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Brian Copeland's
Core Fitness Newsletter

Issue #43 - 10/30/2009

1. Announcement: "Trainers Wanted"
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2. Announcement:"HUGE Discount on I-Phase DVDs from Z-Health"
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3. Your Body: "Understanding Your Pain"
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4. Health Tip: "Take Responsibility for YOUR Health"
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5. Hall of Achievements:
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6. Training Tip: "The Tiger Woods of Strength"
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7. Kettlebell / Z-Health Testimonials:
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8. Self-Defense / Martial Arts Testimonials:
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9. Got Grip: "Seriously Strong Hands ebook"
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10. Self-Defense / Martial Arts Tip: "The Almighty Eye Flick"
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11. Recommended Products: "Gymboss, Z-Health, Dragon Door, more" .
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12. Denver Metro Area: "Kettlebell & Self-Defense Classes in Aurora"
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13. Personalized Program Design: "Tired of Not Reaching Your Goals?"
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1. Announcement:
"Trainers Wanted"

Copeland's Core Fitness is looking for qualified fitness, yoga or Martial Arts instructors to rent space at my Aurora, CO studio. Candidates must be professional and business minded.

For inquiries please contact Brian here

2. Announcement:
"HUGE Discount on I-Phase DVDs from Z-Health"

Z-Health is rebranding all of their material and thus they are blowing out existing stock of DVDs and manuals.

The content is NOT changing, only the covers. So basically if you purchase one of the old DVDs you are getting the same material for a significant discount.

They are literally blowing through these quickly so hurry and get 'em.

I already purchased a couple dozen of the R-Phase DVDs to sell to my clients and they are now out.

I-Phase DVD & manual


click here for the I-Phase DVD & manual

 

Who should be doing I-Phase?

If you have been doing R-Phase for at least 12 weeks then you are ready to start with the I-Phase program. Even if you are new to Z-Health you might as well pick this up now while it is so cheap; you can begin doing the R-Phase program now and play around with some I-Phase drills on the side.


What is I-Phase?

I-Phase is Level 2 of Z-Health's progressive series. It all starts with the R-Phase which stands for Restoration, Rehabilitation and Reeducation. I-Phase stands for Integration.

The I-Phase (Integration) series is the next step in turning your body into a finely-tuned machine capable of doing exactly what you want, when you want it to. I-Phase is the result of a 20+ year study of the movement patterns of the world’s most elite athletes AND how to incorporate those exact patterns into your body, quickly and efficiently.

Learn how to unleash your athletic potential, building world-class movement patterns into you body in record time.

The Z-Health® I-Phase Training Series offers easy-to-follow instructions on two separate DVD’s with an accompanying manual.

Disc 1: Dr. Eric Cobb guides you through a follow-along practice session that will challenge every joint and muscle in your body — powerfully, safely, and effectively.

Disc 2: Dr. Eric Cobb offers the in-depth instruction and precise details that are a hallmark of the Z-Health system and so necessary for getting maximum results in minimum time.

3. Your Body: "Understanding Your Pain"

For the record, I almost didn't write this article. Treating pain can be very controversial and many folks are in one way or another married to their pain. Many people will get quite upset when they find out that their pain is not from an injury at all and can often be eliminated in just a few seconds. So if you are married to your pain, if you are getting some strange emotional gratification out of it then don't read this article. If however you would like to see the direction that modern science is going, read on.


Pain can be perplexing and even more frustrating than rush hour traffic. Sure there are some types of pain that make sense, such as if you slam your hand in a car door you will feel pain in your hand.

But other types of pain can be much more complicated. Low back pain for instance. We often here people say they "blew their back out," which of course is absurd unless you are unable to walk and have bones sticking out all over the place.

Doctors often tell us we have herniated or bulging discs, torn rotator cuffs and all kinds of other things which we may or may not have and which may or may not even cause any pain.

For instance, there have been studies where a control group of people who all had zero back pain were put under MRI. It was discovered that 80% of them had herniated or bulging discs or spinal stenosis. Another control group of people who all had low back pain were put under MRI only to discover that only 20% of them had any disc problems at all.

Clearly the commonly used medical model is not getting the clear picture of what causes pain. Unfortunately this is creating a lot of bad medical practices where people are paying lot of money to have someone cut into them and alter their God-given natural bodies. That isn't to say there are not appropriate times for surgery; if you are in a car accident and your leg is broken then you better find a good Orthopedic Surgeon.

