Praise for the RKC Kettlebell Certification — Chicago, Illinois, October 2018


Matt Sillanpaa, Bondurant, Iowa, Personal Trainer

I am re-certifying. After completing RKC 3 years ago, our kettlebell business has increased in revenue. We know how to fix other people’s mistakes. I want to be confident in my coaching. RKC provides that.


Tonya Polk, Chicago, IL, Personal Trainer

Athletic Achievements US AirForce Veteran

This is something I would recommend to anyone looking to learn more about how their body can improve using Kettlebells. I totally learned to push myself to a limit I didn’t believe I could go.

Andrea Du Cane was super knowledgeable!! Made the experience FUN and a joy to learn.

I’ve worked with Katie Petersen for several years and this training was right in line with how she explains an exercise. Challenging the body, but making sure it’s safe at the same time.


Mary Surprenant, Sutton, MA, Personal Trainer

An opportunity to immerse oneself in KB training with quality coaching and quality technique suggestions. I was provided with coaching that helped me refine my technique. The opportunity to display excellent technique in a pressure situation builds confidence in my coaching. This is a great carryover to coaching/programing for my clients.


Anthony Colosimo, Chicago, IL, Personal Trainer

Athletic Achievements NASM CPT

RKC showed me how to approach physical and mental challenges and beat them, as well as how to provide that same challenge and success with my clients. The training quality was professional, respectful, and very translatable. Each instructor gave great feedback, and allowed us to take action on the feedback.

The quality was the highest I have experienced. All instructors were very direct and consistent with the material. It was presented in a clearly understandable manner.


Shannon Javaras, Palos Park, IL, Personal Trainer

Athletic Achievements NASM

One of the most informative courses I’ve taken with hands-on criticizing. If one is interested in kettlebells, this course is highly recommended. Excellent!  I have gained so much from this course. Both personally and professionally.

The instructors were incredibly knowledgeable and approachable. Willing to spend ample amount of time with each athlete. Positive and encouraging.


Connor Peacock, Chicago, IL, Personal Trainer

Athletic Achievements NASM

The RKC has improved my understanding and confidence in myself, but in coaching clients as well. The instructors were fantastic. Each one had their own unique coaching style while still producing the same message.

Quality of the RKC is top notch. It’s by far one of the better courses I have taken.


Stephanie Lewis, Chicago, IL, Personal Trainer and Yoga Instructor

It’s a deep dive into physics, mechanics, and movement that is busting my own idea of kettlebell training wide open.

Love every one of the instructors. Helpful. Encouraging. Concise. Clear. Y’all keep my spirits up :)

Very hands on, interactive, and extremely challenging.  This is not for the faint of heart. You really have to want to learn and love the bells.


Julie Sillanpaa, Bondurant, Iowa, Personal Trainer, Volleyball Coach, ACSM

Andrea Du Cane is such a great instructor with a great way of breaking down exercises and movements to simplify them in order to perfect them and advance to heavier weights. It was a different experience coming into this as a re-certification. It was less overwhelming and made it easier to focus on perfecting errors.

Top of the line. This cert has helped us build our business and keep clientele because they see the value, results, and safety we are able to pass on.


Joshua Duden, Bondurant, Iowa, State Trooper

Athletic Achievements Instructor certifications in defensive tactics, firearms, rifle, ASP baton, chemical munitions, less lethal munitions, TASER, SPEAR, CPR, and pepper spray. 20 years in law enforcement current rank of Sergeant. Tactical police performance instructor and past certifications in HKC and DVRT

This was a great class with instructors who are very knowledgeable.


Kristin Osborn, Chicago, IL, Yoga Instructor

Athletic Achievements WPA Level 2 paddleboard instructor, SUP and Yoga teacher trainer, Competitive cheerleader back in college and a slew of other yoga certifications. (reiki, restorative, yoga trapeze).

Extremely smart cueing and breakdown of all the material. Although challenging, well-paced and I now feel confident to guide all skill levels (well maybe not expert) through movements with constructive feedback in a balanced way.  Fun too!!

Andrea Du Cane was fantastic. Clear and concise, great energy behind the delivery, and well-paced.

More physical assessments and more on moving while incorporating anatomical references which I appreciate because hopefully most trainers know basics coming in. Lots of gratitude for al the shared knowledge! Love it!


Jamie Baas, Bondurant, Iowa, Athletic Director

Athletic Achievements ACSM

It really brought everything together to show how to be strong. Slow movements to quicker explosive movements all are the makeup of building a strong, healthy body.

I thought the instructors were vey knowledgeable and helped me adjust bad habits. I trust their evaluations based on their experience and ability to perform the exercises also.


