Hello. I'm 53, and I'm hoping to hear from anyone who's been through something similar.

I was diagnosed a while back with:

• Severe aortic stenosis
• Heavy calcification of the aortic valve
• Bicuspid aortic valve
• Dilated ascending aorta, 46mm

I've been in a bit of a daze since. I thought I'd done everything right. Ate well, trained consistently, hardly ever sick, never needed medication, rarely saw a doctor. I was cautious enough that I didn't even take the Covid vaccine. And I still ended up here. I've been extremely angry about it.

One thing I've noticed: the more I think about it, the worse I feel. The more I carry on the way I did before I knew, the better I feel. I haven't trained in a while, but I feel like I could pick up right where I left off. Then I read more about what these numbers actually mean and start thinking I could drop at any moment. It swings between those two.

Yesterday I had my coronary angiography. My arteries came back clean. The cardiologist put it as "you're in perfect condition, apart from what you were born with." There are moments now where I think I may as well eat and drink whatever I want.

That's the mental side. Here's what I'm actually hoping to learn from people who've been through it:

Recovery and training. How was recovery for you? Did you get back to training hard, or is that off the table for good? I'm not asking about walking round the block, I mean real loaded work.

Options I may not have found. I don't want my chest cut open, though I'm aware that what insurance covers and what I can afford may be two different things. I'm in Greece. My understanding is there are approaches through the groin or between the ribs. For anyone who had one of those, how did it go, and were you actually offered it as an option or ruled out?

The Ross procedure. I found this one and it sounds like the option most likely to get me back to where I was. It also sounds like the most complex and the highest risk. Has anyone here had one? How did you find a surgeon, and how did you satisfy yourself they'd done enough of them?

Mechanical valve. I'd rather not be on warfarin for life. I've read that cayenne pepper has blood-thinning properties, and I already take it daily. I understand it's not the same mechanism, but is there anyone here managing a mechanical valve on anything other than warfarin, or any combination approach your cardiologist has been open to? And for those on warfarin: how much does it really change day-to-day life and training?

Tissue valve. I've read they last roughly 10 to 15 years. Does that mean you're simply doing the whole thing again in your 60s, or is it more complicated than that?

Thanks in advance for anything anyone can share. Information, options, or just how it went for you. Any of it helps.

PS. Reddit disclaimer: I'm well aware most people here aren't medical professionals, and I won't be taking anything said here as fact. I'm just inviting people to share what they went through.

Hello. I'm 53, and I'm hoping to hear from anyone who's been through something similar.

I was diagnosed a while back with:

• Severe aortic stenosis
• Heavy calcification of the aortic valve
• Bicuspid aortic valve
• Dilated ascending aorta, 46mm

I've been in a bit of a daze since. I thought I'd done everything right. Ate well, trained consistently, hardly ever sick, never needed medication, rarely saw a doctor. I was cautious enough that I didn't even take the Covid vaccine. And I still ended up here. I've been extremely angry about it.

One thing I've noticed: the more I think about it, the worse I feel. The more I carry on the way I did before I knew, the better I feel. I haven't trained in a while, but I feel like I could pick up right where I left off. Then I read more about what these numbers actually mean and start thinking I could drop at any moment. It swings between those two.

Yesterday I had my coronary angiography. My arteries came back clean. The cardiologist put it as "you're in perfect condition, apart from what you were born with." There are moments now where I think I may as well eat and drink whatever I want.

That's the mental side. Here's what I'm actually hoping to learn from people who've been through it:

Recovery and training. How was recovery for you? Did you get back to training hard, or is that off the table for good? I'm not asking about walking round the block, I mean real loaded work.

Options I may not have found. I don't want my chest cut open, though I'm aware that what insurance covers and what I can afford may be two different things. I'm in Greece. My understanding is there are approaches through the groin or between the ribs. For anyone who had one of those, how did it go, and were you actually offered it as an option or ruled out?

The Ross procedure. I found this one and it sounds like the option most likely to get me back to where I was. It also sounds like the most complex and the highest risk. Has anyone here had one? How did you find a surgeon, and how did you satisfy yourself they'd done enough of them?

