With the growth in popularity of kettlebell training among
the general fitness population, there has also been also been a steady growth
of the Girevoy sport (GS) or the kettlebell sport, all around the globe. More
and more people are either competing on a GS stage, or simply utilizing the
techniques of GS into their own training.
And if you have searched for information about GS online, then
you would have in most likelihood come across the name, Thierry Sanchez. A
passionate Girevik himself, Thierry has been putting out some very high quality
information on GS for more than 4 years now on his blog. In fact, he even has a free ebook (in
English), which in my opinion is the best ebook that you currently have on GS
training.
But, most importantly, he is genuinely passionate about
promoting GS, and helping people from all over the world to improve their
numbers. He has even helped me in improving my own numbers, and has pointed out
many basic flaws in my own technique to help me get better. Besides his online
work, he is also the man responsible for bringing GS to Denmark, and organizes the
Kettlebell DM annually. So without any further delay, let’s hear more from the
man himself, Thierry Sanchez:
Arnav Sarkar (AS): First of all, I would like to thank you so much for taking the time out from your busy schedule to do this interview. Why don’t you start by telling us about yourself, before you got involved with kettlebells?
Thierry Sanchez (TS): Hi everyone, and thanks for this
opportunity! Basically I have always been active but never really touched a
weight and kettlebell until 2007. I have worked in ski resorts and did both
downhill and cross country skiing, plus some mountain biking when possible.
Then I moved to Denmark, mostly a flat
country… I kept up with the “mountain” biking and a few bodyweight exercises
(mainly chin ups, Hindu push ups, rope skipping and a few sprints).
I should also say that growing up I tried many sports and feel it has benefited my coordination and ease to learn new skills. Skiing will always be my first love.
AS: How did you get into kettlebells? And did you initially
use it for general fitness purposes, or train for GS?
TS: I kept bumping onto kettlebells on the net so that I
thought I should give it a try. Going to a gym did not really appeal to me, the
kettlebell looked fun and challenging. So like almost every body in 2007 I
bought some of Pavel’s books, and used my kettlebell for strength and fitness.
AS: You certainly do have a ton of knowledge on GS, so it’s
very clear that you must have done a lot of research and also travelled to
learn. Could you elaborate on where and from whom did you learn your lifting
techniques and training methods?
TS: Yes, so after practicing alone for a short while I took
a private session with an RKC instructor. My plan was to go to London for a
basic workshop with Vasily Ginko, since the RKC certification in Denmark was
outrageously overpriced. In one hour I basically found out that a) I learned
very well from a book b) GS was dangerous. Hmmm…
The course with Vasily provided me with a wide intro to
kettlebells, but I had to put my kettlebell away for 6 months as I took a
winter job in the Alps. I did lots of reading about fitness and strength
training.
When I came back home, that Summer I went to Switzerland on
the WKC certification. The focus was using the competition lifts for fitness
and provided some intro about timed sets.
Then I started at Aalborg Sportshøjskole, where I took a 1
year strength coach education, and started to use my kettlebells a lot. Focus
was on snatch, the lift that came easiest to me. By the end of 2008, I went to
Latvia to train again with Vasily Ginko, and took a 5 day course about GS,
training methods and so on. From there my interest in the sport grew stronger.
I started reading a lot of Russian sites using Google. English is my second
tongue and I had heard Vasily talk Google English, so I could make sense of it
;-). For graduation in 2009, I decided to write my paper about GS, the same manual
you mentioned above. Many hours of research went into it, and talking to some
athletes.
In 2010 I had the chance to meet Steve Cotter on 3
occasions. Once at competition in Italy (Turbigo) with Oleh Ilika, once in
Norway where he invited me for a CKT1 and once in Denmark where I helped him
teach a CKT1. That same year I got a gold and Silver at the IGSF Veterans World
Championship. That year I started forming ideas about training methods, and
coached Denmark’s best female GS athlete so far, Lene Olsen.
2011 was a year off GS for me, but I still worked on my
technique and style.
2012 started with 6 months of powerlifting where I set 2
Danish raw records for my age and weight. And I returned to GS, snatch only, winning the
overall Danish Championship, and got a silver at the IGSF Veteran World
Championship.
There I met Mark Stappleton and Eddie Sheehan once more, and they mentioned to me they were planning to go to Russia to train with Anton Anasenko. So I started saving money!
The trip to Omsk in March this year was fascinating, and I
got some more insight into technique and training methods. I also had the
chance to attend a workshop with Denis Vasiliev here in Denmark a couple of
months ago.
AS: Which kettlebell lifters have inspired you the most?
TS: The 2 main inspirations are Ksenia Dedukhina and Anton Ansenko. I think they make it look so smooth and effortless, a true gift for the eyes! But every good performance is inspiring.
