I recently connected with Coach Bob Kaehler, 3-time Olympian and the most successful U.S. male heavyweight rower at the world championships level with four world titles including a three-straight streak (1997–1999) with U.S. coach Mike Teti.
Bob has been working on his Kaehler Core (KC) machine since 2011. I asked him if he would like to answer a few questions to help spread the word about his work with the Kaehler Core machine. He accepted my invitation.
What follows is a transcript of the answers he had for my questions about his cutting-edge process and technology.
Q: What gave you the idea to create the Kaehler Core?
A: The Kaehler Core came out of my necessity to make things more time effective, efficient and powerful. I’ve been doing this hands-on column core training system for the past twenty years having evaluated about two thousand rowers now. These athletes are composed of nine-hundred Division one athletes, one hundred and fifty national team athletes and the rest are high-school and masters athletes. This column core process has helped hundreds of rowers and other athletes to eliminate training related pain that failed to get better using traditional medicine. Once the athlete learns the column core skill, the body automatically starts to correct imbalances (strength and inflexibility in arms and legs) while stabilizing the spine or back, so everything corrects all at once.
In the evaluation process, I’ve found common imbalances that exist in all athletes not just rowers but all athletes. I worked with NFL players, hockey players, tennis players and other athletes as well. I needed to create more efficiency in my specialty. I wanted to unify my hands-on column core training system which is composed of twelve fundamental exercises that I teach in that system. These exercises teach column core control or what I call spine stabilization or non-moving spine control. The Kaehler core was just a way to try to unify all those exercises, and that’s why I created it.
Q: How long did it take to develop the Kaehler Core Machine?
A: I created the first KC prototype in March of 2011. Over a series of four or five weeks, I finally got a working prototype that I could train on. During it’s development, I’ve had many changes over the past seven years. Some top division one teams use my Kaehler Core system. My process has evolved over the past seven years.
Q: What lessons did you learn along the way?
A: I didn’t realize how powerful the column core training system was until I started getting results from teams that started using the system and clients that had chronic back pain without even touching them or teaching my hands-on system they were eliminating chronic back pain getting faster and stronger. I think that the lessons that I learned were more about how powerful this process is, and it’s hard to believe how this simple application of force can be such a massive benefit to athletes.
Q: Why is the product different and what are the major benefits of this technology?
A: What differentiates this product from all others is you apply force in some exercises on the KC, channeling force through the spine from top to bottom and bottom to top. Your hands and feet are both connected to the KC column, and both can move simultaneously to generate resistive force as you direct force through this column. The column core training system actually starts to teach your spine how to control itself as one unit or solid bar (non-moving back) that provides a base for the arms and legs to work against, This contrasts with a chain system (moving back system) where there are roughly twenty moving segments (vertebrae) that can provide movement along with the arms and legs to provide moving force which I call the chain system. Lifting weights does not teach you this skill nor does body calisthenics unless you have a teacher who knows how to teach you proper muscle activation when doing body exercises. Anyone can learn this skill, and the KC automatically starts teaching your spine this powerful skill.
The column core training system starts to teach your spine how to become a massive controller providing or what I call the non-moving vertical. The major benefits are you getting correction of all the imbalances I find in athletes when I test them. Inflexibility and weaknesses in extremities disappear as you start to train as the system and you stop overworking your back to move movement happen. The major benefits and performance changes are dramatic, and there is also the elimination of injuries.
Q: Do you have any quantitative performance data on teams that have used the product?
A: Last year, a top three or four team started to implement my system. For example, one of the athletes was at 6:00 for his 2k in January. By the beginning of March, the same athlete rowed a 5:49 2k. On that same team, ninety percent of the athletes had achieved a personal best. In March, there were zero injuries on the team to the point where the athletic trainer was calling the coach and asking – Where is everybody?
The results are dramatic. Other teams that use it don’t always share quantitative data, but I know they’re getting tremendous results because they use the system every year and they also have an elimination of injuries.
Q: If someone was interested in a product for their program or personal use how can they go about doing that?
A: The first step would be to contact me. You can go to my website www.kaehlercore.com or email me directly at coachkaehler@gmail.com, and I can get more information to them. I have some teams that are now using it including Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Syracuse, MIT, Washington, URI, Northeastern, Williams, Fairfield and some high school programs in the Philly area along with hundreds of individual clients. I do some product demonstrations in Newtown, PA and also, I now have certified several trainers who are also doing KC demonstrations for coaches and athletes if you are not in the Philadelphia area. Please email if you are interested in going through a live training demonstration. If you are a certified personal trainer, please reach out if you would like to learn more about the KC and the certification and affiliate programs.
Thank you, Coach Bob Kaehler, for taking the time to explain your product and system to my readers!
If you have an interest in sharing your fitness or rowing products on this blog, please contact me at neil@coachbergenroth.com or connect with me on Twitter @CoachBergenroth or Facebook.