My RKC Experience

I have debated with myself quite a bit on whether to do this post - my main thoughts have been the following: Should I do the ‘obligatory’ RKC review and share my experience? (I’ve read several and would like to avoid being redundant). However, I quickly realized that the vast majority of you reading this post probably haven’t been to the RKC - and getting multiple perspectives on what it's like is probably a good thing. Plus, I’ve been referring to this event in my posts for a couple of months now and, you’re probably wondering what all the fuss is about - so without further ado:

First, for a basic rundown of the physical challenge: After checking in and forming our teams, we knock out the snatch test – what everyone has been preparing for. I got my 100 reps in four minutes exactly – which was about one minute faster than my previous personal best! Relieving, but still much to come :)

Over the course of the rest of the first day, we did at least 500 swings – probably more like 1000 – in addition to a ton of burpees, and a lot of get-ups to boot. The second day was the clean and press, the squat, and the snatch – another ten hours worth of training. Just to give you an idea of the physical challenge, the closest thing I could probably describe to how I was feeling at that point was how I felt after a 'double day' of football camp. The third day was more about instruction and technique testing, with the 'grad workout' thrown in at the end to make sure you leave thoroughly exhausted.

The depth of the instruction was fantastic – we probably spent four or five hours learning each movement. The thing that probably impressed me the most was the quality of the instruction and the attention to detail. To be honest, no other 'nationally accredited' certification I have holds a candle to this one. Really, the class was more about human movement and how to train the body for greater efficiency and strength – the kettlebell just happens to be one of the best tools for the job.

Another really interesting thing is that my form and poundages kept improving over the weekend, even though I was 'smoked'. I think that shows how much your mechanics improve in such a short time in that kind of environment.

There are a lot of things that go into making this cert what it is. It’s for a special breed of person, and rightfully so. It’s meant to be that way. Not everyone has the dedication to train to get into proper physical shape, the mental and physical toughness to withstand the three days of work, or the time and money to do it – let’s face it, it’s not cheap. But it's worth every training hour I took to get in shape for it, the time I took off of work to fly halfway across the country, and every penny that I spent. Highly recommended and highly valuable. I made some great new contacts, learned a lot, and had a blast along the way! I'd love to hear your thoughts. Also, if you'd like to sign up for the certification yourself, purchase a set of kettlebells, order books or dvd's, or just find out more about any of them, please click the link below: