Josh Dunn's Coaching: A Review

Josh Dunn’s Coaching: A Review

I set a goal this year to take my kettlebell training more seriously.  To do this, I did two things.  I got a new pair of lifting shoes.  My old Wei Rui’s have served me for four years, but it was time to upgrade, so I bought a nice pair of Sabo’s. Maybe I’ll write a review of them sometime.  They were a worthwhile investment.

The other thing I did was to hire a coach.  Josh Dunn has been a competitor for many years. I think I first met him at Scott Shetler’s meet in 2010.  It was my first meet; I competed in StrongSport with the 36k bell.  I won, but missed rank by two jerks.  If memory serves me right, Josh did long cycle with the 20k’s. 

In the years since, I’ve tried all kinds of variety, including biathlon, powerlifting, odd lifting, discus, and shot put.  Josh has kept on training long cycle, consistently working his way up through the bells.  When we met again in 2013, he was lifting 28’s at Cyrus Peterson’s meet.  I was in way over my head with the 24k’s. I got 45 ugly reps and a no-count on sheer willpower.  As if I needed a reminder, consistency trumps variety every time.

I contacted Josh, and he orchestrated my training from June to mid-November.  He started me with a test with the 24k’s.  I got 33 reps in about 8 minutes before my grip gave out and I dropped a bell.  I was at the ragged edge anyway- I had maybe 35 reps in me.  The bells were heavy, and my conditioning was poor.

Josh put me on a progressive regimen, pushing out my time with the 24k’s, working from 2 and 3 minute sets up to 10 minutes.  He prescribed my training, and I gave him feedback on my training.  Depending on how I responded to my training, he prescribed the next session.  Along the way, he gave me the kind of encouragement we all enjoy hearing from a coach, and sometimes the kind of honest truth that we don’t enjoy hearing.  Every so often I would post a video, and he would give me feedback on technique.  He was, at every turn, a gentleman and a sportsman.  Along the way, he continued to lift and to compete, proving that he demands the same high standards of himself that he expects of his athletes.

I did not reach my goal under Josh’s training, but I came very close.  My goal was rank 1, which required 57 reps with the 24k’s.  I got 50 smooth, easy reps with 24k, and 57 reps with 22k.  The 24k’s have never felt lighter, and I have added muscle in my legs and shoulders.  My technique is cleaner and more consistent than ever.

Looking back over my training program, I can see that not reaching my goal is not a reflection of Josh’s coaching, but of my lack of conditioning.  The set and rep schemes he prescribed were challenging but manageable.  Some sessions really pushed the envelope, and others were so easy I felt guilty for not doing more.  Most were in that magic 70% window where progress and recovery meet.  He told me at the outset- get your cardio done.  Run.  Ski on the Nordic Track.  I assumed that I would get the conditioning I needed from my kettlebell training.  It was a rookie mistake, but it was my mistake, not Josh’s.  If I had been running three times a week like he said, I’d be rank 1 right now.

Josh is going to be off the scene for a while serving Uncle Sam, but when he gets back, I’ll probably look him up.  Meanwhile, I’ll be training for endurance like he told me six months ago.  There are a lot of coaches that are highly respected, and Josh is rightly one of them.  If you need a coach, you might look him up yourself.