Rite of Passage

By Adam Mundorf

Rite of Passage

One of the greatest kettlebell programs of all time is the Rite of Passage by Pavel Tsatsouline.  It comes from his book : Enter the Kettlebell.  The goal of this program is a 1/2 Bodyweight press and 200 Snatches in 10 minutes with the 24kg.  It involves three days of pressing, two variety days and two days completely off.  You are encouraged to superset your presses with pull or chin ups.

Below I will show what the schedule will be and anything else you need to know :

• Day 1 (L)
• Light Presses
• Superset
• Chin Ups
• Easy Snatches
• Day 2 (V)
• Variety Day
• Day 3 (M)
• Medium Presses
• Superset
• Chin Ups
• Medium Effort Swings
• Day 4 (V)
• Variety Day
• Day 5 (O)
• Off
• Day 6 (H)
• Heavy Presses
• Superset
• Chin Ups
• Hard Effort Swings
• Day 7 (O)
• Off

Things You Need to Know

• Warm-Up
• 5 Mackenzie Back Bends
• Cool Down
• If your heart and/or breathing rate is really high, walk around and don't stop until your heart rate and breathing are halfway down to normal.
• 5 Mackenzie Back Bends
• Chalk
• Use It
• Variety Days
• You may skip variety days.
• 5 Minutes of continuous get ups, changing hands each rep.
• +4kg
• Snatches and Swings Criteria
• You roll two dice to determine the timeline you'll be swinging/snatching.  Obviously you won't be swinging for the whole time but putting the bell down when needed to match desired output.
• On light days you snatch to 50-60% Effort.
• On Medium days you swing to 70-80% Effort.
• On Heavy days you swing to 100% Effort.
• Grease the Groove
• You may grease the groove with pistols using the Naked Warrior approach.
• Test Days
• Every 4 to 8 Weeks Replace Your Heavy Day with a Test Day
• Press Test
• Use Chalk
• Loosen Up with a few Swings or Get Ups if you want.
• Do a few singles with your ladder kettlebell
• Do 2 to 3 Loaded Cleans with the Heavier Kettlebell
• Rest for Five Minutes
• Press the heavier weight until you reach 5 C&P each Arm
• You may use a knee bend to absorb the bell instead of using an active negative to lower the bell.
• If you feel that you can't press the next weight yet, just skip it and save your strength for another day.
• Rest Five Minutes the move to Snatch Test
• 10 Minute Snatch Test
• Use Chalk
• Only use your daily pulling bell.  If you're swinging/snatching a 16kg, test with that not with a heavier bell.
• If you aren't ready to go for the full 10 minutes, then choose a different timeline like 3 or 5 minutes etc.  

I'm excited to actually follow this time tested program, as written.

I will be beginning with the 24kg bell for the press and the 20kg for the pull.

Thank you.