AS: What benefits do you think GS has to offer to someone who tries it?
TS: It will make you stubborn! Well, I think it is a well rounded training approach, a good combination of strength and endurance, body awareness, coordination... Stuff I can use and that makes my body feel good.
AS: Ok, so let’s say someone has done some basic fitness
training with kettlebells. And now he/she wants to try GS, and see how they do.
In this case how would you suggest that they choose between the long cycle and
the biathlon?
TS: I have switched to Long Cycle in December last year. To
me 1 discipline makes training easier and less time intensive. I also believe
Long Cycle is the best “bang for the buck” exercise because you have to
overcome inertia more times than in jerk or snatch, and you get a pull and a
push each rep.
AS: In your opinion, is it possible to train the biathlon
and the long cycle alternately at the same time, for example 2-4 months of
biathlon followed by 1-2 months of LC? Or do you think that it is best to spend
a year doing only one of the two disciplines for best results?
TS: Totally. If you train for biathlon, transitioning to
Long Cycle is easy enough, though the reverse is a bit less so. By easy, I am
thinking preparation time. By specializing
in either discipline is where you’ll have the chance of obtaining the best
results possible though.
AS: How would you set up a basic week’s training in the
beginning stages for someone competing in the long cycle?
TS: 3 days of LC + strength assistance, 3 days of light
cardio.
AS: How would you set up a basic week’s training in the
beginning stages for someone competing in the biathlon?
TS: 2 days of jerk + strength assistance, 2 days of cardio +
snatch, 2 days of light cardio
AS: What are the common mistakes that you observe with
individuals when doing the following:
# Swings
TS: the classic is to be too aggressive and not maintaining
alignment of the kettlebell. Every little mistake, every little movement that
should not be there affects your grip, in a bad way.
#Cleans
TS: one of my problems. The chicken dance, you know,
catching the kettlebells with elbows out to the side. Kettlebells should land
in the rack position at the same time elbows make contact with the hip bones.
Another mistake is “throwing” the kettlebells into a back swing. They should
fall gently.
#Jerks
TS: A bad rack will lead to a poor jerk to start off with.
The main problem is timing the second dip and catching the kettlebell in the
overhead. If the arms are not straight at the time your heels hit the ground,
they are most likely going to wobble as you straighten up into the lockout. A
sure sign of a poor lockout and fixation is when the 2 kettlebells touch each other,
so pay attention to the noise above your head!
# Snatches
TS: As for swings, being too aggressive on the way up or the
way down. The idea is to have a perfect pendulum. The speed at which the
kettlebell falls down should be the same for the way up. As for the drop, the
kettlebell should “fall” gently, not be thrown down. (Watch Thierry demonstrate the snatch here)
AS: Let’s talk a bit about assistance work. What would you say are the best assistance drills for the following common problem areas:
#Maintaining the rack in the LC/jerks
TS: Hindu push ups and flexibility work, working at slow
tempo, and in some instances rack holds with a slightly heavier weight than you
use for your sets.
#Second knee dip in the jerks:
TS: There’s a little drill you can do under a door frame or
in a smith machine for example. Start on your toes, chest, legs and hips in
full extension. Your arms should be bent, your legs straight. Now push yourself
back rapidly like you’re sitting down so that you end up with straight arms and
bent legs. The heels should hit the floor at the same time your arms straighten
up.
#Overhead lockout
TS: Shoulder dislocates with a band, overhead walk or hold.
# Grip fatigue during snatches
TS: Technique first. Make sure the drop is a drop. If the
kettlebell ends up in the prolongation of your arm on the initiation of the
drop, you just threw or flicked it forward. If it hangs under your wrist,
pointing down, it is falling. Let it fall and as you grab it again your thumb
should still point forward not backwards. Doing a back up set of 1-2 swings for
every snatch or using cotton gloves to provide more of a challenge.
AS: You have often talked about trying to stay in the
aerobic zone for as long as possible during a GS set. Could you elaborate a bit
more on this for the readers, and why this is important in a GS set? Also,
would the same concept apply for common kettlebell fitness complexes?
TS: To keep things simple, going into the anaerobic zone too
early cannot be sustained for a long time. GS competition is 10 minute. You
can’t sprint for 10 minutes. You should always start slow (a set tempo you can
sustain) and finish strong. Pacing is the best way to train for GS.
Keep the same tempo through out every minute of your
training sets, but the last minute of the
last set, try to increase the tempo according to how much energy you have
left. Maybe it’s 1 rpm (repetition per minute) maybe it’s 4.
