Dan Mahoney, RKC-II trains his corporate clients in this Downtown Boston in-office gym.
Implementing a Plan and Call to Action
A call to action and buy-in process was my first priority. I met with as many people as possible for their individual movement screens, to discuss their personal goals, and to find out how they thought I could help their department and the company as a whole. When I compiled my notes, I clearly saw that my instinct was correct—kettlebells would undoubtedly benefit this group. They all needed and wanted general strength and conditioning, and to keep off the pounds. The older employees who may have had a recent injury or were dealing with chronic pain wanted to get rid of that pain. So, for the next week I moved twenty two of my personal kettlebells (which ranged from 12kg up to 48kg) to the office gym. I got more than a few confused looks while walking through the streets of downtown Boston!
As an RKC, I knew that not everyone would be ready for swings right away, and I did not expect them to just jump in and deadlift from the floor. At first, the most important thing was that they bought into the idea that proper training and improving the way they moved was more beneficial than getting put through the wringer for an hour. All of them expected that a session would leave them in a pool of sweat, and that they would wake up the next day worse than the day before. Because they thought that fitness was all about gasping for air on the floor at the end of the training session, they expected to be sweaty, sore, and buried!
The RKC system has and continues to provide the employees a new understanding of the benefits of actual training. To date, I have been able to incorporate the big six of the RKC (swing, squat, clean, press, get-up and snatch) with some of the more advanced and dedicated employees, while the new and intermediate employees are still reaping the benefits of deadlifts, swings, squats, get-ups and light single arm pressing. They have accomplished great things—pressing the 24kg to completing pistols. Our CEO—who didn’t quite understand why I was having him swing or do get-ups at first—has been on a heavy dose of get-ups, swings, arm bars and other mobility work I learned during my RKC-II.
The goal of the health and wellness program is not to simply make people as strong as possible, even though some of them are really excelling. Our goal is to create a comfortable, healthy atmosphere where people strive to improve themselves on both a personal and professional level. Equally as important, I aim to educate each employee to safely and successfully perform movements that improve their fitness and quality of life.
I urge all RKC Instructors to look for opportunities to challenge their coaching abilities outside health clubs, gyms, and studios—and to spread the RKC message to those who might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience it. I have learned more about myself as a coach in the past nine months than I ever did while working at a conventional fitness facility. I am continuing to expand my comfort zone to include situations like speaking in front of the company, working with new issues presented by different employees, and learning how to build relationships that will inevitably grow my own business.
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