Reviews

Mr. Ross gave a Kettlebell class to Mesa Fire Dept. Health and Fitness Instructors today and I was very pleased with the class. I have heard of kettlebells before and have always wanted to learn proper techniques and exercises but never had a clear understanding of them until today. Mr. Ross's class was inspiring and will be a great building block for me as well as other HFI members and hopefully our entire department someday!

Thank You
Blu Caton FF/Paramedic

Bob Ross is a dedicated instructor in the use of kettle bells. He is also a terrific son-in-law. Bob was about to be medically retired from the Phoenix Fire Dept. due to back problems that surgery failed to repair. He could not pass the stringent physical fitness test. He heard about Pavels' program with the bells, tried it and not only improved to the point of passing the PFD physical test but also beat all the candidates less than half his age in the USAF Paramedic Physical Qualification Course.
I had had a heart attack in 1996 due to congestive heart failure and two blocked arteries. My heart stopped but they shocked me back. After double bypass surgery had 19% ejection fraction (that is the % of blood in the heart pumped with 55% being normal). After many years, mostly by walking, I was able to raise it to 35%.
After Bob had his successful recovery, He studied, trained and began to instruct in the program. He worked with me and after checking with my doctor, I made much more rapid progress to my current 45% ejection fraction status. Not bad for a 72 year old!
Bob is extremely dedicated in improving his knowledge and craft in most aspects of health, physical fitness and positive attitudes. He has had great success training student athletes, our wounded veterans and ancient relatives (me). He really makes a father-in-law proud!

My name is Zach Fader and I am an Elite hockey player from Flagstaff Arizona. I will be attending Lake Forest Academy in Illinois to play on the prep hockey team their next season. I have been training in ZHealth and Kettlebells with Mr. Ross for the past Two and a Half months, and I have seen incredible improvement in my: Strength, Physical Endurance, Flexibilty, Joint Mobility, and Eye Hand Coordination. After training with Mr. Ross I was able to measurably increase my verticle, increase my standing broad jump by eight inches, and increase my military press from two reps with a 53 pound kettlebell to eight reps with the same kettlebell. All of this was achieved with one simple exersice and three eye charts. It is truly incredible what Mr. Ross can do for athletes in such a short period of time. Mr. Ross has also helped me remap my nervous system to prevent injury. I am confident that I will be heading to my new school with a great advantage in physical fitness. I can not thank Mr. Ross enough for all that he has done for me.

I had the pleasure to have bob as a coach this past summer to help me with my press. He engaged with me about my technique in a strong and positive way, encouraging what i was doing well, and exploring with me where i could be better. His approach was to propose an idea, give me some drills i could do right there to improve that part of my technique and immediately assess the effectiveness of that drill. In one session i made solid progress, and was confident that if i'd had more opportunity to work with bob (it was a coincidence we were in the same city at the same event), my press would only continue to excel.

Want to make a breakthrough in your performanc? have a limiting factor like a tweaked shoulder or anything else? bob's kind but strong eye, and knowledge of kb moves and how to tune them, will get you there, stronger and more confident than when you started.

I was turned on to kettlebells by my cousin who is a fire fighter in Yuba City. He told me that kettlebells are the greatest thing since sliced bread, but has been around longer. From the little time I have been using kettlebells, I cannot disagree. I have recently moved to Flagstaff, AZ and as a christmas present from my dad, I got my first session with Bob paid for. It was a great session. He fine tuned what I already could do and added so much more. Bob is a good teacher, because he believes in what he teaches and is excited to share his passion with others. I am looking forward to our next session, and to start adding onto the basics.

I'm a 52 y/o firefighter that has been kettlebell training for 2 months. I was the typical :No Pain No Gain: guy. Five knee surgeries, and 6 degenerate disks later I was losing the motor and sensory in my feet and legs. I started looking at natural treatments and it led me to Bob Ross. Not only has Bob instructed me in kettlebell training but he has helped me with my balance and joint mobility. I train with my 14 y/o son and my wife. I have increased my vertical and strength. My son is already an excellent basketball shooter. He is already gaining strength and quickness. My wife doesn't miss training with us because she is losing weight and feeling great. My back hurts less. My motor and sensory is completely back. My knee, for the first time in 25 years, is much stronger. I can't wait to see what we can do after a year. Bob Ross helped save my career as well as the quality of my life! Ted Wynn PFD

Just a note to acknowledge my experience with Bob Ross on my first training session. In addition to his professionalism, I was aware that Bob does not place any limitation on who can practice the Kettlebell system. For example many might consider this practice to be limited to a certain age group. Bob has an open mind, he does not impose any labels on those he works with, whatever those limiting labels may be. Many labels if "bought into" will prevent progress. Bob sees through them, he does not "buy into" them. As a consequence there are not limitations imposed on those he works with.
A "can do" spirit is essential and valued for all.

