As someone working in the fitness industry, I have often been intrigued by how much – or frequently how little – is offered by various kettlebell-specific companies promoting certification and online modular learning. So this autumn I went back to school, to see what I could learn, and to get some idea of whether my pound/dollar would be well spent.

One kettlebell coach, seen regularly on Facebook, has recently upped his online presence, further promoting his website via launching his free app. The website offers very little until you sign up for membership at around $30 dollars a month. From that point, you could waste plenty of time seeking out the substantial course that your money has paid for. There isn’t one. Instead, the site brings you a scrambled mess of videos and stillframes, and a very limited discussion forum. The rest of the space is taken up with promoting the online certification ( around $400). This is clearly where he hopes to make his money, but the $30 a month student is left wondering exactly what he has just purchased…

The videos and stills are seemingly all filmed in a public park, and some of the videos were clearly filmed on a windy day so the sound quality is poor. Less of a pro instructional video, more of a guy in shorts and white socks “winging it” with a couple of bells. The videos offer me, a trainer with previous kettlebell experience, nothing new, and plenty to puzzle over. There are a dozen or more assistance drills to Long Cycle but without the information to help me assess the reasoning behind them. I am not going to be interested in assistance drills without strong justification behind the exercises. This coach gives only  a perfunctory nod to the idea that his students may want to take an academic approach to his subject. One of his drills for Snatch involves an overhead fixation and a 1/4 squat. Since I don’t squat/dip in Snatch, and the coach doesn’t explain its inclusion, I am none the wiser by this.

I am still grappling with his presentation and I have yet to trawl through his discussion forum, and alleged solutions to problems with lower back and knees, so I will come back to this subject. His app too deserves a proper review. So far, the prognosis is a poorly conceived provision for monthly members of this “seat of learning”, but I will reserve judgement until I have tried out his workouts and drills.