Having said that, I believe surgery is prescribed far too often when it is not even needed and often won't even help. With modern science we have a much clearer picture of what causes pain and how we can eliminate it with often very easy non-invasive methods.

The model of pain most commonly used today was invented around 1750, well before we even knew what a brain did or what a nervous system was. In the last 20 or so years remarkable strides have been made in understanding what causes pain and thus Neurophysiologists have proposed a completely different model of what causes pain.

No, not Enter the Matrix! Although human neurology might seem that way sometimes. Anyone who has ever seen me demonstrate the arthrokenetic reflex test, or muscle test someone and then jam a joint or have them change an eye position and become ridiculously weak will tell you that the human nervous system is crazy!

Well it is, and it does weird things with pain in our bodies.

You see, up until recently science knew very little about the brain. Only with the invention of the functional MRI have we really been able to see what is going on inside your brain. We now know that pain is a multidimensional process. It is not merely an experience that happens when you stub your toe.

We now know that there is no such thing in your body as a pain nerve, or a nerve that senses pain and tells your brain to make you hurt. No, rather we have nerves that relay information about pressure, hot, cold, wet, dry, prickly, tickle and more. Then our brain decides what to do with that information.

The most important element from the previous paragraph is what exactly does our brain decide to do with the information fed to it by our various neural sensations.

I have copied the following research paper from www.oppapers.com.

Pain Neuromatrix And The Physiotherapy Patient

The body–self neuromatrix is a term used to describe the interconnected maze of nerves that carry the painful stimulus to all the different areas of the brain such as the central cortex, thalamus and limbic system that are involved in perceiving, reacting to and regulating pain. (Keefe, Abernethy & Campbell 2005, Melzack 2005, 2001, 1999, Moseley 2003)

Essentially three different areas of information feed into the neuromatrix.

1. Sensory information from our physical body (skin, muscle, organs etc).
2. Cognitive information from past experiences, memory, mood, anxiety, and attention.
3. Emotional information from the limbic system and homeostatic information (Melzack 2005)

The neuromatrix generates the following three functions
a. Perception of pain
b. Action plan
c. Stress-regulation instructions (Melzack 2005)

All these attributes form what is termed the neurosignature of pain. Each person has their own unique neurosignatures which are determined partly by genetics and partly by environmental experiences. (Melzack 2005, 2001, 1999)

The presence of memory in the neuromatrix also allows us to feed-forward or anticipate pain, this helps us avoid danger.(Melzack 2005)

The neuromatrix helps explain hyperalgesia or why the experience of pain sometimes seems out of proportion with the physical injury. Your frame of mind at the time of injury, memory of past experiences and general health influence the neurosignature and therefore the experience of pain. (Melzack 2005, 2001, 1999)

So in a nutshell what this is saying is that pain is the creation of the brain as a survival response to perceived threat. If your brain thinks you need to survive from something it might very well make you feel pain in order to make you take notice of something and take action.

Consider this, you were kneeling down below a cabinet. You stand quickly and bump your head. You feel pain. You then rub your head and the pain fades and often goes away. You may have a sore spot where you hit but that sudden intense blast of pain goes away as soon as you hit your head.

Based on the Pain Neuromatrix, here is what happened.

1. You hit your head. This sent pressure signals (baroreception and nociception) to the cerebellum and brain stem.
   
   
2. The brain took the sensory information and compared it to your stored memories and current emotional state.
   
   
3. Based on the combined information your brain decided to create a pain signal of 7 on a scale from 1-10.
   
   
4. This pain signal was to force you to take a look to see if you had indeed injured yourself, i.e.. prediction of injury. This is important, your brain wants you to physically check to see if you are hurt or not.
   
   
5. So, you rub your head. Upon rubbing your head your hand sends pressure signals back to the brain that tell it that you do not feel any bones protruding through your skull, nor do you feel any wetness (blood). So at this point the whole purpose for feeling the pain goes away and thus you receive a near instant relief from the pain.

Now, if you had felt bone protruding or blood your brain may not have stopped the pain signal or decreased it as much. Heck it is even possible that your brain may have released endorphins that numbed the pain so you could escape the impending threat (this is the runner's high often experienced by distance athletes). Your brain thinks you were bashed over the head by a rival and now you must fight or flee for your survival. Pain would only get in the way.

