About the Author

Qualifications Obtained

StrongFirst Certified Kettlebell Instructor (SFG1 + SFG2)
Russian Girevoy Sport Institute Kettlebell Coach
International Kettlebell Sport and Fitness Academy Certified Kettlebell Coach
International Kettlebell and Fitness Federation Certified Kettlebell Teacher
Kettlebell Sport Rank 1
HardstyleFit Kettlebell Level 1 Instructor
CrossFit Level 1 Trainer
CrossFit Judges Certificate
CrossFit Lesson Planning Certificate
Kettlebells Level 2 Trainer
Kettlebell Science and Application
MMA Fitness Level 2
MMA Conditioning Level 1
BJJ Purple Belt
and more…

My name is Taco Fleur. The first thing I’d like you to know about me is that I do not know everything, I don’t pretend to know everything, and I never will. I’m on a path of lifelong learning. I believe there is always something to learn from someone, no matter who they are.

I’ve been physically active since the day I arrived on this earth in 1973. I got serious about training in 1999, touched a kettlebell for the first time in 2004, and got serious about kettlebell training in 2009. I’m here to do what I love most, and that is to share my knowledge with the world.

I currently live in beautiful Greece. I’m half a century of age and getting fitter and stronger every year, I don’t tend to change that perspective either. Age is just a number.

Owner of Cavemantraining and IKU™ (International Kettlebell University), Author on BoxRox. Featured in 4 issues of the Iron Man magazine. I have owned and set up 3 functional kettlebell gyms in Australia and Vietnam, and lived in the Netherlands, Australia, Vietnam, Thailand, Italy, Tanzania, Albania, and I’m currently living in Greece.

But as always, none of that really matters; it’s about how well I bring across my knowledge and how I’m able to break down complex things and create step-by-step progressions. I’m not too fussed on numbers and achievements; it’s about what I can do for others. To be truly happy in life, one should focus on building up others; of course, one has to build oneself up first before doing so.

Some of my personal bests are:

30 consecutive days of Kettlebell Strength training
36kg Hardstyle Snatch
2 × 28kg/62lb (total 56kg/124lb) half snatch
1 hour unbroken clean and jerk with a 16kg/35lb
45 minutes unbroken clean and jerk with a 20kg/44lb
400 burpees performed within one hour
500 kettlebell snatches, 500 swings, and 500 double-unders completed in one session
250 alternating dead clean and presses in one session with 20kg/44lb
200 pull-ups in one session
200 unbroken kettlebell swings with a 28kg/62lb
Most kettlebell swings completed in one session with a 28kg/62lb (1,501)
Most total kettlebell swings completed in 28 days with a 28kg/62lb (11,111)
Windmill with a 40kg/88lb kettlebell
Chest press with two 40kg/88lb dumbbells (total 80kg)
Lugged a 16kg/35lb kettlebell up a 3,479m mountain
160kg deadlift
50 CrossFit Burpees and 100 single-arm swings unbroken in 5:34
85kg Olympic Squat Snatch
300 unbroken clean and jerk with 20kg/44lb kettlebell
10-minute unbroken clean and jerk 80 reps with 2 × 16kg/35lb kettlebells
532 unbroken snatches and achieved rank 2 in kettlebell sport
100 TGUs @ 20kg/44lb in one session

I mention these PBs not to boast but to demonstrate that I have a good understanding of technique and movement across different areas.

My own training and goals are geared around GPP (General Physical Preparedness), which mostly involves kettlebell training, calisthenics, and mobility work.

I like high-volume reps, but I also like greasing the groove now and again. My main goals are to remain as agile and mobile as possible, to train in as many planes of movement as possible, and to learn as many different exercise combinations and movements as possible while having fun and enjoying other ways of movement, such as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

I’m no Arnold Schwarzenegger and never will be, but strength is not solely defined by physical appearance and huge bulging muscles.

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