TC Kettlebell Training Blog

hardstyle kettlebell certification

Having been to Hardstyle Kettlebell Certification (HKC) workshops both as an attendee and assistance instructor, I can say that attending these Dragon Door workshops are by far the best investment I have made in terms of money and time. It was surprising to me that at the last Melbourne HKC I went to there were not nearly as many attendee as I thought would be. I supposed as a personal trainer I should be happy to know that not many trainers in Australia are coming to the course and that allow me to get ahead of my competition. So why am I telling you this? It’s very simple. I know the chances of you signing up for the course is very low even if you’re a personal trainer reading this. The truth is most personal trainers would not care to learn beyond their basic personal training certification and spend the money and time to sharpen their skills to make them a better trainer with a proven system. Maybe I’m wrong about you. If you’re keen to stand out from the typical trainers, then this is a workshop that will provide you a tool box of skills to make your clients move better without hurting themselves, become more functional and get in better shape. I say this not because I’m a Russian Kettlebell Challenge (RKC) Certified instructor. I can say this because I have attended not only other fitness courses but also other kettlebell instructor courses. It wouldn’t be right to make a comment on something that I have not tried before.

What is Hardstyle Kettlebell Certification About?

The Hardstyle Kettlebell Certification is not a GS (Girevoy Sports) training course.  If you’re looking to develop techniques to compete in G.S. then a GS training course is what you should be looking for. Bear in mind that G.S . is a sport and to compete or to train for a sport you need to develop certain qualities to perform well for a given sport. The qualities developed for different sports are different and obviously the qualities you need to train for required in G.S. is different from someone who needs to lose weight or compete in another sports. That means you can’t expect someone who excel in G.S to excel in a golf game. And obviously your clients or you don’t have to train the G.S. style if your goal is to lose weight and develop all-round fitness.

Hardstyle Kettlebell Certification is a workshop that provides you a skill set on how to use the highly effective kettlebells to help you or/and your clients to develop high level of  general physical preparation (GPP) that provides balanced physical conditioning in endurance, strength, speed, flexibility and other basic factors of fitness. Basically, GPP is the all-round fitness that everyone needs. If you’re a personal trainer, HKC is a perfect system to help your vast majority of your clients with average fitness to develop high level of GPP. Knowing how to expertly use the low cost kettlebells is great for personal trainers who are starting out on their own and don’t have too much to spend on fitness equipment.  Personally, I run a small personal training business and spending a lot of money on expensive and high maintenance equipment is not exactly the way to go. Doing HKC and using the kettlebells for my business is perfect. If you’re a athlete, HKC is perfect for you to build high level of GPP to ensure that you do not have limiting qualities that might adversely affecting your performance.

Although HKC is an entry-level system developed by Pavel for people to better prepare themselves for the more full on Russian Kettlebell Challenge (RKC) Certification, it is a kettlebell course that carries a lot of meat for any personal trainers who wants to be better.

The 3 Key Exercises in HKC

Sure it is only 3 exercises that you will learn compared to other courses that will give you a dozen or more. In fact, I must add that the course also teach the kettlebell deadlift. The 3 exercises are Hardstyle Swing, Turkish Get Up and Globlet Squat and these 3 exercises were cleverly chosen to be taught in the HKC. The hardstyle swing is perfect for anyone who wants a strong core, back and burn fat and it is a skill anyone should learn before they start to snatch. The Get Up is the best if not one of the best full body strength building exercise as well as a great exercise for conditioning the shoulder to hold, press and lockout the kettlebell overhead to prepare you for snatch and do the overhead press. The Globlet Squats developed by Senior RKC Dan John one of the best strength coaches around helps you open the hip to improve your squatting techniques.

This is where people missed the boat. Most people think that the more exercises you get to learn in a course the better value. Does that mean HKC is of less value because other providers are teaching more? Certainly not. Not with the foundation they lay down for you to learn how to perfect the techniques in the 3 moves and apply remedial drills and trouble shoot bad techniques commonly seen in swings, Get up and Globlet squats. Seriously, there is no point learning those 3 exercises or even more if you don’t know how to put things together and teach yourself or clients precise technique how to become fitter and stronger. Before I was a RKC, applying what I learn and using these 3 exercises alone helped some of my clients lose 12kg in 12 weeks and girls doing 24kg kettlebell Get Ups. This is the kind of improvement people want from training and certainly makes them feel great. To see proof, check out this link: http://www.kettlebellbootcamp.com.au

The HKC Test

I must stress that not everyone walk out of the HKC with the certification in hand. The standard is very high anywhere you attend the HKC. They have strict requirement on how the Get Up, Hardstyle Swings and Globlet Squats must be done. And I find that having to learn the exercises with strict standards not only avoid injuries it also allow myself and clients become stronger and fitter. Anyone who aim to pass the test certainly needs to prepare himself or herself.

The test involved the following:

Strength Test:

Male – 5 Chin Ups/Pull Ups

Female – 15 Sec Flexed Arm Hang

Technique Test:

Turkish Get Up (according to the standards in the HKC Instructor Manual)

Swing (according to the standards in the HKC Instructor Manual)

Globlet Squats (according to the standards in the HKC Instructor Manual)

So Why Do the Hardstyle Kettlebell Certification Before Everyone Else?

In my opinion, there are not that many Hardstyle Kettlebell Instructors in Australia although I believe there is going to be more soon especially after 2012 RKC. This is the time to get in before everybody else and improve your knowledge as personal trainer and become the rare few to be able to dramatically improve your clients’ fitness and strength. If you are using kettlebell already, not exactly sure how to use the kettlebell and deep down you know you and your clients can be fitter and stronger, then you should do yourself or your training clients a favour and do the HKC. Plus, the HKC workshops are taught by real world fitness experts who have to earn their senior RKC ranks and have high level of success in their training.

Ask yourself…are you going to learn from someone who have no real world application or someone who have been in the trenches? Personally, I took action and have made trips out of my way to attend the HKC, RKC, and spend time with Master RKC, Senior RKC and Team Leader. And each time I know I got better.

Be sure to watch the first ever HKC Certification video below:

Feel free to leave me a comment if you have any questions.

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