Praise for the RKC Kettlebell Certification — New York City, NY, October 2018


Joseph Rubelowsky, Cleveland, OH, Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Colonel US Army

Enlightening. Eureka. WOW moment. Fun. Engaging. Great for mind and body. The instructors were sooo good. I want to come back next year, same place, same instructors.

I learned so much about my disabilities and what I can do to fix them. It will improve the quality of my life to get my shoulders fixed. 


Anna Bonnell, Hoboken, NJ, Personal Trainer & Boutique Fitness studio Manager

The RKC was extremely educational. It helped me to enhance my skill set and ability to be a stronger teacher. All of the instructors were very knowledgeable about their craft and shared everything they could with us. We weren’t just TOLD what to do, we were encouraged to ask as many questions as we needed.  The instructors shared their experiences with us about training KBs with new and seasoned clients.

I loved this certification. We had a group that was prepared to learn more/enhance their skill sets. Most trainings I’ve attended can be boring because those who attend are only doing it for CEU’s, but people who attend the RKC are doing so because of a passion, a curiosity, and to become GREAT at what they do. Holder and Thiago never seemed bored or annoyed/uninterested – they are truly passionate and truly wanted/want us to succeed.


Gabriella deHaan, Clinton Corners, NY, Paralegal

I had the best time learning to perform each exercise in the safest and strongest way. It was a great introduction to teaching a peer and with peers so that I may bring the techniques back home with me to share with my trainer. It gave me a whole new outlook of kettlebell workouts.

Chris and Thiago were incredibly knowledgeable. The fact that Chris is so personable really helped me to relax and focus on what he was teaching. He made me feel very comfortable doing each progression and was able to point out if something was being executed in correctly. He has a lot of respect for kettlebells which helped me gain a different perspective and moved me in a positive direction. He is very good at reading people and their body language. I feel very lucky to have worked with him for this certification.


Cody Sensenig, Lancaster, PA, Lead Exercise Specialist

This certification gives me a rare challenge in my training. I learned new techniques for some of my favorite kettlebell moves. RKC has changed the way I train completely. I am grateful for the experience.

The instructors were very knowledgeable, helped us work through any question we threw at them. They went above and beyond my expectations and did not run us into the ground which helped retain more info on our side.

It is very physically demanding compared to others. I believe it preaches safety more than any other I’ve taken as well. You work hard, but learn a lot!

The 2-day cert was much better than the 3-day cert.


Paul Viviano, Valhalla, NY, Gym Owner / Personal Trainer

I enjoyed participating and learning from excellent instructors, and the students were all extremely prepared and athletic.

All 3 coaches worked so well together. We were given combined knowledge from 2 kettlebell masters and an excellent well-rounded PT who is also RKC.

The material was so easy to absorb. These coaches know what they are doing. They obviously have decades of experience.


Sam Strasfeld, Woodside, NY, Actor/Personal Trainer

I learned an invaluable method with which I can instruct and implement solid technique in fundamental kettlebell movements, from the bottom up and top down.

Chris, Victoria and Thiago did an excellent job teaching the material, peppering it with personal anecdotes, and supporting all of the participants as we worked our way through the weekend. They all seemed very knowledgeable about KBs and their unique backgrounds really complemented the material.

Really loved the course. Chris, Victoria and Thiago are brilliant.


Vanessa Baumback, Forest Hills, NY, Psychotherapist

The RKC was a intensive weekend of kettlebell instruction and practice where I learned to hone my skills. The most valuable part was learning how to talk to others about kettlebells and coaching cues for real life practice.

Chris Holder definitely did not disappoint. This is my second RKC with him and I would gladly take more courses led by him. He has a way of incorporating so many real world examples and info that it makes the course applicable to anyone. I thought Thiago brought a lot of useful information as well and could talk from a somewhat different perspective.


Renee Nowakowski, Fishkill, NY, Conductor

Overall great way to learn how to properly use kettlebells. The course teaches you how to do it and why we do it. Quality is excellent!!  Head instructor was very precise. His ability to be able to analyze and correct was truly amazing.

The 3 as a team were great because of the different perspectives.


Roman Palomaria, Enfield, CT, Poker Dealer

Very informative and completely immersive experience. Chris Holder has a wealth of knowledge and is able and willing to teach as much as he can. I would recommend him to anyone.

Definitely top tier and very complete in curriculum.


Michelle Sperruggia, Plainfield, NJ

This was a great course and I learned a lot that I didn’t know about using kettlebells and especially about instructing clients on kettlebells. I liked how the instructors made the students all feel comfortable no matter what level they were at. It was obvious the instructors knew what they were talking about and were experts in the field.