Valley Kettlebells

You can do just about anything with a kettlebell that you can do with a dumbbell, but most importantly, if you want the amazing benefits of swings, snatches and other ballistic exercises, you need a kettlebell! The offset center of gravity promotes greater mobility and stability in overhead lifts, which is great for upper body strength and resilience. The kettlebell also allows for ease of transitioning between exercises, so you can string together multiple exercises into complex workouts without having to put the bell down to rest.

The Russian Kettlebell Challenge (RKC) is a “school of strength”, and we believe that strength is a skill that can be taught and practiced by anyone. The RKC system reverse engineers what the strongest and most powerful athletes do naturally into concepts and techniques that can learned. Proper form is always key, and we view safety as part of performance. Rather than just learning mindless workout routines, hard style kettlebell training will teach you to connect your mind to your training so that you can uncover your true strength potential. The RKC was developed by Pavel Tsatsouline as the first kettlebell instructor course offered in the US starting in 2001, and it remains the gold standard in kettlebell instruction.

Because of the unique design of the kettlebell, strength and conditioning can be combined into shorter all-inclusive workouts. We will use high intensity intervals for improved cardiovascular capacity and fat burning. You will learn to use your body as a complete unit rather than isolating muscle groups to build coordinated functional strength and endurance.

When done with proper technique as learned from a qualified instructor, kettlebell training is extremely safe. In fact, kettlebell training allows for workouts that range from moderate to extremely intense, all with a relatively low impact to the joints. Any physical activity can have risks, especially if you are not receiving good instruction, or are building intensity too rapidly. We use the Functional Movement Systems (FMS) as our guide to tell us what activities are safe for our trainees, and when to progress to greater challenges. If you have concerns about beginning an new fitness program, you should always discuss those with your doctor first. And remember - just because you saw it on You Tube doesn't mean it's a good idea.

The Functional Movement System (FMS) was developed by renowned physical therapist Gray Cook. The Functional Movement screen is a series of 7 movement patterns that allow us to measure movement quality. The screen will reveal mobility issues, stability issues and areas of asymmetry and imbalance. FMS provides us with a hierarchy for working to improve these movement problems through corrective exercise. Any movements that cause pain should be discontinued immediately and treated by your doctor or physical therapist.

Most people think that just moving more will help them lose weight, but you need to make sure you are moving well. Inefficient movement patterns can not only lead to injuries which will sideline a fitness program, but they will cause premature fatigue in your workouts forcing you to have to rest more frequently or quit sooner. Studies have shown that working to correct movement problems as a part of your fitness routine can actually boost your metabolism, thereby increasing your calorie burning potential!