It's Really NOT About the Kettlebell

We all get into our training routines... and even with something as mentally stimulating/challenging as kettlebell training, we can easily lose focus, and end up thinking about finishing the next set, or our stance, or our grip, or our contraction, or our breathing, or our hands, or our heels....

Which is fine.

But where we go wrong is letting our focus go toward the movement of the bell, rather than the movement of our bodies. I'd venture to say that even the highest-ranking RKCs fall into this pattern every once in a while. The key is to recognize it and re-establish the proper focus.

Kettlebell training has an INTERNAL focus. Its purpose is not just moving weight around, but moving your BODY around, with load added to strengthen those movements, and your body as a whole. If the whole point of training is to benefit our body, why do we keep thinking so much about the kettlebell? When you think about snatching, do you think about the pattern of movement that involves, or do you think about a kettlebell moving from the ground (or backswing) to above your head?

I was enjoying a small mid-day session of heavy snatches today when I realized I was thinking more about the bell than about my body. Move the bell, move the bell, 3 more, 2 more... swing switch, etc. As soon as I FORGOT about moving the bell, and thought only about the movement itself, and exactly what it should look and feel like... I found the bell was shooting up almost effortlessly.

Yet another great moment in the continuing education that is the RKC!