Girevoy Sport Information for Spectators!

As our sport grows in popularity more spectators want to know what competitive kettlebell lifting  means. As with any sport, it has taken a few decades to fine-tune the lift requirements and rules, and put a 10-minute time limit on a competitor's set. This post is dedicated to the friends, family and students of Girevoy Sport lifters. Here is some basic information to help you understand what is going on.

Girevoy Sport Terminology:

• GS Events: Long Cycle, Biathlon, Jerk Only and Snatch Only.
• Set: The lifter's set is the number of repetitions counted and the portion of the 10-minute time limit utilized.
• Set Termination: A lifter may terminate his/her set by dropping or putting down the weight before 10-minutes have elapsed. In most cases all completed repetitions count toward the score for a lifter-terminated set. A judge may terminate a set if the lifter's safety becomes a concern, if the lifter makes too many errors or outright brakes the rules. Depending on the reason for a judge-terminated set, the completed repetitions may count toward a lifter's score in the competition. A time-terminated set is preferred, meaning the lifter utilized the entire 10 minutes and all counted repetitions comprise the lifter's score.

A flight of lifters, coaches seated behind the platforms.

• Hand-switch: In any event with one kettlebell, one hand switch is allowed. This means the lifter switches the kettlebell from the start side to the other side. The hand-switch may occur at any point in the 10-minutes at the lifter's discretion.
• Flight: A group of lifters who will all begin their 10-minute lifting duration at the same time. Flights are usually numbered, and the event announcer calls the lifters to their flight by that number. A competition may have as many as 30 or as few as 5 flights.
• Platform: The specific area designated for a lifter to perform a set during a competition. In many cases this is a 4x4 foot area. It may be a portable stage-like piece of floor or a space marked off in tape on a gym floor. In any case, in a competition the platforms are aligned in such a way that the lifters are all facing the same direction, as pictured above.
• Divisions: This is a general grouping of competitors by gender and age. The most common divisions in local and regional competitions are Mens Open, Womens Open, Youth/Boy, Youth/Girls, Men Masters/Veterans, and Womens Masters/Veterans. In World Championship qualifier competitions there may be a further division of Professional, Amateur or Beginner. 
• Weight Categories: Also called weight classes, this refers to the lifter's body weight. In all divisions each competitor falls into one of several 5 to 10kg weight categories. Each hosting organization has it's own body weight categories. A lifter's weight category is determined before each competition at the weigh-in.
• Kettlebell Load: The kettlebell weight is in kilograms. Depending on the competition, loads may range from 8 to 40 kg. At current qualifier competitions the kettlebell load for Professional Men is 32kg, for Amateur Men is 24kg, and Beginner and Veteran Men lift 16kg. For Women, the Professional load is 24kg, Amateur load is 16kg, and Beginner and Veteran Women lift 12kg. 
• Score: In general, each lift is one point. For the Biathlon, the score is determined in a number of different ways. Each hosting organization uses a designated set of regulations made publicly known with the announcement of a competition.
• Prizes: This varies with each competition and is made publicly known with the announcement of a competition. Prizes range from bragging rights to medals, trophies, rank certificates, qualification to higher level competition, and cash prizes. There may be additional recognition for Best Lifter, Absolute Winner or Co-efficient.

The traditional weight loads: 16kg (yellow), 24kg (green) and 32kg (red).

The Lifts:
The components of GS lifts resemble and are named after Olympic Weightlifting moves.

• Long Cycle: This is a GS event known as Clean and Jerk (C&J) in Olympic lifting. Due to the number of lifts involved in a GS set we refer to it as the Long Cycle. The components of this lift are Clean, Rack and Jerk.

  

  A swing between LC Cleans.

• Clean: The lifter moves the weight from the floor to shoulder/chest height. In GS, there is one Clean from the floor at the beginning of a competitor's set. Once the weights have left the floor for the first Clean, the kettlebell/s must stay in the lifter's hands. For all subsequent Cleans the lifter drops the load into a swing and then brings it back to the Rack position.

• Rack: this is the shoulder/chest position mentioned above. This position is a required stopping point for the LC/C&J, but looks very different for each lifting sport. GS lifters bury their elbows deep in a lower body resting point.

  

  Olympic weightlifting Rack position.

  If an Olympic lifter attempted this, he/she would drop the load or cause back damage. GS lifters develop strength and flexibility to launch the weight from Rack to overhead and then return to the Rack. Olympic lifters only return the bar from overhead to the Rack position in practice sessions. In a competition the load is too massive to safely return a loaded barbell to the Rack.

