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Kettlebell Introduction

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Jacques van der Merwe

Jacques van der Merwe

Level 5 Valued Member
Greetings StrongFirst!

Quick Intro: My name is Jacques, 44 years-young, 180cm, ~76kg. I'm relatively new to Kettlebells which was introduced to me when I joined a local CrossFit gym late-June this year. Since then, I quickly realised that I really don't like the olympic lifting component of CrossFit programming but have rather become smitten with the Kettlebell. Prior to CrossFit, I worked on various bodyweight training programs ranging from the mobile-app Freeletics through to the Recommended Routine on r/bodyweightfitness (Reddit).

Since joining the Cult-of-CrossFit I have definitely become stronger however I do find it injury-prone. This has led me on a wonderful journey of discovery while researching Kettlebell training programming as an alternative, which has ultimately brought me here to StrongFirst.

I have lurked here for some time, and the amount of knowledge here is truly incredible. With some of the knowledge that I've learned I have a game plan however we all need to start somewhere, and the simpler and least-complicated way is always best. I have a pair of 16kg and a 24kg bell on the way and will begin with Simple and Sinister, and as a Christmas present to myself I have a one-on-one session booked with an SFG II next weekend.

I look forward to engaging with the community and learning from you all!

Cheers,
-Jacques
 
Jacques,

Welcome to the forum! Always great to meet another “Jim”.

It sounds to me that you have an excellent plan. The people here are very helpful. Don’t be shy about asking questions.

Bonjour!

Jim
 
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Welcome @spicykaiju! S1 community forum, instructors, methodology, and educational resources will help you on your journey to health and strength.

I speak from experience. I started out with 16kg 2H swings and 8kg GUs. I'm now working on 32kg 1H swings and 24kg-32kg GUs.

Start a training log and keep us posted and your progress.
 
Welcome here! You are in a great place, and do not be afraid to ask questions, get feedback...everyone here is so helpful and this is a great community. You made a good choice with S&S and I am sure you will find it carries over to a lot of things in your life.

That's so fantastic that you gave such a great Xmas present to yourself! What an opportunity for you....milk it for all it is worth!

Looking forward to hearing from you further.
 
I've done other stuff too. What I like about S&S with the kettlebell is that it trains more than just strength. It also trains endurance and balance, which matter just as much as strength in any application of strength in real life. In any case, S&S is simply an interesting activity to do, the movements feel good, and it has the benefits of playing a sport hard, and lots of crossover effects on my judo and hiking endeavours.
 
Wow, a big thank you to everyone for such a warm welcome!

@Ryan T - I'm definitely going to keep a training log. I used to do the same tracking my bodyweight training, however I'm going to go a little more scientific by incorporating heart rate statistics. I'm very interested in A+A training methods and I want to track my performance across both strength and cardio (indoor rowing) programming. I didn't consider documenting it on this forum, however I think that would be an interesting experience. :)
 
Brookes said:
Hey Jaques, welcome! Maybe you want to do a little review of your experience and your major insights?
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Yes indeed, thanks @Brookes for reminding me!

On Sunday the 9th of December, I spent 3 hours with Nic Weber an SFG II from Switzerland. It was a cold and rainy afternoon, yet it was everything but cold and miserable with the time that I spent with him! Nic is a fantastic instructor, very knowledgable, patient and strong!

Nic spent some time teaching me the StrongFirst principals and provided some additional insight into this wonderful community. We spoke about some safety precautions and promptly finished off with a warm-up. Time to get busy!

As I came to this with a little experience, Nic suggested that we work through each of the three basic movements, the swing, the strict-press and the TKU. My existing form was not perfect, but fortunately far-from-ugly. :) With a few tweaks, suggestions and corrections Nic expertly guided me to improving all three movements.

The three hours quickly zipped by, but man... what quality they were! Time well spent.

I realise that there is a plethora of online content out there that demonstrates good form, but there is no comparison to in-person instruction, especially by a StrongFirst qualified instructor. If anyone reading this is contemplating spending some cash and dedicating some time with an SFG, stop and go do it! You will not be sorry.

I'm planning to spend some more time with Nic in the coming months. As mentioned in my goals, I would very much like to earn the SFG I this coming year, and having Nic's input and advice will greatly increase those chances.

Thanks Nic! :D
 
Pavel Macek said:
@Nic Weber is a great coach. Please send him my best regards.
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Will do so Pavel! In fact we spent a few minutes talking about you. My original plan was to come up to Germany for the SFC but that didn't work out for various reasons. So I looked to see what options were available to me here and I found Nic.

Incidentally Nic is starting a local Kettlebell Club that will be meeting the last Sunday of each month beginning January 27th next month. If you're ever in the neighborhood... :)
 
spicykaiju said:
Will do so Pavel! In fact we spent a few minutes talking about you. My original plan was to come up to Germany for the SFC but that didn't work out for various reasons. So I looked to see what options were available to me here and I found Nic.

Incidentally Nic is starting a local Kettlebell Club that will be meeting the last Sunday of each month beginning January 27th next month. If you're ever in the neighborhood... :)
Click to expand...

That was Pavel you were talking about. I am just (as he likes to joke) his stunt double ;-)
 
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