JKConditioning: Interview with CST coach Shane Heins on Clubbells and Kettlebells

Hey JKC readers,

I'm going to take a break from all this barefoot talk to share with you an interview I did with a fellow trainer here in the lower mainland. This post doesn't have to do with running, but it has a lot to do with strength, conditioning and mobility.

Some of you may have heard about these exercise tools before while others will have no idea.

Check out this interview I did with my friend and owner of Gymnos Evolution, Shane Heins. He is a Circular Strength Training specialist and specializes in kettlebells and clubbells...exercise tools that have been around for quite a while but are getting recognized as awesome strength and conditioning tools and more popular by the day.

1. Hi Shane. Thanks for doing this interview with JKConditioning. For those that don't know you, can you please fill them in?

Absolutely. My name is Shane Heins. I’m a fitness expert and health coach. I provide training from group classes to personal training to workshops and seminars. My specialty lies within the Circular Strength Training (CST) system, of which I am a Coach, as well as TACFIT Field Instructor.

I’ve always been very active, spending a lot of time outdoors (growing up in the Arctic, there was a lot of it to spend time in). As a teenager I became very involved in competitive sports including hockey, soccer, track and field and volleyball. Around 15 years of age was when my interest and passion for fitness began. The original goal was to improve my performance in my chosen sports. But eventually it became a source of personal growth. A space I came to, to challenge myself, to face myself, to discover myself.

Close friends and family know that when I get into something, the rate at which I devour information and apply what I’ve learned is, how shall we say…. voracious. I believe you can relate? Haha! I’ve trained in all sorts of formats, including power lifting, your generic bodybuilding, plyometrics, military calisthenics, HIIT, sport specific, yoga, kettlebells, Crossfit and for the last 2 years, CST.

I decided to become a trainer and help others achieve their goals around the time that I discovered CST. And it being one of the most effective systems I’ve ever come across, it was what I decided to specialize in and offer to others.

2. Great. Onto my 1st question: What made you get into clubbells and kettlebells?

The biggest push was actually the coming of my first child. Physical culture, training and activity have always been a big part of my life and I knew would not be going away. But I was at odds, because between transportation to the gym, training and wrap up, it would take anywhere between 2 – 2.5 hrs out of my day. And with the coming of my son, that was just going to be too much time out of my day, at least in the early years, on top of work. I’ve always known I wanted to be a very involved Dad.

So I set out to find a system of training that I could do at home, in 30 min (45 max). I wanted something different from what I’d done previously. I wanted to hit the body as a whole. I felt there had to be more effective and efficient means to not only staying fit, but continue to improve upon it. I remembered this article from a muscle mag about an Ex-Russian Special Forces guy training the marines with body weight exercises and these cannon ball thingy’s. I dug up the article from my archives (about 2 years old by this point) and was thus launched into the world of Pavel Tsatsouline and the Kettlebell.

I trained solely with kettlebells for 2 years and saw a huge improvement in my overall conditioning, not to mention the shoring up of old nagging sports injuries that had never fully left.

As I prepared to become a certified trainer, I knew I wanted to focus on Kettlebells. I went and trained with Mike Mahler, Steve Cotter and Steve Maxwell. I went and got certified as a Kettlebell Lifting Coach with the World Kettlebell Club (WKC) under world champion Valery Fedorenko. But during this time I also experienced a severe back injury. Not during lifting, but rather when I went to pick up a piece of paper towel off the floor. It was an imbalance in my structure that finally gave.

Steve Cotter double 24 kg Pistol
from http://www.bcnma.com/IKFF/

I drew on my experience to date, to address the injury and recover from it. But nothing worked. I could make it feel a bit better, but as soon as I started in with any slightly harder training, I was immediately stopped. Physio therapy and chiropractic did the same. But couldn’t take me beyond the injury. I researched other options and finally decided on pursuing Circular Strength Training, which I’d learned about during this time. Injury got taken care of, overall fitness and health like I’ve never experienced before and haven’t looked back since.

It was with CST that I was introduced to clubbells. Scott Sonnon, the creator of the Circular Strength Training system, is responsible for the revival of club training in North America and in many other places in the world. Sonnon is also the innovator for the modern Clubbell®, which is the go to club that many use for their club training. The Clubbell is the flagship for strength training in CST.

3. For those that don't know, what are clubbells and what are the benefits to using them?

Clubbells

Clubbells are essentially like a weighted baseball bat. The weight on the end creates a huge leverage disadvantage, which amplifies force production generated by the movements. One therefore doesn’t need really heavy sizes (weight) to gain a similar effect that you would get from training with heavier weights. Only it is much safer on your joints, promoting strength, mobility and longevity in those areas that, for many, stop them short by the time they hit their 40’s. Most are very surprised how “heavy” 15 lbs feels. Working with lighter overall weight decreases the degree of compression your joints experience. In fact, many of the movements provide decompression while training. This leaves your joints with greater accessibility to nutrients, lubricated for shock absorption, release of tension and strengthening of ligaments/tendons.

Along with the decompression, training with Clubbells gives you access to a greater range of movement to work through. Having maneuverable strength through those increased ranges gives you a safety valve for when circumstance forces us to move outside of “normal”. Which it does. That’s a major cause of injuries. As one can see, from your grandmother to top-level athletes, Clubbells have immense value in not just strength training, but health and performance over the long haul as well.

4. From what I've read, I've learnt that clubbells aren't really new, they're actually quite ancient...can you expand on that and the history of clubbells?

Clubbells are old, yes. Ancient even. It can be argued that their origination dates back to the days of the “caveman”. Originally a weapon and martial implement, the club and mace became a training tool as preparation for wielding it in battle. It was found to develop immense strength and eventually became adopted as a strength and stamina training tool for warriors and military.

