Hey there! I am TC, a certified kettlebell instructor in Perth.
As the first few certified Perth kettlebell instructors, I feel that there is a duty for me to warn people in WA about the danger of kettlebell training especially now that kettlebell training seems to taken off a bit in Perth. Yes, it may sound weird to you because I am a kettlebell instructor and I am telling ya that kettlebell training is dangerous.
The Story Goes Like this…
Not too long ago before I was the first 3 people from WA to be certified as Australian Kettlebell Instructor (AKI) in Melbourne, I attended a basic kettlebell workshop in Perth conducted by a guy who claimed to be certifed on his blog. Keep story short, I found out that the techniques I learned was subpar and the instructor was not certified by anyone.
For me as personal trainer, it’s important to learn the right things right down to the details so that my clients get the best training. I would never get my clients to do the wrong things and cause bad techniques that can lead to injuries. I got fed up then with mediocre instructions and flew off to Melbourne for the Australian Kettlebells first instructor Certification workshop.
Kettlebell is An Awesome Workout Tool…
Kettlebell is a workout tool that I swear by. It’s almost unbelievable that it’s great for almost every component of fitness such strength, flexibility, fat loss, etc. It works only with proper training program and techniques.
Danger of Kettlebell Training…
It can break your back, hurt your wrist, rip the skin off your hands and many others. Only if you have bad techniques. To avoid all the pain and sorrow, please get a fully qualified kettlebell instructor and used the following safety checklist:
Perth Kettlebell Instructor Selection Safety Checklist
- The Perth kettlebell instructor must be at least a Cert IV personal trainer and must be certified by recognized kettlebell certification bodies such as the Australian Kettlebells, DragonDoor, International Kettlebell Fitness Federation and American Kettlebell Club. Don’t just believe what people tell ya. Ask for proof of certification. You’ll never know. I was duped.
- The kettlebell instructor must look the part and walk the walk. If he takes physical training, kettlebell training seriously and constantly learning, he should be fit. Afterall, who wants to take instructions from a guy who is more out of shape himself.
- The kettlebell instructor should be expert in exercise progression and be able to customise the kettlebell training to wide range of fitness and skills levels. If he can’t even teach a fundamental kettlebell swing properly, leave him before he hurt your back.
- The kettlebell instuctor should arrived at least 10 minutes before session commence and make himself available for any discussion within his scope of practice.
- The kettlebell training session should be focused on training the movement not on isolating specific muscle groups as practiced in traditional bodybuilding exercises. Be very suspicious when the instructor gets you to do french curls or bicep curls with kettlebell.
- The kettlebell instructor should have at least a basic website. Kettlebell training like personal training should be treated like a business not a hobby. If the instructor can’t be bother with a basic website, he’s probably not very bother about his services.
- The kettlebell instructor should have social proof of his experience and raving fans. If he provides top notch kettlebell training and his program works, he should have proof of client testimonials. The clients should have results and raved about the benefits they got from the program. The testimonials should be in the form of before and after pictures, written or video testimonial that can be found on the instructor’s website.
- The kettlebell instructor should offer a FREE Trial for prospective client who is interested to find out more about the kettlebell training. If he is confident about his services, he would let you try out the service for free. Because he knows that once you experienced the kettlebell first hand, you would train with him.
Be sure to train safely with kettlebell
TC
P.S. Leave a comment if you like.
P.P.S. Recommended reading about Kettlebells:
Enter the Kettlebell! Strength Secret of the Soviet Supermen By Pavel
P.P.P.S. Wanna learn 10 basic kettlebell exercises with top notch instructions in Perth for dirt-cheap AUD$99? Click on the banner below:
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Im a certified kettlebell instructor and quite honestly find your site sexist. You imply that the instructor should always be male and that there are only the mentioned associations that certfications are valid for.
You articulate yourself with questionable tone and on a professional level perhaps maybe get someone to proof read your website content. The grammer and punction are somewhat lacking.
What is wrong with doing a bicep curl holding the kettlebell bottoms up and holding onto the bell. Isnt this a good introduction to new clients you can circuit and build up their confident to move onto bigger things?? Im not advocating isolation at all but you come across narrow minded in how to train people without kettlebell experience.
I wish you all the luck in the world with your future business ventures.
Hey Jenny
Thanks for your kind feedback. First of all, I do not expect everyone to like my blog. Secondly, I am not a person that is great at language and I don’t think that should deter me from writing my blog. So should I ask you if a person who is poor at speaking a certain language should refrain from speaking that language?