Mechanical valve. I'd rather not be on warfarin for life. I've read that cayenne pepper has blood-thinning properties, and I already take it daily. I understand it's not the same mechanism, but is there anyone here managing a mechanical valve on anything other than warfarin, or any combination approach your cardiologist has been open to? And for those on warfarin: how much does it really change day-to-day life and training?

Tissue valve. I've read they last roughly 10 to 15 years. Does that mean you're simply doing the whole thing again in your 60s, or is it more complicated than that?

Thanks in advance for anything anyone can share. Information, options, or just how it went for you. Any of it helps.

PS. Reddit disclaimer: I'm well aware most people here aren't medical professionals, and I won't be taking anything said here as fact. I'm just inviting people to share what they went through.

Hello. I'm 53, and I'm hoping to hear from anyone who's been through something similar.

I was diagnosed a while back with:

• Severe aortic stenosis
• Heavy calcification of the aortic valve
• Bicuspid aortic valve
• Dilated ascending aorta, 46mm

I've been in a bit of a daze since. I thought I'd done everything right. Ate well, trained consistently, hardly ever sick, never needed medication, rarely saw a doctor. I was cautious enough that I didn't even take the Covid vaccine. And I still ended up here. I've been extremely angry about it.

One thing I've noticed: the more I think about it, the worse I feel. The more I carry on the way I did before I knew, the better I feel. I haven't trained in a while, but I feel like I could pick up right where I left off. Then I read more about what these numbers actually mean and start thinking I could drop at any moment. It swings between those two.

Yesterday I had my coronary angiography. My arteries came back clean. The cardiologist put it as "you're in perfect condition, apart from what you were born with." There are moments now where I think I may as well eat and drink whatever I want.

That's the mental side. Here's what I'm actually hoping to learn from people who've been through it:

Recovery and training. How was recovery for you? Did you get back to training hard, or is that off the table for good? I'm not asking about walking round the block, I mean real loaded work.

Options I may not have found. I don't want my chest cut open, though I'm aware that what insurance covers and what I can afford may be two different things. I'm in Greece. My understanding is there are approaches through the groin or between the ribs. For anyone who had one of those, how did it go, and were you actually offered it as an option or ruled out?

The Ross procedure. I found this one and it sounds like the option most likely to get me back to where I was. It also sounds like the most complex and the highest risk. Has anyone here had one? How did you find a surgeon, and how did you satisfy yourself they'd done enough of them?

Mechanical valve. I'd rather not be on warfarin for life. I've read that cayenne pepper has blood-thinning properties, and I already take it daily. I understand it's not the same mechanism, but is there anyone here managing a mechanical valve on anything other than warfarin, or any combination approach your cardiologist has been open to? And for those on warfarin: how much does it really change day-to-day life and training?

Tissue valve. I've read they last roughly 10 to 15 years. Does that mean you're simply doing the whole thing again in your 60s, or is it more complicated than that?

Thanks in advance for anything anyone can share. Information, options, or just how it went for you. Any of it helps.

PS. Reddit disclaimer: I'm well aware most people here aren't medical professionals, and I won't be taking anything said here as fact. I'm just inviting people to share what they went through.

Hello. I'm 53, and I'm hoping to hear from anyone who's been through something similar.

I was diagnosed a while back with:

• Severe aortic stenosis
• Heavy calcification of the aortic valve
• Bicuspid aortic valve
• Dilated ascending aorta, 46mm

I've been in a bit of a daze since. I thought I'd done everything right. Ate well, trained consistently, hardly ever sick, never needed medication, rarely saw a doctor. I was cautious enough that I didn't even take the Covid vaccine. And I still ended up here. I've been extremely angry about it.

One thing I've noticed: the more I think about it, the worse I feel. The more I carry on the way I did before I knew, the better I feel. I haven't trained in a while, but I feel like I could pick up right where I left off. Then I read more about what these numbers actually mean and start thinking I could drop at any moment. It swings between those two.

