Core Values

Great article in the current issue of USA Weightlifting Magazine by Richard Lansky called Approaching Core Strength From the Weightlifter's Perspective. Although it is an article targeted for athletes involved in the sport of Olympic Weightlifting, I think it has great value for anyone who trains with weights.

Lansky defines the core as "...the gross musculature of the anterior and posterior trunk, hips and mid back," as well as "the smaller stabilizing muscles of these regions." For weightlifters, the core has two major functions: 1) Force transfer and stabilization and 2) Force reduction and stabilization. The first function is the exercise scientist's way of saying, "You can't shoot a cannon out of canoe" and the second function is the corollary,"You can't catch what's shot at you in a canoe either."

In force transfer (for example pulling the bar from the floor, or the jerk drive) any flexion or extension of the spine during weightlifting movements not only puts dangerous stress on the spine, it also dissipates force the athlete is working to apply to the bar. Hip and leg extension provides the motive force and the core must provide an efficient linkage. Any sagging of the core will result in less force acting on the bar.

In the force reduction function capacity (stopping the downward motion of bar in the jerk dip, the front squat/clean and overhead squat/snatch) core flexion or extension also increases injury risk and it will also cause the center of gravity of the bar to move outside the lifters base of support...the feet...possibly causing the lift to be missed in front (core flexion) or behind (core extension). Core instability will also interfere with the athlete's ability to use the elastic and stretch reflex capacity of the lower body musculature to generate force as well as diminish the ability of the athlete to make use of the rebound of the flexing bar.

Many movements that beginning weightlifters learn as "skill transfer"exercises also have a profound impact on the core musculature. These exercises not only address technique development, they condition the lifter's body to "fire up" the appropriate core musculature in a sport specific manner. Lansky recommends that more advanced lifters who may have abandoned these exercises for technique development reconsider including them in their training in the context of core development exercises. Lansky also notes that it is important lifters learn early on to use the Valsalva maneuver to increase core stability via increased intra-abdominal and intra-thoracic pressure.

Besides general core conditioning with the usual suspects of core movements, Lansky recommends the following weightlifting movements for core conditioning:

1) Power Cleans and Cleans + Front Squats

2) Jerk Drives

3) Overhead supports and Jerk Recoveries

4) Power Clean + Front Squat + Jerk

5) Snatch and Clean Pulls to knee height

6) RDL + High Pull

7) Snatch Grip Behind Neck Push Jerk + Overhead Squat

8) Overhead Squat

9) Overhead Stationary Alternating Lunges

10) Overhead Walking Lunges

11) Overhead Step Ups

12) Drop Snatches/Snatch Balance

Lansky particularly likes overhead squats as a way to condition the stabilizing core musculature in a manner specific to the needs of weightlifters. This recommendation reminded me of Dan John's high regard for the overhead squat. The overhead squat and exercises related to it may very well be the best movements going for simultaneously training the linkage between the lower body, the core and the upper body. They aren't easy and they aren't pleasant but easy, pleasant and effective rarely go together, except in infomercials.

I would also add to the above list overhead squats starting from the bottom position...I do these from time to time and they really provide excellent feedback on what is and isn't happening in your own core strength. The Chinese Lifter in the photo above is doing these with a jerk width grip...since he is one of those rare squat jerkers. If you have the shoulder flexibility to do overhead squats with a jerk grip, then by all means do these too. If you don't currently have the flexibility you can ease your grip in over time...varying grip width will vary the training effects as well. One writer has observed that some Chinese Weightlifters can overhead squat from the bottom position more than they can front squat. The Chinese lifters also do snatch grip overhead static holds for time, several minutes in some cases. I've tried this one too and besides being another core wrecker it will give you some valuable feedback about how solid your overhead lockout really is!

Medvedev, Weightlifting and Kettlebells: Part 2

Legs and Torso

Medvedev recommends using 5-6 exercises performed in circuit fashion with no rest between exercises, but beginners may take up to one minute if necessary. As fitness levels improve, more exercises can be added. To assure improvement and development of leg muscles always include some squats. Either with one KB on one shoulder, or squats with a KB on each shoulder, or perform suitcase squats "hindu squat" style.

