Common misconceptions about GS, part 5

“I don’t need to focus on technique or care about lockouts, I’m strong/famous/a bad mf”

GS is a sport. In a sport there are rules, like in high jump you need to actually go over the stick (or whatever that is called) and not drop it, it’s not enough that you jump very high or have strong feet or have many friends on Facebook. If you can lock out and fixate the bell or bells, then you can do a rep. If not, then you can’t and need to learn how to do it. That’s it. Very simple, basic stuff, that anyone can learn if they want to.

Common misconceptions about GS, part 4

It’s the fault of the program, method, coach or kettlebell if I fail or stall in my progress

No. It’s your fault. You’re the one doing the work, so if you’re not progressing, look in the mirror. No coach, info bit, blog post, secret, cert or anything is going to make you progress if you don’t do the work. I know this because Tyler knows this and also because I’ve blamed all of these for nothing and only progressed when I have done the work. The bell doesn’t lie but it also does not get lifted by itself.

It’s your fault. The blame is in the mirror. Get over it and get better.

Common misconceptions about GS, part 3

There’s some other magical way to gain GS expertise than to compete

In my opinion, the only way to learn the sport is to do it, and it means competing or coaching someone to compete. The only way to show expertise is to get better or make someone else get better. And by better I mean getting better competition results, not gym results or fuzzy feelings. You can’t suck in the expertise by watching videos, or living in a country with big GS traditions or by claiming to have expertise on the internet. It’s just the sport, and the competitions. No way around it. Check the facts, because the facts are in the results. It’s so easy. The iron doesn’t lie.

Common misconceptions about GS, part 2

There’s some secrets to GS

Yes, the one secret is that it takes time and work to get better. It’s about lifting in a mechanically sound way for your own body type. Looking for secrets is living in denial, because to get forward, you need to do a lot of the basics, not the 2% solutions described in the article below:

http://web.archive.org/web/20070823103337/http://www.exuberantanimal.com/newsletter_archive/2007/verns-triangle/triangle.htm

Common misconceptions about GS, part 1

GS (Girevoy Sport) is boring

True in the sense that all sports are boring if you don’t understand what they are about. Gs has only 3 lifts, well so does PL. Oly has only 2. A running event has only one movement. There’s sports like Golf etc. Get over it. GS is about lifting the bells with the best skill possible, and all skills take long to develop. If you want to be entertained, go to the circus.

A wise friend has said: “there are more people who want to be stars than those who want to learn”. Or something like that. Well, regarding western kettlebells, that’s true. GS is slow, it takes time to learn the movement patterns. When you start doing it, and get in deep, you start seeing the lifts in a different way, because you learn more.