Yesterday I had my coronary angiography. My arteries came back clean. The cardiologist put it as "you're in perfect condition, apart from what you were born with." There are moments now where I think I may as well eat and drink whatever I want.

That's the mental side. Here's what I'm actually hoping to learn from people who've been through it:

Recovery and training. How was recovery for you? Did you get back to training hard, or is that off the table for good? I'm not asking about walking round the block, I mean real loaded work.

Options I may not have found. I don't want my chest cut open, though I'm aware that what insurance covers and what I can afford may be two different things. I'm in Greece. My understanding is there are approaches through the groin or between the ribs. For anyone who had one of those, how did it go, and were you actually offered it as an option or ruled out?

The Ross procedure. I found this one and it sounds like the option most likely to get me back to where I was. It also sounds like the most complex and the highest risk. Has anyone here had one? How did you find a surgeon, and how did you satisfy yourself they'd done enough of them?

Mechanical valve. I'd rather not be on warfarin for life. I've read that cayenne pepper has blood-thinning properties, and I already take it daily. I understand it's not the same mechanism, but is there anyone here managing a mechanical valve on anything other than warfarin, or any combination approach your cardiologist has been open to? And for those on warfarin: how much does it really change day-to-day life and training?

Tissue valve. I've read they last roughly 10 to 15 years. Does that mean you're simply doing the whole thing again in your 60s, or is it more complicated than that?

Thanks in advance for anything anyone can share. Information, options, or just how it went for you. Any of it helps.

PS. Reddit disclaimer: I'm well aware most people here aren't medical professionals, and I won't be taking anything said here as fact. I'm just inviting people to share what they went through.

Short video of the hang clean. One of my favorite power exercises. I can do these for a long time and not get bored, or go heavy and do EMOM.

THE KETTLEBELL HANG CLEAN

Start in the racking position.

Drop the kettlebell into the hang and regrip into the hook grip as the bell moves down.

Squat down to decelerate the weight rather than simply allowing the kettlebell to pull you into the bottom position.

From there, reverse the movement explosively. This is where the plyometric action comes in: the force that sends the kettlebell back upward comes from the legs.

Keep the arm straight during the pull. You are not curling the kettlebell back into position.

As the kettlebell enters ballistic flight, regrip, insert the hand, and allow the bell to land smoothly back in the racking position.

The sequence is:

RACK
↓
DROP INTO THE HANG
↓
REGRIP TO HOOK GRIP
↓
SQUAT AND DECELERATE
↓
EXPLOSIVE LEG DRIVE
↓
STRAIGHT-ARM PULL
↓
REGRIP DURING BALLISTIC FLIGHT
↓
INSERT
↓
LAND IN RACKING

The better the timing between the legs, the grip transition, and the insertion, the cleaner and more efficient the hang clean becomes.

Want feedback on your kettlebell technique? Post your form inside KETTLEBELL MONSTER™:
https://kettlebell.monster/connect (keeps a record of your progress) or post in this sub

An old video I made during one of the times Steve (RIP) stayed with me in Spain. An interesting story to hear about the kettlebell's history.

Do you know anything that is missing?

Kettlebell Clean Tutorial For Beginners

My intention was to create one of the most detailed kettlebell clean tutorials for beginners.

What's covered:

• Why the bell bangs down on your forearm instead of landing softly, and the one thing that fixes it
• Where blisters actually come from, and why gloves aren't the answer
• The hidden reason cleans wreck your lower back, and why it happens on the way down rather than on the way up
• The only power event in the whole clean, and why everything after it is guiding rather than pulling
• What "ballistic" really means, and why a sportstyle clean and a power clean are both ballistic while being completely different exercises

The variation taught here is the hip hinge swing clean, performed for power. It's one of many clean variations, not the only way to clean a kettlebell, and it's named specifically so you know what you're learning.

Some users said the following.

