I’m so excited about Comrade Ben’s first Kettlebell competition this Saturday at the North American Outlaw Kettlebell Competition. If you’ve seen this cat in action you know he’s going to give fellow competitors a run for their money. He’ll be competing in the Long Cycle competition.
The Long Cycle is a very tricky lift as it requires a lot of coordination and timing throughout your entire body for maximum efficiency. When Ben first started working out with me, we focused primarily on foundation; swings, pull-ups, cleans, presses, etc. Well, the clean and press became his strong suit! He was pressing until the cows came home!! This makes the long cycle a bit of an adjustment for a couple of reasons. One, the long cycle is basically a clean and jerk which means pressing will fatigue your arms at a much faster rate. Try doing clean and presses for five to ten minutes (snatch size kettlebell) and your triceps will be smoked!! Well, now that I think about it Ben is an exception. Anyways the other reason is that the long cycle is an endurance lift so technique can make the difference between going for 3 minutes vs. 10 minutes no matter how strong you are.
Its hard taming your body to explode from the hips and catapult two kettlebells over your head to a lock out position, then as efficiently as possible, bring them down to a rack position. Very different execution and application as the long cycle technique is designed for doing as many as you possibly can. I’m happy to say that Ben has risen to the occasion, setting aside all that I drilled into his mind for the clean and press to deliver an ever improving clean and jerk. If you’re in the area, please come down and support Ben and the team. The event will be held at Hyperfit USA, 670 Airport Blvd Suites 3 & 4, Ann Arbor, MI 48108.
Motor City Kettlebells 