1) Good Morning, One KB held in front, shoulder width stance, straight legs, slow lowering, quick raising, 8-10 reps. Repeat with 2 KBs, one each hand, 8-10 reps
2) Squat, 1KB held by handle behind head w/ both hands, 8-10 reps, easy tempo
3) Snatch High Pull, 1 KB, two hands, from ground to overhead, 8-10 reps, easy tempo
4) Pistol Grip KB Clean to Shoulder, from ground, 5-7 reps each side, medium tempo
5) Snatch, from ground, 5-7 reps
6) Double KB Clean to shoulder, from ground, 4-6 reps, easy tempo
7) Double KB Snatch, from ground, 4-6 reps
8) Squat + Press From Shoulder (clean 1 kb to shoulder, squat recover to standing position and press) 4- 6 reps, slow tempo, repeat opposite side
9) Side Bends, KB each hand hanging to side, feet together, bend side to side, 8-10 reps slow tempo
10) Alternating Side Bend + Row, KB each hand hanging to side, feet together, bend to one side while opposite arm rows upwards; KB tracks alongside body, 8-10 reps each side, slow tempo
11) Trunk Rotation w/ KB held behind head, 3-5, reverse direction & repeat, slow tempo
12) Squat + Jump (no weight) 3-5 fast tempo
13) Twisting KB Pickup, KB outside left leg, bend and twist to pick up with right arm, replace, repeat for 5-7 reps and then switch sides, slow tempo
14) Kettlebell Swings, 2 hands 1 KB, swing above head height, 8-10 reps fast
15) KB Hip Abduction, affix kb to foot, bend knee, abduct leg, 8-10 reps, switch sides, slow
tempo
16) One legged Squat, 1 KB held behind head, 4-6 reps each leg, medium tempo
17) Side Lunges, 1 KB behind head, 5-7 reps, slow
18) Lunges, 1 KB behind head, 6-8 reps per side, medium tempo
19) Toe raise, 1 KB behind head, 8-10 reps, high as possible, medium tempo
20) Toe raise on blocks, 1 KB behind head, 8-10 reps, high as possible, slow tempo
21) Single Leg Knee Extensions, Affix KB to foot, Sit on High Bench, 3-5 reps each side, slow
22) Double Leg Knee Extensions, Affix KB to each foot, Sit on High Bench, 3-5 reps, slow
23) Elevated Single Leg Knee Extensions, Affix KB to foot, Sit on High Bench, elevate thigh off bench and extend knee, 4-6 reps each side, slow
24) Elevated Double Leg Knee Extensions, Affix KB to each foot, Sit on High Bench, elevate thighs off bench and extend knee, 4-6 reps each side, slow3-5 reps, slow
25) Seated Good Morning, 1 KB behind head, straddle bench, fold forward, 6-8 reps, slow
26) Seated Side Bends, 1 KB behind head, straddle bench, 8-10 reps, slow
27) Seated Torso Twists, no weight (face front, turn to side, return to face front all reps to one side first, then switch) 10-12 reps each side, medium tempo
28) Seated Full Twists, no weight, complete twist right to left then left to right, 7-9 reps each side
29) Roman Chair Situps, 1 KB held on chest, 6-8 reps slow

Bonus Material:
Verkoshansky has a chapter in this same text with an extensive list of mostly dumbbell exercises for the general weightraining of athletes and "developing strength endurance and power for athletes of different classifications."
Here is an interesting drill paraphrased as closely as we could get it:
Most athletes need to get from point A to point B as explosively as possible. Here is an exercise for improving that ability. Hold 2 giri of equal weight (16,24 or 32kg) one in each hand. Position two benches of equal height on either side. Benches should be between 60-75cm (24 - 30 inches) in height. Stand between the benches and jump up, landing one foot on each bench. Step down and repeat.

