Review on the Kettlebell Workshop/workout with Steve Cotter and Ken Blackburn

This past weekend I had the chance to go to a Workshop with Steve Cotter and Ken Balckburn at The Fit Experience in Sparta, NJ, hosted by Mike Sanders. The evening started off slow as we waited for Steve to fly into the gym but that didn't seem to be an issue being that I was able to reconnect with some friends I had made through competitions. Once we got started Ken Blackburn started everyone off warming them up with some fun joint mobility exercises. We all seem to have some fun warming up.
After warm-up, Steve started us all off with the Snatch. He had just gotten back from Italy training with his coach Oleg Ilika. He talked about how there are many different styles in GS and there is no one true way. This is something I believe in. There are many different types of people out there and their lifting style should reflect who they are. So after stating that Steve showed us what his coach has taught in minimizing movement and using the entire body during the lifts.
First lift of the night was the Snatch! Steve showed us the swing, the pull and acceleration into the snatch. We all use the hook grip with a vertical handle swing to minimize the rotation of the handle. It took some getting use to. Steve had us warm-up with 10 reps each hand and progressively move up weight. Men started with 16s ending with 32s and women started with 8s ending with 20s or 24s. Once we were all warmed up we started our 60/60 rep set waited a minute and did a 30/30 set. This is usually more than any set I usually when working because I usually do timed sets. Slowly working up the time. This time I did 60/60 straight then 30/30 which was pretty good. After that Steve demonstrated some assistance lifts for the Snatch. The one arm box deadlift. 4 sets, 15reps with a weight higher than your competition weight. My friend and I got up to 32kg bell and my friend Heidi used a 40kg bell. She was a beast and got a round of applause from everyone. After Snatch we moved on to the Jerk. Steve showed us a few assistance exercises here but started us off with our base. A good foundation can lead to good technique thus better numbers. So he went around and fixed everyone's stance and then asked us to do some squat going straight down so we can use 100% of our legs during the lift. Once we got pass that warmup. He gave some helpful tips on the Jerk. Minimize movements, do not use more movements that what you need to accomplish the lift. From the Jerk, Steve moved onto Loncycle. We did some density training there, 8 x 15 reps. We had no specific pace to get the reps done, just get them done! We had a minute in-between each set or until our partner was done with his set.  After that we finished the class. It was a tough and informational class. During the Steve mentioned a few things he is using to plan his training. He talked breifly about Biorhythm  and Food Combining . I looked them up and they do sound interesting. I will look into those two a little more in depth and post a blog on them. They both seem to be very scientific and legitimate so they deserve a look. I have read the Warrior Diet and am currently reading The Paleo Diet. I don't know which path to take for myself so I will be experimenting with each of these for a few months. The class was expceptional and I am glad I had the oppurtunity to learn some new techniques and review some old technique. Ken and Steve were great teachers and helped eveyone who was there. Mike Sanders' facility was a great site and can't wait to for him to host another meet. His previous meet he hosted was very professional and ran well.
I will be starting my training again shortly. Just busy with work and when I slow down I will start up again. I heard of a couple meets coming up so I will be ready for that.