I did not imply that kettlebell instructor should be male and I do not know how you get that from the blog. I did not suggest that the certifications mentioned are the only vaild ones. If you have read the blog carefully, I mentioned “recognized kettlebell certification bodies such as”.
Kettlebell training is meant to train the movement not isolating the individual muscle group. Why train movements? Simple, multiple joints movements utilised in most kettlebell exercises are better than single joint movements such as biceps curls and french curls at buffering the stress and strain caused by exercises and everyday movement. I seriously do not see the benefits for isolating the single muscle group in training unless you’re doing bodybuilding or undergoing rehab in certain cases. Our bodies are better at using multiple joints movements and I believe in enhancing that ability. By the way, I can’t figure out how you get to know the way I train my clients just by reading this blog post. In training, every individual is unique with different needs and fitness goals and there is no one approach.
Lastly, I thank you for visiting the blog and your kind feedback.
Hi Jenny, TC
I have been training with kettlebells for some months now and certainly am feeling the benefits of it. I also find I enjoy it more than when I was training in the gym. Not being an expert I cannot comment on the best training methods, which is why I have to place my trust in the instructor. Having trained with different instructors in a couple of countries I have found that each have their own training methods and philosophies. Maybe you can provide a link to your website or visit one of TC’s camps and share some of yours. I am sure you can both learn from each other which would not only benefit yourselves but your clients.
Just a note on your other comments Jenny. Whilst I can see where you get your opening sentence from I do not believe the writer intended his comments to be sexist. In every day society people associate most things as male or female and refer to them as such. Generally this is based on how we have traditionally viewed them. In the case of fitness instructors, traditionally these have been male and hence the references above. Also with the writer being male he will be more inclined to reference in this manner. Personally I prefer reading material that has a gender reference rather than reading ‘they’ or ‘he/she’ or ‘them’ everytime.
Cheers
Davie
jenny get a life tc would be the least sexist person I have met. He is totally into his training and deals with both men and womenand treats them with respect. He would be the most decent man I have met in my 54 years of being in this planet
Jenny,before you lecture someone on their grammar (not grammer!) how about you learn correct grammar (not grammer!) yourself.
Ever heard of an apostrophe?
It’s used in such words as I’m and Isn’t.
As in “I’m a certified kettlebell instructor”.
Or “Isn’t this a good introduction to new clients”.
Just look at TC’s first post if you need some more examples,he uses them several times.
Anyway,where can i buy some cheap kettlebells TC?
And another thing Jenny,how do you build up someone’s “confident”?
Hey Dash
Thanks for reading the blog post and visiting the kettlebell Perth website. It seems that there is a countrywide kettlebell price war right now. Great for Aussie kettlebellers! The Australian Kettlebells used to sell their kettlebells at a premium price but now it has gone right down close to its closest competitors such as Dynobells. The only appreciable difference is the shipping cost. Dynobells charges a lot lower in shipping.
In terms of quality of the kettlebells, it is not much difference between the two providers. Except that the paint coating over the kettlebells from Australian kettlebells are better as it is not sticky which is smoother when doing snatches and cleans. So less “ouch ouch” on the hands. However, you may not even feel the difference until you get up to the heavier bells.
Check out the following URL and used their shipping calculators to find out the shipping cost:
http://www.kettlebells.com.au/
http://www.dynobells.com.au/
If you live in Perth, I might be able to get you some cheap and quality bells for you if you get in touch with me. Cheaper than what you see on the kettlebell websites.
Cheers
TC
http://www.kettlebellbootcamp.com.au
Hi, just after some advice, there is a facebook account called Ellenbrook Bootcamp, they say on their wall “brought to you by the Perth Kettlebell Fitness Club” its a 12 week challenge.
I was thinking of signing up for this but unsure how to check if they are certifed or not, he only goes by the name john.
Any help would be great.
thanks
Alicia
Hey Alicia
If you’re unsure, the best thing to do is email him and ask if he is listed on any particular kettlebell certification website that certified him as a kettlebell instructor. Most reputable certification bodies list their certified instructors on their websites.
For example, the Australian Kettlebell has a list of their certified kettlebell instructors in Australia in this link: http://www.kettlebells.com.au/instructors.php
Hope this helps!
Hi all,
getting a knee recon next week are KB’s any good for rehab? Have dabbled in training with KB’s since I left the army but not quite a full bottle on them.
Cheers for your time