Dragon Door Australia

So, you signed up for November and now you're crapping your pants and wondering how on earth you're going to get ready in time.

What I'm hoping is that myself and the other RKCs will be able to post here and help you out by offering training advice and comments.

Not to overload you with information I'll offer one thing for today -

Get stronger.

The stronger you get the easier the test bells will seem. This, for me, was particularly noticeable when I tried snatching the 24kg for the first time. I'd spent a lot of time getting through VWC with a 16kg doing the 15:15. Back then this was kind of the default response for people wanting to pass the snatch test easily.

Imagine my surprise when I picked up the 24kg for the first time and was exhausted after doing ten each hand! I remember thinking there was no way in hell I could knock out 86 (back then it was your weight in kilos for reps). I'd left my swap to the 24kg until about a month before, and I'm glad I swapped when I did because it took me until the weekend before I left to finally get my number!

Now when I help people prepare we build strength, and then work only with test bells. Sure, it's nice to have strength reserve and a big press is sexy. But the reality is that no one will care if you can press 40 or 44 yet can't snatch 100 with the 24. Or can't press double 24s with good form for 5. The RKC is all about 24s for guys and 12s or 16s for girls. Spending as much time as you can on those will have the greatest pay off.

If you're not yet able to get many good reps with your test weight bells then the fastest way to build the upper body strength for that is simply ROP from Enter the Kettlebell. I like people getting ready for the RKC to be able to do it with test weight plus pull ups in under an hour. Once you've accomplished that you can start worrying about other things. So first goal is get to 5 x 1,2,3,4,5 plus pull ups with test weight in an hour.

As well we're running a series of workshops that give you the absolute best return on your money to get ready for the RKC - www.dragondooraustralia.com/workshops?ta...event&event_id=8 12 hours of training over 6 months including every single workout you need to be doing to kill it in November!

Great stuff. Is there any guide level for progression? Say for example in the early stages, i.e. now, could a trainee work with snatching a 20 to build up the endurance / density of work in 5+ minutes? Would there be a target time that would dictate "yeah, time to move to the 24k"? I have intermittent problems with golfers elbow so I like to keep my options open to train around what my elbows allow for!
I'm thinking of doing a longer snatch session with the 20 once a week and a shorter session with a 24. I've been tempted to use the 28 but I'm thinking it'll be a waste of time owing to it being irrelevant!
Ive read all the recommended reading but just wondering about the transition from the 20 to the 24. I can snatch the 20 very comfortably in 4:20

Peace,
J

Honestly, just start with smaller sets with the 24.

Everyone seems to think that you have to do sets of 10 each hand during the snatch test. I often use 5s or 6s as it saves my grip and allows me to maintain the same pace throughout. So I'll do 40 or so and then swap to 6s for five times each hand.

Don't forget - the course is 3 days. The snatch test is 5mins. I'd be a LOT more worried about the other 2 days, 6 hours and 55 minutes.

For real. I'm really worried about the snatch or pull ups and I'm wondering what exactly the other 2.95 hours have in store! Thinking dense workouts of presses, carries, long swing sets and lovely squats with a side serving of dozens of get ups.
Any insight into whats normal of the 2.95 days after the tests, if indeed it can be labled normal!?

Hi - thanks for starting this thread.
I am training toward the RKC in November in Melbourne and I would like to know if there will be an option for women to test with the 16kg bells with the thinner handles. If so I'll do my training with these, but if not, I'll train with regular 16kgs. Thanks.

bardogirl - Sorry, but we don't stock the "women's" 16. It's a simple economic thing. The vast majority of our bell orders for 16s are from guys and having a lot of stock sitting around the floor not going out the door is something I just can't do at the moment.

I am going to make another order pre-RKC and may get some of the skinny 16s, but it would be a very limited number and based solely on how many females were going to attend.

So, no firm answer!

Having said all that we always train our girls with the standard 16s. Then, if the skinny bells are available it's all much easier on the day. There are sometimes cases where bells don't make it in time. I was at an RKC last year (two actually) where bells had been held up in customs in China and we didn't have enough 24s for the guys. So many had to use 28s.

The lesson there is to over prepare in terms of strength needs.