How does your brain determine whether to take the pain away so you can fight or flee or to keep the pain there so you go see a doctor?

Well that friends is all part of the complexity of pain. The answer might be different for each person based on their emotional state, their stored memories, their natural tendencies towards stress, violence, anger, etc.


I don't want to get too out there in theory without telling you how you might be able to decrease the pain you feel in your body, assuming you feel pain.

1) If you feel pain, first determine if it is injury or not.
This may sound strange since we have been conditioned to think that pain is always the result of injury, but frankly most of the time it is not. If you have had chronic pain in an area for a long time, it is most likely not an injury. If you just tried to cut an avocado open and cut the tip of your thumb off then you can be assured it is pain from a real injury.

2) Seek a specialist who can figure out what isn't working in your body.
Your pain might be caused by a movement problem. A joint that doesn't work right is a huge threat to the brain as you may not be able to fight that saber toothed tiger over the dead deer for dinner. Seek someone who can identify and correct movement issues, such as a Z-Health certified Movement Reeducation Specialist.

Your pain might be caused by too much stress and have deeper emotional roots. A psychotherapist might come into play here. Someone who can identify the reasons you give yourself so much negative self talk, or why you allow yourself to be walked all over by others. Or perhaps why you carry your emotions on the inside without having a healthy way to release them.

Think I'm sounding all new-agey or something. Read the Pain Neuromatrix again. Pain can be caused or amplified by cognitive and emotional information about stress, pent up anger and more.

If you live an unhappy life I can pretty much guarantee you that you will have unexplained pain. Whether you fess up to being unhappy or not.


To wrap things up a bit here are some tips for avoiding pain:

• Do daily joint mobility exercise, particularly Z-Health. This reeducates your body that each joint is working properly so the brain will have no mechanical reason to need to "survive."
  
  
• Decrease your stress in life. Your brain and body were designed to survive stress, but not our modern day stress. We were designed to survive 'fighting for your life' type stress, 'chasing your dinner' stress or running from being another animal's dinner stress. Not 'boss yelling at you' type stress or financial problems stress.
  
  
• Don't let people push you around, this has serious threat and survival implications to your brain heightening a state called sympathetic nervous system. In layman's terms it is called fight or flight response. Do you think you would be in more of a survival mode during "fight or flight" response? Of course you would be; and the more time you spend in this state the more likely you are of having nagging chronic pains.
  
  
• Eat good food, bad food is a type of stress to your body and it must survive somehow so it will send you pains to tell you that your organs are failing. Of course you have basically no neural sensation for your organs so where do you feel the pain? Usually a joint or muscle. Low back, knees and shoulders are common places to feel pain when your kidneys are ill. Yeah, no joke!
  
  
• Quit screwing with it! Seriously, if you feel pain the last thing you want to do is repeat it over and over and practice feeling it. Don't get "good at feeling pain." Pain is a learned response and you can get really good at feeling it so much so that it becomes a learned response that the brain will actually create every time you perform a certain action. I used to have this scenario with tennis elbow when I would snatch a kettlebell, do a pullup or tear a deck of cards. Luckily I retrained my brain so I no longer feel that awful pain. The most effective pain fighting medicine is to distract your brain. Watch comedy, get a light massage but not on the area that is hurting, do some Z-Health on a different area of the body, get a Chiropractic adjustment on a different area of the body. The point here being do something different than feel the pain; distract the brain away from it since it isn't really an injury anyway, it will go away. We are not trying to fix the injury because frankly there may not even be an injury. If it is a movement problem then Z-Health will fix it.

The human brain is still a huge mystery. What we do know is that it remodels itself constantly based on what we are doing. I mean every single second of every single day your brain is building new nerves or destroying old ones.

That is why people who were paralyzed from the waist down are now doing plyometric box jumps. It is why people who had a leg amputated feel a burning feeling in their foot, even though they no longer have a foot. It is the reason why you can punch Mike Tyson in the head as hard as you want and he won't really care but you can barely touch someone with Regional Sympathetic Dystrophy in the side of the leg and they fall into a quivering ball of pain. Same reason that conventional doctors can't explain Fibromyalgia. They are using the wrong theoretical model of pain.

