“Russia” part 2

During the fourth day of class, after just finishing our physical training, we were taken one by one to the little medical room in the back of the gym. This was the room where Vladamir Tikhonov, a Ghirivoy sport scientist, was going to retest our hearts to determine cardiac recovery rate post exercise. Vladamir had taken us in the same room a day earlier to test our cardiac function prior to exercise. As I waited my turn to be retested, I was thinking how bizarre and cool it was the day before when I had dozens of electric wires and suction cups stuck to my back stuck to my back and chest by a Russian scientist. It was definitely my “Ivan Drago” from Rocky 4 moment…awesome!

I think all of us had fairly “good results”, even though Mr. Tikhonov was comparing our cardiac charts with world champion Nikita Balagov’s chart. That would be like comparing the heart of your uncle, who rides his bike three blocks to work, with Lance Armstrong’s heart . Mr. Tikhonov said I should get a little more sleep after reading my chart. Thank you, Vladamir, great experience!

After class, we all grabbed a bite to eat and then our group was taken to Peterhof, located on the shore on the Gulf of Finland. Peterhof is a beautiful, outdoor park comprised of wonderful palaces, spectacular fountains and beautiful landscaped gardens. Peterhof was so impressive, I immediately grabbed my Canon DSLR and began shooting photos like crazy. Ten minutes in and my camera battery dies! “Nyet” really acceptable! I was pretty upset but Miss Nazo was kind enough to let me shoot some photos with her camera. Thanks, Nazo!

Toward the end of our Peterhof tour, Nataly, our guide, took us to eat lunch at “Shtandart Restaurant” in the lower park. This is where I sat with Denis Vasiliev (Long Cycle Beast), Nocona, Buckley and Nazo. Then my plate came, it was bear cutlet–yup, I said bear! It was good; surprisingly similar to beef with a slight difference in texture and aftertaste. Peterhof is another place you can’t miss if you visit St. Petersburg.

The fifth day of class was mostly spent in refining our techniques with the bells, sharing notes with one another, and then taking the practical and written exams. Before the exams began, Denis Vasiliev was kindly helping a few of us with our technique when the subject of Kettlebell sprints came up. One of us asked Denis how many jerks he thought he could do in one minute with the 24s . His reply was, “I think about 30 jerks but I have never tried. Would you like to see me try?” We all replied, “YES!” So I am holding the clock for him, I say go on the 12, and he begins. So the kid knocks out 40 jerks in one minute!!! Oh yea, while in slacks and dress shoes. Effortless, flawless, and ridiculous! Denis Vasiliev, the undefeatable, unbeatable beast.

After we finished our exams. we had lunch in the restaurant above Alex Fitness and then headed out to the IKSFA training camp closings ceremony. All the coaches and assistant coaches were wearing suits and looking sharp. We, the students, were wearing whatever was the most presentable outfit in our travel bags . Well, except for Nazo, she was dressed to the 9s in a classy red dress.

Our bus took us to the St. Petersburg Committee of Physical Culture and Sport. We walked up the spiral staircase and into the Olympic Hall. The Olympic Hall was the room where our ceremony took place. As soon as we walked in, we saw the Olympic Cauldron to the left, and a narrow walkway that split the sea of Victorian-looking chairs that led to the enormous Mahogany desk at the other end of the room. Above the desk were the bold Olympic rings painted on the wall. I felt so small, so humbled, so honored.

We all waited in our seats for Zyacheslav Chazov, the Chairman of the Committee of Physical Culture and Sport, to arrive. Mr. Chazov spoke to us as Aleksandr translated. His words were kind. He thanked us for coming to St. Petersburg to learn, to live, and to enjoy the people and culture. Mr. Chazov also shared a little story about his experience with Kettlebells long ago during his military days. One by one, we were called up to receive our framed certifications along with a few kind words and handshakes from Rachinskiy, Aleksandr, and Chazov.

Sitting at dinner later that night, the last night, I couldn’t help but think about coming back. What a great city, what great people–I will be back indeed. I knew I would learn more about Kettlebell lifting during this trip but I had no clue that I would be heading home with this much information.

A very special thanks to the following people:

Sergey Rachinskiy-

Without Rachinskiy, Co-Founder and President of the IKSFA, this trip couldn’t have taken place. Rachinskiy’s endless energy and positive attitude really kept us all enthusiastic and focused during the course. I would like to thank him for inspiring me to do something big for my next birthday. I was inspired by his strength endurance feats such as his 5,555 jerks in 12 hours with a 24 kg Kettlebell, without setting it down! My birthday event will be called the One-Hour Long Cycle, more information will be shared soon.

Denis Vaseliev-

Denis Vaseliev, what can I say about this guy? Well, he is one of the most impressive and powerful lifters I have ever seen and he might be the nicest guy ever! Denis was so nice to everyone at the course, it was crazy! He would volunteer his free time after class to drive some of the students in his car to shopping areas and points of interest. He would constantly use his R/E dictionary to help us understand more about the Kettlebell instruction, the city, the culture, the architecture, anything. He would grab three people’s luggage at once and run up five flights of stairs only to then ask what he could help with next. He even created his own rope and anchor system out of packaging tape just to secure an extra two suitcases to the roof of his car. He taught me the history behind traditional Russian food even when I asked just one question about something at lunch. Denis Vaseliev is awesome! I am proud to call him my friend.

Aleksandr Khasin-

Even though Aleks lives in the States, New York, I had never met him before. He seemed like a nice enough guy the first few times I spoke with him on the phone after I had registered. When I got to meet him in Russia, it didn’t take long to realize how much he cares about what he is doing. He is such a hard worker. He is the Co-Founder of the IKSFA and like Rachinskiy, without him this training camp would never have happened. Aleks was organizing the tours and sightseeing left-right, up-down, and everywhere. He translated for us everywhere that we went, never getting tired and never running out of breath. He was the first one up and last one to sleep just to make sure all ran smoothly for us. This man really organized a classy, enlightening, top-notch educational adventure. Thank you, Aleksandr!

Jason

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“Russia” part 1

This trip to St. Petersburg, Russia, was one I will never forget. Even before heading overseas, I was experiencing sights, tastes, sounds, and smells that were all new to me, New York City. Aside from the wonderful experience with the great people who attended our OKC workshop in Central Park, the pre-Russia weekend in the Big Apple was unforgettable. The architecture, the pizza, landmarks, nightlife, old bars, the accents, the Nathan’s dogs at the Yankee game, all simply awesome! A big thanks to John and Nazo for showing me the ropes in the City. Also a thanks to Heidi for letting us stay at her spot while she was training with Mahler in Vegas.

John, Nazo and I first flew from New York to London (a big thanks to the Iceland volcano for not forcing us to turn back). We spent our layover in a great English sports pub with delicious food and then grabbed a couple hours of rest at the hotel.

The morning of the flight to Russia I was on my feet just seconds after the alarm went off, not the norm for me . Like a child on Christmas morning, I was excited and couldn’t wait for the day to begin. A quick shower, brushed teeth, grab bags, grab a coffee, off to Heathrow! During the short three-hour flight, I tried to cycle through my stack of Russian/English flash cards as many times as possible. As the plane was descending, I began to see the golden domes of the beautiful cathedrals and the lush greenery surrounding the city. The butterflies in my stomach were neutralized by the grin on my face, “it is happening,” I thought to myself. The iron game had brought me to Russia, “home of the kettle.” We stepped off the plane and on to the tarmac–hungry students in a land with the answers. The OKC has landed.

We were greeted at the airport by Aleksandr Khasin, Sergey Rachinskiy, Rachinskiy’s friend, Sasha, and Tom Corrigan. I ended up in Sasha’s car with John and Nazo. Sasha was very kind and did his best to point out the landmarks in English on the way to our hotel. Sasha also did his best to keep up with the car ahead of us, driven by Mr. Rachinskiy, whom I’m pretty sure is somehow to related to Jeff Gordon .

After about 20 minutes of driving and tolerating me reading every Russian billboard out loud, sounding like an excited six year old in the Toys R Us book section, Sasha had delivered us to our destination.
Our hotel was called Amaranta Admiralteyskaya. It was a beautiful old building with no elevator, dark wood flooring, and we were on the fifth floor, good times for the legs . The hotel had a great little restaurant with good food and great beer in which our group spent quite a bit of time relaxing and telling stories. A woman named Yulia who worked at the front desk was very kind, spoke English, and was extremely helpful to our group during our stay.