Arm lockout in Olympic Jerk.

GS Rack position.

• Jerk: This is an element of both GS and Olympic lifting, and also a stand alone event in GS. The Jerk starts in the Rack position. To practice this, Olympic lifters either Clean the bar from the floor or begin with a loaded bar sitting on Jerk Boxes. GS lifters Clean the weights from the floor once at the beginning of a set. Otherwise the Jerk for both sports is identical in required elements. The lifter must launch the weight into a straight-arm overhead position and then straighten his/her legs to complete a Jerk. The arms must be straightened before the legs straighten for the repetition to count. This is a form point known as "lockout." For the repetition to count the lifter must hold a stable lockout position under the weight long enough for the load to stop moving. This is referred to as "fixation" of the weight. In both Olympic and GS lifting, a lifter may achieve a good lockout, but if he/she does not establish fixation after a Jerk attempt, the repetition will not count.

  

  Jerk fixation.

Swing between Snatch reps.

• Snatch: This is a lift performed in both sports, and until recently the only women's event in GS. As with the LC/C&J the Snatch begins with the weight on the floor. The weight is moved continuously from this low position to overhead lockout and fixation bypassing the Rack. This lift appears very different between the two sports. Olympic lifters use two hands on the bar and drop the bar from overhead once the repetition is judged complete. GS lifters use one kettlebell for this event, and after the first repetition the kettlebell does not touch the ground until the lifter's set is complete. It is a cyclic exercise with no pauses aside from the required overhead fixation. The lifter and kettlebell are in perpetual motion with one hand-switch for the duration of a set.

• Biathlon:  For this GS event the athlete performs one Jerk set and one Snatch set with the same kettlebell load.  Currently most local, regional and some qualifier events invite both men and women to participate with a Biathlon. Men use two kettlebells of the same weight for the Jerk set and one kettlebell for the Snatch. (ie. Mens 32kg Biathlon, the Jerk set, is shown above right, Snatch set shown lower left.) Women use one kettlebell of the same weight for both sets, shown lower right. For men and women, there is equal time to rest between the Jerk and Snatch sets for all Biathlon competitors. This amount of time varies with each competition.

The Competition:

24kg Biathlon, Jerk set.

32kg Biathlon, Snatch set.

• In current GS competitions Men and Women compete in all events. Men lift two kettlebells for Long Cycle and Jerk, and one kettlebell for the Snatch. In traditional competitions Women lift one kettlebell in all events, though recently women are invited to compete in a 5-minute Double Jerk event.
• Each competitor only competes directly against other lifters in the same division and weight category who are performing the same lift with the same kettlebell load. This also applies to events specific to certain competitions, such as the 5-minute Double Jerk, 5-minute Snatch and Chair Press.
• Though GS is mainly an individual sport, the traditional team event is a Long Cycle Relay. This event is not available at every competition in the U.S. but is part of Russian Girevoy Sport Championships.

I hope this post gives new meaning to Kettlebell Sport for the friends and family of GS lifters. Thanks to all who support this intense strength endurance sport, and best wishes to beginners who are training for their first competitions!

**Photographic acknowledgement: most of these pictures came from my own camera. The pictures of Sergei Merkulin came from Nazo Okc's pictures of my LC flight in 2012. The images of Olympic weightlifters and Aleksander Khvostov were pilfered from internet and facebook posts.**

In case you didn't hear about the floods in Colorado:

Hello Strong People,

It occurred to me that people outside Boulder, CO, need to read this. It started raining early on Tuesday last week. In a tropical environment it might be more or less normal to get almost 12 inches of rain all in one go, but in the mountains we now know this as an earth-changing flash flood.
Flood waters eroded roadways, stranding individuals and communities above flooded areas with internet or cell phone access being the only connection people had to a possible rescue.  To see the extensive public updates provided to keep everyone aware of the situation, see the link below.

Boulder Emergency Status updates

As with any natural disaster, there are many people who were unprepared for both the event, the consequences to infrastructure, and the aftermath. It has been stated repeatedly in the media reports, though the rain has passed out of the Boulder County area, the flood is still a major presence for hundreds of families. Those of us local to the affected areas are doing everything possible to support displaced communities, but as you can imagine there are weeks of unsettlement to come. I want to pass the opportunity on to everyone who reads this blog to contribute if it is in you to do so.

