So did you all see that I was a participant at the RKC Philly victimization event? No? WELL YOU ARE GOING TO SEE IT NOW!
Welcome to yet another primalburgher.com blog post. Yours truly ventured off into Pittsburgh’s number one rival city this past weekend for some Russian ketltbell fun and excitement (of course, this is the norm for me now so it shouldn’t come as a surprise). I had arrived a day early for the victimization and because the RKC candidates I am friends with were all busy doing their thing, I visited some old college friends of mine in Philadelphia for some awesome primal eats. If you are ever on South 11th Street in Central Philadelphia, I highly suggest checking out Smokin Bettie’s. AMAZING GRUB!
After a night of fun in the city of brotherly love, it was off to RKC Philly for my victimization. The “victimization” is actually a part of the RKC certification requirement. RKC candidates are required to demonstrate proper and effective coaching skills to volunteer trainees (aka “victims”) and are critiqued on how well they can coach them through basic kettlebell exercises. As a volunteer victim, I was able to get some pointers on how to improve my swings and how to improve my get-ups. It was a great experience and I came back with more information that I can put to good use for my own training for RKC Vienna in 2013. I also had the opportunity to meet the amazing RKC candidate and now RKC CERTIFIED (HOLLA!) Sharon Shiner! Sharon and I have been internet pals for quite some time, and watching her actually pass her evaluations on the last day of the certification was amazing. I have a great action shot of Sharon passing her snatch test on the left hand side of this post. This part of the certification was incredibly difficult to watch as the RKC snatch test is an incredibly demanding part of the certification process, but nothing was more difficult to watch than the RKC graduation workout. The RKC graduation workout is a mandatory workout candidates must complete at the end of the weekend certificate. Each RKC workshop has different graduation workouts and the one I witnessed at RKC Philly was incredibly brutal. I’d love to share the actual workout with yinz, but due to some workshop regulations from Dragon Door, I cannot do so. Just know that if you ever have the chance to witness the RKC graduation workout, prepare to be mesmerized and horrified by the demanding routine the RKC candidates must complete. HOLY *EXPLICIT DELETED*!
To be quite honest, after watching the RKC graduation workout, I began to have serious second guesses about passing my own
RKC certification in 2013.That was until I got some encouraging words from the fit and fabulous RKC Nicole Du Cane. We chatted about my own training programs and how I cam coming to Vienna in 2013. Nicole told me to continue on the path towards the RKC and also stated that I should not feel intimidated by what I saw at RKC Philly. When someone as high up on the chain of command like Nicole is rooting you on for your RKC, you know you have the support you need to keep training for the certification. Thanks Nicole for your encouragement! That meant the world to me!
Finally, it was off to pick up my new kettlebell (hey, what did you expect? I was at a kettlebell event, therefore I HAD to get a kettlebell). I purchased a 24 kg kettlebell that was used at the event and my oh my! I am going to have fun with this guy! I have gained a considerable amount of strength thus far on my primal fitness journey, and it’s time to up the antics again! Check out the new addition to my iron family below!
Well guys, that about sums it all up for me. I am on the way back to Pittsburgh after a long weekend of foodie and fitness fun. Be on the look out for more primalburgher.com awesomeness in the near future. Really, you aren’t going to believe the things I have in store! Remember to eat smart, train hard, and enjoy your life!
Love Always,
Janelle