The day before our first day of class was spent adjusting to the time difference, wandering
about the residential neighborhood, shooting Russian rifles, and touring St. Petersburg by bus
. What an amazing first day, and we hadn’t even started the seminar! Forgetting about the “White Nights” when the sun doesn’t set until about midnight, we all ended up getting to bed much later than planned. It didn’t matter, everyone was up and ready for the 7 a.m. bus ride to the training location. “What a great group of students on this bus,” I thought to myself. The group of students included Kevin Jodrey, Nocona Jodrey, Andrew Durniat, Jeff Martone, Tom Corrigan, Nazo, John Wild Buckley, and Ari Kaikkonen. All of them hungry for information, all of them with empty cups, all of them feeling honored and ready to learn from the best of the best. We pulled up to Alex Fitness, a beautiful athletic club, and our training spot for the rest of the week.

One by one we passed through the door and up the stairs towards our training room. I did my best to communicate with my extremely limited Russian when greeted by friendly faces as we made our way through the gym. Upon entering the room of “the Kettle,” we were warmly welcomed by Sergey Rachinskiy, Sergey Rudnev, Dennis Vaseliev, Igor Morozov, and “the Great Mishin” just to name a few. I immediately dropped my gym bag and pulled out my R/E dictionary to search for how to express how honored I was to be there, to meet them, and to listen to their teachings. Just a few minutes later, I noticed some commotion to my right–a couple of guys, one on a ladder, some signage, no big deal. Well, no big deal until I took a second look. They were hanging up huge flags to represent each of the student’s respective country—Finland, Japan, United States, and Russia. I was caught by surprise, and caught with a tear in my eye. That moment was definitely the most emotional of the trip for me. I nudged Buckley to point it out, and I don’t think his response was much different than mine.

All five days of the IKSFA class/training camp were superb. All coaches and assistants were so humble and helpful. There were no egos in the room battling for stage supremacy. The instruction and program design were brilliant. The one-on-one time they gave each student seemed endless. My technique flaws along with my body’s weaknesses were quickly exposed and addressed. My breathing was corrected and my transitional timing was altered within just the first few minutes spent with the coaches. All instructors were excellent, yet I think Sergey Rudnev’s brain was constructed in some secret GS Mensa lab in Siberia, the man can see and fix everything!

There were four translators on sight during each training day to ensure maximum absorption. Aleksandr Khasin, IKSFA cofounder, was our main translator and was excellent in the rapid relay of the instruction due to his rich understanding of the sport. Aleksandr was also able to pleasantly express the sense of humor within each of the coaches delivery. The other gentleman who was also an excellent translator was Vitale Poboudilin. He was also a friend of Sergey Rachinskiy and his English was excellent. I frequently sat with Vitale at lunch to pick his brain about Russian culture and to better my Russian vocabulary. Vitale also bought me a children’s book in Russian so I can prctice my reading. Thanks Vitale! My thanks to the other two translators who helped out tremendously.

After the first day of class, the IKSFA took us to visit the Museum of Strength and Athleticism in St. Petersburg. This Museum is amazing and is worth a visit if ever in the city. We were honored to be taken there. Once inside, our group was greeted by some local school children who volunteer time and assist the Museum in welcoming and guiding visitors through the building. These kids were so professional, spoke to us in English, were perfectly mannered, and clearly displayed how proud they were to be a part of it all.

The building contained all kinds of photos, new and old, tons of awards, Olympic medals, and equipment donated by Russian athletes of the present and of yesteryear. Aleksandr Khasin donated an old participant medal from the 1947 olympic weightlifting world championships. Sergey Rudnev donated his gold medal that he had won in the long cycle at the European championships just one week earlier. Sergey Rachinskiy presented the Museum with both donations. Respect!

As we were leaving the Museum, Mr. Rachinskiy informed us that there was a boat tour of the canals of St. Petersburg scheduled for us at midnight. The water tour would finish at 2 a.m. and we knew we would end up with just two or three hours of sleep. We didn’t care, we were in Russia. Mr. Rachinskiy told us that we were in St. Petersburg and seeing the bridges open for the passing ships was not something to miss. He then made us all laugh by saying, “You guys can get your sleep after you fly home!” He was absolutely right, the boat tour through the canals of St. Petersburg was breathtaking. We all learned so much about the city’s history during the two-hour excursion.

