Yeah it’s true kettlebells are not magic. Especially if you do it like this guy.

Now before I get started let’s just get this out of the way first. This isn’t a Motley Crue video and that dude certainly is no Tommy Lee so put on some regular pants before doing a video that is intended to “educate” us all. That package he is presenting I don’t think will be impressive to anyone.

Now to start it off this guy goes into a rant about how kettlebells have become a buzz word because of the use of momentum. Well yes the kettlebell is famous for allowing users to safely and simply lift explosively and teach athletes to move from their hips (a very powerful muscle). Take a look at what this guy calls a swing and you might be able to tell he has lost touch with his. Take a look at my swing and you can tell that they are worlds apart.

Watch Kettlebell Swings in Educational & How-To  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Now he tried explaining that doing curls with a kettlebell and dumbbell are no different and hence no magic. To that I say why the hell are you doing curls with a kettlebell. The glory of the kettlebell comes from full body loaded movement done with common sense.

Now at around the 6mins and 56 second point he talks about how someone might say that he is doing it incorrectly (which he is) he’ll say “I don’t get that.” Well of course not because he can’t seem to get it into his thick skull that he needs to MOVE FROM THE HIPS. The swing is not a squat and may resemble one to the untrained eye (which apparently his is). Done properly a kettlebell swing loads the entire body so you don’t feel it in any one area in particular. Squats are a relatively slow movement. Swings, not so much.

Now I want to use this video to point out an even greater enemy then just some idiot running his mouth about stuff he doesn’t understand. This guy is apparently the head director of the NCCPT, a certifying body for personal trainers. In the comments of his youtube video someone makes a remark about how he has a bum knee and here was his reply.

I have a bum knee because I followed some other fintess guy who beleived externally rotating on a leg extension would hit the inner quads. Another fitness guy touting a magical piece of equipment. I followed it and seven years later, my knee went out on a football game.

(I left his spelling and punctuation intact btw)
So let me get this straight, you had the intelligence level that lets you believe that doing leg extensions with your feet pointed out to hit the inner quads was a good idea that actually works? You don’t have to have an advanced degree in exercise science to tell the sort of thing that the knee is supposed to do and what the muscles of the leg do. You just have to have a little bit of common sense.

And speaking of common sense, this guy claims that what he is using in this video is common sense. Well about midway through the video he actually says that “he doesn’t get it” and knows he is doing it wrong. Well if he is in fact doing it wrong (which he is) then any assumptions made about the wrongly performed exercise are also going to be wrong which by that level of thought makes this entire video wrong by definition. It’s like climbing to the top and looking down and realizing you went up the wrong ladder…except he is standing on top of the wrong ladder and claiming it is right.

And like I said about a paragraph or so ago this guy isn’t some fool running his mouth about something he doesn’t understand. He is a higher up in the National Council for Certified Personal Trainers. Now anyone who has seen what a properly performed kettlebell swing knows that one performed correctly and what he was doing are two totally different animals. It shows me that this dude hasn’t put in his due dilligence to see what kettlebell training was all about before implying anyone swinging a kettlebell is fooling themselves. Since he isn’t inclined to do that, what else in his organization has he been slacking on? Doesn’t bode well for the intelligence level of that organization in my not so humble opinion.

And yet there will probably be zero repercussions. You see it is a shame really. In the world of training there aren’t a whole lot of checks and balances and just about anybody can claim any title they want. Just insert whatever you want you niche to be and put “expert” after it and it’s yours. Even more so if you trademark it. I ignore those types of words unless they are given by someone else but then again I have a bit of a lense that was developed after a period of time and can figure out if someone is full of it. The problem is many others can’t tell the difference and in this case they’ll be teaching others who also won’t be able to tell the difference.

The fact of the matter is that despite what this guy says and I only partially agree with him is that kettlebells are not magic. The system that was created to use them is though. I have never seen so many strong people coming out of such a simple and safe training system in my life. Some of the people I am proud to call my colleagues do crazy things like roll up frying pans and break chains. Others get regular people in the best shape of their life the fastest possible. I apply the midas touch to some of my clients and shazam…they have a 400% increase in strength in a weeks time (what was a shaky 1 rep max became a confident 4 rep max…true story). One of my mentors (Dave Whitley) was telling me that one of his clients started crying because she realized she was suddenly able to do laundry without being in pain…I’m telling you magic.

Yeah many of the concepts can be applied to other equipment but you can’t swing a barbell between your legs (twice) and doing it with a dumbbell just isn’t the same. And with the shakeweight it just won’t happen.

So the moral of the story? Well I guess it isn’t about the kettlebell it is about how you use it and you can’t listen to everybody even if they claim to be an authority on any subject.

Eric J. Moss out.

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