk. 15 years ago that was funny. Today, as I am older and sorer, the comment has lost much of its humor.

Still active, I often find myself in need of recovery techniques. Depending on the severity of the soreness (Usually, how hard did I work out that day?), I use a variety of strategies, often in combination.  My first choice for muscle soreness is Wagner’s Race Horse Liniment. Available through Wagner’s Pharmacy in Louisville, KY (Where they know a thing or two about horses), the liniment is indicated for use on bruises, minor injuries, wounds, or pain and stiffness.

Race Horse Liniment is designed for use on horses, to help alleviate pain and swelling from racing. It is moving into use for humans for the same purpose.

The liniment smells similar to Listerine, and has the heating-cooling feel of Ben-Gay or Biofreeze. However, since it is a liquid, it is not greasy. Ideally it is applied after a warm shower, and is rubbed liberally into the sore muscles and joints. I like to use a foam roller immediately after applying to really get the liniment into the sore areas.

After a few minutes, the smell dies away, and the sore areas will feel cool. After a few hours, the pain dissipates as well. If not, I reapply.

To order: www.wagnerspharmacy.com

My second strategy for recovery is Emu Oil. Emu Oil is oil from the fat on the back of the Emu bird. The oil has anti-inflammatory properties, and helps reduce joint pain. This is important for me, simply because I have undergone so many surgeries that my joints ache with any weather change, any overzealous workout, or just on bad days.

The Emu Oil I prefer is Blue-Emu, which also has glucosamine in it. I simply rub the Blu-Emu into the sore joints (or non-sore joints as a preventative measure), and my pain lessens. There is no scent, and I usually use the Emu oil in conjunction with the Race horse liniment. (Emu oil on the joints, Race Horse liniment on the muscles).

Blue-Emu is available at Wal-Mart, Target, Kroger, and many other retailers. It can also be purchased at http://www.blue-emu.com

The third (and most painful) strategy is the ice bath. I developed a fondness for ice baths when playing baseball in the 1980s. After a hot and dirty afternoon, the ice bath would refresh me, and take away some of the aches. But rest assured, it is not easy to get used to.

The theory behind ice baths is that intense exercise causes microtraumas, or tiny tears in muscle fibers. This muscle damage is linked with delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) which occurs between 24 and 72 hours after exercise.

The ice bath is thought to:

• ·         Constrict blood vessels and flush waste products, like lactic out of affected tissues
• ·         Decrease metabolic activity and slow down physiological processes
• ·         Reduce swelling and tissue breakdown

Then, with rewarming, the increased blood flow speeds circulation, and in turn, improves the healing process.

I usually get two five-gallon coolers filled with ice, and dump them into my bathtub. I then run cold water over the ice, which will melt most, if not all of the cubes. I let the water rise, until I can get fully into the tub – I don’t like easing myself into it.

I generally climb in, sit back, and steadily immerse myself. Remember, this is not a relaxing bath – it is designed to rejuvenate, not relax you. I will sit for between 10-20 minutes. After leaving the tub, I dress warmly in sweats and usually lie down for a nap. After my nap I will take a warm shower to raise my body temperature (and then usually apply Race Horse liniment and Blue-Emu).

If you do decide to try the ice bath, I recommend having someone else in the house with you – the extreme cold, especially the first time you try it, can play tricks on your body. Staying in the ice too long will cause problems (but you are more likely to want to get out too soon!).

An alternative to the ice bath is the cold shower. While not as cold, it does provide some of the rejuvenation of the ice bath. In fact, it can be used as a means of getting used to the cold therapy, without full immersion.

These three strategies have helped me in my recoveries as I age and stay very active. Soreness, while common during my training, quickly dissipates, allowing me to get back training sooner.

Dave Clancy RKC, CSCS*D is the only person in Ohio to hold both the exclusive Russian Kettlebell Challenge Instructor Certification and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with Distinction designations.

If you are in Ohio, train with Dave at www.bluechip-athletics.com or to learn more visit www.daveclancy.com