Medvedev, Weightlifting and Kettlebells: Part 1

In his book, the Russian Kettlebell Challenge, Pavel Tsatsouline discussed several populations that have used kettlebells as a part of their training. Among those discussed were Russian Olympic Weightlifters. Since Olympic Weightlifting is a serious hobby of mine I was very interested in which kettlebell lifts and set and rep schemes the Russians might have used.

Pavel didn't go into great detail in RKC about what exercises the Russians used, but he did mention the great Russian weightlifting coach Medvedev recommended 24 shoulder and arm exercises and 29 leg and torso exercises as well as the contributions of other great Weightlifting coaches and sports scientists. Although I plan a more thorough treatment (one in which I hope to combine Medvedev's, Rodionov's, Verkoshanksy and Vorobyev's kettlebell recommendations with current American Weightlifting training methods) here is brief summary from A.S. Medvedev's chapter from the 1986 textbook Weightlifting and It's Teaching Methodology. Part 2 will cover additional exercises.

Shoulders and Arms

1) Double KB Clean, 10-12 reps, medium tempo
2) Double KB Clean + press, 6-8 reps, medium tempo
3) Double KB Press, 8-10 reps, medium tempo
4) Double KB Curls, 5-7 reps, slow tempo
5) Double KB High Pulls, 5-7 reps, medium tempo
6) Double KB Upright Row, 4-6 reps, slow tempo
7) One arm press from shoulder, 3-5 reps, medium tempo
8) One hand x 2KB press (overlap handles) 3-5 reps, medium tempo
9) See Saw Press, 3-5 reps each side, comfortable tempo
10) Bent over row, two hands x 1 KB, 6-8 reps, comfortable tempo, relax/stretch at bottom
11) Double KB Bent over row, 4-6 reps, comfortable tempo, relax/stretch at bottom
12) Double KB Alternating Bent over row, 4-6 reps each arm , comfortable tempo, relax/stretch at bottom
13) Double KB Shrug, arms to side, 8-10 reps, slow tempo, relax/stretch at bottom position
14) Shrug, One Arm, 8-10 reps then switch sides, slow tempo, relax/stretch at bottom position
15) Shrug, 2 Hands x One KB, bell in front, 9-11 reps, slow tempo
16) Double KB Circular Shrugs, arms to sides, 5-7 reps forward, the 5-7 reverse, slow tempo
17) Floor Press, 1KB, legs spread apart, 6-8 reps, medium tempo
18) Double KB Floor Presses, legs spread apart, elbows tight to body, 6-8 reps, medium tempo
19) Alternating Floor press, 2KB, legs spread apart, elbows tight to body, 5-7 reps each side, medium tempo
20) Pullovers, reclining, 1 KB 2 hands, legs spread apart, 5-7 reps, easy tempo
21) Reclining Shoulder Girdle "Twists", 1 KB 2 hands, legs spread apart, set kettlebell on each side 5-7 reps, easy tempo
22) Pullovers + Reclining Shoulder Girdle "Twists", 1 KB 2 hands, legs spread apart, 5-7 reps each side (pullover set KB to one side, then pullover set KB to the other side) easy tempo
23) High Bench Rows, (lying on stomach) 2 KBS, 6-8 reps easy tempo
24) High Bench Alternating Rows, (lying on stomach) 2 KBS, 6-8 reps easy tempo

Medvedev's instructions for beginners is to begin with the 16kg bells and afer 4-6 weeks move up to the 24kg bells. "Later" move up to the 32kg bells. No more than 3 "lessons" a week for beginners and no more than 30 minutes per lesson. Lessons should be at the same time each day. Beginners should also start with a conservative set and rep scheme: 3 sets x 3 reps per exercise. As strength improves over the 4-6 weeks, beginners should have worked up to 5-6 sets of 3-4 reps. The recommended rep ranges for the above exercises are for more advanced athletes.

Much thanks to Vladimir Garbovsky for his patient help translating the text and to Pavel for taking time out of his busy schedule to provide it. Vladimir is of Ukrainian descent and speaks Russian fluently. Even though he is no stranger to the weight room (he plays defensive end for West Chester University football team) much of the translation was nonetheless difficult. There were no pictures, and the exercises were rarely named, just descriptions so we had to use "translators license" quite a bit and no small amount of pantomime which, I assure you, raised some eyebrows (and snickers) from the students in the Library trying to get some studying done.

Fedor Fuglev Long Cycle 83 reps 3/25/2007

More from the Ukraine courtesy of Lorraine. Here's masters age lifter Fedor Fuglev. He's well over forty and still a champion in the Open Divisions. Another awesome display of strength, power, precision and endurance.

Vasily Ginko Long Cycle 91 reps 3/25/2007

Thanks to GS athlete Lorraine Patton for her tireless and extraordinary efforts to educate us here in the States about Girevoy Sport. Here is some video she shot at the World Championship Long Cycle Clean and Jerk Competition this past March in the Ukraine. Long Cycle is a seasonal competition overseas, contested in the Spring. It's my favorite event. For the uninitiatated, those are two 32kg (70lb)kettlebells being tossed around with ridiculous ease.

Lance Frye: Speed-Strength Illustrated

This video is from the 2007 Fairleigh Dickenson University Open this past January. Lance makes a 145kg Snatch (319 lbs) in the 77kg class (169.4 lbs) and demonstrates great patience bringing it under control for a good lift.

The video below is Lance at the 2007 East Coast Gold Classic in March, ripping a 140kg Snatch (308 lbs)
Speed and precision are required to execute a snatch...and obviously great strength. I'm lucky: I live near Moorestown, NJ and get to see Lance train pretty regularly. It's always humbling and always inspiring.

Does Getting Stronger = Getting Faster?

I recently participated in a round table discussion on which exercise, the power clean or the box squat, was more valuable for increasing Power Production in athletes http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/422/ and while I don't think minds were changed in the course of the discussion, it did force me to revisit some notions about how strength and speed interact. When is appropriate to place the primary focus on strength training exercises with power training as a supplemental concern and when is it appropriate to shift that focus to power training with strength exercises taking over a supplemental role?

In most sports, speed is a highly valued commodity. Generally speaking, the faster an athlete can exert maximum force in his or her given sport, the better that athlete will be at a given skill level. This measurement of how fast an athlete can generate force is called the Rate of Force Development (RFD). Many coaches assume that simply getting an athlete stronger will improve RFD and for many athletes, especially beginning athletes, this is generally true, depending on the sport. However, at a certain point, as we shall see below, simply getting stronger won't make an athlete any faster or jump higher because RFD requirements exceed the athlete's ability to make use of additional strength gains.

In most sports, the time it takes to execute a sports specific movement is far less than the time it takes for an athlete to maximally express strength. In other words, for most athletes it takes between .3 and .4 of a second to develop maximum muscular force against a stationary object (Zatsiorky, Science and Practice of Strength Training). The final explosive delivery phase of putting the shot, on the other hand, is between .15 and .18 seconds. The takeoff of a sprinter from the blocks is even shorter, between .08 and .10 of a second. The term sports scientists use to describe the time difference between the ability to exert maximal force and an explosive movement is called the Explosive Strength Deficit (ESD) For most athletes a deficit of around 50% is considered the cutoff point. That is to say that highly trained elite athletes can only make use of about 50% of their maximum strength in their given sports due to the ESD. This has ramifications for how to think about strength training as it applies to improving speed. Let me provide a homegrown example. Imperfect, but illustrative.

I know two athletes...one is an Olympic Weightlifter (athlete OL) and the other is a Powerlifter (athlete PL). Athlete OL can power clean 110kg and has a maximum deadlift of 160kg. Athlete PL can power clean 100kg, but he can deadlift 240 kg. Both want to improve their power cleans. So let's do the math.
OL: 160-110 = 50 50/160 = .31 x 100 = 31% ESD
PL: 240-100 = 140 140/240 = .58 x 100 = 58% ESD
So what do these numbers indicate? Using 50% as an approximate ideal range, the higher the percentage of the ESD, the less impact more maximal strength training will have on improving the athletic movement. The lower the ESD percentage, the more likely increases in maximal strength will have a favorable impact on the athletic movement.

