David- I completed the 90 mile boat race and successfully portaged that boat 5 miles during the 3 day event, thanks to kettlebell training! – email from Beth (in the canoe)

Rough waters don't slow this woman down!

This past April I had the pleasure of training Beth Burchill with kettlebells.  Beth came to Arizona for the month to see Arizona and to see what kettlebells could do for her athletic pursuits.  Beth had recently retired after 21 years as New York State Trooper, had become the first woman to dive for the New York State Police (and was involved in the recovery of TWA Flight 800 in July of 1996).  She had competed in Duathlons (running and biking) internationally, and was the NY State champion in Duathlon and National Duathlon champion for her age group.  In 2003, she took home a bronze medal in world duathlon competition in Switzerland.  I first met Beth in 1987 in Quantico, Virginia, where we were both Officer Candidates for the United States Marine Corps; she was a distance runner from Syracuse and held records there until the last few years.  She humbled everyone when it came to PT, out running all manner of things Marine (men and women).  When she graduated from Syracuse, she turned down her USMC commission and became a New York State Trooper and served the state of New York for 21 years.  Let’s just say Beth doesn’t waste her time with half measures.

She found my DVD and website online and we began communicating in the fall of 2009.  She told me of her athletic pursuits and wanted to know if kettlebells were worth her time.  Of course, my response was that it would help her in ALL of her endeavors, and it was not a huge time commitment to become incredibly strong and fit for whatever goals she had.

In April of this year we went through the basics and she quickly gained the skill and mastery to safely train with kettlebells.  I sent her home with a program designed to help her with her speed skating and one that I felt would dramatically reduce the lower back fatigue that often is the end of a speed skating career, as well as develop a more powerful stroke for her strides.

Turns out that Beth learned of a new challenge, the Adirondack 90 mile Canoe Challenge.  It is simple, you simply row across 5 lakes (90 miles) and where each lake ends, you pick up your boat and carry it to the next lake, have a seat, and keep on rowing. Day 1, 35 miles rowing, 4 carries for 2.5 miles.  Day 2, 30 miles rowing, 1 carry of 1.25 miles, Day 3, 25 miles rowing, 5 carries for .5 miles.   By the way, the boats and oars are made of wood and weight about 70 lbs. because those lakes can get rough (see photo above).  Simple, yes.  Brutal, yes.

How does one train for such an event?  Where to start?  Beth started with gaining an incredible amount of strength and stamina with the workouts we began in Tucson.  Her hands (a major issue for many competitors) were tough and her grip was strong from kettlebell training.  Core strength for the hours and miles of rowing built a tremendous amount of strength in her upper and lower back, glutes, hamstrings, and quads, all of which came in handy when carrying the boat from lake to lake.  Most importantly, she was able to train for her sport…and work the kettlebells in on the side.  Her first journey was being able to row for 15 minutes without stopping…not on some ridiculous machine, but actually in a boat, on a lake.   She trained two or three days a week with kettlebells and tried to get as much mileage as she could in the boat, working her way up to longer distances under all kinds of wind and weather conditions.   When conditions prevented the rowing, she would substitute a kettlebell workout.  Of the kettlebell workouts, we had two basic programs: Snatches and swings with VO2 Max for ballistics, and ladders for the grinds.  Sound familiar?  Pavel’s own program, right out of Enter the Kettlebell.

Kettlebells are NOT for everyone.  They are not entertaining, they are not easy, and they are not glamorous.  They are simple, not easy.  I recently did a double kettlebell program for size and strength and gained 12 lbs in 12 weeks of lean muscle mass.  I stopped because my I don’t want to buy a new wardrobe.  I have runners and triathletes, powerlifters, basketball players, volleyball and handball players.  I also have doctors and nurses, mothers and daughters, engineers, Federal Marshals, firefighters, all services and schoolteachers.  The tool is the same and the goals are identical…to get better in the most efficient and safe way possible.  Better health (leaner and fitter), better strength, better endurance.  No gimmicks, gyms, studios, or “facilities”; thus, no limits. Simply one piece of equipment mixed with one part commitment to be better today than you were yesterday.  What have you got to lose?

Beth Burchill at the BEGINNING of the 3 day, 90 mile row, 5 miles of carry, Adirondack Canoe Race