After the second day of training, we had a free evening to choose what we wanted to do. Most of us were fairly tired and just enjoyed the great food and Baltica 7 beer in our hotel’s restaurant. After the dining, laughing and drinking, we headed to bed a bit earlier than usual.

The third day of training was followed by a guided tour through the amazing Hermitage Museum. The building seemed to just exponentially become larger and larger as we approached it. It was light green with a trim of white and gold and seemed to stretch for city blocks in all directions. Inside the Hermitage, there were miles and miles of gorgeous sculptures, beautiful paintings and artifacts. The place was a palace of art and grandeur like I had never laid eyes on before. It was so surreal to be walking through the Hermitage with the “great Mishin,” 20-time heavyweight champion of Russia and greatest Russian in GS history. At that moment, I remember tapping Kevin, Nocona and Buckley to say, “Yea, this is happening right now.”

We had walked for at least two hours through the Museum’s hallways and our tour guide, Nataly, told us we would have to walk for a long, long time to cover all of it’s grounds. It is said that it may take a visitor eleven years to examine every one of the Hermitage’s exhibits. Six points out of six! What an amazing place. I have seen mind-blowing museums in Copenhagen, but the Hermitage may now be my favorite.

(See part 2 to continue reading)

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Low Back Love

I know that most of us have the urge to hop out of bed in the morning and check emails, facebook messages and many other things on the computer that we feel we can’t begin our day without. “Maybe I’ll just check one email real quick” we say to ourselves. Yea right, ha ha! You and I both know that popping open one email leads to fifteen and then on to who knows what and who knows for how long! Opening an email is like a can of Pringles, “once you pop, you can’t stop!” During our sleeping hours the discs between our vertabrae become filled with fluid, leaving the spine very pliable for the first part of our mornings. Certain times of day are the most vulnerable for the back. Disc bending stresses are increased by 300% and ligaments by 80% in the early morning (Adams MA et al., 1987). Also, it might be wise to be awake for a few hours before heading to your garage gym and trying to mimic the athletes you were watching the night before on ESPN’s World’s Strongest Man show.

The last thing we want to do is go from an inactive state, (sleeping), to another inactive state, (sitting in our computer chairs). Most of us, whether we realize it or not, don’t have the best posture in our comfy comp chairs while we bang away on our keyboards.
As our mornings wear on, our intervertebral discs lose fluid and become more rigid. Why would we want our backs to stiffen up in a piss poor postural position?? Try getting out of bed and going for a small walk to help set the spine in a more neutral fashion. Maybe you could do a little joint mobility, not in a chair, but on your feet with good posture. Get to your emails after you show respect to your body. Side note: if you smoke, quit. Smoking reduces blood flow to the lower spine and causes the spinal discs to degenerate.

Tomorrow after you wake up, show your low back some love!

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Monday, March 8th, 2010 – Indian Club Workshop Announced

“Indian Clubs for Shoulder Health” workshop by Jason Dolby has just been announced.

The workshop details are as follows:

Wate-Man
29123 8 Mile Road
Livonia, MI 48152
Tel: (248) 477-7245

Date: Monday, March 8th, 2010
Time: 6-8pm
Cost: $99 (sign-up now securely online)

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Back to Basics 5 & 5 Video Clips

Check out the new Back to Basics 5 & 5 Video Clips that have just been uploaded!

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Sunday, February 7th, 2010 – Indian Club Workshop Announced

“Indian Clubs for Shoulder Health” workshop by Jason Dolby has just been announced.

The workshop details are as follows:
Where: Red Barn Fitness
110 Stockade Road
South Glastonbury, CT 06073
www.redbarnfitness.com
Date: Saturday, February 6th, 2010
Time: 1-3pm
Instructor: Jason Dolby
Cost: $99

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Quick Training Tip – Best Handcare Product for Kettlebell Lifters, Period!

Forget corn huskers and pick yourself up some Avon Intensive Hand Cream.  Apply twice daily.

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New Workshop Announced

Cost: $99 (sign-up now securely online)

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