OL has an ESD that suggests improving his deadlifting strength may very well help his power clean numbers move up...a case for doing more strength work relative to power work. PL has an ESD that is in the range that indicates improving his deadlift won't make much of a difference to his power clean and he needs to work on improving explosiveness, doing more power cleans relative to heavy deadlifting, perhaps. Of course I'm making the assumption that deadlifts actually have value for the power clean.

Here's another example modified from Zatsiorsky's book. A young athlete desiring to improve his vertical jump is currently squatting bodyweight (BW) and leaping 50cm. He trains for a year and improves his squat to double BW and improves his vertical jump to 80cm. Two years go by our athlete has improved his squatting to triple BW but his vertical jump has not improved. Why? The ESD was optimal at double bodyweight for this athlete and additional increases in squatting strength had no impact on his RFD for vertical jumping. This is a mistake that many athletic coaches make: they assume that continuous increases in squatting strength will result in continuous improvements in vertical jumping ability. It doesn't. In the above example, special jumping exercises designed to improve RFD are called for, while strength training continues but recedes into a maintenance modality.

So, pay attention to athletic requirements and strength levels. If speed and performance start to level off, it may be time to back off the strength training in favor of more specialized training. It is balancing act. Great speed requires great strength. While it possible to be slow moving and strong, there is no such thing as a fast moving weak person.

Time

How long does it take to get really good at a sport? If you are a beginning athlete with aspirations of becoming an elite athlete, how many years, generally speaking, does it take? How do the training loads differ from beginner to intermediate to advanced to elite?

I've been thinking about this lately due in part to recent discussions at the Full KOntact Forum http://www.fullkontact.com/forum/ regarding the number of hours a day professional kettlebell athletes in Eastern Europe and Russia train compared to what Americans are currently doing. For the pros, six to eight hours a day has been thrown around as an average working day. Based on other sports and elite level training hours, that seems about right.

However, a beginner or intermediate level American kettlebell lifter cannot expect to duplicate the training hours of the elites even if there were time in the day to do so. The sport is new in the States...only a handful of even our best homegrown athletes have been at it more than 3 years. It takes many years to adapt to elite levels of workloads...and it's not simply work-hardening just for the sake of work-hardening. It just takes years of progressively more difficult training to achieve elite level and once it is achieved, the loads it took to get there are no longer sufficient. Even higher loads are required to maintain and improve elite abilities. The top American men who compete in Kettlebell Sport train on the high end less than half the time each day and currently produce less than half the competitive results of their elite counterparts. That's to be expected. It's not a knock on anyone and it really should come as no surprise. As I stated earlier, it's a new sport in the States, expert coaching has only recently become available and we just haven't been at it that long. Not that there is a one-to-one relationship but the time it takes to develop elite sports specific skill and strength and the cumulative time spent training correlate strongly. It's not that we are bad at Kettlebell Sport, it's just that we are so new to it. It's just a matter of time. (The American women, on the other hand, are doing exceptionally well...but that's a different story and a previous blog.)

Vladimir Zatsiorsky (Science and Practice of Strength Training) points out that it takes 8-12 years to go from beginner to elite, assuming you have the right stuff to get to elite in the first place. According to Zatsiorsky, training loads, the amount of work an elite athlete absolutely has to do to improve, is often 10 times greater than the loads a beginner with six months experience will work with. A beginning weightlifter in Bulgaria may lift between 416 and 500 tons in the first year of training. An elite Bulgarian Weightlifter will hoist in the neighborhood of 5,000 tons annually. Elite Cross Country skiers will log between 10,000 and 12,000 kilometers annually while a beginner might cover only about 1,000 kilometers.

There are exceptions to how long it takes to achieve elite status in a given sport. For example Tara Nott Cunningham won the Gold Medal in Women's Weightlifting for the United States at the 2000 Olympics after only 4 years of competitive weightlifting...she won her first national title after only a year of training. In 1999, Olympic weightlifter Shane Hamman became the first American male to win a gold medal in the Pan Am games after only a little over two years of weightlifting. He also made the 2000 and 2004 Olympic teams and holds all the records for his weight class.