Hopefully you now realize that you have a degree of control over the pain you feel based on how you live your life, your emotional state and your way of dealing with stress. Clearly much much more could be said about this topic.

But ultimately if you have gone to numerous doctors to take away your pain and it hasn't worked then there is something deeper going on than an injury. Doctors deal with injury, not with pain.

Z-Health deals with bodies that don't perform correctly and this almost always takes away pain as a result of getting the body to work the way it is supposed to work.

You can't stop death but you can have a more enjoyable life on the way there!

Until next time, train like an athlete not a hamster!

PS. If you are watching late-night infomercials and are thinking of buying the "Ab Gizmo 3000" or "Dance Your Way to a Super Six-Pack" don't bother. Save yourself some hard earned doubloons and instead purchase my Personalized Program Design. I'll get you better results with your own body weight and you won't have to make installments on an expensive piece of crap that sits in the corner collecting dust for the next 10 years for crying out loud!

4. Health Tip:
"Take Responsibility for YOUR Health"

I have long believed that most of our nation's and world's health problems are caused by none other than us. Not old age, not design flaws in our bodies, not any made up diseases or syndromes but simply our lifestyles.

You don't have pain in your body because you are getting old, get rid of that type of thinking, it will only doom you to feel pain the rest of your life. If it were true then why are there people in their 90s who are athletic and not in pain?

One of my clients told me about a video on Dr. Mercola's website that illustrated our general medical community pretty darn well and it had me laughing hysterically, even though it is unfortunately the truth.

Check it out here: The Town of Allopath

Now how do we break the cycle and escape the Town of Allopath?

We do it by taking responsibility for our own health and wellness. That is not to say that we don't need Doctors, oh quite the contrary. If you break a bone I can't Z-Health it up for you. You need an Orthopedic Surgeon for that, and you will want a really good one for that matter!

But getting vertebrae fused because your L5 is sublexating or your L4/L5 disc is herniating is crazy old washed up science. There are much better things out there for fixing this which are non-invasive... did someone say dynamic joint mobility and neural reeducation (a.k.a. Z-Health)?

Most of the diseases and organ problems that people have are caused by 3 things:
1) Too much stress
2) Too little movement (think exercise & joint mobility)
3) Poor nutrition

Now I'm not throwing spaghetti against the wall hoping it sticks, this has been proven by scientific research.

High cholesterol has been empirically shown to not be the cause of heart disease, but ask most Doctors and they will tell you that you need to go on a prescription statin drug that will lower your cholesterol... Even though those drugs have been proven to increase your risk for heart attacks!!! Don't believe me? Read the warning labels on your pill bottles.

Worried about the swine flu? You shouldn't have much if anything to worry about if you have a strong immune system.


So if you are ready to make the decision to live a healthier life, to be there for your grand kids, to be pain-free, to live life to the fullest then it is time to take charge and make changes.

Well I would start by signing up for my newsletter... oh you probably already do. Well then read it... well if you have made it this far yo probably do.

Sign up for Dr. Mercola's newsletter, he has a plethora of good information and provides the research to back it up.


The Top 5 Things You Can Start Doing Today for Optimal Health!

1. Start doing Z-Health dynamic joint mobility work
   Start with the R-Phase DVD/manual. I don't care if you don't understand why you are doing these simple movements, your body will begin feeling and working better than it ever has! This is as simple as 5 minutes per day.
   
   
2. Eat Better
   Include more organic vegetables, organic meats, nuts and seeds into your meals. Cut back on the amount of grains and sugars you eat. You don't have to quit everything you like, heck I still eat some bad stuff here and there. Just make 80-90% of the food you eat good choices.
   
   
3. Supplement what you can't get enough of
   For most of us that is Omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin D3 and possibly more.
   
   
4. Exercise Daily
   This can be 5-20 minutes of kettlebell swings and get-ups or it can be something else. Just do it.
   
   
5. Lower the Stress
   Get 8 hours of quality sleep. Find a job you like doing and coworker you like being around. Treat you family and spouse the way you would want to be treated. Stick up for yourself, be a strong and honorable person. Find God. Surround yourself with people who are happy and successful and treat you great. Become part of a group that provides encouragement and a means to self improvement (such as my group kettlebell / Z-Health class).