• richardbrooke8399: The best kettlebell tutorial I have seen! Great work!
• barbellsamurai8014: best and most thorough clean tutorial I have seen. great work
• sweetvuvuzela4634: Beautiful explanation many thanks 🤩

Watch the video yourself, and let me know what you think. Happy to discuss/debate any of the advice.

Chapters

• 0:00 The four problems, and where they come from
• 0:26 The clean at full speed
• 0:53 Anatomy of the kettlebell: handle, corners, horns, window, bell, base
• 1:29 Which clean this is, and why the name matters
• 1:47 Set up
• 3:10 Hikeback
• 4:03 The clean
• 5:57 Racking
• 7:12 Drop into backswing
• 9:30 What ballistic actually means
• 10:15 Power versus economy
• 11:01 Where to find more

If any of it helped, leave a comment below, and feel free to share the video with others.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The complete bent press progression, in order — from never having done one to a loaded bent press.

Start here: the bent press is not a press. You are not pushing the weight away from you, you are pressing yourself under it. Get that idea wrong and no amount of practice will fix the lift.

And the part that matters most: a windmill or a bent press done with the shoulder drifting forward will wreck your shoulders. That is why this is a progression and not a tutorial. Each part is a prerequisite for the next.

PART 1 — SHOULDER ROTATION AND THE BODYWEIGHT WINDMILL

Why the lift is worth doing, controlled external shoulder rotation, and the windmill with no weight at all.

PART 2 — LOADING THE WINDMILL

Light weight on the windmill, plus the assistance work: scarecrows and the rear press.

PART 3 — YOUR FIRST BENT PRESS

The movement itself. Pulling the elbow down, the fist that stays level, the partner check. Bodyweight first, then load it — and it gets easier with more weight, not harder.

PART 4 — THE SQUAT STANCE

The wider stance, using the free arm on the thigh, and squatting under the weight when you cannot hinge far enough.

PART 5 — GOING HEAVIER

When to add weight, and the three sticking points: fake range, the arm you cannot extend, and the shoulder drifting forward.

PART 6 — THE OTHER SET-UP

The alternative set-up, pulling the bell to the back, and where to go from here.

HOW TO USE THIS

Work through them in order. None of it is a one-time session — these are things you work on continuously, step by step, day by day. Keep the volume low to start with and judge it by how you feel the next day.

If your external shoulder rotation is not there yet, stay on Part 1 for as long as it takes. There is no rush and nothing to prove.

Post your progress each week in the group so we can see where everybody is.

I made a video on where your thumb points during a clean, because it comes up constantly and the answer is usually given without saying which variation it applies to. Link at the bottom.

Short version.

There are three positions. Thumb up, so the handle is vertical. Thumb medial, pointing across your body, handle horizontal, roughly 90 degrees of pronation. And turning the thumb further in through the backswing so it ends up pointing behind you through your legs.

All three are used. None of them is wrong on its own. What they're for is different.

For a power clean, thumb medial. Centred grip, handle horizontal, and you hold that position through the backswing rather than rotating further into it. You're pulling explosively, so you want the weight balanced under your hand and nothing rotating while the load is coming up.

Turning the thumb in belongs with pendulum work, sport and freestyle, where you're not pulling for power.

Thumb up with the hand already in the corner works for an efficient clean, where you hike back, come up, and scoop it in with almost no friction because your hand is already where it needs to be. It costs you the power pull, which is fine if power isn't what you're doing.

Where I think the common advice goes wrong is teaching the turned-in position as the default first position for beginners training for power. I see two problems with that.

It's an economy technique from an endurance discipline being applied to explosive work, which is a different job. Fact: The majority of people on Reddit train the swing for power.

And the majorty of beginners never asked their forearms to rotate under load (lack of conditioning). The forearm's own range into pronation runs to about 80-90 degrees. Getting the thumb pointing backwards is roughly double that, so the rest comes from internal rotation at the shoulder. That's a second joint brought into the movement at the bottom, while the load is rising, in someone with no history of doing it. Then they do a few hundred reps in a week because they're keen.