HELP COLORADO NOW 

Please do what you can, either donate to one of the support organizations at the above link, pray, stay tuned and pass along this post to your friends. The rain has moved to other areas of Colorado. It has been said over again, at the end of the day all we really have is each other.

With great gratitude for the Kettlebell Sport community, and for those who allow this to open you to how completely connected we all are.
Christian

Bay Area Open/OKC Instructors Cert.: Kettlebell Lifting with a Smile

Saturday, August 17th in Berkeley, CA. The event took place in a slice of John McNeil's Studio. I wish I'd thought to take "before and after" readings on the heat and vibrational frequency. My guess is the air above the platforms gained 15 degrees, and the vibration went from "friendly and helpful" to "best ever, bottle some of this for a rainy day."

GS lifters from US and Canada had their Kettle Game on that morning and into the early evening. Guests looked on in awe, who could blame them?

Represented were Strong Ladies of Canadia (if these are your women, I'd like to meet your men, eh?), Women of Underground Athlete from D.C. and Virginia (again, the guys?), from Dallas, TX, Full Throttle sent a co-ed team, Team Colorado (myself and three others!), KBNic's party from Grit City, Tacoma, WA, brought formidable force, gireviks from all around California representing Orange Kettlebell Club and Juno Fitness flocked in, and from KETAcademy (Kettlebell Endurance Training), Head Judge, Coach and World Class lifter Denis Vesilev.

As someone who first noticed the OKC team in 2011, the small herd of lifters in the trademark "snatchman" t-shirt revolving around a Great Big Guy and tiny Japanese photographer lady, I've come to deeply admire this incredible team. At the 1st Annual Bay Area Competition I learned that the leadership of this group includes epitome of "gentle giant," CEO John Wild Buckley, impeccably graceful Head Coach Nazo, impressionist/coach/co-founder Jason Dolby, and owner/coach/asskicker at Juno Fitness, Juliet Lederle. For this second annual meet the four of them took the event by the horns, knowing there would be at least twice (make that three-times) the turn out as last year. Maybe it's the unconditional love and genuine friendship constantly offered, maybe it's something in the Berkeley water, but every single person in an OKC or Juno t-shirt took the needs and comfort of visiting lifters and guests as his/her personal responsibility.

At this event OKC rolled-out the new KETAcademy Universal International Ranking Tables. Head Judge Denis Vesilev verified the specific requirements of a "good" lift vs. "no count" or "warning" calls at the pre-flight judges meeting, demonstrated how to use the snazzy electronic timer/rep counters, and kept a close watch on all the flights up until his own lifting events.

Timer/rep counters as seen from three of four platforms.

Considering this was a small regional meet, the event equipment and judging standard easily exceeded my experience of National level competitions minus the tension and seriousness. Almost everyone had a competitor in his/her weight class, but in the spirit of sporting fun people outright admired each others great lifting and shear grit. Though I was the only representative of IKSFA, many lifters at last Saturday's event have at some point learned directly from IKSFA President, Coach Sergey Rudnev, and complimented his influence on my technique.

It was mentioned at the awards ceremony that Personal Records were set by the dozens, and first-time event attempts were a main theme of the day, including myself and all my Colorado GS Team mates! One Master of Sport was awarded (earned by Juliet Lederle), a handful of CMS,  and well-earned Ranks 1, 2 and 3 given to individual 10-Minute sets and Biathlon lifters. 5-Minute events with multiple hand switches were run for PRs.
(As a side note, the KETAcademy ranking tables award up to Master of Sport International Class for Men and Women 5-Minute events (with one hand switch where applicable), 30- and 60-Minute Marathons, and 5 - and 7-person Team Relays.)

Denis demonstrates the under squat.

Which leads me to the OKC Instructor Certification event hosted at Juno Fitness the two days following. As with any certification course, you just had to be there. Learning how to teach foundational technique is as much of an obsession as achieving personal goals for many of us. Guest Instructor Denis added his years of experience to the OKC teachers enthusiasm making this a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Once we had all completed the written exam, the highlight for most participants at last weekend's event was the practical test. The official requirement is for each candidate to perform a Rank 3 set with either LongCycle or Snatch. Because many of us had achieved Rank 3 or above at the competition, and had the skin trauma to show for it, John and Jason took a great idea to the platform and conducted Men and Women 7-person Jerk Relays for a combined score of Rank 3. It was the first time most of us had done this event and took a moment to explain.

