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Kettlebell Benefits and cost of personal instruction?

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The costs are subjective. While it may be an objective $100 per hour that amount is very subjective because paying for that is different for different people. For someone who does not have a lot of cash that could be prohibitively expensive. But if you are affluent that is rather cheap. Compared to all of the things wealthy people spend money on its not very expensive. There are people who buy bottles of wine which cost more than a dozen hours of SFG instruction. If this is something you want to do, and you have the disposable income, it would be worth the money.

One advantage about S&S is that its only focusing on a few skills. Depending on where you are with your physical fitness it may not take very much instruction to get you up to speed on those drills. I have seen trainers milk their customers for money by throwing in tons of sessions they didn't need by adding a bunch of variety and other crap to keep their wheels spinning and I don't expect that from the SFG or RKC trainers as everything seems pretty no nonsense and to the point.
 
I have been on both ends as both the trainer and trainee..

A discussion I encountered recently

"I'm flattered but feel like, 'what can you gain from me? You seem like you know how to program'"

"The extra set of eyes always helps. It also helps me gain perspective on various ways to write programs"

It may seem to be costly (Heck, 100$ goes a long way over here in the Philippines)

but that is the investment it takes if you want to get closer to your goals, become a better student and teacher
 
Smile-n-Nod said:
How much does kettlebell instruction cost?

What can I learn from an instructor that I cannot learn from books, articles, and videos?
Click to expand...

Hi Smile-n-Nod how are you today? :)

This is a great question and to be honest I don't have a great (short) answer. But I will give you an observation from experience. My wife Reneta Music and I have taught about 25 StrongFirst Kettlebell Courses over the last two years. Before that I hosted HKCs' for probably 6 years.

My observation of book (only) learned participants is they were lacking on form to the point it held them back in strength and conditioning. Some were strong but unable to express it because of lack of form and proper movement. Many were quite disappointed in themselves for the first couple hours of the course but because of their prior book knowledge and the StrongFirst Kettlebell Course superior methods overcame the lack of form and by the end of the day were performing all the fundamentals with excellent form. They literally in many cases learned more in 8 hours than the previous 4-5 or 6 years of studying from a book and practicing on their own. Yes the course is that effective.

You can get excellent knowledge from Pavel's books and really improve yourself physically on your own no doubt about that. But to get to the next level you need hands on from a StrongFirst instructor. :) I hope this helps you in your path.
 
I've used KBs since they were on the market.I am self taught via books and DVDs.Recently decided to hire a SF certified instructor(both BW and KBs).Wish I invested years ago--would have saved me time lost from injury/learning things the right way as far as proper form/etc.The nuances that a trained eye can observe in person vs. online videos etc. is critical.
In short,it is worth it (to me) every penny.
 
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Another 2 points I would like to stress on this topic is the one of safety as part of performance and specifically coaching kettlebell training.

All too often, students are hungry for progressing up to the heavier bells but do not understand how to integrate the SFG principles of safety into their programming for performance.

There are countless nuances to handling Kettlebells safely as you never just mindlessly pick it up and put it down. The bells will humble you quickly once you get sloppy so it's critical to get it right the first time.

Another huge advantage to working with an SFG is they have almost certainly been on the receiving end of coaching themselves from other experienced SFG or RKC's.

This is important because there are many "trainers" out there who yes may be strong individuals, but have never been professionally coached themselves.
 
The kettlebell needs no instructor. It alone is good enough for all your potential needs.
 
Worth it if you are serious.
I did it when i first started.
It cleared up a lot of questions.
You cannot ask a book or videos questions or have them eye and correct your technique.
When i became an instructor i had new clients that said they already knew how to swing from video and wanted to learn the snatch.
This couldn't have been further from the truth.
If you think about it ,it's an investment in you and will save you much trial and error time and get you going in the right direction.
If money is an issue seek a certified SFG that does group sessions.
This is usually less expensive but you trade off with less one on one instruction.
 
You will have a high ground in training overall and will never have to hire anyone else if you have the right mindset.
 
OP, I have not read this whole thread but do yourself a favor and save your money by skipping Starbucks or whatever way you can save a dollar or two a day and go get the best instructor you can find for at least one session. IT WILL BE WORTH IT! I liken the KB to a gun. I wouldn't learn to shoot one on my own but I'd hire an expert to teach me. Best of luck!
 
Had my first session with an experienced SFG today and it was terrific. I remember watching a programme about Tiger Woods years ago and how he had to deconstruct his golf swing. I knew going in that I have lots to "unlearn"; habits picked up through my own practice and the You Tube University. Went over the swing, TGU and mobility. I have a much better appreciation of what tension actually means and how it relates to the swing. I also have lots to do with mobility which I know from my M Thai practice. It reinforces that you can only pick so much up from a book..lots to work on..
 
Hi, great question and some great answers already. To add a different spin on it, you know that interview question "why should I hire YOU?" Well, it's for what I SEE, what I prioritize and how I coach YOU. There's definitely a science to good kettlebell training, something anyone can read about in a good book. But the art is where much of the beauty lies...and great coaches seek to boost both sides. Not just knowing the what and how, but in the when, for the who, and the whys. The argument can be made for hiring a coach of any kind! I'm a coach, and I have 3 of my own...because of the zillion types of cognitive biases that can creep in. I read the SFB manual, but still took the cert. And having assisted, I learned even more. Same with the SFL. Books, videos, articles are all great...but a coach's ability to distil & target all that knowledge to YOU is where wisdom lives. And results feed off of wisdom.
 
I had my first session with SFG II instructor Dorian Vermeir. He polished my TGU and gave a few pointers in the starting position to the swing, plus gave me a solid training program. It was great! I have done a few sessions with another non-SFG certified instructor before, and I must say the difference is staggering. It certainly is worth the money.
 
I'm still benefiting from taking the SF* courses and a little bit of one on one instruction. A little goes a long way.
 
As a self taught beginner who just finished his first class today, it's worth EVERY cent.

When you compare the cost to one nice meal out, it's a no brainer. Take the class and go home and cook a healthy balanced meal instead and I promise you won't regret it!

With 2 kids a weekly session just isn't in the budget, but I'll make sure to get in a session when I'm ready to take the next step.
 
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