Safe, productive, and task specific.
Helping the Berkeley Police Department assess and design strength and conditioning programs.
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Team Pull-up Challenge Results:
6am: 501
7am: 679 (Winner)
9am: 379
10am: 591
Congratulations Team 0700! Award: TBA
Don’t be fooled by the photos I published of the beautiful landscape here in Greece. Since KB Sport Camp began on Monday, our sightseeing plans came to an abrupt halt. After spending five hours training and learning from the incredible teachers here each day, most of us end up at Hotel Marion completely exhausted. Since the gym is actually closer to a 40 minute commute from Loutraki (not 25 as previously mentioned), some lifters don’t even make it back awake to enjoy leisurely tourist activities in town. If our bodies aren’t totally spent, our brains certainly are… The level of technical information at Coach Filikidis’ gym is indescribable. Take a look at the following photos that perfectly illustrate the areas of kettlebell lifting being reinforced here:
Coach Fedorenko is always looking for the fixation of the bell overhead. In kettlebell lifting, it refers to the final position of each repetition and specifically includes: shoulder stability, full elbow lockout, and hip & knee extension as shown by Kirk and David in the photo above. Equally important: handle/hand position.
According to Filikidis, young Cona has “lots of potential” at 14 years of age because of the technical refinement Coach Kevin Jodrey (who also happens to be Cona’s father) reinforces in training.
At the end of day three, Pavlos returned to give us another fantastic treat! This time, he set a new record in the one arm jerk with 40 reps using a 64 kg (141 lb) kettlebell.
If you don’t think this a big deal, think again! Some of KB Sport Camp’s best lifters had a difficult time getting one rep overhead. Check out Pavlos’ powerful triple extension of the ankles, knees, and hips pictured here. Only the speed of an SLR camera could catch this beautiful launch.
Here’s my not-so-powerful version using a 12 kg kettlebell. I was told by several top coaches that my launch needs a lot of improvement. The first dip needs to go deeper and the drive back up needs to be much faster. According to them, strength is not my problem… I look forward to 1000 more reps back home in order to get it right!
2 x 32kg Jerk (17 reps in 1 minute)
Come to find out, we have a mutual friend in Ivan Denisov, the Absolute World Champion. Among other things, he is very intrigued by the ICKB Girls, since the ladies in Russia are not allowed to perform Jerks or Long Cycles.
Below is a recent interview I did with Valentin. Enjoy.
Best,
Steven
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Where do you live?
I live in Rybinsk (Russia, Yaroslavl region)
Which Federation do you belong to?
Russian Federation of Kettlebell Lifting.
How long have you been training with kettlebells?
I started to train for the sport at the age of 12. I am 24 years of age now.
Who is your coach?
Nelehov Yaroslav, however I am currently training without a coach.
What is your favorite lift?
Jerk, but I like the Snatch too…
What does a typical workout look like for you?Â
I tend to focus on the Jerk. All workouts are done with kettlebells between 28-32 kg during periods of training for competition:
1. 8-10 sets X 1 min
2. 5-6 sets X 2 min
3. 4 sets X 3 min or 3 sets X 4 min
4. 1 set X 4 min + 1 set X 5 min or 2 sets X 5 min
5. 1 set X 8 min (28-29 KB only)
(Sometimes I really limit rest time between reps)
What are some of your records outside of official competition?Â
I don’t have too many records outside of competitions. My best results were in competitions:
Jerk 32kg KBs 10 minute: 90 reps
Snatch 32kg KBs 10 minute: 54 reps of each hand
However, here are some “unofficial records”:
Jerk 2 x 32kg KBs 1 minute: 21 reps
Jerk 2 x 28kg KBs 8 minute: 91 reps
Jerk 2 x 26.5kg KBs 8 minute: 101 reps
Jerk 2 x 24kg KBs 10 minutes: 138 reps (I was 17 years old)
Snatch 24kg KBs 10 minutes: 102 (right hand) and 92 left hand
What advice can you give amateur lifters that want to improve performance in KB sport?
1. Always work with good technique!!!
2. Train with kettlebells near 5 times per week without break
In your opinion, who is the best female lifter in Russia today?Â
I think the best female lifter is Irina Pyanko. She lives in Kaluga, homeland of Kettlebell’s legendary Sergey Mishin. 
Her best result in the snatch is 120 reps @ 24kg (both hands). Her body weight 65 kg.
When is your next competition?
European Championships (April 25-29)
The Final Championship of Russia (June 12-15)
A few weeks ago, I wrote a very long piece about sports performance strategy. It was a very basic philosophy that used a pyramid model to outline what I felt was the most important phases of training for any specific sport. And while I thought it was decent at the time, after some reflection on our training preparation leading up to the Arnold’s Sports Festival, I’ve revised the model to look something like this.
I’ll spare you the long essay and let you interpret the illustration. I think this is much more relevant to what we do at the IC.
Best,
Steven
Team 0600 rock star, Dr. Amanda Calhoun, is featured in this month’s Women’s Running Magazine. Her article provides excellent insight into running and the female physiology. Click here to read her article!
(Note: Even though in the history of kettlebell lifting no one has completed this non-traditional feat of strength to this capacity, Valery is uncomfortable with calling this an official world record since it was not performed at a sanctioned competition.)
Coach Filikidis treated Sport Camp to a once in a lifetime opportunity today. He asked his top kettlebell athlete, Pavlos Georgiadis, to attempt an unofficial world record in the one arm snatch. He needed to complete 145 reps to defeat the defending record holder. By rep 143, the energy in the room was intense. Coach Filikidis had a lot to say to his prized student throughout this incredible moment, but since none of it was in English, I can’t share any of his words of wisdom with you. What I can say with certainty is that Pavlos surpassed his own PR by 15 reps and earned a new record at 180 reps in 9 minutes!
Note: Pavlos snatched 32 kgs on one side (he recently broke his left arm); he did not switch hands. Keep in mind that most elite lifters cannot accomplish this many reps with two hands!
The universal language of love between a great coach and his world class athlete.
This was the sunset that greeted us from our balcony at Hotel Marion in Loutraki, Greece — a beachside town 40 minutes outside of Athens. If you don’t believe me, here’s proof:
How can anyone focus on kettlebells in a place as beautiful as this? Easily… if these two are your coaches:
Stepping into Coach Filikidis’ gym is like walking into a world of its own. His gym is actually quite far from Loutraki; a car ride without traffic took us roughly 25 minutes. The gym looks like a much larger version of the IC, except unlike our place, he doesn’t seem to work with many women. Empirical evidence of this: no toilet paper or paper towels in the coed restroom. My mom and I immediately knew we were in for another great adventure! Along the partition separating the mat space from the weightlifting area are dozens of pictures of Filikidis’ top athletes in competition, but what is most impressive about the photos is the number of times Filikidis himself is featured in action. …and I’m not talking about photos from 20 years ago. In fact, I’m still stunned at what I saw today. Filikidis was busting out feats of strength every 30 minutes or so. He started with a double 24kg jerk set for 6 minutes at 14, 15, then 16 rpms. How many of us can increase rpms as we fatigue? That was his warm-up btw. Then I saw him successfully arm wrestle Russ Jodrey — a national arm wrestling champion, at least 10 times. Unlike young Russ, Filikidis is 58 years old. He then moved on to strongman lifts that would have even given Andrew Durniat a run for his money. In the photo above, he earned a new PR on the chair press, but don’t be fooled by the color of the bells. The bell on the bottom weighs 45kgs and the one above it weighs 16kgs. That’s 135 lbs in one hand. (Valery was sweet to provide moral support to his great mentor.)