That's where a high percentage of the elbow trouble comes from. Tendons have a worse blood supply and recover slower, so people train through it because it feels like normal training discomfort, and it gets worse.

Nobody has studied grip or forearm position in kettlebell training and measured an outcome. What exists is occupational research linking loaded forearm rotation and hard gripping to elbow tendon problems, and the mechanism is the same tissue loaded the same way. The dose doesn't transfer, the mechanism does. The forearm pronators don't know whether the resistance is a power tool or a kettlebell handle.

So my position is: learn it with the thumb medial, add the rotation later when you have a reason and the tissue to handle it.

Tell me where I've got this wrong. If you teach the turned-in position to beginners doing power work, I'd like to hear the reasoning, because I might be missing something.

Video: https://youtu.be/5OHhTaiSiwE
Full article with cited references: http://kettlebell.monster/go/grip

PS. One of the reasons given to teach thumb down is to avoid elbow hyperextension. I cover in the article why this is not correct reasoning. But in short, with the thumb medial (horizontal handle) you are already avoiding exactly that and getting the benefit of efficiency for a power pull. Taking the hyperextension aside. When you do a kettlebell swing for power properly, it is an insert and pull-out, and not a push of the hips against the elbow.

The Best Kettlebell Clean Tutorial

I asked here on Reddit a while back what would make the best kettlebell clean tutorial. I used what came back and built the video around it. Link https://youtu.be/dI6jy2t2PbA

It's 11 minutes. I think I went too long again. And this is about 20% of what I could say about this one variation of the clean, not the clean in general.

I'm not sure if that's actually a problem. People asked for the detail nobody covers, and that takes time. If I'd made a 4-minute version, it would be the same video that's already out there. But I can't judge my own stuff, so I'm asking.

What's covered:

• Why the bell bangs down on your forearm instead of landing softly, and the one thing that fixes it
• Where blisters actually come from, and why gloves aren't the answer
• The hidden reason cleans wreck your lower back, and why it happens on the way down rather than on the way up
• The only power event in the whole clean, and why everything after it is guiding rather than pulling
• What "ballistic" really means, and why a sportstyle clean and a power clean are both ballistic while being completely different exercises

The variation taught here is the hip hinge swing clean, performed for power. It's one of many clean variations, not the only way to clean a kettlebell, and it's named specifically so you know what you're learning.

Read all the text at your own pace, visit: kettlebell.monster/go/grip

Chapters
0:00 The four problems, and where they come from
0:26 The clean at full speed
0:53 Anatomy of the kettlebell: handle, corners, horns, window, bell, base
1:29 Which clean this is, and why the name matters
1:47 Set up
3:10 Hikeback
4:03 The clean
5:57 Racking
7:12 Drop into backswing
9:30 What ballistic actually means
10:15 Power versus economy
11:01 Where to find more

What I want from you: tell me what you think of it. Delivery, pacing, content. If you disagree with anything I teach in it, say so and say why, and let's talk it through properly based on facts and common sense. I'd rather be corrected than keep doing something wrong.

And specifically, was 11 minutes too long, or is it the right length in the wrong order? Those are two different problems and I don't know which one I've got.

I have been thinking about creating this tutorial for a while, but I do not want it to be boring, so I would like your input.

I tend to talk too much and include too many details.

• How long do you reckon the video should be, and should it be split up if longer than suggested?
• Should it cover everything below, or more?
• Should I make it one, two, or three parts?
• What parts below should I go deeper into?
• Should I go through the movement bodyweight-first, or only with a light kettlebell, so I can control and pause each movement to show the intricacies of forearm rotation, grip transition, etc.?
• Should I talk faster, or just keep at the normal pace, as the topic is interesting enough?

I cover the Set up, Start, Execution, Rack, and Return.

Explain the anatomy of the kettlebell: handle, corner(s), horn(s), window, bell, and base.

Explain that this is a Hip Hinge Swingclean (one of many variations) for power. Intentionally not calling it Hardstyle so there's no need to cover the difference between RKC and StrongFirst, etc.

