Elite Kettlebell Training Camp, St. Petersburg, Russia

What an experience to travel to St. Petersburg and train alongside the greatest girevoy sport lifters.

We hit the ground running. I got off the plane and less than an hour later it was…. FIVE shots to the body!!!!



We had an overly excited firearms instructor and yes he yelled that prior to our shooting. Nothing like shooting an AK-47 and other Russian made firearms while in Russia.

With that behind us, it was onto what really brought us all this way, girevoy sport (kettlebell sport). It was an amazing feeling to walk into a room with Sergey Mishin and Sergey Rachinskiy, the two most decorated gireviks to ever live. Along with them was Sergey Rudnev, Master Coach to the Russian Military and World Champion himself; Vladimir Tikhonov, professor of sports science for the Russian sports machine; Denis Vasiliev, 90kg World Champion under Sergey Rachinskiy; Igor Morozov, 90kg+ World Champion under Sergey Rudnev.

We started our training going over basic lifting technique and terms of the jerk to make sure we were all on the same page. A great part of this training camp was that we were taught corrective exercises for aspects of the competition lifts that we were individually struggling with. This had never been done before at any kettlebell training camp. These themselves were worth the trip. The day was done after we all had ample time and instruction with the jerk and its assistance exercises.

That night we were requested to go on a boat tour of the city that started at 1am, the St. Petersburg White Nights. At that time, every water bridge in the city was opened up and illuminated with the palaces and other monuments.





Day Two started by dissecting the snatch lift. Again we were shown assistance exercises to troubleshoot problem areas. We then were shown and got to experience the secret to Russian grip strength, gloves. I managed 100 reps each arm with a 16kg, my fingers cramping and forearms were pumped like never before.

I’d also like to mention that this training camp was very noteworthy locally as well. The national news channel came by and interviewed us. Here is a link to the news bit: http://petersburg.rfn.ru/video.html?id=17156507&type=r

After our training on this day, we traveled to a local school who had put together a ‘Russian Strength Museum’. This was an amazing collection of photographs, awards, books and weightlifting culture.

SOMEDAY I WILL….


Day Three began with Long-Cycle, more assistance exercises and finished with program design. The program design spanned two and a half days. This was so informative, they went over yearly programs and also showed special programs to use if you needed to get in competition shape fast, 4 weeks. Each program has variables that change based on the individual weaknesses. Percentages are also set so that smooth progression can be made while maintaining some flexibility. This was tremendous information. Below is an small example:



Our next tourist excursion was to the Hermitage, the 2nd largest museum in the world. We did some people lifting while we waited for our guide:


Day Four was filled with more program design and we were put through a General Physical Preparedness (GPP) circuit. Most of my clients will be happy to know and see that I was put through a very similar circuit that I put them through. Apparently the Russians and I think alike.

After the circuit and just before lunch, Ari Kaikkonen from Oulu, Finland; Nocona Jodrey from Miranda, California and myself were asked if we would like to test for an official Russian Girevoy Sport Ranking. We all accepted the challenge and began to prepare mentally for the 10 minute sets to come. I am happy to announce that all of us completed the repetitions required to achieve Rank 1 under the Russian classification system. We are the first foreigners to achieve such a ranking.

Ari Kaikkonen, age 46, 80kg weight category, completed 81 jerks with 24kg kettlebells and then 120 total snatches for Rank 1. Nocona Jodrey, age 15, 58kg weight category, completed 111 jerks with 16kg kettlebells and 111 snatches for Rank 1 youth. Myself, age 31, 105kg weight category, completed 82 jerk with 24kg kettlebells and 150 snatches for Rank 1.

The following day we traveled to the office of Physical Culture and Sport to meet with Chairman of the Committee Chazov Vyacheslav who awarded us our pins in an official ceremony.






Ari Kaikkonen, Nocona Jodrey, Andrew Durniat

Overall, this was an amazing experience and I cannot wait to return. I have weaknesses to improve and a new plan of attack. Here are some of the video highlights: