On Saturday I spent a happy day at the Flow restoration workshop organised by Rannoch Donald of Simple Strength.
The workshop was presented by two highly experienced physios who have been using kettlebell training to promote rehab and recovery from injury. Both Keith and Jonathan talked about their own experiences of using and adapting kettlebell drills to overcome their own physical issues, as well as covering some of the problems that can arise from PPKT (p*ss poor kettlebell technique).
We talked a lot initially about the body part most commonly injured by kettlebell training - the skin! If you've train with a kettlebell for any length of time, esp if you do volume training, you will develop blisters and then callouses on your hands. Keith covered what causes the blisters, how they progress and heal and how you can treat them. Chalk, apparently, is NOT the answer. Anti-perspirant is supposedly the way forward. I have yet to try this though.
We then looked at shoulder issues. This was really good for me. I had a nippy shoulder issue a couple of years back; damage to the AC joint and a tear to the bicep as a result of badly-applied lock. This has made me very wary of certain movements, esp with weight. As a result I am utterly PANTS at the Turkish get up. It's not that I lack the strength to carry this out, it's a lack of confidence. Keith and Jonathan taught us some excellent drills for training both the muscles and the brain. These were a total lightbulb moment for me and I think finally proved that I no longer have a physical issue in either shoulder. The osteopath has been telling me for months that I have excellent flexibility in both shoulders but I've clearly never entirely believed it .... Now I have drills that I can use to rebuild my confidence. Totally worth the cost of the workshop for these alone.
From shoulders we moved onto knees, and ways that we could adapt the standard kettlebell swing to promote healthy movement in the knees and legs. Some of these required major co-ordination .... kettlebell - meet shin lol.
We also covered some weighted drills for the lumbar spine.
Things I liked about the workshop:
The workshop was presented by two highly experienced physios who have been using kettlebell training to promote rehab and recovery from injury. Both Keith and Jonathan talked about their own experiences of using and adapting kettlebell drills to overcome their own physical issues, as well as covering some of the problems that can arise from PPKT (p*ss poor kettlebell technique).
We talked a lot initially about the body part most commonly injured by kettlebell training - the skin! If you've train with a kettlebell for any length of time, esp if you do volume training, you will develop blisters and then callouses on your hands. Keith covered what causes the blisters, how they progress and heal and how you can treat them. Chalk, apparently, is NOT the answer. Anti-perspirant is supposedly the way forward. I have yet to try this though.
We then looked at shoulder issues. This was really good for me. I had a nippy shoulder issue a couple of years back; damage to the AC joint and a tear to the bicep as a result of badly-applied lock. This has made me very wary of certain movements, esp with weight. As a result I am utterly PANTS at the Turkish get up. It's not that I lack the strength to carry this out, it's a lack of confidence. Keith and Jonathan taught us some excellent drills for training both the muscles and the brain. These were a total lightbulb moment for me and I think finally proved that I no longer have a physical issue in either shoulder. The osteopath has been telling me for months that I have excellent flexibility in both shoulders but I've clearly never entirely believed it .... Now I have drills that I can use to rebuild my confidence. Totally worth the cost of the workshop for these alone.
From shoulders we moved onto knees, and ways that we could adapt the standard kettlebell swing to promote healthy movement in the knees and legs. Some of these required major co-ordination .... kettlebell - meet shin lol.
We also covered some weighted drills for the lumbar spine.
Things I liked about the workshop:
- Lugging the kettlebells up 2 flights of stairs to the room we had been allocated.
- Lugging the kettlebells back down the same 2 flights of stairs after Rannoch got us shifted to a bigger and cooler space.
- Meeting up with the "usual suspects"!!
- Shoulder drills!!
- Gerry's ability to take photos of me 'supervising' (as opposed to 'doing') then posting them on Facebook and my line manager totally ripping me for it!
Because the workshop was presented by physios, elements of it were certainly geared towards the needs of therapists. The way it was done though meant that the information was still valid for my own personal practice. Also Keith and Jonathan are not your standard, physical risk-averse physios. They are both v much about giving people 'permission' to take risks with their bodies (within reason obviously) and to experiment with things like kettlebell training. They were also both v approachable.
Good way to spend a Saturday.
No comments:
Post a Comment