How Did i Get Started in KB Lifting

Well, i have been asked many times how i got started in kb lifting. So here is the answer.

My background before kb lifting was artistic gymnastics, capoeira, taekwondo and wushu. I did weight training a little bit to complement my largely bodyweight training.

Being young, having high goals and wanting to reach them fast, i trained too fast too soon. At that time i was training the planche and front lever progression, inspired by the article Building an Olympic Body Through Bodyweight Conditioning. I made fast progress but ignored the aches and pains that my shoulder was giving me. I did not do any specific prehab or rehab for this training.

The pain built up until my progress stopped and even deteriorated.

Looking back, i think i was so stupid. I also made other stupid mistakes like this in the past. Reminder: please do your prehab and rehab diligently.

In an effort to get back my pain free movement. I went for conventional physiotherapy. Hey, i was a physiotherapy student, so i have to test the system on myself before testing it on other people. As expected i was prescribed exercises like external rotation and internal rotation.

Of course, these are not reasonable exercises to perform as they do not teach you to integrate the body as a unit. And they do not decrease the pain.

One movement i had problem with at this time which i did not before was the handstand push ups. The positive portion of the movement was painful.

I had wanted to try kb lifting earlier but delayed because i wanted to conquer the planche and front lever first. Now i could not do either, and i could not do handstand push up. What to do? Kettlebells came as a perfect answer at that time because you do not push the kettlebell up overhead, like the press (though you can do it if you want), but jerked and snatched, therefore bypassing the painful range of motion.

Jerk


Snatch


So that is how i started. And it worked. I started not being able to press the 16kg. But after a few months, i was pressing the 24kg pain free. :D

But let me tell all of you who have injuries and looking to treat your injuries through kettlebell lifting. Yes it is a good tool. But it is not the first line of defense against injuries. There are more specific prehab and rehab exercises that is to be done befor you even consider strength & conditioning (or "strengthening") be it with kettlebells or any other tool.

So if you have injuries or are in pain and don't know what to do, contact me now and i can put you in a rehab program to get you back on the way to pain free movement.