I retired after 36 years from the Arizona Department of Public Safety. I worked mainly in the Special Operation Division as a Bomb Technician and SWAT Officer. In addition to that I spent 39 years, both active and reserve, in the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Army Special Operations. In both of those avocations there is a lot of stress on your body. From the military I garnered knee injuries and neck injuries from jumping out of "perfectly good airplanes." I had always been physically active, which included lifting weights and running. With my injuries, I felt my hard workout days were behind me.
I purchased a membership to Summit Fitness in Flagstaff,Arizona, and started working out with John Tuitele. John was not the least bit impressed with my tale of injuries and started me training and doing kettlebells. Then John brought in Bob Ross to do a Kettlebell class. What Bob presented in the class made sense, and I was taken by his enthusiasm. Bob and I became friends and I became "hooked" on kettlebells.
As a result of Bob's training, patience, and encouragement my knees are now in great shape and I haven't had neck problems in months. My strength is growing by leaps and bounds. I am doing one arm snatches with a 44 pound kettlebell, and I am eyeing the 53 pounder. Bob's problem now is trying to temper my enthusiasm.
As a former Air Force P.J. and a current Phoenix Fire Fighter, Bob is both a warrior and a teacher. It is my pleasure to have him as an instructor and a friend. "Work hard or go home".

Bob has been a tremendous benefit to the entire Phoenix Fire Department regarding the implementation of kettlebells. Bob first came to me with some handouts about kettlebells and their benefits. He explained that using these kettlebells had helped him with his longevity as a firefighter/paramedic for our department. After reviewing the information, I met with Bob and realized that these were for real, and that Bob was very passionate about them.

Since then, Bob has helped us: purchase multiple kettlebells for each of our fire stations; create 2 instructional DVDs that were sent to all fire stations; instructed instructional classes for our members, assisted individuals on-duty and participated as a lecturer in our last two Health, Fitness and Safety Symposiums that are attended by people in the fire service from all over the world. Bob's last Symposium class was standing room only!

As the Wellness Coordinator for the Phoenix Fire Department, it is my obligation to promote healthy and safe fitness regiments to our department of over 1600 sworn personnel and over 55 stations. The kettlebell exercise regiment is one that I recommend and Bob has been instrumental in that endeavor. His demeanor and passion for instruction, along with his knowledge base is extremely beneficial to those he teaches. Our administrative and civilian members have benefited from Bob???s instruction as well. I know he has been a valuable resource for other fire departments in Arizona, as well as fitness facilities. Bob continues to be our resident kettlebell subject matter expert. Thanks Bob!

Captain Mike Ong
Wellness Coordinator
Phoenix Fire Department

As the City of Mesa, Arizona Fire Department Captain over Health, Wellness and Safety, it was a sincere pleasure to work with Bob Ross on several occasions. After hearing Bob speak at the annual Phoenix Fire Department Health, Wellness and Safety Symposium, I knew our Health and Fitness Instructors (HFIs) and Peer Fitness Trainers (PFTs) could learn a great deal from him.

Bob came to our department on several occasions. He hosted two train-the-trainer classes for the fitness team training our PFTs and HFIs in kettlebell proper form, function, mechanics, and exercise routines. On several more occasions, he taught hour-long components at health and fitness instructor seminars that Mesa Fire hosted for Crossfit.

Bob is a professional with a true love and devotion to prolonging not only firefighting careers, but also firefighters lives through health and fitness. His knowledge base was outstanding and he was more than a capable instructor with a great personality and teaching style.

Thank you Bob for bringing this great new exercise program to the firefighters here in Mesa. It has been very well received and many of our crews now incorporate kettlebells into their daily workout routines!