In a relay all the team members use the same kettlebell(s) for the duration. From lightest to heaviest bodyweight class, each team member has 3 minutes to perform as many correct repetitions as possible for the team. The total time for this event is 21 minutes. For the Team Jerk Relay last weekend the Men lifted two 16kg kettlebells for a total of 341 reps and the Women used one 12kg kettlebell for 501 reps!

As you can see by the scores, the most recent OKC Instructor class blew the Rank 3 practical test out of the water. By the table, Men's requirement is 300, Women's requirement is 370.

At the end of the seminar there was not a single person left un-inspired. Yes, we were all completely toasted after the competition, but whether by new technique, a feeling of new friendship and support, or a sense of the bigger picture we all represent, everyone had an enriching experience at the 2nd Annual Bay Area Kettlebell Competition and OKC Instructors Certification course last weekend.

BOOM!

*Thanks again to Tricia Dong for the top three photos.

GS Practice with Oboe

It's getting to be time, yep, time to go compete again. I know this because it's Stage 4, the only part of my training where I show up at the gym on Sunday. I happens once in an entire training cycle, and last Sunday was that day.

Perhaps because I was there earlier than usual, because I have sworn off "Saturday Night" until after the meet, I was the only person in the gym. As is my habit, after joint mobility and basic core warm-up I take my kettlebell and the entire chalk bin outside to prepare the handle and lo, an oboe player in a nearby apartment is doing the musician's parallel of my warm-up routine, scales. Somehow there was a feeling of shared artistry in this moment.

Those who appreciate the benefits of chalk sympathize with the following sequence:

I put a base layer on the "Work Set" bell, then go inside to begin the progressive warm-up with weights. Starting with a drop weight, basic movements in sets of 5 each side.
Put down, shoulder mobility, pick up and complete 5 reps each side with focus on recent technique corrections.
Next weight, 2kg up. This time including basic movements with the full lift, 5 rep sets on each side, special attention to the most recent corrections. Put down.

Go look at the "Work Set" bell. It's still there with a base coat of chalk. As I apply myself to covering the holes in this first coat, I notice Oboe Player has gotten into a different set of scales. Some of it has a resemblance to familiar classical music, but just as I start to pick out the tune the scale resumes.

With the second layer of chalk secured, I go back in to continue my weighted warm-up.
More shoulder mobility before hefting the next weight up. This time straight to the lift, suddenly aware that this kettlebell is not chalked. I space out one rep thinking about potential hand damage, so add one to be certain I'm still able to incorporate that new material. Second side, put down.
Then it gets serious. I happen to have doubles of each weight, so am now onto warming-up with the Work Set weight, the one that is not under a protective coat of magnesium.

My general rule: chalk the bell if doing more than 5 reps each side, chalk the hands if less.

So off to the chalk bin.

Outside, Oboe Player has gotten the reed warm and is doing an improvisational set of scales which allows for pitch errors. When a note is played off, the scale shifts to that different key for a few notes, then returns to the original scale. I've never heard a musician do this before, but haven't spent any time in a symphony. It's an incredible feat of training and intuition happening in my ears, my "practice partner" is doing exactly what I'm doing, using the warm-up as a practice. Just to hear the next measure I finish chalking my handle, thus re-coating my hands for the final warm-up set.

Me, the bell, the chalk bin, my sand paper and shop towel all come in this time.
A short set of arm circles, then grab the extra bell. After rep 3 I feel the new technique feature doing it's work: the drop down results in a straight line from the top of my shoulder through the center of the kettlebell. The last two reps confirm that I have enough energy to complete the set given with this weight. Switch hands and repeat.

At this point I might do something like take a picture of the chalked kettlebell with my phone to procrastinate. But today I am the only person in the gym, have the best spot in the house, no music blaring at me and an oboe accompaniment. The GymBoss starts and paces me for the Work Set. I can maintain the minimum rep per minute count on side 1, no flesh tear, change hands. It works just as well on side 2, new technique keeps me in the set, finally GymBoss tells me "Put Down!" and I'm sweating like I just finished a Bikram Yoga class.

There is a short rest between this and the assist set for the training session, so I take my kettlebell outside to remove the chalk and perhaps hear the piece my practice partner is working on. But alas, apparently the piece was the same length as my set, there is no more music outside! Well, no excuse to extend the rest segment, either. Like a Tibetan sand painting, it takes 5 seconds to undo what took 25 minutes to accomplish on the handle of my working weight. Back to work, the 10-minute glove set.

