What sets the RKC apart is not that we use kettlebells as there are many smaller, independent certifications that do the same. What sets the RKC system apart is that our use of the kettlebell allows us to use it for rehabilitation, flexibility, speed, power, strength, fitness, fat loss and combines use of body weight, kettlebells, barbells and Indian clubs - an all-inclusive system of movement and strength that sets the body up to move well and move powerfully.
Let's look at just one exercise, the Swing, to see all the benefits that can be reaped from this one simple movement if taught correctly:
- Dr. Stuart McGill cites strength endurance as the key factor in lower back injury. The Swing teaches people to correctly hinge at the hips, load the powerful lower body muscles and avoid stressing the lower back. By focusing on maintaining posture under load we are teaching the body to perform in a functional manner - bracing and holding posture even when fatigued is an essential step towards preventing lower back pain.
- It has been estimated that up to 80% of people have lower back damage, but are asymptomatic. The only way to prevent those injuries becoming problematic is to strengthen the back to the point where the joints are no longer under strain. That means making sure that the lower back muscles and erector spinae are string enough to withstand any difficulties.
- Training with One Handed Swings allows the muscles that resist rotation (external oblique, gluuteus medius) to contract at up to 180% of maximum voluntary muscle contraction compared to training a Two Hand Swing or Plank. In other words - the simple action of keeping posture while under stress is a more effective core exercise than anything else you can find.
- Due to the seated nature of most of our lives we are stuck in flexion. To get us back to ideal posture and into extension an exercise like the Swing is ideal. It allows us to repeatedly extend the body powerfully, strengthen our postural control and endurance and work our neglected posterior chain - the thing that gets ignored because we sit on it all day long.
I've barely even begun listing the ways an RKC can help you, not just with kettlebells, but with your overall strength, movement and health. Check out this video below for more reasons why you should choose kettlebells and the RKC.
