This September I was lucky enough to spend several days with the man who has been dubbed the Michael Jordan of kettlebells: Ivan Denisov.   During that short period of time, I learnt more than I could have hoped to about kettlebell lifting and what it is about Denisov that has allowed him to reach the pinnacle of his sport.

I think it’s important to state at this point that Denisov doesn’t train like most professional athletes (whose lives revolve around their training).  Denisov works long days coaching others, studying, writing and developing strategies to promote kettlebell use throughout Russia and the world.  He also organises many Russian kettlebell sport competitions and travels regularly to run training camps and workshops all over the world.  So, Denisov has to fit his training in around his work just like most of us do.

Given his hectic work life, Denisov understands very well the differences between training when that’s all you have to do and training on top of the rest of life.  He spoke a lot about being careful to not overtrain.  Denisov’s general  weekly routine for biathlon training (jerk and snatch) is:

  1. Jerk and jerk assistance work
  2. Snatch and snatch assistance work
  3. Cardio
  4. Jerk and jerk assistance work
  5. Snatch and snatch assistance work
  6. Cardio

He said he tried 3 jerk and 3 snatch sessions a week, but within a few weeks found himself overtrained so went back to the above program.   He also emphasised the need to enjoy training (and life in general), for extra cardio he plays basketball several times a week for fun and when asked what sort of diet he had he said "Diet? No diet!"

One thing about Denisov that stuck everyone who met him was what a genuinely nice and easy going guy he was.  This was especially apparent to the lab staff at ACU who deal with quite a few professional athletes , some of whom are quite precious.  Denisov was friendly with all the lab staff, smiling and joking throughout the procedures, and was more than happy to be subjected to any tests they wanted to perform.  He wasn’t fussy about the conditions, and when asked if he wanted a fan to cool down he said “No, if you want higher heart rate it’s better if I’m hot”.  Not only that, while wearing a mask over his face for a VO2 peak test while jet-lagged (it’d taken him 40 hours to get from his home town to Melbourne) he managed to perform 217 snatches with a 32kg bell (one hand change) – under adverse conditions he hit numbers that most male kettlebell sport athletes can only dream of hitting.  Stay tuned for the results of the tests, which will hopefully be published soon.

Denisov’s incredible performance in the lab is an indication of his ability to control his own mind, keep focused on the task and not let anything bother him unnecessarily.  Those who got to witness his jerk test at the training camp with a pair of 40kg kettlebells got a glimpse of how he switches modes as soon as he starts preparing to lift – quite an incredible and complete transformation.  When he prepares, his eyes roll back into his head like he’s going into a trance.  He has practised many forms of mental discipline, including years of karate and higher education and this has clearly contributed to his ability to remain relaxed for extended periods under the bells.  He also said that these days, with his hectic schedule, he takes any moment he can to clear his mind and relax.

Denisov also spoke a lot about how you should tailor your training according to your headspace.  He told me off for trying to make technique corrections at the end of a session when I was fatigued, he said you should only do that when your mind is fresh.   For his own training, he will modify according to how he feels and if he had planned a certain session but his mind (or body) isn’t in the right place for it, he’ll do something different and try again on a day when he feels better.

Denisov regularly videos his own lifting to find mistakes and make improvements.  He said it is important to watch yourself frame by frame as this is the only way to really see what is happening.  While he may be the absolute world record holder, he is not immune to mistakes and said that at a competition he didn’t get the jerk numbers he thought he should.  When he reviewed the video of his set he saw that his second dip hadn’t been low enough and that was the reason.  For Denisov, the learning hasn’t stopped and he is not satisfied simply to be the best in the world, he continues to strive for absolute perfection.

For kettlebell sport training he had some advice that I will certainly be implementing in my own training:

  1. Always make sure the first few reps of a set are perfect so your connective tissue isn’t put under unnecessary stress.
  2. Never stop breathing.
  3. For snatches, always chalk the bells you warm up with so you don’t heat up your calluses before the main set (making them more likely to tear).
  4. Use your legs.
  5. Technique separates the good from the best.

Denisov is not only an incredible athlete, but also an incredible person and more than anything I learnt from his general “why not?” attitude to life and the sheer enthusiasm with which he approached everything.