Finally, understand that the process of change takes time. It is not 21 days to break a habit as some would claim. Learning new habits and breaking old ones is a process and should be done slowly and steadily. Start by changing a few things at a time. Continuing to read articles and newsletters like mine and Dr. Mercola's can remind you of healthy habits you may have forgotten about.

Your health is waiting, go take it.

5. Hall of Achievements:

Our newest updates:..

• Debbie Yenchick - Military Pressed 2 x 26 lb kettlebells x 5 reps
  
  
• Kelly Roberts Estep - 1-Arm Row with 62 lbs
  
  
• Georgie Molinski - Military Pressed 2 x 26 lb kettlebells x 8 reps
  
  
• Georgie Molinski - Military Pressed a 35 lb kettlebell
  
  
• Kelly Roberts Estep - 80 Snatches in 5 minutes with a 35 lb kettlebell
  
  
• Jen Halpin - Deadlifted 140 lbs (2 x 70 lb kettlebells)

6. Training Tip:
"The Tiger Woods of Strength"


Working out is lame!

Ok maybe it isn't lame, heck if it helps people stay healthy then it is actually good.

But if you have some serious goals to accomplish then don't merely "work out," rather "train."

Just semantics right? Wrong!

Working out involves exercising in a somewhat unfocused fashion with little to no direction with the user hoping that they will reach a desired outcome (fat loss, strength increase, performance goal, etc.)

Training involves taking a look at an area of your fitness that you want to improve upon and putting direct cognitive effort into improving it.

Pavel Tsatsouline, Chief RKC Instructor, says that when it comes to strength training a focus on improving technique will beat out a well designed program every single time.

Dr. Eric Cobb, D.C., created Z-Health Performance Solutions to improve the way that people move and thus perform.

Minute detail of the timing, speed and effort of each joint movement can make or break the deal when it comes to optimal performance. Whether optimal performance means pulling a heavier deadlift, running a faster 40, performing more snatches, punching and kicking with more force or simply the ability to exercise longer and harder so you can burn more calories, optimal performance is ALWAYS the goal.


The way most people exercise is with an emphasis on pure effort but with poor quality. Do you think Tiger Woods got to his level with this approach to golf?

Every time Tiger goes to the golf course there is a specific plan in mind. Today he is going to practice with his 5 iron and make sure his right knee is rotating in fully; as this will allow him better accuracy. Tomorrow he is going to focus on making sure his backswing on his tee off is timed just right to get a good stretch reflex for his return stroke.

Ok, I actually don't know jack about golf but you get the idea.

Last week when I lifted I focused on keeping a long decompressed spine during my double snatch and military press. This week I am focusing on making sure that I keep my elbows under my fists while I press. Every single session, every single rep has a specific technique focus that I am trying to improve upon. As I improve on that area my performance will go up. I will lift more, put on more muscle, burn more calories, move better as an athlete, etc.

This too should be your focus.

So whatever exercises you currently do, consult an expert on the topic and fine tune your technique. Once your technique is fine tuned, go back and super fine tune it.

If you are following any of Pavel's barbell, kettlebell or bodyweight programs make sure to go back and re-read the exercise descriptions. Find the subtle details that you are missing. When you have all of these ironed out find someone smarter than you to teach you even more.

If you are one of my clients ask me what areas to focus on for the exercises you perform.

Now I'm going to be completely frank with you. Most of you do not have enough body control and awareness to even do half of the more advanced techniques that will greatly improve your performance.

How could you possibly even be able to understand how to apply bone rhythms, joint distractions, oculo-motor reflex eye positions, decompress nerves in your wrists, spine and more when you can't even do a good R-Phase scapular camshaft from Z-Health?


So what is the answer?

1. Refine your exercise/sport technique as best as you can with the tools you have today.
   
   
2. Get on a first name basis with Z-Health's 33+ R-Phase moves and learn to control all of your joints at different speeds.
   
   
3. Now refine your exercise/sport technique even more with your new tool set.
   
   
4. Progress to the I-Phase and master all of those moves in all of the various athletic positions.
   
   
5. Now refine your exercise/sport technique even more.
   
   
6. Seek out a superb coach who is better than you and refine even more with you newly supercharged quick learning body.

I can always tell which of my clients do Z-Health at home on a consistent basis. It is the ones who I teach a new technique or refine an existing one and they learn it right away.

