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Fitness

Kung Fu and Kettlebells

The secret to perpetual success is to perpetually take chances on new ideas, even if what you’re doing now is working.

Mindith Rahmat

Written by Mindith Rahmat Last updated on July 20, 2017

Every good thing in your life is about relationships, and that includes fitness. Nobody can illustrate this point better than Dr. Chris Holder, head strength and conditioning coach at Cal Poly, and a long-time contributor to Breaking Muscle. He and Justin Lind dive into his athletic and coaching careers, uncovering the family tree of coaches who shaped who he is today. Under their tutelage, Dr. Holder learned to actively adapt his coaching philosophy to meet the unique needs of his athletes, as illustrated by his new partnership with David Weck.

A consistent theme you’ll hear in this interview is Dr. Holder’s willingness to be the first to try new things. This manifested in the evolution of his coaching methods toward the primacy of kettlebell training, which he feels has given his teams the edge over their competitors for more than 15 years. His curiosity also led to his introduction to and education in Qigong, and he discusses the impact it has had on himself and his athletes at Cal Poly.

Mindith Rahmat

About Mindith Rahmat

Mindith is a born mover. She has spent her life exploring various athletic disciplines, starting with ballet and modern dance from an early age. She went on to become a E-RYT 500 certified yoga therapist and teacher and discovered CrossFit after the birth of her daughter.

Mindith coached CrossFit at a number of boxes near her home in Southern California, which lead to her involvement in Russian kettlebells and Olympic weightlifting. She has coached a wide variety of populations and cares deeply for women’s health, specializing in pregnancy and postpartum fitness. She is currently studying the principles of Natural Movement and Kettlebell Sport, and is working to complete an additional teacher training in the Taoist art of Yin Yoga with Master Paulie Zink.

Mindith founded Breaking Muscle in 2011. Over 5 million people a month have visited the site, hundreds of thousands of them follow Breaking Muscle on social media, nearly 2,000 coaches have written or appeared on its pages, and there are thousands of free, fully-formed training plans freely available. Breaking Muscle has won numerous awards in the industry and is recognized for pioneering new approaches to fitness and coaching techniques. In 2021, Breaking Muscle was acquired by Barbend. Mindith continues to devote time to her kids, pursue her doctorate in psychology, do research, and teach.

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