Kettlebell fitness complexes are also aerobic. Anything over
12 sec is aerobic, it just happens there are lots of intensity variation in the
aerobic zone. It can be light or hard aerobic training. I can go hard for a
short time or go easy for a long time. What intensity you should use depends on
many factors, and the training protocol. Personally I do not like to wear myself
out just for fun.
AS: What advice would you give to athletes coming to GS from
an extreme strength training background like powerlifting?
TS: Lift like a girl. By that I mean that women are not
generally as strong as guys and make better use of their awareness,
coordination and move the kettlebell with the whole body. They have to rely on
technique to move heavier loads, and therefore can improve in a short time.
AS: What advice would you give to athletes coming to GS from
an extreme endurance training background like marathon running?
TS: Those guys need strength. Their fitness levels are
probably too high to actually be relevant to the weight they’ll be limited to
lift. Forget the cardio, work on local muscle endurance instead and strength.
AS: For those that are primarily interested in general
fitness goals like fat loss, muscle gain, getting stronger, etc, is there a way
that they can throw in some GS into their weekly training programs, and how do
you suggest that they do so?
TS: GS is a specialized sport, but the techniques are
relevant that you compete or not. For non competing people though, I think the
1 arm Long Cycle would be the best lift. A 6-12 min set with a challenging
weight, and switching sides every 30-60 sec would be a great whole body
exercise to add to a routine.
AS: Any nutritional suggestions for GS athletes?
TS: The Russians I met at competitions ate like horses.
Apart from that no, diet is too individual I feel. I am personally shifting
towards a vegan approach after a couple of my online clients have mentioned it.
AS: Tell me about kettlebell DM. What were your goals when
you started it, and how do you feel about its progress so far?
TS: DM stands for Danish Championship. I started promoting
GS in Denmark and selling competition kettlebells in 2009. Back then most of
the people using kettlebells thought I was a nutcase. But a few people came to
the small competitions I organized and it grew from there. Last year we were 22
participants. Many people came to watch and are participating in minor
competitions this year.
I also ran a Summer festival with team relays, non traditional stuff and juggling and we were just over 30. So maybe we’ll be 40 this year? GS is spreading and you can’t help but notice it on the net compared to a few years ago.
My goals were to organize GS events and train athletes. I am doing that now!
AS: What are your views on the claim that GS training is
only good for endurance, and does not make you stronger, or can even make you
weak?
TS: I think then you’re doing it wrong! It’s always a
question of balance and what is important to you. I manage to still get
stronger (for example I am still making progress with squat, row and press),
but of course everything is relative. Also the strength that I gain cannot come
at the same speed it would were I to train only for strength, endurance is a
big part of the sport. So find out your priorities.
AS: Which are your proudest performances on the GS stage so
far, and what are your personal long term goals as a competitor?
TS: Turbigo in 2010. I had started training biathlon with
20kg, and decided to try LC with 24kg. I went from 30 reps to 55 reps in 10 min
in about 4 weeks of training LC.
Long term goals, I do not know really. Let’s see what happens this year in Tyumen in November.
AS: Besides,
kettlebells, what other training tools do you use?
TS: I mostly use Indian clubs, Bulgarian bags, and barbells.
And bodyweight exercises of course. This Summer I am taking a break from KB for
2 weeks, and will use sandbags.
AS: Tell me about your outstanding free ebook on GS
training. What made you create it, and how did you go about it?
TS: Thanks, glad to hear it still is valued! I mentioned
before it was my academic paper at the end of the year in 2009. It was way thicker
than allowed, but I told my teacher he was the one who wanted the tables, and
the subject was so new that it deserved to be left as it was. I basically used
hours on the net and common training books. Principles are principles. GS is
not that different.
Looking at forums, I thought it would benefit many people
and help spread the word about GS.
AS: Besides the free ebook, you have also authored some other
highly informative ebooks on GS. I have gone through them, and love how simple
they make it to plan your GS training. Could you share some information, about the
two other ebooks with the readers?
TS: Sure. There’s a program about snatch and one about LongCycle. I tried to apply the best training principles for each discipline and
put it all into a template that can be easily followed and adjusted if needed.
It’s not perfect, but it gives structure to training and some people have been
getting good results.
AS: Any final thoughts?
TS: I am glad to be able to help you reach and motivate
people in your country. The subject is new and maybe confusing for people, so I
hope the interview helped shed some light!
AS: Thank you so much Thierry, for sharing such high quality
information with the readers. Where can they learn more about you, and how can
they contact you?
TS: The blog has direct links to my website, but check out http://kettlebell-fitness.dk. There are
some free basic programs to get started.
If anyone is contemplating online kettlebell coaching, I
encourage you to check this page. You’ll see videos
of 2 of my students that are getting great results.
All the best, keep it fun!
