StrongFirst
Happy New Year! The second half of 2014 really seemed to fly by for me. I didn't get to update this blog as much as I had liked, but in this new year I'd like to update more frequently with both original content as well as relevant shared material I come across in the fitness and rehab blogospheres. Life has been pretty busy between treating patients, getting the private practice up on it's feet, and staying up to date with current medical literature while maintaining a healthy work/life balance. I was however able to attend several educational seminars in the physical therapy and strengthening/conditioning fields over the course of the year with excellent content which I would recommend to any physical therapist looking to improve their manual therapy and assessment skills: C&M OrthoSports and Erson Religioso aka The Manual Therapist.
My favorite and most physically challenging seminar definitely had to be the StrongFirst Kettlebell Instructor Course I took at the end of the year. StrongFirst is arguably the premier leading kettlebell certifying organization there is today, and those seeking instructor certification must complete a set of rigorous physical tests in order to pass.
In addition to being able to correctly demonstrate and teach various kettlebell techniques, participants must be able to perform 100 snatches with a kettlebell in 5 minutes or less. Men under 50 years of age who weigh over 132 lbs (that's me) must complete this snatch test with a 24 kg kettlebell, or 53 lbs. Due to an untimely injury I ended up deferring my test and submitting the following video of me completing the test once I healed.
Training for this course really gave me an appreciation for the kettlebell as a strengthening and conditioning tool. It's really quite versatile in that you can work on upper body strength, lower body strength, core stability, shoulder stability, explosive power, muscular endurance and cardiovascular endurance depending on the type of workout. The exercise techniques really focus on applying power efficiently and when practiced can help increase your sense of body and movement awareness. I'm really excited to incorporate kettlebell training into patient populations in which these indications are applicable.
I'm excited for this upcoming year and will promise to share content more frequently, so feel free to follow my various social media platforms to stay updated!