Cj Swaby V Svetlana Writtle

I've known Svetlana for about 5 years now. She was one of the pioneers in the first UK Kettlebell explosion. A knowledgeble teacher, an awesome athlete and a friend, Svet is by far one of the most outstanding UK Kettlebell coaches - bar none.

Never one to hold back, or shy away from saying what she thinks, when I asked Svet to put down a Kettlebell routine on video she jumped at the chance. So ladies and gentlemen, meet Svetlana....



To find out more about Svetlana, or her unique Kettlebell Training System go to her website www.powerandbeauty.co.uk

Full Throttle Conditioning: Workout of the Week

Another fast paced, total body beasting at today's class. However we still focused on quality of movement not just work capacity.

At the request of some of you who are unable to make it down each week to the class, we'll be posting up each session.

Here's what we got up to...

Full Throttle Conditioning Fitness Class

Warm up: Joint Mobility and dynamic movement: 10 minutes

Fighting Fit Circuit
(1 minute per exercise)

Skipping (Speed rope)
Burpees (Any variation)
Hand to Hand Kettlebell Swings

x 2 Rounds. No rest.

Rest 1 Minute then complete again.


Kettlebell Conditioning

Heavy Kettlebell Single arm Jerk (Sprint pace: 14 - 16 Reps per minute)
x 1 minute per arm

Double Kettlebell Rack position hold x 1 minute (drop down a weight)

This equals 1 round. Complete 3 rounds with no rest.

So for example I used a 32kg for the single arm jerks, then dropped down to double 24kg for the rack position. When doing the single arm jerk, you are not looking to develop absolute strength, but strength endurance and power. So I used a weight that I could manage a cadence of 14 - 16 reps per minute.


The Finisher Circuit

Sandbag Flips
Handstand walk outs or Handstand hold (against a wall)
Lateral bunny hops over a bench

1 minute per exercise. x 2 Circuits with no rest.


Cool down and stretch out.

Job done!!

This was a challenging session (read: Metabolloxed) that had us all making primal noises that should probably not be made by a civilised human being - no word of a lie. Tough, but good fun.

For details of class times and location check it out here:

Don't Just knock it out - lock it out

When doing high repetitions, or working for extended periods of time with Kettlebell jerks or snatches its easy to get caught up in the numbers. Sub par technique combined with fatigue can hinder your progress in the numbers game. Resist the urge to simply knock out the numbers, and spend time breaking down each component of technique that requires fixing.

From personal experience, working on the lockout on the single arm jerk reaped huge benefits for my snatch, while the lockout on the double jerk is a key component that I work on. But problems are often further down the chain. Kettlebell Coach and World Champion Cathering Imes wrote an excellent piece for trouble shooting in the lock out in the American Kettlebell Club blog. I highly recommend it for anyone wishing to improve their numbers game and perfect technique. Read and enjoy.