Beast Tamer

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In Dragon Door’s RKC kettlebell instructor training system, the Beast Tamer and Iron Maiden challenges represent the ultimate athletic achievement of an elite few men and women. To earn the accolade of “Beast Tamer” men must flawlessly perform a Pistol, a Pull Up and a Press—with a 108-lbs kettlebell. To earn the accolade of “Iron Maiden” women must flawlessly perform a Pistol, a Pull Up and a Press—with a 53-lbs kettlebell.

What works in real life to become an all-around, elite strength champion? Andrew Read gives you the tools, tips and techniques that can turn you from ordinary to extraordinary. Want to tap into your inner Beast or inner Iron Maiden? Bring passion, dedication and supreme determination to your training table—and you CANNOT FAIL.

Shining a Light on Taming Heavy Iron

Why the RKC Beast Tamer and the RKC Iron Maiden Define All-Around, Elite Strength—And How YOU Can Train to Master the Challenge Yourself…

In Dragon Door’s RKC kettlebell instructor training system, the Beast Tamer and Iron Maiden challenges represent the ultimate athletic achievement of an elite few men and women. To earn the accolade of "Beast Tamer" men must flawlessly perform a Pistol, a Pull Up and a Press—with a 108-lbs kettlebell. To earn the accolade of "Iron Maiden" women must flawlessly perform a Pistol, a Pull Up and a Press—with a 53-lbs kettlebell.

These three lifts comprise elements of strength, mobility and skill that make each different enough from the others as to make performing all three a feat worthy of great respect. The RKC ranks are filled with strong, able men and women. That only around 1% have accomplished The Beast or the Iron Maiden Challenges, speaks volumes about their difficulty.

As with any great feats of strength, success comes from a combination of dedicated training, careful programming, a clear understanding of the necessary progressions and the cultivation of particular skill-sets. Without the correct formula applied in the correct manner, the RKC Beast Tamer and RKC Iron Maiden are just not going to happen.

When Senior RKC, Andrew Read did a deep dive to research what exactly it took to master the Beast Tamer or Iron Maiden, he discovered some clear commonalities in the training methodologies of successful Tamers and Maidens. Success leaves clues. Andrew Read shines a masterful light on those clues, building a foolproof blueprint for the achievement of elite strength.

"What works in real life to become an all-around, elite strength champion? Andrew Read gives you the tools, tips and techniques that can turn you from ordinary to extraordinary. Want to tap into your inner Beast or inner Iron Maiden? Bring passion, dedication and supreme determination to your training table—and you CANNOT FAIL. We look forward to welcoming down the road to the RKC Beast Tamer and RKC Iron Maiden Halls of Fame!

—TABLE OF CONTENTS —

Introduction… 1

Beast Tamer Lite …5

Technical Details … 9

Pistol… 11

Press… 47

Pull Up… 73

Programs… 87

The Beast Tamers… 97

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Way more than "just" Taming the Beast

Andrew Read has done a fantastic service in synthesizing some of the best material available (from Pavel, Charlie Poliquin, Kenneth Jay, the FMS, etc.) on presses, pulls, and pistols with his own 20+ years of experience. I love how personalized the programming is. For instance, Read offers different program guidelines for people who are more endurance-geared (slow twitch) and power-geared (fast twitch) so that his templates match his athletes. In addition to his programs, he also shares the programming/personal insights of a host of Beast Tamers/Iron Maidens. Finally, the book is full of correctives and drills to give aspiring Beast Tamers that little edge they need AND provide relative novices with a great point of access to these three crucial lifts. I've already started implementing the "Pistol LIte" progressions with my mostly middle-aged clients who are just trying out one-leg squats for the first time. Thank you, Senior Instructor Read, for putting such a wealth of knowledge together in one place.

An intelligent program designed to get us stronger

Master Read does a great job of bridging the gap between FMS and strength. It is not good to be only strong, we also need to have good mobility and stability as well. So kudos to Master Read for putting together an intelligent program designed to get us stronger. I look forward to trying my hand at the Beast Tamer challenge in the near future with this book's help!

Beast Mode

Andrew Read is top of the pack when it comes to training. His book is easy, informative, and helpful to anyone looking to improve strength and tackle the beast challenge. Sit down & takes notes, class is in session

Andrew Read is a programming Genius

I LOVED the Book...from the opening paragraph to the interviews with IM's and BT's at the end. I loved the program options/ideas/drills! It's simple,easy programming. When you can take something that seems complicated and make it simple...I believe that is genius! If you have an interest in IM/BT training or to just simply want to get better at one or all the lifts ...this book is for you!I had the privilege of Andrew programming my IM training 6 weeks ago. The program worked! It was just what I needed to work my weaknesses with FMS correctives/drills and of course ..the program! It all came together and was a "beautiful thing" in the end...Thanks to Andrew!

Excellent

the best strength book I have read in twenty five years please keep up the good work.You know your stuff

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Best Kettlebell on the Market

The feel and weight distribution of this kettlebell is the best on the market.

Love RKC kettlebell

I'm not sure if I got a one off but the new finish is inferior to my older RKC Kettlebells. The others have a nice matte finish where my newest one has a shiny finish and looks like a cheaper version. Still a good bell, well balanced and probably still better than most. Got a 7/10 for that reason. By the way, I'm not a weekend warrior, I'm in the fitness industry: trainer for 15 years. I may know something.

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I'm happy that I've found Dragon Door kettlebells.But it took a fair amount of searching.Started with trips to a local sports/fitness rquipent store, then Target.Nothing at all looked convincing.My first kettlebells were bought yers ago locally and are made with epoxy coating.That's just plain wrong. How could someone come up with such an idea? It hardly makes any sense from a ruggedness/longevity of the product prospective.But that's what was available at the time.This time I put in more effort into my research.And I would like to thank the person who wrote a very thorough review of the best kettlebells out there.I decided to go with simply the best!

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Unmatched quality

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Beast Tamer

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Shining a Light on Taming Heavy Iron

Why the RKC Beast Tamer and the RKC Iron Maiden Define All-Around, Elite Strength—And How YOU Can Train to Master the Challenge Yourself…

Beast Tamer

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