Circular Strength Training Certification in Two Months

I am now less than 2 months from the Circular Strength Training Certification in March.  I am excited, nervous, and hopefully ready to face the challenging certification.  The CST certification is not an automatic pass just for showing up.  Part of the certification requires proficiency in certain physical skills.  The  requirements take a certain level of athleticism, but most of all practice.  The cert also requires a certain level of didactic learning.  Today’s post is a combination of free resources that I have pulled together to help myself prepare, but also hopefully help you if you are interested in the Circular Strength Training certification.

CST is made up of three wings.  The first wing, Intu-Flow consists of a specific sequence of joint-mobility drills that restore natural ranges of motion.  The second wing focuses on progressive resistance primarily through the use of the Clubbell which strengthens both the muscles and connective tissues.  The third wing, Prasara Yoga, completes the system with compensatory movements that draw from yoga and various martial arts.

The tri-wing concept simply stated provides the warm-up, workout, and cool-down in a complete package.  I don’t want you to think this means a simple system.  Each of the three wings will take a lifetime to master. I am just at the tip of the iceberg.

Intu-flow has specific movement progressions that build upon the previous.  You start from the head down and center out.  The movement patterns start with linear, cardinal movements, then infinities, then clovers, and finally waves.  Learning the specific movements created by Coach Sonnon only unlocks even more movement potentials as you will see in the selected videos below.

The Clubbell when used in all six-degrees of freedom provides training potential that is only limited by your creativity. The Clubbell provides an incredible tool for increasing strength in real life movement.

Prasara Yoga combines concepts from many different systems to unlock counter balance the tension created by resistance training.  We can only train as effectively as we can recover.

Intu-Flow:

Introduction by Scott Sonnon, founder/creator of CST/Intu-flow

The rest of the Beginner Sequence can be found at the following YouTube links for free:

1. http://youtu.be/igOhU3EXqr4
2. http://youtu.be/2_-3yl7NO7A
3. http://youtu.be/HQZrJWeGtH8
4. http://youtu.be/pFugm34H_IQ
5. http://youtu.be/HKzcleRW9LM

Non-traditional Intu-flow w/ Joe Wilson

Two Examples of making Intu-Flow Personal

The following examples show how two different CST coaches have take the foundation and applied it to their daily practice.

Intu-flow w/ John Wolf

Intu-Flow w/Angela Fisher

If you have been practicing Intu-Flow for a while and are ready to take it to the next level than here are the YouTube links to the intermediate practice.  The following videos also include elements of the Four Corner Balance Drill and FlowFit.

Intu-Flow Intermediate Sequence

1. http://youtu.be/Z6wv1AKwQ-o
2. http://youtu.be/fuA9P9A8AoA
3.  http://youtu.be/QSu3csPCNT0
4. http://youtu.be/E-aU-SyZVtg

The Progressive Resistance Wing

The strength training aspect of Circular Strength Training certification includes two primary elements: FlowFit and the Clubbell Trial by Fire.  I posted previously on what those requirements are but simply stated consists of two physical tests.  You need to be able to perform 14 rounds of FlowFit at the third level in 14 minutes.  You also need to complete the Trial by Fire in under 25 minutes with 15 pound Clubbell for men and 10 pound Clubbell for women.  The Trial by Fire consists of three exercises: 100 Swipes with two Clubbells, 100 Mills with each the right and left hand, and 100 Hammer Swings (50 clockwise and 50 counter-clockwise).

Something you may or may not be aware that I just learned a few weeks ago (and is AWESOME)  is that you can park the Clubbell on your body and/or switch hands or direction at what ever interval you like.  The only caveat is that the Clubbell can only be put down in between exercises not during, i.e. the Clubbell can’t touch the ground during Swipes, but can be placed down between Swipes and Mills.  I had been training like it was Girevoy Sport Biathlon competition rules.  You can only switch hands once during a kettlebell snatch set.  So my training for the Mills until recently was only one hand switch.  I have built my endurance to be able to do a high number of mills before switching hands, but I have found that 10 repetitions per hand is a good pace for me.  Twenty + reps per hand prior to switch gives me too much grip fatigue going into the Hammer Swing part of the test.

The following video is Herman Chauw demonstrating all four levels of FlowFit.  The next is a video of me doing the Clubbell TBF.

FlowFit levels 1-4 Herman Chauw CST Coach

Clubbell Trial-by-Fire w/Richard

The Four Corner Balance Drill is also a requirement of the Circular Strength Training Certification and here is John Sifferman demonstrating the different progressions for you visual learners.  For you descriptive learners here is the link to Coach Sonnon’s blog where he lays out the progression.

4CBD w/John Sifferman

Prasara Yoga

As I understand it the Circular Strength Training certification doesn’t require you to master the five primary flows, but rather be proficient with them.  The goal here is understanding the application of compensatory movement to counter the stress of training and daily living.  The five flows for those interested are Forest, Diving Dolphin, Spider Monkey, Flock of Pigeons, and Tumbleweed.

• Forest
• Diving Dolphin
• Spider Monkey
• Flock of Pigeons
• Tumbleweed

Now’s the time to train!

The Circular Strength Training certification requires plenty of time training and refining skills.  Just don’t forget to read!

Good Luck,

Richard