Bruce Lee, Tiger Woods, Toni Jaa, Michael Jordan, etc. may not have had Z-Health but they still put a tremendous emphasis on mastering the basics and subtleties of their sport. If you want to be mediocre then don't act like these folks. If you want to be incredible then act like the champs do.

"Success leaves clues!"

Pavel Tsatsouline calls strength training sessions "practice sessions," Dr. Cobb calls strength training "threat modulation" training. In a nutshell, when you exercise you are practicing being as good as you can possibly be at your chosen endeavor. Make sure you aren't practicing effort and allowing your technique to degrade into a sloppy mess of garbage.

Now go "train!"

7. Kettlebell / Z-Health Testimonials:


A Year ago I would have laughed and said "no way!"

I have been following the Personalized Program that Brian developed for me since March 09 and have been thrilled with the results. I met Brian the previous year while visiting family in CO. During a 1 on 1 session he gave me great advice on improving my form and suggested the appropriate kb weights that I could handle. After working out on my own, while I was making progress and hooked on kettlebells, I wanted to get to the next level and knew that Brian's program was the way to go to reach my goal. Brian gives excellent feedback, adjusts my program when he sees that I'm ready for more, and motivates me to keep going and does this all from ~ 1800 miles away.

I'm now performing 5 strict pullups, can military press a 35 lb kettlebell for 10 reps and am very close to hitting 100 reps in the RKC snatch test. I will be attending the RKC in April!

If you had told me a year and a half ago that I'd be at this point, I would have laughed and said "no way!"

Kelly - D.C.

Rare gift of being able to correct and encourage at the same time

Brian is a professional. He knows more about the human body than most trainers. He has the rare gift of being able to correct and encourage at the same time. He has fresh ideas and a great attitude.

I have felt better than I have in years. I have lost inches, weight and am beginning to have shape again. My neck and back pain are gone!!! My knee has opened up and is working again.

Brian is an excellent coach, I feel comfortable and confident working with him. I am amazed at how good I feel and that I can lift and do exercises that I didn't think I could.

My blood work when I had my physical was excellent and my Doctor complimented me on my improvements. The nurses can not usually get blood from me but now my veins don't collapse so now they can draw blood.

Thank you Brian you are the best!!

M. Rogers - Colorado

110 Snatches in 5 minutes with a 53 lb kettlebell!

I began working with Brian about a year ago after reading his posts on the Dragondoor forum. I don't live anywhere near him, but I chose him because I could tell he knew what he was talking about, his advice is level-headed, and he was always respectful on the forum. At first I paid to have him set up a training regimen for me that I was using for much of the last year.

I finally flew out to see him and received excellent 1-on-1 instruction on technique.

When I signed up for the RKC cert in Philly, I called Brian right away. I had 9 weeks to prepare. Brian set me up with a strict diet of the 6 moves they teach and I was off to "practice" my strength. He followed the Light-Med-Heavy pattern we know from Pavel's work, but he streamlined it to passing the RKC. By the time came for the RKC, I had passed the snatch test 5 times on my own, with my best being 110 reps in 5 mins. I showed up at the event with the knowledge that I would own 100, and I did.

For anyone that has been through an RKC knows, the snatch test is the first 5 minutes of 3 days of hell. Beyond the fact that my hands and forearms hurt too bad to close after the first day and about 3,000 swings, I really did feel prepared. Brian, with his background in Z-Health and KB's, made sure my training was precise, but also made sure that I showed up fresh and able to nail the 6 moves with a calm body. He made me train fresh and rock the Z-Health. I would say that I felt as physically prepared as one can feel for such a challenging 3 days. I would recommend Brian to anyone who wants a to nail down their strength and fitness goals.

David Beares L.Ac., RKC - Maryland

I Love My Kettlebell Classes!

I've worked out for years but I noticed that the older I got, the results were much slower (or non-existent). I was looking for something to shake up my body and get it pumping again. I read about kettlebells and thought that it sounded fun and maybe a little interesting. Before I met Brian, I visited another trainer who put me through a "Boot Camp" type class that incorporated kettlebells as part of the workout. It was brutal and I never went back.

I was still convinced that I should find a "real" kettlebell instructor so I searched in the area. I found Brian and his bccorefitness website. After my previous experience I perused his website diligently for days. Finally, I emailed Brian and asked a few questions. He promptly emailed me back and invited me to his Monday Beginner Level class; after I attended that session, I was hooked. He impressively managed a group of beginners and no one felt slighted; I saw the benefits of kettlebell training and I went back the next week!

Now, I attend group classes three times a week and love it. Brian's approach is terrific; he explains and demonstrates all moves eloquently, with patience and understanding. His classes are a pleasure and full of extra tidbits (Z-Health, nutrition tips, etc.). I walk away feeling tired, but exhilarated at the same time. I've lost 12 pounds, feel strong, and am sleeping better than I have in years.

I can't recommend Brian enough; he cares about his clients and is committed to helping all of his clients achieve their maximum potential, not only in fitness, but in life! My goal is to have a "sexy" back, and with Brian's help, I'm almost there... little black dress, watch out!

Debbie - Aurora, Colorado

Online Training The Best!!

Brian, has helped me reached my goals and helped designed a program
around my minor injures.
Thru his recommendation of z-health, it has helped eliminate my shoulder pain.
His program for me has meet my needs and then some.
Brian is also very knowledgeable about diet-heart health and any exercise programs that will reach your goals
Money well spent!!!!

john m - brighton me

I noticed I am developing buns of steel and can leap tall buildings in a single bound!

Training with Brian improved my fitness in 5 ways:
1. Able to feel more confident doing kettlebell exercises
2. Gained a 'virtual belt' approach to lifting
3. Breathing techniques decreased strain when lifting
4. Eye exercises increased my strength and range of motion
5. Able to leap tall buildings with a single bound

The training is fun, at the right level of difficulty, is organized, safe and the studio is well ventilated, has plenty of room and is easy to get to.

I noticed that I am developing buns of steel! I plan to do a survey.

Steven - Colorado

Great Instructor

Brian is an excellent Instructor with a good sense of humor. He is very good at teaching Kettlebells in a safe and interesting way. I have enjoyed his classes and have learned a lot, and I feel like my KB training is much stronger and safer than it was before. Keep up the good work.

Nathan Taylor - Denver, CO USA

Brian is energetic which makes learning fun

Brian is energetic which makes learning fun. He makes kettlebells not intimidating and shows that everyone can use them.

In his beginner level class I learned better movement and several great exercises to do with my kettlebells. I also learned to keep a focus on a neutral long spine and now have confidence with the exercises that I won't get hurt.

Lisa - Colorado

Brian is an excellent teacher

Brian is an excellent teacher. The exercises were broken down slowly and simply improving the learning process, knowledge retention and form. He offers interesting facts about fitness as we learn so we get more than just kettlebell technique.

I now have a strong back, better flexibility, coordination, stamina and strength. I have a lot more thought in my movements.

Mary Beth - Colorado

Brian is a Kettlebell Master

Brian is a Kettlebell Master, he is an excellent teacher who doesn't push you too hard like a personal trainer. The training goes smooth. My strength is up in my shoulders, biceps, back, quads and glutes. My posture is even better and I'm stronger over all.

Jack - Colorado

8. Self-Defense / Martial Arts Testimonials:

Brian is “the Real Deal”

1. I went from zero confidence to being confident that I could actually be effective in defending myself.
2. I now believe that thanks to this class I would not freeze in fear if I was approached by someone with possible intent to harm
3. I know what weapons are the most effective, and which ones are not worth the trouble.
4. I know how to train to be able to defend myself.
5. I am much calmer and much more observant in public
 
I have had several other martial arts and self defense classes. As far as them teaching me something practical to use in a real world situation, there is simply no comparison. I took a Shaolin Kung Fu class, and another CFU self defense course but this was the best.
 
I have already enthusiastically recommended this class to three friends of mine.
 
This class was better than what I had thought, and the confidence it has instilled was quite unexpected. I would highly recommend this class. .
 
I hope to be able to continue learning self defense and practical martial arts from Brian, he is “the Real Deal,” as well as being a natural and effective teacher.  The class was very well done, serious, but also fun.
 
Sincerely,
James

Void of Ego and Arrogance

1. I have increased my situational awareness of my everyday surroundings and I am no longer walking around oblivious to my environment.
2. I have been taught some very simple moves that when executed with speed can get me out of trouble and possibly save my life.
3. The situational case studies that we discussed in class I found to be very informative such as handling traffic accident confrontations/road rage etc.
4. I have learned the value of always being armed with a folding knife so as to have a deterrent and not be caught defenseless.
5. Perhaps most importantly Brian has reinforced what I have always practiced in terms of avoiding fights and confrontations whenever possible.

Having had more college instructors and other business instructors than I care to remember, I am very impressed by Brian's knowledge and his patient demeanor that is void of ego and arrogance.

I would recommend Brian without any hesitation. He really knows his material and he teaches it in a very open, friendly, and non-threatening style.

Jack

Excellent Opportunity to Learn

I learned:
1. How to better handle a knife in a fight.
2. How to get someone off the top of me.
3. How to better defend myself.

This is an excellent opportunity to learn self-defense.

Dana

9. Got Grip:
"Seriously Strong Hands ebook"


If you are interested in Grip training you owe it to yourself to get Brian Copeland's Seriously Strong Hands - it will guide you through building a Grip you can be proud of - because remember - the stronger your hands are the stronger your body can be!
This is the grip book I should have written a few years ago.

- Brett Jones CSCS, Master RKC, certified Red Nail bender


"In his ebook Seriously Strong Hands, Brian Copeland has put together a no-nonsense guide for the aspiring gripster. Filled with useful tips and no fluff, it is a valuable resource for the beginning grip enthusiast."

- David Whitley, Sr. RKC (tearer & terror of many phone books!)


I purchased your ebook about a month ago. Your ebook very much summarizes all aspects of strength training for bending/tearing. You also give a great plan for improving strength; following this plan leads to success for sure. I just tore a full deck of cards (wrapped in duct tape) in half, so I know what I am talking about... :-)

- Peter Lakatos, RKC Team Leader
Hungary, Budapest



If you are ready to get grip, here is the tool to get you there.

Learn more about it here

10. Self-Defense / Martial Arts Tip:
"The Almighty Eye Flick"

It is rare that I will talk about a specific technique when it comes to Martial Arts or Self-Defense. Techniques are meant to be modified based on the user's abilities, size, age, gender, etc.

The one technique that I teach everyone is the simple eye flick.

Now an eye flick is not an eye gouge, no one is loosing an eye here folks.

An eye flick is typically performed by simply flicking your outstretched fingers at one of your attacker's eyes. Even if you don't hit your attacker in the eye it will still make them flinch giving you an opportunity to then follow up with another attack.

If it does hit, oh Nelly look out! Your attacker will likely crumple to the floor in pain.

The beauty of the eye flick is that it can be done from virtually any position; seated, standing, on the ground, in close tight quarters or while moving around at boxing range, even giving you a few extra inches of reach over a punch or palm strike; and the result will be much better.

An added bonus, it really won't cause permanent injury to your opponent. For those of you who morally don't want to hurt anyone else (even if they are trying to hurt you) don't need to worry about accidentally killing someone or giving them brain damage with a well landed punch or elbow (which does happen!) Also if you don't want legal recourse in a self-defense situation you can simply eye flick someone and leave the hostile location ASAP.

In a multiple attacker scenario if you can land an eye flick on one of the attackers that will effectively take them out of the fight like yesterday. Even if they continue to attack you they will not be as effective and will be out of the fight for several seconds while they recover. Trust me, I've seen this multiple times!


Pointers to an effective eye flick:

• Don't telegraph - if your attacker can see it coming then they can avoid it. As Bruce Lee said, your attack should be felt first and then only seen as it recoils. Move first from the hand.

• Keep your fingers flexed - this will keep you from jamming your own fingers if you miss and hit their forehead.

• Fan your fingers out - keeping them spread a little gives you a better chance of hitting a small target like the eye.


Your odds of landing an eye flick while moving around with someone already throwing punches is less than it would be as a surprise first move, however, the odds are just as good as landing a jab or cross so use it!

For you MMA guys and other sport fighters, sorry, this is a pure non-rules attack. There is a reason why self-defense is different than Martial Arts for sport. If eye flicks were allowed in MMA then fights would be over almost instantly and the ground game would have to drastically change as every time someone went for a submission they would need to be wary of their eyes. The same way the ground BJJ game had to change when put into an MMA setting where elbows and punches were being thrown. Remember a long time ago when headbutts were allowed in the UFC? They removed them because it made the ground game far too dangerous. Great for self-defense though!

To learn more, visit my Martial Arts/ Self Defense site here:
www.progressivecombatsystems.com