A different day -  the chalk that remained just had to be documented!

Okay, it's not such a glamorous sport. We spend more time preparing for the Big Event than actually competing. But just as my musician partner demonstrated, it's the time given to refining the art that makes a performance so amazing.

Now that I know the weight I plan to compete with will not take all the flesh off my palm in the first three minutes (God willing!), the last training sessions of this cycle don't feel so ominous. I'm looking forward to the Second Annual Bay Area Kettlebell Competition!

Hope to see you there!

For my friends on the Mat and Platform this weekend:

"Life is growth. If we stop growing, technically and spiritually, we are as good as dead....."

Morihei Ueshiba (O Sensei), founder of Aikido*

Competitions, tests, challenges, what are they really?
As a fellow-student and friend of several people who are competing or being tested this weekend, I offer this perspective in the hope of supporting your progress.

Having been a martial artist for only a short time, and kettlebell lifter even shorter, I have relied on wisdom of great teachers such as O Sensei and Gandhi to help me understand how I feel during tests and moments of maximum effort.

Whether you succeed or fail, let the test develop your character.

First, you may be asking "What does Gandhi have to do with this?"
Have you ever been in the middle of a test and realized that you are seeing your own commitment or lack of commitment to the subject through the examination? This, I think, is the true usefullness of tests, to show us what we have learned or not even noticed about our field of study.
M.K. Gandhi submitted a list called "Seven Deadly Social Sins" in which he covers all the basis of conscious social awareness (easy to find on Google). The "sin" that answered my heart about being humiliated by a test was "Knowledge without Character."

The test allowed me to acknowledge my human-ness, if you will. The most amazing athletes in history have walked away from botched attempts expressing awareness that they hadn't done the homework. While many of those who succeeded had the character to acknowledge both commitment to practice and Grace as factors in the outcome.

Whether you have studied all the material or not, perform with confidence.

Second, in the midst of a competition it really becomes obvious when I have stepped out of my depth of experience. Many Girevoy Sport coaches will train athletes to physically peak a growth phase at the competitive event, meaning it's very likely that the lifter will step out on a limb and do something completely new on that day. The coach or teacher knows this will happen and believes his or her student has deep enough training to cope with the unknown.

From the athlete's perspective if I am truly where I need to be I will re-set my center in mid-flow. If I am in over my head I will maintain on the foundation that I have already built. Something I have witnessed at aikido tests: the martial artist is ready to advance in rank when he/she can notice new levels of pressure and make adjustments during the moment of challenge.

Whether it's a new test or a re-test, you are not the same person this time.

Last thing, because I know you all have better things to do than read this blog. I wish for you all to have this moment before beginning your test. Remember a time when the challenge you are about to face was unthinkably above you, and acknowledge the practice, understanding and growth you have accomplished between that time and now.

My thoughts are with you this weekend, wishing you all a great time and a turning point for even greater things to come!
best,
Christian

*http://taichisacramento.com/one-hundred-forty-eight-quotes-by-o-sensei.html

What to do if you cannot Clean....

It's a horrible conundrum but Cleaning a kettlebell is still wrong for me this week. 

It's been 3 and a half weeks since I finally admitted that my wrist was sprained from heavy and intense LongCycle practice. After the first week of total anger subsided I gave up my "scoop-of-the-day" membership at the Glacier Ice Cream store, dusted off my training manuals and came up with something to do in the gym.

Two main momentum drills came immediately into play, the Squat Swing and the Crescent Swing. Both exercises demonstrated in the video below.

Squat Swing (may be called something else) first showed up on my radar as a warm-up drill for GS athletes in the Mother country. I used it as a 60 second interval in my classes with great success, if you call nasty looks from the students a mark of success, so started putting one and two-kettlebell sets into my intervals.

Back in my RKC days a Senior Instructor, Brett Jones, mentioned this evil exercise he used to train football players to move their feet faster, a Crescent Swing.

