Viking Warrior Conditioning

Kenneth Jay’s VO2max protocols have already become an underground legend in the world of advanced strength and endurance training. Now, here is the complete theory and battleplan for forging that heart of elastic steel—from the Viking warrior himself.

“It’s not often in the world of physical training that something comes along so special, so unique, and so effective that it causes a paradigm shift in how people train and think about training. Louie Simmons turned the powerlifting world upside down with his inspired reinvention of how to train the powerlift. Pavel did the same thing and more with the Russian Kettlebell Challenge. And now, Kenneth Jay has taken the Tsar of the Kettlebell lifts—the kettlebell snatch—and created a method of training so revolutionary that it causes us to rethink everything we thought we knew about cardiovascular training and how to incorporate it into our strength and conditioning programs.

The training program really forces you to hit on all cylinders at once: speed, power, efficiency of movement (you can’t go fast if you’re inefficient), mental and physical toughness, and, of course, the cardiovascular system of a miler with the muscular power of a gymnast. What a great combination!”—Mark Reifkind, Master RKC

Kenneth Jay’s VO2max protocols have already become an underground legend in the world of advanced strength and endurance training. Now, finally, here is the complete theory and battleplan for forging that heart of elastic steel—from the Viking warrior himself.

What to expect from Viking Warrior Conditioning? Listen to fellow Master RKC, Mark Reifkind and discover the amazing benefits and rewards that soon can be yours too when you get your hands on Kenneth’s secrets:

It’s not often in the world of physical training that something comes along so special, so unique, and so effective that it causes a paradigm shift in how people train and think about training. Louie Simmons turned the powerlifting world upside down with his inspired reinvention of how to train the powerlift. Pavel did the same thing and more with the Russian Kettlebell Challenge. And now, Master RKC Kenneth Jay has taken the Tsar of the Kettlebell lifts—the kettlebell snatch—and created a method of training so revolutionary that it causes us to rethink everything we thought we knew about cardiovascular training and how to incorporate it into our strength and conditioning programs.

Kenneth has looked at the true meaning of cardiovascular adaptation and configured a kettlebell-training program to elicit that response for real. As I told him when we were discussing the benefits I had derived from this, “The VO2max training delivers what circuit training only promised: real strength and cardiovascular conditioning in the same package. With NO compromises.”

I remember sitting in the auditorium at the Level 2 RKC Certification when Kenneth unveiled this new regime and I heard him speak about building a heart of “elastic steel” using only the 16 kg kettlebell. I was able to snatch the 24 kg bell quite well at the time but was still suffering from shoulder issues that precluded me from really going all out with it. My powerlifter’s mindset would not allow me to use lighter bells, as that would be “too sissy,” to quote a top-level Russian Kettlebell Chief Instructor. But as a volume-training addict, the program intrigued me.

I was even more intrigued when I got to witness the RKC candidates being put through their paces in this new way of using the kettlebell. It looked brutal but quite safe—a great combination for this high-mileage, ex-competitive athlete. I had to try it as soon as I got back home. And what an eye-opener it was!

Having gotten permission to use a lighter bell, I felt quite safe focusing on moving the weight as quickly as I could during the snatches and trying to do the prescribed number of sets and reps. Trying is the operative word. I stopped counting when my heart rate topped 190 and I wasn’t even halfway through the workout.

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As an ex-gymnast, I have always reveled in the speed and momentum training that kettlebell work not only allows but encourages. I immediately realized that the magic in the bell was its ability to really develop speed and, with speed, power. And as we all know, in the world of sport, speed and power are the king and queen. This new VO2max training program maximized both these attributes to the hilt, all the while using weights that were so safe that anyone could do them—anyone who could handle the workload, that is!

Always being one to take a long-term approach and giving my injuries their due, I adapted the program to just one day a week, not really thinking I would be able to garner all the benefits from such a modification. But in just eight weeks of doing the workout religiously once a week, in addition to my other KB training, my resting heart rate dropped from 64 to 48! It hadn’t been that low since I had trained for ultramarathons and triathlons! Kenneth was really, really on to something special.

I also put my clients who were snatching on the system, and they saw results so quickly that it was mind blowing: improved cardiovascular efficiency, loss of fat, and increased speed and power. Also, their snatch training went to a new level in so short a time that it was almost not to be believed.