Set up

• Not too close, and not too far
• Hook grip the handle in the middle (explain why in the middle here or later?)
• Hike back and insert through the legs
• Breathe in deeply through the nose
• Point the weight to the back
• Pull out using the legs, generating a force so fast and explosive that the weight enters its ballistic flight (guided; explain the difference between true ballistic and guided?)
• Breathe out forcefully during the power phase, which is short
• Redirect the weight by pulling the elbow back; this changes the direction from out to up
• Forearm rotation to change the handle angle
• Grip transition
• Let go
• Insert the hand in the corner
• Catch the weight

Racking

• Land in the rack
• It's OK to breathe again if you pause here — and you should pause here before the next rep when training/drilling
• Check your racking:
  • Elbow pulled down gently
  • Upper traps relaxed
  • Weight is resting on and distributed through the heel of your palm, forearm, and biceps
• If you're resting, pull the arm into your body to support the weight; if you're transitioning to the next rep, this isn't necessary, but it should not be flaring out

Drop into backswing

• Release the bell from the rack by rotating the forearm, so it starts its drop
• The bell is no longer resting and is now free-falling
• The elbow can be pulled back a little to keep the weight close
• Rotate the forearm so the handle is horizontal again
• Keep the arm extended until the weight enters the backswing and is close to the body
• Hip hinge and insert the weight through the legs
• Direct the weight to the back
• The weight should remain an extension of the arm at the end of the backswing
• Repeat from the pull-out phase

Should I cover common mistakes at most of the points? I just feel like I could turn this into a one-hour video covering all the finer nuances of just one exercise variation.

I have been thinking about creating this tutorial for a while, but I do not want it to be boring, so I would like your input.

I tend to talk too much and include too many details.

• How long do you reckon the video should be, and should it be split up if longer than suggested?
• Should it cover everything below, or more?
• Should I make it one, two, or three parts?
• What parts below should I go deeper into?
• Should I go through the movement bodyweight-first, or only with a light kettlebell, so I can control and pause each movement to show the intricacies of forearm rotation, grip transition, etc.?
• Should I talk faster, or just keep at the normal pace, as the topic is interesting enough?

I cover the Set up, Start, Execution, Rack, and Return.

Explain the anatomy of the kettlebell: handle, corner(s), horn(s), window, bell, and base.

Explain that this is a Hip Hinge Swingclean (one of many variations) for power. Intentionally not calling it Hardstyle so there's no need to cover the difference between RKC and StrongFirst, etc.

Set up

• Not too close, and not too far
• Hook grip the handle in the middle (explain why in the middle here or later?)
• Hike back and insert through the legs
• Breathe in deeply through the nose
• Point the weight to the back
• Pull out using the legs, generating a force so fast and explosive that the weight enters its ballistic flight (guided; explain the difference between true ballistic and guided?)
• Breathe out forcefully during the power phase, which is short
• Redirect the weight by pulling the elbow back; this changes the direction from out to up
• Forearm rotation to change the handle angle
• Grip transition
• Let go
• Insert the hand in the corner
• Catch the weight

Racking

• Land in the rack
• It's OK to breathe again if you pause here — and you should pause here before the next rep when training/drilling
• Check your racking:
  • Elbow pulled down gently
  • Upper traps relaxed
  • Weight is resting on and distributed through the heel of your palm, forearm, and biceps
• If you're resting, pull the arm into your body to support the weight; if you're transitioning to the next rep, this isn't necessary, but it should not be flaring out

Drop into backswing

• Release the bell from the rack by rotating the forearm, so it starts its drop
• The bell is no longer resting and is now free-falling
• The elbow can be pulled back a little to keep the weight close
• Rotate the forearm so the handle is horizontal again
• Keep the arm extended until the weight enters the backswing and is close to the body
• Hip hinge and insert the weight through the legs
• Direct the weight to the back
• The weight should remain an extension of the arm at the end of the backswing
• Repeat from the pull-out phase

Should I cover common mistakes at most of the points? I just feel like I could turn this into a one-hour video covering all the finer nuances of just one exercise variation.