[Establishment]

... been lurking for about six months. I posted this in another thread on Easter Europe, but thought it would warrant its own thread.

I am planning to take September 2017 off from work and spend time somewhere in Eastern Europe, likely in the FSU.

My actual objective is to focus on Olympic weightlifting & kettlebells plus some form of martial arts (boxing, combat sambo, or MMA)... but the women are obviously a nice bonus.

In terms of weightlifting and kettlebells, it is possible to hire a high quality Olympic coach for 10 sessions for less than the price of an hour with an average trainer in Western Europe or North America. Same with martial arts - joining a club costs very little, and the quality of the instruction seems really high.

I can imagine a day with coached sessions in weightlifting or kettlebells in the morning and MMA training in the afternoon, with some yoga or active recovery mixed in. I suppose I could take a month off work and try to do this in my own city, but getting out of my everyday life would make it much easier to do something like this.

And finally, I have zero game, so I would need to work on that part of my life, too.

I am recently divorced and rediscovered fitness. A one month immersion would support several of the new interests I have in life.

I believe Ukraine is the best choice for me, though I have looked into Russia, Serbia, and Bulgaria (home of the infamous "Bulgarian method").

Anybody ever tried anything like this? Anybody interested?

I will try to keep this thread alive as my thoughts form about location, activities, etc. Any advice is appreciated. And if anyone is interested in joining, we could share costs and would be great to have a wing.

[Rocha]

Check out "the best outdoors gym in the world" in Kiev. It is totally free of charge.

It is made of scrap metal, and has a combat/boxing area with punching bags made of tires, that shit is perfect, kicking those bags with all your might will make your shins strong like the ones of Thai fighters )))

They also have some guys teaching boxing and mma. Never tried, but will do next month.

[Establishment]

That looks impressive! Can you give me an update after you have tried it?

The main reason I want to go is that I would be able to access higher level personal coaching that elsewhere (Olympic weightlifting and kettlebells being really popular in the FSU) at a much better price than would be possible elsewhere.

But that must be a great place to bring an active girl on a fitness date... the possibilities...

[Rocha]

(05-04-2017 10:10 AM)Establishment Wrote:  

That looks impressive! Can you give me an update after you have tried it?

The main reason I want to go is that I would be able to access higher level personal coaching that elsewhere (Olympic weightlifting and kettlebells being really popular in the FSU) at a much better price than would be possible elsewhere.

But that must be a great place to bring an active girl on a fitness date... the possibilities...

Like I said, I have not tried any classes, but I know some local guys who train MMA there. As for the gym and the boxing zone it is simply perfect. I will be in Kiev next month. If you go there reach out to me.

[Hannibal]

There is a concept known as the crowbar maneuver where you "do or do not, there is no try".

This is good for endeavors like learning how to code, picking up a new language, saving your first $1000 (if you have no savings), or even losing weight.

If I understand the OP correctly, you want to hammer on this shit almost every day. I don't recommend doing it for weight training. If you do do it, I don't recommend pushing yourself to the limit for much longer than 6 weeks. All that happens then, and yes I have done this several times in the past, is that you burn out, lose motivation, and before you know it you turn right back into a fat piece of shit again. You might even pick up a lifelong injury. Train hard, yes. Train smart, too.

Plan for what happens after 4-6 weeks. Plan for a more moderate approach to weight training once you get your self styled "boot camp" out of the way. A sub optimal program done over years beats a great program done very hard for six weeks.

I would recommend for your Olympic lifting (kettlebells are good for home workouts but somewhat retarded if you have access to a gym) that you do a program like this after your six weeks.

(04-01-2015 06:50 PM)Hannibal Wrote:  

If all you've got is a barbell, then do clean and press and front squat.

Here's a copy of Dan John's From the Ground Up, a beginner's guide to olympic lifting. Yeah I know I'm not goosestepping to the Starting Strength crowd here, but all you've got is 50 kg of weight and a barbell.

The program looks like this

Code:

Code:

The "Rapid Ascent" Program
Three Days a Week in the Weightroom:
Power Clean
8-6-4 reps
Military Press
8-6-4 reps
Front Squat
8-6-4 reps
Increase weight when you get all the reps!

I know this is an old thread, but this is just to give you some ideas in case you never got the bench and squat rack. Dan John is part of the "lifting clergy" after all. Outside of some of the more dubious Dragondoor endorsements he's still a good resource.

[Establishment]

(05-04-2017 11:37 AM)Hannibal Wrote:  

There is a concept known as the crowbar maneuver where you "do or do not, there is no try".

This is good for endeavors like learning how to code, picking up a new language, saving your first $1000 (if you have no savings), or even losing weight.

If I understand the OP correctly, you want to hammer on this shit almost every day. I don't recommend doing it for weight training. If you do do it, I don't recommend pushing yourself to the limit for much longer than 6 weeks. All that happens then, and yes I have done this several times in the past, is that you burn out, lose motivation, and before you know it you turn right back into a fat piece of shit again. You might even pick up a lifelong injury. Train hard, yes. Train smart, too.

Plan for what happens after 4-6 weeks. Plan for a more moderate approach to weight training once you get your self styled "boot camp" out of the way. A sub optimal program done over years beats a great program done very hard for six weeks.

I would recommend for your Olympic lifting (kettlebells are good for home workouts but somewhat retarded if you have access to a gym) that you do a program like this after your six weeks.