Being associated with the fighting men of its time, it also became a key in the conditioning of martial artists and wrestlers. They have been found around the world from Iran to India to Russia, eventually making its way to Britain and the US. During this period, the heavier club swinging was set aside for lighter weight, small club swinging performed for fitness by the general public, even becoming an event in the Olympics called rhythmic gymnastics.

There was resurgence of heavy club swinging, used by the strongmen of the early 20th century to gain distinct strength advantages.

Then with more and more focus on physique and the “building” of specific body parts to manipulate it to desired dimensions, club swinging was relegated to dark basements and forgotten memories.

Fast-forward 50 years and a man by the name of Scott Sonnon, who in his travels throughout the world, studied advanced science applied to combat and athletics, as well as ancient wisdoms and systems that augmented health and longevity. From his study, practice and personal experience came his system of Circular Strength Training and his re-invention of the club, known to us now as the modern Clubbell. And with that, a resurgence of clubbell training once again into physical culture and fitness.

5. Can you describe 2 basic clubbell exercises that a newbie would start with when learning how to use clubbells?

Well, we can look at two basic movements. A “Rock-it” and “Torch Press”.

The Rock-It can be done with either 1 or 2 clubbells. Hold them at the end of the neck, the outer edge of your hand/ pinkie touching the knob. Let the clubbells hang down. Pack your shoulders which is shoulders not hugging your ears or hunching forward, shoulder blades retracted and down. Elbows straight. Have your feet about hip distance apart, toes pointing straight ahead. Imagine they are on train tracks. Start to swing the clubbells back as you squat back. Once they’ve reached their furthest most point, come up out of the squat slightly, bringing the clubbells back forward and as they cross the mid-line, start to squat again. And back and forth you go. The swing comes from the piston action of your legs as you go up and down. Do not make the swing happen with your arms, they are just the attachment point for the clubbells to the rest of your body. And never let your legs completely straighten out. Always keep a slight bend in them as the clubbells transition fro back to front and front to back, as you come out of the deeper squats on either end. This effect causes the ends of the clubbells to stay a mere inch off the ground throughout the entirety of the movement.

The Torch Press can be done single handed, 2-handed with a single clubbell or with a clubbell in each hand. Grip the Clubbell anywhere along the length of the neck. One of the great features of the Clubbell is having the ability to micro adjust the “weight” by simply moving you hand closer to the center of mass or further away. Hold it so the knob is pointed to the floor and the widest end facing the ceiling. Start with the clubbell in front of you on Order Position, with forearms parallel to the ground, elbows at a 90 degree angle. Keep the shoulder pack, core engage and, maintaining the Clubbells perpendicular position to the floor, press it up and out. Not straight up, not straight out, but up and out, travelling on a 60 deg angle plane. Imagine you are balancing a plate on the top of the clubbell. At the upper most position, elbows are locked straight. Then return along the same path of ascent to Order Position.

6. For the beefcakes out there, can clubbells be used to putting on size?

Absolutely. There are basic universal principles needed to be applied in order to gain mass. Aside from the more commonly acknowledged ones: engaging the nervous system and activating the body under load, and therefore it’s response to demand, through increasingly sophisticated patterns of movement. Something that can be accomplished more effectively, efficiently and safely with Clubbells than almost any tool out there. And safely is a huge key. Because you may see great gains in the short term through the more conventional methods, but over the long haul, the damage to the body can have long lasting repercussions. If you’re going to be a beefcake, why not be a beefcake for life (winks). And not be relegated to a chair or couch when not training.

7. Where can one buy these clubbells? Are there imitators out there?

The official patented Clubbell from Scott Sonnon can be found at RMAX International: www.rmaxinterational.com

As for “imitators”, yes, I guess you could say there are. Clubs have come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes over time. But the other “clubbells” out there aren’t different shapes and sizes. They aren’t their own unique design or modeled after the clubs of old. They are modeled after Sonnon’s. And with good reason. He put a lot of thought, time and testing into his design and came out with one that is, base on sound bio-mechanics, the safest to use. Am I a bit biased? Maybe, haha! I can appreciate creativity and innovation, but I’ve tried other clubs and the difference is noticeable. Those that have tried other ones and then come to Sonnon’s Clubbell notice the difference. From the distribution of center of mass to grip texture to knob design to material construction. It’s why those who are serious about their training and health use Sonnon’s official Clubbell.

8. What is the difference between clubbells and indian clubs?

Indian Clubs

I’ll speak to this one in context to modern club swinging. Clubbells are made of metal, have a long neck and widen into a “cone” shape. They weigh between 5 lbs and 45 lbs (with an 80 lb monster for fun). They are geared towards full-body strength and conditioning through 6 degrees of freedom. Indian clubs are generally made of wood and are shaped like bowling pins or sometimes have a long neck with a “ball” on the end. They normally weigh between 1.5 lbs and 5 lbs. Their focus is mobility of the shoulder, elbow and wrist joints.

9. What would be a sample clubbell workout?

Start with an Intu-Flow (CST mobility) warm-up to prime the joints and mobilize your body for the work. Then perform Rock’its followed by Clockwork Squats followed by Two-Handed Torch Press. Do each exercise for 60 sec, switching grip halfway through, one after the other. Take a 1 min break. Repeat with a 40 sec time interval. Rest 1 minute. Repeat with a 20 sec interval. Stretch out. I highly recommend using yoga poses as your stretch. You don’t have to be Gumby to do them, but doing them will help release a lot of tension, which is what leads to the soreness we feel later. CST’s Prasara Body Flow Yoga is also very effective for this.

10. Where can people get a hold of you?

My company, Gymnos Evolution, is based here in Vancouver, Canada. And I can be reached through my website at: www.gymnosevolution.com.