Pete Velotta
My name is Pete and I live in Lyndhurst, Ohio, suburb of Cleveland. I just recently got into KB training towards the end of 2013. I have always been involved in lifting weights and martial arts; but got bored to death with the conventional lifting methods and no matter how strong I got in the gym, I could never really apply it to real life functions. I started digging into functional exercises and stumbled across KB training. I started with a Keith Weber DVD, but I needed a more of a foundation to take on his format. Weber gave Anthony a shout out on some of his exercises so I thought I would look up Anthony and found AOS. I purchased the AOS instructional DVD’s, then Providence and recently, Newport. Providence is a blast and Newport kick’s my posterior chain, lol!
Anyways, I want to thank you for all the great information you release on youtube, your website, and DVDs! In just 4 or 5 months of training KBs, I feel that I have a much stronger core, no back pain, and yard work, snow shoveling, real life movements are almost effortless and increased stamina. I have to listen to my body because when I was 19 and “invincible” I fell forward on a one rep max on squats and injured my lower back. I’m now, 32 and my back feels great and stronger than it did when I was in my twenties.
Being a father, husband and working full time, it’s tough to find time and space to exercise; but, with AOS systems, I can do it on a 4x6 stall mat or my favorite, outside and can always squeeze in time for a great workout! I have done Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for four years now and KB training is the closest thing I have ever felt to a sparring match!
My apologies for rambling. Bottom line is, THANK YOU!! Thank you for promoting a stronger culture, thank you for taking your time and releasing free, extremely valuable information to the public and thank you for your genuine care and concern for people and their fitness goals!! You created goals for me that I never knew existed!
Thanks for taking the time to read this email-
Keep well,
Pete Velotta
Lyndhurst, Ohio
Pete Velotta
"What I appreciated most about the course was that Anthony focused on our group, rather than a general agenda - he allotted time as necessary to what was or wasn't important to our group. Very effective!
Singling us out and critiquing our form was incredibly helpful to me. I have always been a slave to good form and only recently began instructing so this live visual aide was helpful for my personal performance and for observing others' form.
Not sure about any recommendations though... :)"- Tara Chase
"Thank you! Even though I can barely move my arms today! LOL!
1. I liked the hands on aspect the most.
2. I didn't like having the course in that setting. It was difficult to hear Anthony at times."- Janet Moore
"Thanks for a fun, educational weekend. I learned what I needed to learn at this point, specifically the high pull and snatch.
I like having to just trust the process, although some of the line games had us tossing too heavy of weights for some in what could have become an unsafe situation, given the available space and not yet knowing anyone's abilities.
While it was nice to be exposed to a professional "fighting" gym, it was at times very distracting and hard to hear over the other activities and music that was too loud, although during our meet and greet, it was turned down.
It was impressive to see so many women! And, everyone got along, although as always, some personalities dominate and tend to take attention away from others.
Such a large group limited how much time Anthony could spend with any one individual, although I imagine we all would have liked to have had his individual attention the whole time--that is not what we were paying for!
I like the notebook to refer back to, and the DVD's.
Given the choice, I'd go back to a course in Providence, but not at that gym because is was just too busy, and not maintained with enough of the basics of toilet paper or soap or paper towels on the weekend--either that or it was just overused.
It may be redundant to repeat definitions or demo-ing certain moves, but some of us are less advanced and could always use a quick review. I sometimes felt lost in the descriptions, especially with multiple instructions, and would like to have seen it done--even by one of us--before we all jumped in to do it. We visual learners!!!
Finally, I don't see any risk in Anthony demonstrating anything. No matter what, we all develop our own styles. It's like teaching hand writing. No matter how well the teacher can write, the rest of will scribble until we find our own style!
Thanks for a great weekend! Thanks for the treats. Will be back again in a couple of years!"- Dorie Klein
"1. I loved absolutely everything about the course. The philosophy behind kettlebell training was as informative as the actual hands on. There were so many light bulb moments for me this weekend it's hard to pick a favorite, but learning how to FEEL the swing was worth the trip in itself. The instruction was so informative and I never felt rushed to learn the next progression until everyone got it. That gym was amazing! It was the best location I've ever been to for a fitness course. I loved your great clothes too!
2. My only suggestion would be to not only focus on the same 6 or so people to help them with their movement, but to make sure everyone got a chance to be helped one on one. It seemed like the same people were front and center both days. I just would have liked a little more advice or cuing, but I still learned so much.
