As most of you know, Pavel Tsatsouline was the man responsible for popularizing the kettlebell in North America starting in the late 1990s. He had a long time relationship with the DragonDoor publishing company, which sells his books, videos, and also manufactures high quality bells. Last year he broke away from DragonDoor and the RKC organization and started a new organization, StrongFirst. His new book is titled 'Simple and Sinister' and it details his new program minimum, an updated and simplified version of the programming he described in the classic 'Enter the Kettlebell' book.
•5 years ago
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First a review of the classic RKC program minimum as described in the ETK book:
'Rite of Passage' tends to be used two ways around here. The first way is a work-out program with clean & presses, swings, and snatches, scaled for heavy, medium, and light days three days a week. Before beginning, prepare carefully Marcus Tullius Cicero. It’s that five weeks of general conditioning though, that makes the beginning of the Rite of Passage more manageable. We’re doing our kettlebell clean and presses by using the “ladder” technique to keep track of sets and reps. We’re starting by “climbing” a ladder of 3 rungs. KETTLEBELLS ARE EXTREMELY SAFE within the proper context. “Anyone who starts kettlebell training needs to follow the kettlebell journey step-by-step, they need to earn their rites of passage, there are no shortcuts“ Taco Fleur.
Rite Of Passage Kettlebell Program
The Rite of Passage from the book Enter The Kettlebell. This is one of best kettlebell books ever written. The goal is to snatch a 24kg kettlebell 200 times in 10 minutes and clean and press 1/2 your bodyweight. Two lofty goals indeed. Stop the Insanity: Simpler is Better. Lowered my resting heart rate from the 70s to the low 40’s in just 4 weeks. That was the start. Now it’s 5 years later. I completed the Rite of Passage: I can one arm press a Kettlebell 1/2 my bodyweight and perform 200 or more reps of kettlebell snatches in 10-minutes with a 53lb kettlebell.
Workout frequency - 4x per week (swing workout twice weekly, and getup workout twice weekly)
Starting weights - he recommended 16kg for an 'average strength' man and 8kg for a woman. Presumably this is to be used for both exercises although anyone can tell you that getups are harder than swings at any given weight.
Warmup - 10 minutes of wall squats (bodyweight squats facing a wall), 'pump' stretches (a combo downward dog/hip flexor stretch), and 'haloes' (kettlebell passes around the head to warm up the shoulders.
Swing workout - 12 minutes, sets of swings with 'active rest' between sets (such as jogging, pushups, planks, etc). The number of reps and sets is not specified in the book and is left to the individual.
Getup workout - 5 minutes of continuous getups, alternating sides, no rest. Don't count reps (yeah right).
Progression - kind of nebulous. Eventually you graduate to the RKC 'Rite of Passage' which incorporates snatches, clean & press, and complex rep schemes like ladders and randomization.
The NEW program minimum described in S&S:
Workout frequency - DAILY. Or as close to possible allowing for days when you need to recover or something come up. He goes into detail in the book about why daily training is preferable to 3-4 x per week. He also mentions in an off-hand way that this is a 'twice a week minimum' program. So there's leeway. Also, there's only one workout with swings and getups done together in one session.
Starting weights - MEN 24kg for swings and 16kg for getups. WOMEN 16kg for swings and 8kg for getups.
Warmup - 3 cycles of the following: 5 'Prying squats' (goblet squats with a long pause at the bottom where you wiggle around to open up the hips. He advises using a light bell, whatever that means, probably 16/8kg), followed by 5 supine hip bridges, followed by haloes (5 each way, again with a light bell). 3 cycles takes about 5-10 minutes, depending on how long you spend prying your hips open.
The Workout
Swings - Start with 5x10. Take as much rest as you need, walking around or shaking it off. When you complete all the sets of swings, take a short rest then go on to getups.
Getups - Do one rep on each side without a break. That's one set. Do five sets total, resting in between each set. So a total of 10 getups (5 each side). Take as long as you need.
Progression - A bit more clear. As you get stronger you add sets to the swings, working up to 10x10 max. You can also do one arm swings or overpowered eccentrics to make it harder. When you've 'mastered' your weight you starting adding heavier bells.
Mastery is doing a daily workout with 10x10 one hand swings in 5 minutes, 1 minute rest, then 5 sets of perfect getups in 10 minutes.
Rite Of Passage Kettlebell Workout![]()
Overall review: I like the new programming alot. The simpler workout is great. I doubt that many will be able to do it 6 days a week. I will be happy with 4 or 5. It's certainly more specific about weights, sets and reps. ETK has better pictures (more numerous and better quality, at least as far as I can tell from S&S on Kindle). I think ETK is a better beginner's technique guide, although with YouTube that's kind of irrelevant these days. I honestly love both books and I look forward to some more new material from Chief Comrade Pavel in the future!
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edited for formatting, clarification, edited again for clarification
Rite Of Passage Meaning
EDIT: I agree with the general sentiment that the starting weights recommended in S&S are too heavy for a beginner. But they are probably appropriate for someone who is already trained in kettlebells or some other strength system like CrossFit, who is wanting to switch to S&S as their main training. Beginners would be better with the starting weights recommended in ETK.
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