(04-01-2015 06:50 PM)Hannibal Wrote:  

If all you've got is a barbell, then do clean and press and front squat.

Here's a copy of Dan John's From the Ground Up, a beginner's guide to olympic lifting. Yeah I know I'm not goosestepping to the Starting Strength crowd here, but all you've got is 50 kg of weight and a barbell.

The program looks like this

Code:

Code:

The "Rapid Ascent" Program
Three Days a Week in the Weightroom:
Power Clean
8-6-4 reps
Military Press
8-6-4 reps
Front Squat
8-6-4 reps
Increase weight when you get all the reps!

I know this is an old thread, but this is just to give you some ideas in case you never got the bench and squat rack. Dan John is part of the "lifting clergy" after all. Outside of some of the more dubious Dragondoor endorsements he's still a good resource.

Hey thanks! Yes, essentially what I have in mind is a bootcamp.

I already lift, and have been attending dedicated Olympic weightlifting classes once or twice a week, in addition to muay thai and/or MMA sessions (depending on the schedule - usually twice a week).

I am getting better at both things, slowly. My problem at the moment is consistency -- I am a project manager for an engineering firm and end up having to stay late once or twice a week. Life kind of gets in the way.

I was thinking that it would be most beneficial to focus on something "technique-heavy" in a lower cost country, hiring a coach at an affordable rate and focusing for a month. In this respect, kettlebells (hard to learn otherwise) or an intensive Olympic weightlifting immersion would be good for setting me up for the long term. Same goes with MMA. I also suppose something like swimming would be good, given that it is really expensive to hire a coach and once the basic technique is down, you can have a lifetime to improve through repetition.

[Establishment]

(05-04-2017 10:14 AM)Rocha Wrote:  

(05-04-2017 10:10 AM)Establishment Wrote:  

That looks impressive! Can you give me an update after you have tried it?

The main reason I want to go is that I would be able to access higher level personal coaching that elsewhere (Olympic weightlifting and kettlebells being really popular in the FSU) at a much better price than would be possible elsewhere.

But that must be a great place to bring an active girl on a fitness date... the possibilities...

Like I said, I have not tried any classes, but I know some local guys who train MMA there. As for the gym and the boxing zone it is simply perfect. I will be in Kiev next month. If you go there reach out to me.

That third vid. Man, that is incredible. The weights, the boxing, the parkour... I could get into all of that.

I am planning to be there in September. If you are still around, I will definitely join you at this park.

[Establishment]

Alright, after further research and refinement of my thinking (thanks Hannibal), I think I will focus on "technique-based" activities since I cannot sustain intense weightlifting over a month. I will learn something that I can continue to build upon on my own.

I will go for kettlebells in the morning, MMA/boxing in the afternoons. Maybe swimming (I am terrible) if I can find a coach.

Based on this, the former Soviet Union countries are ideal for accessing kettlebell coaches. I have settled on Ukraine. I have a (rare) full month of holiday to be taken in September.

A month in Ukraine seems feasible. I think joining three separate activities will allow for some social circle game, especially over the course of a month.

[Establishment]

I have done some more research and started to establish contacts.

Definitely settled on a routine of kettlebells, swimming, MMA/boxing.

In terms of location, I have focused on Ukraine for a number of reasons: inexpensive coaching, deep cultural capital in the sport of kettlebells, incredible boxing reputation, cheap lifestyle... and obviously I am in awe of the stories of the women.

For cities, I have started contacting people in Lviv and Kherson. Both these cities have gyms with an online presence and some decent datasheets on RVF to help me get started.

I suppose I could add Kiev to this list, but I want to go somewhere off the beaten path and have shorter commuting times between training sessions.

Will make a choice very soon.

I am still aiming for September. Between now and then, I will continue with my routine of two Olympic weightlifting classes and two muay thai classes, plus one MMA class and some additional weightlifting mixed in (mostly deadlifts or accessory lifts to the Oly lifting). I had considered starting to practice with kettlebells, but this seems like something where having a coach at the beginning would be beneficial.

I have also started some passive pipelining on VK. Been getting responses from some girls involved in kettlebells, but nothing much. Will intensify and add Tinder closer to the date I plan to arrive.

Will update as my planning becomes more concrete.

[monster]

Tons of kettleball workouts on youtube.

Coaches are worthless for beginners. They can fine-tune an average person, but don't do nothing you won't get from youtube.

[Establishment]

I have a basic level of kettlebell experience - swings, cleans, and snatch. But my form on the snatch is horrible - I hurt my wrist after about 20 reps. I was thinking that a coach could drill some good form over a period of three weeks, and then from there I would be able to continue on my own.

But I have about 2 months before my planned departure date. Perhaps I can try to go as far as I can with YouTube videos to maximise the value of a coach.

[monster]

(06-25-2017 02:03 PM)Establishment Wrote:  

I have a basic level of kettlebell experience - swings, cleans, and snatch. But my form on the snatch is horrible - I hurt my wrist after about 20 reps. I was thinking that a coach could drill some good form over a period of three weeks, and then from there I would be able to continue on my own.

But I have about 2 months before my planned departure date. Perhaps I can try to go as far as I can with YouTube videos to maximise the value of a coach.

Well yeah, and use lower weights for 2-3 weeks while you build up the form. Sometimes good form takes 3 months to develop. No harm in using light weight to build up good form - just kick the ego to the door.