Other weighted exercises on my list:

• Turkish Get-up with a bar
• Windmill with lower arm kettlebell and a bar
• Barbell Jerks
• Overhead Squat with a bar
• Russian Twist
• Bent Row

Unweighted exercises:

• Pull-ups 
• Dips
• Push-ups
• Ab Wheel
• Side Plank
• V-Snaps
• Running
• Hiking
• Ashtanga Yoga

Fellow trainers in the gym are asking "Who are you and what have you done with Christian?" - never having seen me workout with anything other than kettlebells. All I have to say is thank God for Jason Busch's Body Balance Gym being fully stocked with everything you need for on-season and off-season training!

In the mean time I've caught up with rest and am almost through a cleanse (today is eight of ten days). Even had time to learn Google Spreadsheet and write programming for other GS athletes.
It's been productive.

Best wishes to everyone for a great month!
Christian

Early warning signs of injury in GS

I was Novacaned at birth. Apparently it was a needless choice on the doctor's part to speed up a delivery already underway. Justified or not, uncovering this detail has helped me make sense of my capacity for endurance sports, Girevoy Sport in specific.

Recently I achieved Master of Sport rank in Women's 20kg LC on my third attempt. I was viewing this as a stop along the way while training for the same event with 24kg. I was feeling pretty dialed into the form, had the routine down. But this one nagging ache keep cropping up in my left forearm when working with 22 and 24kg sets.

20kg LC 2nd attempt. CMS set.

"Meeh, wrap it up and call it good," says I.

20kg LC MS set.

It worked moderately well all the way up until the week after the MS set. Looking at the timing for the next event I felt impatient to carry on despite the Stage 5 mandate we all know and love. With a 5 day rest I went back to the program. Two days in I felt a pain that blinded me. It didn't go away no matter how many wraps I added to my left forearm, the command from every nerve in my hand was "PUT DOWN!"
The forearm sprain was going to happen. Not just because I was ignoring the discomfort. My left arm was previously injured. I was going through a growth phase that transferred new patterning into my hand. And I asked a coach known for high-level programming to get me ready for the next kettlebell weight. And we were working remotely.

Two notes before continuing on with the warning signs.
First, for the coaches: As a bodywork therapist, I have learned to see unconscious pain cues. People touch a place where they feel discomfort, protect it with supports and layers, and keep it farther away from potential hazards. Depending on a person's relationship with discomfort, he/she may ask an "expert" about it earlier or later. Those of us with less-healthy habits will wait until later.

Second, for the athletes: Many kettlebell lifters have great success with online coaching. If you can find a remote coach who programs you well you can succeed through many competitions with excellent results. Even better if you find a local coach! Either way you cannot count on him/her to notice early signs of injury. Seasoned lifters will recognize an overtrained athlete dragging around the gym (pictured above right) and express their concern. But please learn from my example and acknowledge your pain.

Most of what I have to share is through my own training or working with other GS lifters. All the GS lifts are full-body efforts, so if you have an isolated area of pain there is a weakness in the chain. The difference between muscle fatigue and joint damage can be a fine line, so here are typical problems for beginner/intermediate level lifters. I do not guarantee my solutions, as everyone is different.
Consult a trainer in person if possible.

Feet:

• Soles - Allowing the arch to fall can cause pain here, also heavy Jerk sets. Examine foot positioning on the bump and under squat. This pain is acceptable only at a competition/max effort. Do not train with it. Stretch calves thoroughly and massage the feet before finishing the training set and use less weight.
• Toes - Cramping could be due to dehydration. Also gripping the floor during part of the lift. Back off weight load and evaluate areas where you hold your breath until this habit is corrected.
• Achilles Tendon - Are you wearing weightlifting shoes? Excessive pull from the calf muscles will micro tear this tendon. Also evaluate your foot-to-knee positioning in the under squat.

Knees:

Advanced positioning.

• Front Knee pain - Check initial squat from the rack position. This is a knees-forward-hips-locked stretch. If the heels lift in this movement there will be shear on the front knee ligaments. Another cause of Front Knee pain is weak heel drive into the under squat. Isolate and practice these movements with a manageable weight. Invest in weightlifting shoes.
• Out side Knee pain - If you work with double weights, what are your feet doing as they pass through the swing? Often lifters will bow the legs to the outer side and lift the inner foot which begins a stress pattern on the lateral knee ligaments. Examine foot positioning and stance. 
• Inner Knee pain - Did you hit it with a kettlebell? For Jerk, check leg movement through the entire bump and into the under squat. If one or both feet rock toward the middle at any point, this will accumulate stress on the inner ligaments. For Snatch, examine foot-to-knee position coming out of the backswing and in the under squat.
• Back Knee pain - In getting out of the under squat, if you straighten your legs without adjusting your hips forward you will eventually feel pressure in the knee. This technique can be seen in many advanced lifters (pictured right) to save time getting out of the under squat. Practice standing out of the under squat in a vertical line to start. This takes more time but will build core strength and flexibility.