Pictured above are lifters from Germany, London, Slovenia, and California! As the only female lifter in the bunch (Cate Imes, Bonnie, and the ICKB Girls were greatly missed), Valery asked me to deadlift and hold a 90 kg kettlebell (yes, 90 kg – 198 lb. KB!) for the group photos. I think it’s important to note that this moment was the only special treatment I received today. The rest of the day was spent doing everything everyone else was assigned to do including a 10 minute max jerk set first thing in the morning (ouch), followed by a 6 minute jerk set at a faster rpm, followed by a 4 minute jerk set at the fastest rpm possible. Needless to say, my shoulders were fried. His remedy: pull-ups before and after each set… and that was only the first third of the day.
Nothing prepared me for the spectacular ruins of Athens. I knew I would see a part of history come alive, but I had no idea modernity thrives so closely to antiquity here. Here are two photos illustrating this:
We decided to have a latte here at this outdoor café in the center of town. (The espressos were just as delicious as they look in the photo btw.) When we got up to peruse the area, we discovered that an ancient burial site is preserved behind that black iron fence!
Check out the Temple of Olympian Zeus in the center of city life. Its construction spanned over 700 years until it was finally completed under the reign of the Roman emperor Hadrian. Over 100 pillars once stood here. Imagine living in those apartments and waking up to the few that still exist today.
Here’s a close up of a few of the pillars. I’m five feet small; like the photo of young Kaia in Mel’s post this week, I thought this image would help put the enormity of the place into perspective.
The Acropolis did not disappoint. After a steep 15 minute climb up the hillside, this magical place awaits for all to enjoy. We lucked out with fabulous weather—sunshine with a soothing cool breeze. We spent over two hours roaming every corner of this archeological wonder and we could have easily stayed there all day (too bad for hunger and jet lag).
Every summer in Athens, a musical festival is held in this awesome arena. Elton John and Diana Ross have even performed here. Interestingly, rock and rap artists have never been invited to play here because the ruins of the Acropolis cannot handle intense vibrations of amplified sound.
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I assure you I am here for Kettlebell Sport Camp, but I could not resist sharing some of these awesome experiences with you. I hope you feel inspired to take a spontaneous trip with your loved one across the globe too — it’s great for the soul (particularly if you’re a Type A like me). I urge you to chat with fellow IC’ers Tracy and Tom Richardson about this; their incredible decision to move their family to Oaxaca, Mexico for nine months inspired me to get out of my comfort zone. Our turbulent global economy is making international travel affordable for people again. Don’t hesitate, do it!
Earlier this week I asked you what an ideal weight for myself might be, you were noncommittal and tried to focus me on other things instead. Do I feel good? Do I have lots of energy? Specifically, one of the things I remember you said was “If your clothes fit…” Let me finish that thought for you now.
No. They don’t.
Yesterday I started going through my closet and removing the things that were too big. This picture (in which Kaia kindly posed to establish perspective) is what I took out. And actually this isn’t everything. I had to keep a few things so I’d still have something to wear (I may work at UC Berkeley but even they draw the line at nakedness sometimes…) I am not a shopper or a clothes horse (athletic apparel accepted)– this stack represents a pretty good snapshot of what was in my closet. Now it’s full of empty hangers.
I was probably within range of my current weight in college 15 years ago, but I question whether I looked or felt this good. Sometimes I don’t even think I was this strong. My problem then was that I tended to balance out being a Division I athlete with my general all-around lazy attitude towards everything, an attitude that surfaced whenever I could get away with it– from eating and drinking habits, to dogging it in workouts. Now? Maybe I’ve learned a few things.
So I get what you were trying to say. My weight will never tell the whole story. But I think my clothes are starting to.
-Mel Dixon
Clocked at 67 mph competing downhill in the exact course as the Men and Women’s World Cup.
IC star athlete Foreste Peterson placed forth overall at the J2 National Junior Olympic Championships in Aspen, Colorado this past week. At only 15 years old, she is a master at the Giant Slalom. Imagine where she’ll be in three years… Go Foreste!
