Training at the Ice Chamber

After attending the WKC World Championships in Chicago this year, we had what I would consider an incredibly fortunate opportunity to spend time training Steven Khuong and Maya Garcia at the Ice Chamber in San Francisco, CA.



The Ice Chamber becomes more renowned with each passing year in the kettlebell sport community. Not only have they produced to date 5 Masters of Sport and 8 Candidates for Master of Sport, they have an almost unparralelled commitment to passing on the values of high quality, intelligent lifting and training methods to all of their students, from those who have attained higher rankings to those who have only just started using kettlebells as a training implement.





Because they can

 Steve and Maya clearly love what they do, showing an immense passion for passing on their kowledge to those with ears to listen and eyes to watch. However, far from advertising themselves as "gurus" in the kettlebell sport world as so many seem to be quick to do, Steve and Maya are constantly reviewing their own techniques and teaching methods, searching for both both new and old information from the world's best current and past competitive lifters (such as Valery Ferdorenko and Ivan Denisov) so that they may continue to excel as both coaches and students themselves.

To me, this is what separates the great from the good. Steve and Maya are clearly not done learning, and nor are their lifters done learning even after attaining MS rankings.


Those who consider themselves to be done learning in any pursuit in life are usually found to be stagnant and redundant fairly fast. There is always something new to take on board, and improvements to be made, and both Emily and I walked away from the Ice Chamber realising that this sport doesn't really offer any end points to progression unless you choose to find one (at your own peril...).


Fundamental focus

Having had the opportunity to see the Ice Chamber kettlebell team training, taking part in some of their classes, and being able to watch Steve and Maya at work as coaches and lifters has left a lasting impression on us and has forced us to re-evalute just how commited we are to improving oue own skills and techniques so that we may not only progress as lifters but as coaches being able to pass on the higest possible information and instruction we can.

To reinforce an above statement, we can never stop learning, and we should never stop moving. This can be applied to all aspects of life, but right now we can apply this on a daily basis to our approach to this sport. We should always strive to refine and improve our technique, and the only way to improve once an appropriate adjustment is made to a skill is to perform it again and again....and again, and again, and again until that is what you automatically do. Once that new skill is mastered, you can probably work on refining it over and over again, endlessly.

This is where Steve and Maya leave such a strong impression in this community. While adhering to this approach of constant evolution, they strive to ensure that above all else the fundamentals of lifting are first set in place and continuously focused on. These fundamentals have been taught to them by lifters and coaches who have proven themselves to be among the very best, repetitively. They have understood that to improve in kettlebell sport is to work on those methods that are fundamental priciples towards more efficient and therefore more powerful lifting. It seems to me that many are seeking a "magic bullet" approach towards training, hoping that if they drift from method to method, expert to expert, suddenly revelation will strike, and working on the basics will no longer be neccessary.


Steve and Maya know from experience that the very best lifters in the world are exactly what they are because they all share a common ability to execute the fundamental basics of a lift, over and over again. This has come from hard work, refusing to consider themselves beyond learing, seeking the best knowledge from those who are the best, and applying this knowledge to themselves.

As we all continue to lift and train in this sport, both Steve and Maya are perfect examples of the goal being the path itself rather than the goal being the destination, and once again we have been reminded and inspired to keep lifting, focus on proven methods, work on the basics, and to never feel as though we are at a point where we can no longer improve.

In closing, we have an incredible amount of respect for Steve and Maya as lifters, coaches, and friends, and our time with them has renewed our love for this sport and provided an endless source of inspiration. Should anyone reading this ever have the opportunity to visit the Ice Chamber, you would be mad to pass it up. These are the people who will push this sport as it evolves in the West, and will continue to produce champions through hard work, attention to the fundamentals, and a love of what they do.

Rohan