1. Please, tell our readers something about yourself.
At the moment I’m studying Strength and Conditioning in Aalborg, Denmark.
I am also involved in promoting kettlebell as a sport under the IUKL’s wing and make people aware of what kettlebell can do for their health and fitness. I’ll be turning 38 this coming December.
2. What is your training background like?
My sport has mainly been skiing, both cross country and alpine. My family lives in the Alps, so I’ve done some mountain biking, climbing and other outdoor sports.
Training wise, lots of bodyweight exercises before I got into lifting weights erratically.
I started lifting kettlebells a year ago and have been hooked since then!
3. How did you end up training with kettlebells? What was the thing that appealed to you about them?
I’d read about kettlebells on the net and the whole hype but brushed it aside until I started to hear more and more about them. So one day I booked a 2 hour personal training session with an RKC instructor, got a bell and read all material I could find. Eventually I contacted the BKLF to hear about their approach. The chance to train with a real world champion, Vasily Ginko, made up my mind and I never looked back.
The appeal was in doing exercises that I could relate to, instead of pushing or pulling in a linear fashion. Being able to walk to a park, throw them around and have fun while training.
4. Are you using kettlebells for other purposes than your own training?
I run a little club at my school, and more and more guys and girls get curious and want to give it a go. There are all sorts of athletes and many find weight training a bit boring and not related enough to their sport.
5. What are your personal goals?
to successfully promote kettlebells here, as a sport and for fitness.
And to crank 100 non stop reps in LC, jerk and snatch with the 16 within 3 months!
6. What is your training week like, how often do you train and what?
I train KB about 4 times a week, working the main lifts for an hour, with 16s and 24s. Sometimes I’ll do a circuit with extra exercises or just juggle for time. I vary the intensity and load throughout the week.
I also train regular weights twice a week and run, rope skip or drag a sled when time and energy allows me.
7. Is there something you’d like to say about kettlebell training? Something positive? Maybe a word of warning?
Kettlebell training is something I look forward to. It is fun, challenging and progress is easy to assess. To me that is great motivation to stick with it.
8. What would you like to say to someone who’s just starting out with kettlebells, or considering it?
The goal and plan is up to you. Be open minded about whatever way and method you choose. The more options you have, the better your decision can be.
However, I think when it comes to technique, as in most sports, there is one good technique and the rest.
With kettlebells, poor technique dominates youtube and the net in general!
Learn technique from the best, an affiliated kettlebell sport organization or a world champion, They have years of experience, research, experimentation. results and performance. Think about it…
Thierry Sanchez
