KettleBell Olympia

A Better Body With Bells!™

Browsing Posts tagged R.K.C.

Why I Love KettleBells

I started working out with kettlebells in October 2004 and I haven’t been to a typical gym since.  I don’t need to, the kettlebell does it all for me.  The kettlebell gave me my life back and I will be forever greatful to Pavel Tsatsouline for introducing it to me.
 
The best part of the kettlebell workout is that it gives me whole body strength.  When I would go to the gym and lift weights, I was taught isolation exercises.  I did my biceps, my triceps, my upper back…I never used all of my muscles together.  Unfortunately we do not use our muscles in isolation in life.  You reach for a can on the top shelf and you have to use your arms, shoulders, stomach, buttocks and legs.  Everything works together.
 
The RKC system teaches tension, not isolation.  When I do a kettlebell press or a swing or a snatch my entire body is working in unison.  I keep all muscles tight.  This is what keeps my body safe when I am doing my job as a chiropractor.  There are times when I have to reach around a large patient and put my body in compromising positions in order to get the work done.  I always make sure my patient is safe, so there are times when I am not in the best body positions.  Because I have trained my muscles to work together, they all work for me to keep me safe.  My core, legs, buttocks and arms fire to do their job.  I don’t worry anymore about blowing out my back as my core activates and braces me with every movement I do  I love this feeling of strength and stability.
 
Yours In Health!
 
Dr. Wendy
Uncategorized , , , , ,
Read more

The Power Of The RKC System

I have been a chiropractor for almost 20 years.  From day one I realized how I fit into a person’s health care team.  I didn’t have all the answers and I wasn’t the end-all.  Chiropractic adjustments were necessary to improve spinal function, reduce nerve irritation, and reduce muscle tightness at the spine. 
 
I have referred my patients for massage, acupuncture and physical therapy to help get them out of pain.  Early on in my career, if the Team couldn’t get a patient out of pain in their lower back we knew they would have the pain for their lifetime.  Unfortunately, there were a lot of patients we couldn’t help. 
 
Thank goodness for research.  Studies have correlated lower back pain with atrophy of the multifidus.  Even more than disc herniations and degeneration.  The multifidus is a small muscle that attaches one spinal bone to another.  It is one of the primary stabilizers of the spine and is the only muscle that crosses the sacroiliac joint.   You can see atrophy on an MRI – the muscle shows up dark and fat(atrophied muscle) shows up as white.  I started looking at the MRI’s I already had on patients and out of the 35 I looked at all had atrophy.  Some were severe, which matched their pain complaints and my findings.
 
As we move the small ligaments of the spine get stretched.  As they are stretched they begin to fire, which tells the multifidii to contract and stabilize.  If the multifidii are weak and atrophied they are unable to contract appropriately.  This leads to microtearing of the small ligaments that attach spinous process to spinous process and transverse process to transverse process.  Over time this leads to a loss of stability.  Think of running on a sprained ankle, same idea.  The ligaments are overstretched and there is no muscular support.  This microscopic damage also leads to chronic inflammation at the spine. 
 
The multifidus is supposed to kick in with the first 5-15 degrees of forward bending.  A person gets back pain with the bending of the muscles are not functioning.  Many of my patients complain of back pain when they are brushing their teeth, chopping vegetables and doing the dishes. All of these occur within the first 15 degrees of bending.  These are the patients that have to do multifidus retraining. 
 
The multifidus and the transverse abdominus contract before any other muscles when we move. 
Isolation exercises are no longer recommended for stability retraining.  Functional full body motions which incorporate the multifidus, transverse abdominus, arms and legs are recommended.  Bracing your abdominals, as if you were going to take a punch, while you exercise gives you the functional stability you need.
 
Strength is the ability of a muscle to generate a force.  Power is the ability to rapidly generate a maximum force.  Endurance is the ability to maintain a sustained submaximal contraction or repetitive cyclic contraction.  It is endurance we are looking for with multifidus stability.  It doesn’t matter if the muscle is strong for one contraction, it needs to have endurance.  It needs to be able to have staying power to support the spine under continuous loads.
 
One of the best exercises I know to improve strength and endurance in the multifidus is the kettlebell swing.  The swing is extremely stabilizing for the lower back.  It was the first exercise I learned when I started kettlebell training and it was the one that got me out of my chronic lower back pain.  The swing is initiated from the hips, the abdominals are braced and the back is kept flat so the back is protected at all times.  As the kettlebell swings between the legs the glutes then contract, the knees pull up and your hips jut forward.
 
I have had many emails saying kettlebell workouts look too intense for people with lower back pain.  If done correctly it is only stabilizing and strengthening.  I have seen many videos that scare me. The technique is wrong.  The motion comes from the lower back and not the hips.  Doing this move over and over incorrectly can cause strain on the lower back leading to injury.  I recommend all people who are interested in starting kettlbell training get several sessions of personal training with a RKC trainer.  The RKC system is the only system that understands the importance of hip initiation, bracing and endurance.
 
Yours In Health!
 
