Kettlebell training is a great way to get your clients in shape – everyone knows it.

But many are worried about the potential dangers of having their clients perform kettlebell exercises because they recognize their own lack of knowledge.

But how do you decide which kettlebell courses to attend in Australia? Here’s some things to think about –

1. What is the kettlebell training background of the presenters? In the fitness industry there are many pretenders and a very rare few who actually know their subject matter inside out. It’s no secret that kettlebells have only become well known in the West over the last decade. All of this popularity has been down to a single man – Pavel Tsatsouline.

In 2001 Pavel and Dragon Door led the way with the world’s first ever kettlebell instructor certification – the Russian Kettlebell Certification (RKC). Since then the RKC has grown in popularity and reputation to the point where  RKC instructors are recognised as the industry gold standard for kettlebell instruction.

With more than 1500 RKCs globally in 43 countries joining the ranks of the RKC certifies you as a subject matter expert in functional strength training. With a growing global community of strength trainers our techniques are constantly growing and evolving. Is the organization you are certified with doing the same?

With a list of instructors that is a literal who’s who of the fitness industry –

Dan John, Brett Jones, Josh Henkin, Thomas Phillips, Ben Bruno, Tim Ferriss…does your kettlebell training organization have the same following? Ask yourself why not?

2. How educated are your presenters? The RKC has a mandatory two year re-certification requirement. In other words there is an enforced requirement to attend an event to have your skills and knowledge evaluated to ensure that you are current and still maintaining the same standards you were held to when you certified.

While it may seem obvious that skills and knowledge need to be updated – that is after all the purpose behind CEC programs such as those instituted by Fitness Australia – the reality is that not many organizations take their role as ongoing educators seriously, instead preferring to take short term profit by lowering their standards.

3. How many people fail fitness certifications? If you’re like many, at some point you’ve looked around the room at a fitness certification of some kind and said to yourself that there’s no way you’d pay the vast majority of your class mates for any kind of training advice. Then at the end of the course everyone was handed their certificates and they were all pronounced instructors.

Do you feel good about having that bit of paper? At Dragon Door certifications not everyone passes – roughly 30% of those attending will not meet the requirements on the day. That doesn’t mean they have failed for good as they then have 30 days to meet the requirements of the course. Being a Dragon Door certified instructor is something a little special in the fitness industry.

4. How far are you willing to travel to learn? I see many course providers willing to travel to anywhere at the drop of a hat to give away their bits of paper. Meanwhile we have people fly from Asia and all over Australia to come and train with the best. For my part I travel regularly to the USA to train with Pavel and learn from his top instructors.

The sign of something’s value is that so many people are willing to undergo the rigorous training, travel and cost to become part of it. With courses run all over the world – Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Ireland, England, Italy, Australia, South Africa and the USA and with participants being willing to travel so far to attend it should be obvious the quality of the event and of the knowledge passed on.

If you’re serious about kettlebell training you should come and attend the world’s leading kettlebell courses. The next one is scheduled for Melbourne on February 4, 2012. Don’t miss this chance to join the world’s leading kettlebell training and instruction group.