The Graded Step Mill, Event One

One step mill, a 75 pound vest, no hand rails, 3 minutes and 20 seconds of hell - and you still have seven events left. If you have no experience on the Graded Stepmill, and you plan on taking CPAT any time soon, you need to get on the machine and make sure you know what you're up against. My advice is to start slowly, and build up to the 75 pounds over time, with initial emphasis on developing some skill climbing without the luxury of hand rails. Once the skill is developed, you can work on adding weight.

In our training we aim to extend the climbing time beyond 3:20 with 75 pounds demanded of CPAT, and include some work that will also help you pass the FDNY medical. The medical exam is another bout on the stepmill with 50 pounds for five minutes. The kicker here is you're wearing a heart rate monitor, and you must stay under a predetermined heart rate (age specific). You can't just bull your way through the medical, as you need to control any spike in the heart rate to pass. Here at FDNY / CPAT Prep, our objective is to exceed the five minutes and have you pass with flying colors!

When training on the stepmill without the aide of a CPAT coach or trainer, you'll need to decide what weight and distance you can manage within each workout, as well as how often (during the workout and during the week) you need to repeat. There is no one best answer for every candidate. That is something my staff and I evaluate with each student weekly, as we put you through rigorous CPAT Prep workouts. 

If you're on your own, my best advice is to make sure you have a quality vest that goes up to at least 75 pounds and fits you properly. You must also gain access to the Stairmaster PT 7000 (brand name) and master walking at the correct speed (60 steps per minute) without holding the handrails for at least 3:20 before donning your vest fully weighted. Training for the physical and medical simultaneously is a no brainer, as they are both are a variation on the same theme. If possible, I advise 2 or 3 step mill workouts weekly. Not every session on the stepmill has to be a maximum effort or maximum weight, but at least once a week you should be going for a pretty intense workout. Be careful, proceed with caution, but train hard, as the Stepmill is probably the main reason CPAT comes with a 70% failure rate nationally. Stepmill training is intense. If you feel light headed, or any shortness of breath stop immediately and seek medical assistance.

If you need help with this event, contact us for ongoing training options: click here for more info

Staying Healthy, Key to Big Results

To get true, long term results in fitness, you must not only work hard, but also stay healthy.  The challenge is to find a workout that's intense enough to get results, but at the same time doesn't break down and destroy your body. At 53 I'm personally fitter and stronger than I've ever been, and that's thanks to my Kettlebell Cross Performance Workouts that emphasize not only high intensity, but extreme attention to detail and technique development.

Many new and trendy approaches that are flooding today's fitness market feature ultra high intensity, a kind of mix of old school, boot camp style training with Olympic weight lifting.  Running, jumping, push ups, pull ups, burpees, combined with complicated Olympic lifts, with emphasis on moving all out, all the time. Great for elite soldiers or high level athletes, but for the masses, is this a sustainable regimen? ...or is there something better?

Kettlebell Sport
I was introduced to Kettlebell Sport Training by Valery Fedorenko in 2006. It dramatically changed the way I approached the development of fitness, strength, and conditioning, with all of my students.  Until Fedorenko introduced his methodology in the US, this tool, approach, progression, whatever label you are comfortable with, had never really been tested or even considered by Americans -- pick up a relatively heavy weight with an almost graceful fluidity (when done correctly) and lift it for time, in a high-rep set.

This process can produce dramatic changes in the human body, BUT proper, high level technique is absolutely necessary to keep yourself safe, forever moving forward. Sometimes it takes patience and a bit of will power to get past those early stages, but it 's worth the prize, a healthy, strong, muscular body that can move with explosive force, grace and fluidity, while staying pain free, reaching for an ever-greater challenge. 

Infinite Progression, Infinite Results
Kettlebell lifters get hungry. Hungry for more reps, more time, more speed, more weight, but always with ever improving technique. Our sets and protocols are endlessly quantifiable, with  built in calibration and progression that regularly allow new Personal Records (PR's), or records you set with yourself. The shifts focus from the negative (gotta get rid of my fat belly) to the positive (the challenge of getting the set done). Lifters are driven and results follow, in every attribute that measures fitness (strength, endurance, fat loss), but the process doesn't end abruptly because of a blown out knee, back, or shoulder. Technique protects.  At AKC Fitness LI, we are all about making this a lifetime endeavor.

What I also love about Kettlebell Cross Performance is the inclusion of a myriad of functional movements (think bosu ball, suspension training, push/pull ups, core focus, battling ropes), not as the centerpiece of the program, but rather the icing on the cake that acts as the final customization. As members goals vary, so do their workouts.

Our unique proven protocols, featuring high repetition kettlebell sets, in an ever changing systematic progressions, blended with goal-driven assistance work, can be repeated, and intensified, almost infinitely. There's no ceiling on progression because of the emphasis on proper technique, which translates into an extremely low rate of injury and interruption in your training, or your results!

You can learn more about Kettlebell Cross Performance on our website: CLICK HERE

10 Reasons to Become a WKC Certified Kettlebell Instructor at AKC Fitness LI

with Master Trainer Mike Stefano
Since my first meeting with AKC head Coach, and Kettlebell World Champion, Valery Fedorenko, I was blown away by his Kettlebell Integrity - everything for the sake of better, more sound, results-orientated training, not just profit or financial gain. Kettlebells, to Valery Fedorenko, are serious business, his approach sacred. After working side by side with Valery, I too take a very serious approach in my training, always attempting to preserve the integrity and purity of what I've learned, and it's exactly what you get me when you take the WKC Kettelbell Trainer Course at AKC Fitnes LI, a gym devoted to kettlebell lifting for both fitness and performance. Below is my list of the top 10 reason to choose AKC Fitness LI as the place to earn your WKC kettlebell trainer's license.

TEN REASONS TO CERTIFY AT AKC FITNESS LI

1. AKC Fitness LI is a full time kettlebell training facility
2. Mike Stefano, a published fitness author (The Firefighter's Workout Book, HarperCollins 2000), has a unique understanding of human movement
3. Pure WKC / Fedorenko Methodology is always at the forefront or our training
4. In addition to the WKC Elite Fitness Protocol, we've developed our own unique programs and cross performance protocols
5. We boast a full professional staff of trainers and coaches and we staff our certs with at least 4  trainers / coaches working every trainer course
6. We offer vast experience training lifters at every level, every day
7. All of our trainers possess a deep understanding of the sophisticated movements involved
8. We specialize in management of pain and injuries with technique correction
9. We demonstrate how to integrate kettlebell lifting into other fitness modalities
10. We focus on teaching you how to teach 

CONVENIENTLY LOCATED
We're conveniently located on the south shore of Long Island, 30 minutes from JFK airport with plenty of lodging and accommodations nearby. We're also less than 50 minutes from Penn Station in New York City. We've certified people as WKC Kettlebell Trainers from as far as the UK and Indonesia, and continue to provide high level service globally. If you're interested in getting certified as World kettlebell trainer, visit our website to register, or for more information: CLICK HERE

HIGHLIGHT REEL FROM RECENT TRAINER CERT