Hips:

• Back and Side Hip pain - May be caused by too much squat in the back swing, or a deep under squat with weight overhead. This is not the worst pain to have in the conditioning phase. Examine form, develop pre-work mobility and dynamic flexibility to condition your inner legs and allow hamstring extension in the backswing. Practice full-range back-loaded squats to condition the thighs.
• Inner Hip pain - May be too much contraction in the acceleration pull to the rack position or overhead. Work with less weight, use more leg and abdominal strength. Examine your feet at the point of acceleration pull. Correct this before it becomes a hernia.

Low Back:

Abs engaged!

• Not enough core stability in undersquat and overhead positions. This will not go away with out form correction. Shift the base/pelvis forward when straightening out of the under squat. A low-slung weight belt may help remind you of this correction plus add support for the sacrum under load.
• Insufficient abdominal power when launching the Jerk. Hyper extension of the chest over arches the lower back and accumulates stress. Use your abs.
• Examine your posture in the descent. For Snatch, rounding the shoulders and taking the maximum velocity of a descending kettlebell in the lower back will wear you down. For Long Cycle, when lowering from the rack if you round into your back you will not last long. For both of these cases examine core and leg stabilization, and allow your arms to extend before going into the backswing.

Shoulders:

Weight racked too high.

• Above the Shoulder Blades pain - Over extending the arms upward in the lock out position and/or not resting in the rack position. Develop shoulder flexibility through full-range of motion and mobility drills before work. Be diligent with shoulder flexibility, it will only cause you pain to ignore this part of your training.
• Above the Breast Bone pain - Weight is racked too high causing chest muscles to overwork. Usually a flexibility concern, this will effect efficient breathing. Use mobility and dynamic stretching to warm up the chest before work. Static holds with heavy loads may help stretch the back of your chest.

Arms:

• Upper Arm outside pain - For Snatch, inserting the hand late. For Jerk, arms extended out of the resting position, also a growth pain due to the nature of the lift.
• Upper Arm inside pain - Lack of shoulder flexibility: bumping with the elbows lateral puts stress on the inner arm in the under squat. Lack of stability: you may be allowing the weight to roll your arm open at the lock out. Another sign of this is the head pitched forward. Train your arm into the bottom of the shoulder socket when you lock out.
• Forearm Grip pain - Welcome to the club. Learn everything you can about refreshing the grip through out your lift, also examine hand positioning overhead. This is everyone's weakest link. Sadly, the grip strengthens best with overload training.
• Forearm outside pain - My pet issue. Increasing weight load or pacing without learning to relax forearm muscles under the load. Repeated kettlebell impact on tense muscles will sprain the tendon. Focus on relaxing your hands with the weight on your forearm.  If you don't want the "knuckles" below your wrists, start early with wrist coverage. Efficient hand insertion will help. 

Hands:

• Blisters - Gonna happen at some point with the Snatch. Examine your leg movement at the three points of friction through the swing. Use assist exercises, glove sets to develop timing and perfect the acceleration pull. For LC, refine the three points of friction and develop a chalking routine.
• Callouses - It's the nature of the beast. Use chalk in exercises with a swing. Manage your callouses with a file or razor so they do not tear in training.

Head:

• Did you hit it with a kettle bell?
• Over training or dehydration. Jaw tension will cause head pain.
• For Jerk, if you use the "throw-the-head-back" method, examine your timing in the bump. The firing sequence from tailbone to occiput must be smooth to maximize this movement.

Another worthwhile note:

• If you are a convert from other sports you will be bringing old habits and injuries along. Warm up thoroughly, practice sport-specific mobility and assist exercises to mold yourself to GS lifts.
• If, like me, you had a numbed birth or similar experiences that affect your ability to detect discomfort, be real about your pain threshold. Learn to read your body's signs.

Please comment on this list of symptoms and solutions. Questions are welcome. It is my aim to support Girevoy Sport as it grows in popularity, thus hope to pass around some inside information on how to stay in training and avoid unwanted setbacks.

Contact me for information about GS training in Boulder, CO.

mindbodyenergetics@gmail.com

Best wishes for safe, effective training!

Christian