It may seem impossible, but just two or three sessions of this program produced changes in people’s bodies and systems. Hard to believe, but it was happening right in front of my eyes—and all with kettlebells light enough not to scare away the most timid of clients. When something works, it works! Kenneth truly understands the meaning of force: mass x acceleration. Acceleration is clearly the lynchpin here.

My wife, Tracy, who at the time was in phenomenal shape from high-volume kettlebell training, also took to the program in a heartbeat and saw even more body fat loss and muscular definition than she had thought possible—and from just one session per week. Kenneth had really figured out something very unique.

The training program really forces you to hit on all cylinders at once: speed, power, efficiency of movement (you can’t go fast if you’re inefficient), mental and physical toughness, and, of course, the cardiovascular system of a miler with the muscular power of a gymnast. What a great combination!

One year later, at the next Level 2 RKC Certification, Kenneth unveiled his latest addition to the VO2max program—the BOOST, a peaking protocol—and again, he put the candidates through their paces after the lecture. This was another eye-opener, especially to Tracy, who had been training with the regular program religiously. She knew this would be the ticket to putting her Secret Service Snatch Test (SSST) numbers over the top.

Now with this amazing book, Kenneth has put it all down on paper. All the science, all the protocols, and all the progressions. He has added even more protocols to the original program, and all have real research to back them up. This is not an easy read, just as the protocols are not easy to do. Simple but not easy, as I love to say.

After a year more of doing VO2max workouts every week, everything has changed about my snatch training. All for the good! I can now snatch twice a week with no shoulder issues, and I could do three sessions, if I wanted. The speed and power I got from using the 16 kg bell has transferred to my 24 kg snatch work, and I can now snatch the 24 kg as quickly and powerfully as the 16 kg. My conditioning is at an all-time high, as is my recovery ability. My resting heart rate is still low, as is my body fat level, but my muscle mass is as high as it’s been in years. And now with this book and these new protocols, there will be no lack of progression or growth in my snatch training or my conditioning in the coming months. I can continue unabated along the path of mastery of the kettlebell snatch for power and conditioning.

Kenneth has taken the concepts of deep skill and internal focus—the hallmarks of the RKC system—and created a method that is revolutionary yet accessible to virtually anyone who can snatch a kettlebell. Of course, he or she must also have the intestinal fortitude and desire to have the heart of a racehorse and the strength of a grizzly—worthy goals, to say the least.

If art is where science and intuition meet, then Master Instructor Kenneth Jay has truly created a work of art. Thank-you, my brother! This training will serve me well for many, many years, as it will the multitudes who take up the challenge. Thank-you for developing it. I know it will stand the test of time.

And here is what other leading authorities have to say about Kenneth’s groundbreaking work:

“Kenneth Jay has produced what may be the most eye-opening work on VO2max training available today. Jay begins by taking the reader through the fundamental scientific principles of top-level conditioning. His down-to-earth writing takes the abstractions of calculations and puts them into the tangibles of training. Continuing with a step-by-step description of his Viking Warrior Conditioning regimes, Jay walks the reader through the fine details of his method. His progression of kettlebell training regimens is designed to take you from weekend wanna-be to victorious Viking.

Educational, entertaining, enlightening, and inspirational, Viking Warrior Conditioning is sure to be a well read and re-read part of any elite coach, trainer, athlete, or warrior’s library!”
—Mark Cheng, L.Ac., Ph.D., RKC Team Leader, Contributing Editor: Black Belt Magazine

“If you want to understand the why and the how of kettlebell training for conditioning then this is the book! This is the guide to using the kettlebell for optimal VO2max conditioning. Kenneth Jay’s protocols have benefited me and my clients greatly.”
—Brett Jones, Master RKC, CSCS, CK-FMS

“A great book by one of the best young minds in fitness. Against a bleak backdrop of fraudulent fitness product hucksters and in this era of No Brain – No Pain personal trainers, the Pain Dane does indeed have a brain— a big one —and this book is as welcome as a cool breeze ripping through a room full of stale cigar smoke.”
—Marty Gallagher, author of The Purposeful Primitive

By far the best conditioning program I have ever used!

The results speak for themselves. After completing the 15:15 protocol in about a month and a half my resting heart rate dropped from 54 to 45, my blood pressure dropped from 110/80 to 80 over 50 and I went from being able to hold my breath from 1 minute to easily over 2 minutes. My recovery rate, work capacity and resiliency are all as good if not better than they were 15 years ago. I highly recommend this book.