Author: D C

I bumped into a former student a while back whom I know is deeply involved in Chinese martial arts and I was glad to see him. He seemed like someone that got it and I thought it would be good to catch up with him. So I asked him how his work with the 24kg kettlebell he bought from us is going. He replied that he wasn’t using it much, especially for snatches. I was surprised and asked why: he told me he didn’t want to get big.

Sigh.

Listen, it’s HARD to get big. So many people seem to think that you snap your fingers and muscles just get huge overnight. Believe me, there are thousands of skinny guys that wish that were the case. It just doesn’t happen.
Why is it next to impossible to get big while snatching the 24kg?

First, 24kg just isn’t a lot of weight. For weak people, it might seem heavy, especially if you’re used to moving nothing but air. But it isn’t enough weight to make you look like the Hulk. Most people really just don’t know how much weight it takes to look huge. 24kg (around 50lbs.) just ain’t gonna do it.

Second, kettlebell snatches and similar exercises have very little time under tension. Time under tension is how long the muscle exerts force to lift the weight. Bodybuilders who want to build bigger muscles use slow tempos, especially when lowering the weight, to keep the muscles under tension longer, forcing them to adapt by growing big. This is what that looks like:

Now let’s look at a kettlebell snatch using the 24kg:
Notice that the time under tension for the shoulder is only at the very top and it’s extremely short — much too short to make the muscles huge. Does she look huge? She does more snatches with the 24kg than most anyone who will ever read this post. If she isn’t huge, then what are your chances of getting huge? None.

Kettlebells are ideal strength and conditioning training for martial arts but you have to have an open mind to their potential to realize that.

I highly suggest you pick up a well-known general personal training cert like the NASM CPT. NASM is a very dynamic, and forward looking cert. Their info is very good and up-to-date.
Beyond that, I highly recommend you pick up a second non-traditional training cert in something you’d want to be your specialty. Something like kettlebells via me, Steve Maxwell, or the IKFF, would work nicely. Other good specialist certs are Monkey Bar Gym with Jon Hinds and Tactical Athlete with Jeff Martone. I recommend these guys because they are all ethical, no-nonsense guys that have great material.
You need a specialty cert because the CPT certs are usually good, but basic and largely theoretical. The CPT cert would be necessary to get a job. The specialty certs are mostly practical and will show you how to actually get good results with clients. Having both would put you ahead of other beginning trainers.
If you plan to just train people as a side business on your own, only the specialty cert is necessary.

It’s a pleasure to serve you and to own a company that contributes to society by helping people improve themselves. We are all in this together, striving to be better than we were yesterday and I thank you for choosing to workout with us.

You should know that our current location wasn’t how we started. I started in the park with one person. We then got kettlebells and moved into part of an office that they weren’t using. The office workers came out and made copies while we worked out. Those were the days.

Back then, I did everything personally to run the business. I answered the phone, taught personal training sessions, taught group classes, sold kettlebells, handed out business cards, stuffed flyers I designed personally into mailboxes, etc. I was involved in every aspect. It was a real one-man show. I loved it.

As more people chose to workout with us, we saved the money and expanded only as much as we could handle. We never wanted to make a financial mistake that could sink the company. And I kept answering the phones and teaching all the classes as we expanded.

Believe it or not, cleaning the bathroom and sweeping the gym were two of my favorite activities. A gymgoer the other day told me I looked very zen as I was sweeping outside of the gym and he was right, I felt that way at the time. That’s one reason why I love doing that type of manual labor. I always tell my kids that wherever we go, we must leave the place better than we found it. We need to constantly make a contribution, a place should be better because we were there. We improve wherever we are and in the process, we improve ourselves. There’s a connection between where you are and what you are. Clean surroundings produce a clean, calm mind.

But the other reason I like cleaning is that it’s a way to serve others. And let’s face it — if you aren’t willing to do the dirty work yourself, then are you really willing to help others? Do you really care? Doing only what’s easy doesn’t count because everyone is willing to do that. Doing what’s unpleasant both builds and shows character.

So unlike some other business owners, I’ve worked the front desk, I’ve taken weird phone calls about things you’d never expect, I’ve personally trained hundreds of people. All these experiences have shaped me as a business owner and as a person. I bring that knowledge into how I run the business.

Again, I want to thank you for choosing our products and services. We’re family here and we’re glad you’ve chosen to be a part of it.

Yours in fitness.

Right now we’re hosting one of the most knowledgeable trainers I ever met, Steve Maxwell. He’s showing us things that are just blowing our minds. His breadth and depth of knowledge is amazing. He’s been in the fitness industry longer than I’ve been alive and we’re so glad to have him.

But I wonder when we talk about bringing him here or other aspects of the business, if people might think we’re bragging or showing off. That’s not what we’re doing.

At Formosa Fitness, we compete as a business based on quality — quality of information, quality of services we provide, etc. We aren’t the biggest gym in Taiwan and we know that. But I’ll be darned if we aren’t going to be the best.

Bringing in someone like Steve improves every aspect of what we do. The information he gives us is passed on to you through our personal training, group classes, seminars, our DVDs, and everything else. This was the reason I flew to other countries to study under some of the best in the world — it was about bringing back quality information. And it’s the reason we’re now bringing the best in the world here.

We love what we do at Formosa Fitness and we hope you do, too. So any time we can do what we love even better than before, then it makes us happy. And as a customer, it will make you happy, too. We all benefit from these things and that’s what it’s all about.

So when you see us promoting the things we do, please realize that we’re aren’t bragging and that it isn’t just about us — it’s about growing in what we love and that’s also about you. You’re an important part of this and we value your support.

Yours in fitness.

It’s gonna be Steve Maxwell week, folks!

Thanks to Steve for the kind greeting. I can’t wait for the people in the gym to meet him.

We brought him over with zero cooperation from the mainstream fitness community and we’re very proud to let people know that. This just goes to show that Formosa Fitness is the “little gym that could” and we’ll keep leading the way. We’ll let other mainstream gyms buy outrageously expensive “functional fitness units” that they don’t know how to use and won’t let people touch while we bring in the best and brightest just for you!

Anyone looking to add some zest to their gym or home fitness routines should join our short seminars with Steve:
300 Spartan Bodyweight Training — https://www.facebook.com/events/288129861288399/
Advanced Kettlebells — https://www.facebook.com/events/532193426806772/
Mobility Conditioning — https://www.facebook.com/events/120189738133343/

These seminars are only NT2000 each and that’s a bargain considering who you’re training with! We have a spots left so don’t miss out!

Look for more updates when Steve gets here. I’m so nervous. 🙂