The Iron Warrior

How to Excel at the Sport of Lacrosse —
Using Kettlebells to Generate Greater Power, Strength and Endurance

Lacrosse and kettlebells—both passions of mine—form a beautiful marriage when performed together. Both have a rugged reputation and an ancient root. Both hail from a time when a man's physical prowess was key to both his day-to-day survival and lifelong success. Playing lacrosse was an act of war that had great spiritual significance to the Native Americans. Likewise, the kettlebell was a resourceful training tool for hard living, warfare, and acts of strength. It makes perfect sense, then, that the kettlebell be a great training tool for lacrosse.

The full potential of the training process can far exceed what most people believe is possible by academic standards. I've seen this happen. I've seen injuries heal before the six- to eight-week period the doc has prescribed. I've seen people who were ready to quit running on a doctor's advice go on to win their age group in record time. I've seen transformations of epic proportions. I've seen regular people and athletes become Warriors!

It's all about learning. All these people learned to change the program of the cyclical and the linear to achieve more and walk on higher ground. They gained a new perspective of what it takes to thrive. The goal of a Warrior is to reach that higher ground and never stop climbing. The process of training and becoming stronger is a path that has no destination. It involves consistent refinement of the self.

My hope is that this book will bring you to the trailhead, where you can begin your personal transformation and start down your own path to becoming a Warrior. Iron Warrior contains a wealth of information that will help you achieve your goals as a lacrosse player and beyond.

Today, the term sports specificity is commonly used but rarely understood. For a program to be sports specific, it requires more than just working the muscles involved in the sport. In addition, it must blend the elements of mechanics, energy and metabolism, patterns of movement, and speed.

The use of kettlebells with the Iron Warrior program meets these criteria completely. I have used this program personally and in training athletes with great success, so I know it's tried and true. Once you feel comfortable with the program, find a way to put your own signature on it. It was never my goal to make your training overly dogmatic but rather to show you the way until you can navigate on your own. — Jason Therrien