But don't get your hopes up if you think you are going to cut corners. The exceptions are exceptions for good reason.

In the case of Cunningham, by the time she took up Olympic weightlifting she had already achieved elite athletic status in two other Olympic sports: gymnastics and soccer. In fact she is the only athlete in history to have qualified and trained for three different Olympic sports at the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. The year Shane Hamman decided to take up Olympic Weightlifting, he was wrapping up his career as an elite powerlifter at the ripe old age of 24...in October of 1996 he set the IPF World Record in the Squat in Philadelphia of 1006.5 pounds, a record that still stands to this day. Part of the reason both athletes were so successful so quickly was due to the fact that both had previously achieved elite status in sports that utilized traits that Olympic weightlifting requires: strength, explosiveness, flexibility and durability. They weren't starting from square one athletically and were already exceptionally developed athletes before switching disciplines. Even so, their respective fast tracks to high accomplishments in a new sport were rare and remarkable feats.

It's not a one to one relationship but generally speaking the more time you spend practicing an activity the better you will get at it. It also seems to be true that the better you get, the slower the improvements come. Beginners get better quickly, intermediates progress at a fairly steady and predictable rate, and advanced athletes may only see intermittent and small improvements until their careers peak and the inevitable declines in performance begin.

The reality of it is, most of us don't have what it takes to be elite at anything. But that's no excuse not to develop yourself to be the best you can be. And the "best you can be" will have to be balanced against the other demands on your time that your life makes. We often bemoan the sacrifices that youngsters who opt to go for high levels of accomplishment at early ages are required to make: "normal childhoods" being the biggest sacrifice. Well, extraordinary accomplishment isn't achieved by ordinary means in any discipline. Ordinary lifestyles aren't conducive to extraordinary achievements. Elite adult athletes don't have ordinary lifestyles either and a "normal lifestyle" is by necessity a casualty of six to eight hour training days. What every "naturally gifted" advanced athlete discovers sooner or later is, everybody at their level is "naturally gifted". The deciding factor is, who is willing to give up the most to get the most.

Everything has a price. The price for athletic excellence as in everything else, is time; time measured in hours per day practicing, days per week practicing, weeks per month, months per year and years in a career. Time spent practicing.

Chin Up

Here's a little tip for kettlebell swings and snatches that I have been playing with lately...it's more appropriate for short burst power production kettlebell usage, I think, since it is adapted from Olympic Weightlifting. But I think it will also add a margin of safety and make your power production more efficient for longer, higher repetition efforts.

You may first want to read an article I wrote awhile back regarding my take on kettlebell swings and snatches here: http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/388/ to get some insight into my take on proper pulling form.

The tip I've been playing with is one that I picked up from strength coach Dan John who uses this idea in his Olympic Weightlifting teaching progression. I am finding it also works extremely well with kettlebell swings, cleans and snatches. First let me review a few things. In my opinion, the four keys to maximizing the powerful posterior chain muscles in kettlebell swings and snatches is to mimic the position Olympic Lifters assume as the bar reaches knee height in the barbell snatch and clean. As the bell swings back between the legs:
1) The knees are only slightly bent
2) Shins are vertical and even tilting back somewhat towards the heels
3) Balance is focused towards the heels
4) The lower back is locked and arched

Think of the position in the kettlebell good morning stretch or a Romanian Deadlift. The kettlebell swing and snatch are not "squatting" exercises...if your knees travel forward during these exercises you are cheating yourself out of a lot of power and diminishing the value of the movements. And don't fool yourself: squatting swings and snatches won't improve your jumping ability, if you are justifying this form break for that reason. Whether one is broad jumping or vertical jumping, the bulk of the power is generated not from the quads but from the hips and hammies. Don't take my word for it, test it. First, jump with your knees traveling forward and focusing on your quads and see how you do and next try a jump from a good morning/Romanian Dead Lift stance with minimal knee flex, shins vertical and the hips pushed well back...feel free to record your observations in the comments section.