On a personal note: I have always had shoulder problems in my right arm. My shoulder would ache and dislocated from time-to-time and suffered from years of a hard lifestyle. Since I incorporated kettlebells into my workouts, using the knowledge that Bob gave me, my shoulder is 100% better. I no longer have daily pain and it now can take the strenuous workouts that I have for so long avoided. Thanks Bob!

As the City of Mesa, Arizona Fire Department Captain over Health, Wellness and Safety, it was a sincere pleasure to work with Bob Ross on several occasions. After hearing Bob speak at the annual Phoenix Fire Department Health, Wellness and Safety Symposium, I knew our Health and Fitness Instructors (HFIs) and Peer Fitness Trainers (PFTs) could learn a great deal from him.

Bob came to our department on several occasions. He hosted two train-the-trainer classes for the fitness team training our PFTs and HFIs in kettlebell proper form, function, mechanics, and exercise routines. On several more occasions, he taught hour-long components at health and fitness instructor seminars that Mesa Fire hosted for Crossfit.

Bob is a professional with a true love and devotion to prolonging not only firefighting careers, but also firefighters lives through health and fitness. His knowledge base was outstanding and he was more than a capable instructor with a great personality and teaching style.

Thank you Bob for bringing this great new exercise program to the firefighters here in Mesa. It has been very well received and many of our crews now incorporate kettlebells into their daily workout routines!

On a personal note: I have always had shoulder problems in my right arm. My shoulder would ache and dislocated from time-to-time and suffered from years of a hard lifestyle. Since I incorporated kettlebells into my workouts, using the knowledge that Bob gave me, my shoulder is 100% better. I no longer have daily pain and it now can take the strenuous workouts that I have for so long avoided. Thanks Bob!

I met Bob about a year ago when he guest taught a KB class at CrossFit Flagstaff, and then few months later as we both attended the same CrossFit certification. Since that time, I have moved into an ownership position at a large gym here in Flagstaff called Summit Health and Fitness, and we have Bob booked in a few weeks to teach a seminar on fundamentals of KB training to our members.

Asking him to teach an educational event at Summit Health and Fitness was not a decision made lightly. We've just brought in Olympic lifting platforms and several tons of bumper plates in an effort to expand training options to our members and move out of the conventional "big box" offerings at most gyms. We want to offer more ground based, compound, functional movement offerings to members. One of our next steps is to expand our current KB equipment collection and offer KB classes for members. Bob is perfect in terms of his knowledge, his demeanor and his passion for training. He's a real asset for us as we introduce KB training to members.

My background: Physical therapist, doctoral degree, with about 7 years of teaching strength and conditioning to clients. Long standing NSCA certified CSCS as well as USA Weightlifting and Level 2 certified CrossFit affiliate (www.strengthdoc.com). Also former USAF enlisted with DD214 in hand.

Proud to say I know Bob - ton of respect for his skillset. Recommend him highly.

I'm a 44 year old Phoenix firefighter. I've lifted weights and worked out for over 25 years. I'll admit the first time a saw Bob working out with kettlebells I thought it was a little goofy. Then I tried them. WOW!! What an eye opener!! Thanks to Bob and kettlebells I'm stronger and more flexable than ever! Bob got me back into doing deadlifts too. What a huge difference that makes! One more thing, I thought I'd have to live with shoulder pain because I'm in my fortys now. Wrong!Bob convinced me to stop doing flat bench press. Bingo! after about a week, no more more shoulder pain. Bob is a true student and a teacher of the strength and fitness game.

I am a 47 year old Phoenix Firefighter.I was introduced to the kettlebell by fellow Firefighter/Paramedic Bob Ross.I have found the kettlebell to be a positive addition to my traditional workouts.I was so impressed that I introduced my 21 year firefighter son to them and he also embraced it.
I have watched Bob introduce many people to Kettlebells,and watched him become an outstanding instructor.Bob's passion has been noticed by our Fire department to the point of purchasing hundred's of kettlebells for our department.Bob was also asked to speak at the Phoenix Fire Department health,fitness and safety symposium on the benifits of Kettlebell training.The symposium spurred alot of additional interest.Bob's training of kettlebells has spread to surrounding departments.