Kettlebells… What’s Your Style?
Thursday, February 22nd, 2007Interview with World Champion Valery Fedorenko, Head Coach of the American Kettlebell Club
by Eric Liford, Editor American Kettlebell Club
Liford: What’s the most common question you are asked about Kettlebells?
Fedorenko: I get a lot of emails asking me about my style of Kettlebell Lifting. I was really confused by this for Kettlebells, because I think of style for clothes or maybe my car, but never for Kettlebells. Maybe people are confused by the “style” thing because of the old Martial Arts arguments that have existed for Centuries, but it has no place in Kettlebells. There is no “style” for Kettlebells. You choose to lift the right way or the wrong way. It doesn’t matter if I am lifting heavy Kettlebells or light ones, I will always lift with the best technique. It doesn’t matter if I lift slow or fast, I use proper technique. It’s really that simple and anyone who doesn’t practice this way is either lying to themselves or has a serious lack of understanding of athletics.
Liford: So it’s obvious you do it the right way now, but have you always had access to High Level Coaching and Information?
Fedorenko: No! When I began lifting Kettlebells 21 years ago, my first reaction was to lift the Kettlebells as fast as I could. When I say first reaction I mean for many months I tried hard almost every day. Actually it was years… Later I found a good Coach and he explained simply and with much harder words, that it’s not smart to lift recklessly, and that this was a quick way to injury. I was young and could repair quickly, but if I wanted better results I was going to have to learn the right way. I know it’s maybe hard for you to believe a Champion could work for years incorrectly, but I was thinking from a low level, natural instinct, with no care of technique. I didn’t like this advice, but who was I to argue? A few years later I had the best 80kg total [Jerk/Snatch 130 + (96+92) total 318 reps] in the history of the World of Kettlebell Lifting, and I was still a Junior.
Liford: What would you suggest someone new to Kettlebells do to get started?
Fedorenko: They must find a good Coach. A good Coach, in my opinion, is someone who has either achieved a high level of respect and accomplishment from their Kettlebell Lifting or learned from such a person. Otherwise you are trusting your results to someone’s fantasy. With Kettlebells you can be shown good technique from the start so you don’t get these bad habits. It’s actually easier for me to work with new students. Kettlebell exercises can be done by a big percentage of the population, which is another reason it’s such a good Sport. It’s possible, in just a short time, for the average person to change their body shape and physical ability. Too many people in
Liford: Do you recommend people start with the popular lifts like Jerks and Snatches?
Fedorenko: First I want to introduce you to the Categories of Kettlebell Lifting:
1. Fitness
2. Juggling
3. Amateur
4. Feats of Strength
5. Professional
All Kettlebell exercises fit into these Categories in some way. Some exercises such as Cleans can fit into the Professional Category, as well as Fitness. It depends on who you are and why you use this exercise, but I must recommend that you do this exercise the right way regardless of what Category you choose to lift in. I have a protocol that helps a beginner get use to handling the Kettlebell that I will share with all my Coaches. I would not advise anyone start with Jerks or Snatches. It’s case by case, but a good Coach should be able to help just about anyone progress to these excellent exercises. Start with the simple movements like Swing, Clean, and Press. These lead to proficiency in the more complete lifts like Jerk, Snatch and Long Cycle.
Liford: What’s the one thing that would surprise people most about you?
Fedorenko: I think people are surprised I can juggle the Kettlebells. Because I was a Kettlebell Sport athlete, they think all I do is Jerk, Snatch and Long Cycle, but I started in Kettlebells for Fitness like everyone else. Me and my friend used to Juggle Kettlebells to each other every day after school. We had a kind of show. We used a lot of different Kettlebell Fitness exercises, but at this time I was focused on Juggling and didn’t even think it was possible to do Kettlebell Sport. My mind changed that same year.
Liford: Can I ask why you use the term Kettlebell Sport when so many Americans use Girevoy Sport?
Fedorenko: When I’m speaking to Russians I will use Girevoy of course, but I’m an American now and am head Coach for American Kettlebell Club. It’s smarter to use English in this case and of course in the Internet. Girevik is Russian for Kettlebell Lifter. It seems more appropriate to use Kettlebell Lifter here too.
Liford: Can someone get benefits from Kettlebell Lifting for Fitness but have no interest in Kettlebell Sport?
Fedorenko: Kettlebell Sport is when you compete with others by Lifting Kettlebells. All the Categories fall under Kettlebell Lifting. If someone says they have no interest in Sport it’s usually an excuse or they just don’t understand Kettlebells. It takes years to develop the skills to compete in Kettlebell Lifting. Not all competitions are Jerk, Snatch and Long Cycle either. I entered a Press contest when I was 14 years old. I won against men more than twice my age this day. I did 94 reps with 16kg in one hand. Maybe someone will not want to compete, but they have to be interested if they lift the Kettlebells. Maybe they have a goal to compete, but everyone must go through some sort of Kettlebell Fitness first anyway. Sport just shows the current top of human potential and I think everyone is interested in that.
Liford: What would you say your biggest goal is as Head Coach of the American Kettlebell Club?
Fedorenko: I wish to save everyone interested in Kettlebell Lifting the wasted time and frustration I had from years of experimenting with lifting the Kettlebells. We have to start with proper technique to do this. Even if the students goal is just to get in good condition for another Sport, or just to look better in swim clothes, it’s only right to teach from good technique. It’s no different than any other form of exercise, activity or Sport. From Fitness we can help thousands of people reach their goals. Some of these people will compete at an Amateur Level with increased benefits. It’s a small percentage that will reach the Professional Level. I hope to show the power of the Kettlebell for all levels through our Club.
Valery Fedorenko is Certifying Coaches for the American Kettlebell Club every month in 2007. If interested in learning how to help Valery in his
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