So here's the tip: as the kettlebell reaches its furthest point in the backswing, focus on jutting your chin forward and sticking your butt back as far as you can. Visualize stretching the chin and tail bone as far apart from one another as you can. As the kettlebell swings forward and you start adding power, lead with the chin. Don't throw your head back at the top of the pull, however...you should still finish standing tall with the head in a neutral position, but visualize maintaining the distance between chin and tail bone.

If you have correctly executed the four key elements in the backswing position described earlier, your hamstrings should be almost maximally pre-stretched. By adding this tip, you will not only increase the hamstring pre-stretch even more, you will find your upper body and core more completely locked into one unit and this will facilitate more power transmission from the hips and glutes. Dan John uses the analogy of a bow and arrow. Think of the kettlebell as the arrow in this analogy and the body as the "bow". By stretching the chin and tailbone as far apart as you can, and maximizing the hamstring pre-stretch you are maximizing the tension of the "bow". The bigger the stretch, the more powerful and explosive will be the release, which is in this case, as in the Olympic Lifts , a vertical jumping motion. Try this tip. Your swing and snatch strength and power, especially with double bells, should improve dramatically.

Adopt, Adapt and Improve

One of my favorite Monty Python sketches features John Cleese as a robber holding up a lingerie shop. "Good morning. I'm a bank robber," announces Cleese to the shop owner played by Eric Idle. "Please don't panic, just hand over all your money." Idle's character replies, "This is a lingerie shop sir," to which Cleese's Robber responds, "Fine, fine, fine…adopt, adapt and improve. Motto of the round table. Well, what have you got?" By the end of the sketch, it becomes apparent that Cleese's robber is not going to get the "large piles of cash in easy to carry bags" he had planned on when he first walked in, yet unwilling to leave empty handed he repeats his motto one final time and settles for "a pair of knickers." This sketch has been on my mind a lot lately as I ponder my future as a strength coach.

Analagous to Cleese's robber, I've noticed of late that my skill set does not line up well with the gyms I have been approaching with my ideas. "Good morning," I say, "I'm a certified kettlebell instructor and Olympic Weightlifting Coach. Please don't panic, just hand over all your athlete clients who want to get stronger, faster and more resilient." To which the gym manager politely replies, "This is a commercial health club sir."

"Fine, fine, fine. Adopt, adapt and improve. Well, what have you got?"

"Cybex adductor machines, ellipticals, bikes and treadmills, sir. And lots of members who've been here for years sir and most of whom, if they come in at all, have made no progress towards their goals at all sir."

"Fine, fine. Well, um... adopt, adapt and improve. Just a lat pulldown station, then please."

This has been a frustrating period for me. However, unlike Cleese's character, I have finally learned to walk away from these encounters empty handed by choice. Adopt, adapt and improve in the context of the "spandex shop" is settling for being a hand holding, machine bound rep counter. After operating for several years in a commercial health club environment I finally saw there is no hope for change within that industry nor is there a future for serious strength training within it. Not to "cast asparagus" as a favorite writer of mine is fond of saying, but generally speaking, the clientele who are attracted to the commercial gym environment do so out of not knowing that anything else is available. Or if they happen to be confronted with the hard work work of free weights opt for the "easier and safer" machine route. And the trainers who train in these gyms generally subscribe to industry approved "safe" training protocols that, by design it seems, keep clients dependent and offer little in the way of results. Their fitness goals are always just another 24 session training package away. There is a physician's adage that goes, "If you hear hoofbeats in Texas, think horses, not zebras." If you see T.V.s mounted on treadmills and a floor full of machines, think commercial health club, not serious training facility.

But, as the saying goes, when you point your finger in blame at someone or something, there are three more pointing right back at you. The fact of the matter is, olympic weightlifting and kettlebells are not for everyone. And just because I was attracted to these modalities for the obvious challenge they represented doesn't mean that other people should be or will be attracted for the same reason. It doesn't matter how much value I've received or how effectively I communicate the benefits, these activities are an acquired taste.

Adopt, adapt and improve. I'm deep in the question of what's next for me. Where does "adopt, adapt and improve" resonate in your life?