Kettlebell, Kettlebell, Kettlebell

I know.  Kettlebell, kettlebell, kettlebell.  Marcia, Marcia, Marcia.  I have been taking a kettlebell class for the past 18 months and have probably bored people to tears talking about it the last 17 months and 30 days.  I kind of feel like I am selling Amway or Mary Kay when I approach people and say “Have you heard about kettlebell?” 

Kettlebells

Prior to kettlebell my main form of exercise was half-hearted running around the neighborhood.  When my son turned 4, I looked at myself and the additional weight I was carrying and knew I could not call it baby weight anymore; it was all mine.  My early attempts at running were slow and short-distanced.  I rewarded myself for running with handfuls of chocolate chips thinking “I deserve it, I ran today.”  As evidenced by my brother’s wedding pictures, this was not healthy thinking and I ended up gaining more weight.  Eventually my distance increased and the dread I used to feel about running slowly faded.  I still wasn’t fast, but I was out there, pounding the pavement and calling it exercise.

When a friend forwarded me a groupon about a kettlebell class at Punch Kettlebell , I had never even heard of a kettlebell but thought that if I didn’t have to run outside when it was 85 at 7am, I was all over it.  We went to the workshop and learned the proper way to swing, to clean, and to press and got introduced to the ropes.  My heart was beating out of my chest with exertion and I was so sore the next day, I knew it had to be good for me.  I was awkward, incredibly awkward, at first with how to hold the bell, how to swing, and it was not uncommon for me to hear “STOP!  What are you doing?  What is that?!”  Oddly enough, I found this encouraging rather than intimidating.  The trainers wanted me to be good at this and so did I. Slowly, I got stronger, less awkward, and more competitive.  (Thank you Karen and Jenny)  I could move more weight and didn’t have to go home and take a nap after class anymore.  I knew enough to help new people in class and encourage them.  Last week I heard “Watch Rebecca, she knows what she is doing” and I felt like I had won kettlebell gold. 

Ropes and no, that is not my arm.

Every class is different, every trainer has a slightly different style and you are never quite sure what the day will hold.  Will it be Ropes Gone Wild or the dreaded 300? Will you warm up doing moves you haven’t tried since grade school?  We unfortunately warmed up doing crab walks and bear crawls the day my friend’s ten year old son was there and he still can't look me in the eye.  Kettlebell is not just lifting weights; it is an intense cardio and all over workout. (Average calories burned in one hour of kettlebell range between 500-1000!) You are using your core for every single move and your abs will let you know!   I especially like Punch Kettlebell because the classes are small enough that you get to know the people you are sweating with.  We encourage each other, we cheer on the beast-mode in each other and engage in very friendly competition.( I do advise you to be friendly otherwise I will privately name you things like Sweaty Guy, Toe Shoes or worse.)  I have walked in to class feeling defeated or overwhelmed by life and left there feeling invincible.  How can you be angry anymore after 20 big slams on the rope or feel defeated when you have just push pressed more than you did last week?  Physically, I have not felt this strong since I played sports in high school.  Even with my bum toe, I can do 90% of every workout and the trainers have been not only accommodating of my injury, but creative in what I can do instead.  And no ladies, you will not get bulky. You will get toned and lean and strong.

I live in a neighborhood where all the women are doctors, lawyers, CEOs, hold multiple degrees or are incredible activists for the community.  They run the PTA like a Fortune 500 Company and carry this over to their exercise as well.  They are marathon runners, tri-athletes, long-distance bikers.  I have been intimidated and exhausted just watching them.  Until kettlebell.  Kettlebell is my marathon.  It is my triathlon.  I love to share it with my friends who text me early the next day with things like “I am so sore” or “I hate you”.  I snicker like Snagglepuss and enjoy my day even more. 

So I apologize for pushing kettlebell like Sam-I-Am in “Green Eggs and Ham” but like Sam, I just can’t help myself.  And really, what is the moral of that story?  The Grinch-looking guy tries something new and then what?  HE LIKES THEM!  HE REALLY, REALLY LIKES THEM!  So try it.  You will like it.  And I can’t wait for your text telling me how much you hate me.