By now most of you in our program know
where we get most of our training from. But if you don't let me
explain. We combine solid training information from FMS (Functional
Movement Screening, www.FMS.com,),
Z Health (joint mobility www.zhealth.com),
elementary movements that reset the body (from Original Strength, www.originalstrength.com)
and of course our exceptional training from StrongFirst (www.StrongFirst.com).
I wanted to pass along a review from Gray
Cook one of the most intelligent men I know! Gray Cook is
a practicing physical therapist, a orthopedic certified specialist, a
certified strength and conditioning specialist and an RKC kettlebell
instructor. He is the founder of Functional Movement Systems, a company
that promotes the concept of movement pattern screening and assessment. His
work and ideas are at the forefront of fitness, conditioning, injury
prevention and rehabilitation.
For those that may not know much about
Pavel, here is a short bio on him.
Pavel Tsatsouline,
Chairman of StrongFirst,
Inc. (born August 23, 1969 in Minsk,
USSR
(now part of Belarus))
is a fitness instructor from the former Soviet
Union. He holds a degree in Sports Science from the Physical Culture
Institute in Minsk.[1]
He is involved with the evolving field of martial
arts fitness and is a major proponent of the traditional Russian
fitness tool, the kettlebell,
as an exercise and strengthening tool. In 1998, Tsatsouline introduced the
kettlebell to the United States, and is credited with popularizing the
kettlebell in the West.[2]
Dr.
Randall J. Strossen, founder and president of IronMind Enterprises,
Inc., stated, "In our eyes, Pavel Tsatsouline will always reign as the
modern king of kettlebells since it was he who popularized them to the
point where you could almost found a country filled with his
converts...".[3]
In the 1980s, Tsatsouline was a
physical-training instructor for Spetnaz,
the elite Soviet special-forces units.[4]
Tsatsouline is now a subject matter expert to the US Marine Corps, the US
Secret Service, and the US Navy SEALs.[5]
In 2001, Tsatsouline was voted a
"Hot Trainer" by Rolling
Stone, pictured with a kettlebell in hand.[6]
He has published articles in Milo
magazine[7]
and Performance Press, as well as being the author of several books
on stretching and strength training (see Bibliography).
Tsatsouline's publisher is Dragon Door,
owned by John
Du Cane. Dragon Door is a website and publishing company generally
focused on martial arts and related sports, but also catering to general
health, fitness, weight loss, and stress management. Pavel started the
Russian Kettlebell Challenge ("RKC"), an advanced kettlebell
training certification, with Dragon Door in 2001.
In 2012, Pavel left the RKC and formed a
new company, StrongFirst.
StrongFirst is dedicated to the pursuit, development, and acquisition of
strength - a skill that, as stated on the homepage of StrongFirst,
"has been compared to a glass that can be filled with other qualities;
the larger the glass, the more endurance, sport skill, fat loss, etc. it
can hold." [8]
StrongFirst offers several comprehensive user
courses and certifications
for the use of kettlebells, barbells, and bodyweight exercises, which are
currently being offered in the United States, Europe, Korea, Australia,
Canada, and South America.
Oh and Pavel is also my boss in
StrongFirst. As you may or may not know I hold a leadership position
in StrongFirst. These positions are appointed by Pavel himself. So it is a
responsibility I consider a real honor and the expectations are high.
I was appointed Team Leader by Pavel back in 2009. This allowed me to
teach at certifications around the world as needed or required. But just
recently Pavel appointed me to Senior StrongFirst Instructor. There are
only 15 in the world and 5 of them are women. I am excited about being in
this position and take my role very seriously. For more information
about what we do at StrongFirst, please read here: www.strongfirst.com
.
Why am I sharing all of this with you?
Because it is what sets our program apart from any other gym or fitness
facility in our area. Our expertise is backed by smart training and
learning correctly how to use the body not just with kettlebells, but with
body weight exercise and barbells too.
So I encourage you to read up on the
sites mentioned above and learn more if you wish about some of the
foundations we have built our program on.
I hope you have found this helpful.
I encourage you to keep coming to class
regularly and also if you haven't read Pavel's book, I encourage you to get
your copy from me in the studio. It is only $17.95, but the information in
it is priceless!!! The info you have heard me say time and time again, but
it is worth reading AGAIN!!!!
Building strong bodies!
See you in class!
Betsy
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