Dr. Wendy
Uncategorized , , , , , , , , ,
Read more

We All Need A Hero

For years I never had a hero. There were many people who I respected and admired…but I never had someone who really inspired me…someone that would take my passion for life and what I do to another level…that is until I met Pavel Tsatsouline.

Over the years my husband would ask me who my heroes were. I would always tell him that I didn’t have one. He just couldn’t comprehend that. As a kid his heroes had been Roger Staubach from the Dallas Cowboys and Steve Garvey from the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was just amazed that I didn’t have a hero.

I’ll never forget the day I told my husband who my hero was. It was a late Saturday afternoon and we were just leaving a six hour seminar at The Olympic Mountaineering Club in Seattle, WA. We had just finished spending the morning and afternoon with the most amazing man/person/athlete I had ever seen…his name was Pavel Tsatsouline. Pavel could do things with his body that I thought were close to impossible. He had tips and tricks for stretching and strengthening that I had never heard of before. He knew the physiology and anatomy of the body inside and out. More importantly he cared about everyone he was working with. As we got into our car I told my husband, “I finally have a hero!”.

I am honored to say that ten years after meeting Pavel that he is still my hero…more importantly he is a very wonderful and dear friend. If it wasn’t for Pavel, his caring, help, and his knowledge I’m not sure where I would be at today. When I met Pavel it was at one of the crucial moments in your life when you find yourself at a crossroads and you’re burdened with making a decision that will forever change your life. At this point in my life my back injury was so bad that I thought I was going to have to quit chiropractic and find a new career where I could just sit behind a desk everyday and do as little as possible. That was one road that I could take…Pavel offered me another road. He offered me the road of kettlebells. I took the road less traveled and for me it has made all of the difference in the world.

I can’t imagine where my life would be today if I hadn’t met Pavel Tsatsouline. I am so thankful to him for believing in me when I didn’t believe in myself. I am grateful to him for giving me my life back. Pavel is a great man and an even better friend.

I encourage you to find your hero. That person is out there…you just have to be willing to notice them when they appear.

Yours In Health!

Dr. Wendy

Uncategorized , , , , , , , ,
Read more

Discover The LOST SECRETS To Amazing Health!

Okay, not all of these secrets are lost…but it is time for you to re-discover them!  Recently I’ve had a lot of people asking me for more information about my book – The 7 Steps To Amazing Health! – so I thought I would share them with you here.

Yours In Health!

Dr. Wendy

 

In The 7 Steps To Amazing Health! you will learn the following.
 
1.  Breathing:  What is the difference between chest breathing and belly breathing? Learn how to breathe properly and discover the difference deep breathing will make in your overall mental and physical health.
 
2.  Water: Learn how dehydration affects all of your bodily functions including digestion, muscle action, and cellular metabolism. Learn about alkalizing your water. Discover what everyone needs to know about the balance of water and sodium…it’s not what you think.
 
3.  Nutrition: Learn to listen to your body (how you feel when you eat dictates to you very important information about adjustments you need to make). Learn why you need RAW vegetables. Learn what everyone needs to know about white flour, sugar, pasta, baked goods, and processed foods. Find out what a Candida cleanse is and why you probably need one. Learn about getting alkalized, using fish oil supplements, pro-biotic supplements, and much more.
 
4.  Spinal Hygiene and Nerve Function: Find out how to have all 24 segments of your spine moving in all planes of motion, how to avoid spinal misalignments and control the three stresses that cause them, keep your fight or flight hormones in check. And learn what EVERYONE needs to know about Chiropractic care.
 
5.  Exercise: Learn what exercise will do for your blood pressure, immune function, blood sugar, and digestion. Find out what kind of exercise releases growth hormone. And learn how to keep your joints well oiled. Discover the LOST SECRET of Russian KettleBells.
 
6.  Sleep and Rest: Learn what your lack of sleep is doing to your immune system, weight, and mood. Coming out of the fog…Discover simple techniques to improve the quantity and quality of sleep that you re getting. Find out about sleep apnea and nasal obstructions that affect sleep. The information in this chapter alone is worth it’s weight in gold!
 
7.  Positive Mental Attitude: Realize your future is completely under your control, including your job, your partner, your income. Learn about journals, how and why to use them. Discover blessings that you did NOT know you had and how focusing on these blessings can change your life. Find out what you need to know about hypnotherapy, EMDR and EFT.
Uncategorized , , , , , , , , , ,
Read more

KettleBells In Olympia, WA

Would you like to discover the LOST Russian Fitness SECRET used by HollyWood celebrities to get lean, sexy, and youthful in less than 30 minutes a day?!?

What do Katherine Heigl, Charlize Theron, Madonna, Uma Thurman, Penelope Cruz, and Angelina Jolie have in common?  They know the LOST Russian KettleBell Secret.

Keep checking back to this site to learn the secrets for yourself.

Yours In Health!

Dr. Wendy Schauer, D.C., R.K.C.

Uncategorized , , , ,
Read more

 

May 2012
S M T W T F S
« Oct    
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  

Archives

Recent Comments

Powered by WordPress Web Design by SRS Solutions © 2012 KettleBell Olympia Design by SRS Solutions