Thanks for the coupon code! I already put my order in :)
Wishing you a great week, and thanks so much for a great weekend!"- Dean & Kristen Shollack
"1. there are many things i liked about this course...i love that fact that it is a small group and anthony is able to provide such an intimate and motivating setting...this course was structured quite differently than the one i did in the past and i enjoyed his unique approach to teaching the kb swing and high-pull into snatch. having us close our eyes was amazing. i felt my body take on and adapt to the challenge and sure enough, my form improved!..i loved that he used his verbal cues and descriptions to instruct us rather than demonstrate. rather than try to imitate his movement patterns, we as students were able to allow our bodies to find their own unique ryhthm. i also enjoyed hearing everyone's backgrounds and their passion for fitness.
2. what would i change?? hmm.... i don't really know... i have been given all the tools to improve my approach with clients, pass the test again and work my way to becoming a competitor...so, really, the rest is up to me and how much hard work and passion i put into applying/utilizing the information i have been given. my clients will benefit greatly from the knowledge i have received this weekend!! i am looking forward to june"- Kelly Manzone
"It was great to meet you and thanks for everything, it was a fab two days.
1. Boxfit Circuit was wicked fun :)
All AOS team really helpful
Progressions and regressions of key KB moves
Anthony's amazing ability to sprinkle his little magic on everyone. I think most of us had PR's in our lifts, i certainly did.
BTW, my magical moment was when i was struggling to sea saw press 2 x KB's in the seated position, Anthony cued me to raise the kb as the other one was coming down. Bingo! went up easy! :)
2. Personally i found it hard at times to hear Anthony because of the music Boxing ...
Also, felt we had to move from one part of the gym to the other to accommodate the Boxing Circuit. Felt bad for them sometimes that we got in their way. Suggestion - to use one of the Spinning rooms put mats down etc and hold the course.
Thanks again for everything! :)
BTW if it works would love to come down to your gym on Weds pm see your facility and also try out a class like AOS for Athletes."- Luke Gullick
"I hit the wall at about 130p, and it took me about 7 hours to restabilize my body to where I could focus again. In hindsight, I should have stayed and taken notes, but all I could focus on was not passing out (my blood sugar had plummeted.) Apparently, I need more than nuts and berries for fuel! My bad; I should have been more prepared.
I cannot express enough how impressed I was with Anthony's approach and humbleness. I learned more in the few hours I was there than in any other full day or more of training in other formats. I appreciated the overall environment of respect among participants. It was also nice to be introduced to box fiit, and overall liked the gym.
The two areas I experienced that could be improved from my perspective was not understanding lunch options on site (or in area) would be smoothies only and that it would be as early, and the gym was warmer than I'm accustomed to with less airflow.
Thank you for your encouragement and warm reception. I do hope to someday return and finish! (Now understanding my fuel needs for the day better."- Laura Jacobi
"I found the gym fascinating, especially seeing young women boxing (and how hard they hit!) I have never thrown a punch in my life (small skinny guys learn at an early age that there isn't much upside in that activity) so actually trying to do it was fun and fatiguing, so the warm up was good. But, it was way too noisy, chaotic, and distracting compared to the ones in the past. i also thought the KB toss at the start was an invitation to injury at least for me and Dorie. i was more worried about her and the weight being thrown to her incorrectly than for myself, but, and this is for real, at my age, and you my sweet will get there one day and will experience it too, it is SO easy to get injured and they take SO long to heal. So, those things scare me a bit more than perhaps the others who heal up in a few days. For me a pulled muscle is several months of down time.
The outline and structure of the course were great as usual. My reasons for coming are to get a refresher on things and hang out with people for whom physical conditioning and strength is a way of life. I like meeting people like that and sharing what we have in common. I have no need to push a lot of iron for the sake of pushing iron.
My back issues interfered with my enjoyment of it quite a bit. I didn't injure myself there but didn't do it any good, as today I had excruciating pain from a bulged disk in my back, to the point of living on Oxycodone or some such pill. I didn't bulge the disk there (I don't think) but probably would still do the weekend over, in spite of it.
Well, I have prattled on too long. For some giggles I attached a short video of me doing triangle pose from yoga on a wall system - try it sometime.
Of course, I hope to see you again at the next one of these I can attend. You too are an inspiration to all of us. I will write Anthony a personal review of the course too.
Take good care of yourself and be well!!"- Dana Strout