Why Kettlebells?

Okay, so lonnnnng story, short…my husband and I had been piecing together a home gym for a number of years. Buying equipment as we could and a few things we just couldn’t possibly live without. Sometimes shiny objects, like beautifully colored competition kettlebells, caught our attention.

Muscle DriverUSA had a sale some years ago and, wouldn’t you know it, despite never having even touched one that I can remember we wound up with an entire set of double kettlebells from 12kg up to 40kg. Totally necessary, obviously…

We played around with them for a couple of years, doing squats and—now looking back—really bad swings. I think I even did Dan John’s 10k Swing Challenge at one point. I had a lot more grit back then because I know those swings could not have felt good 🫣 We’re just gonna call them practice reps. lol.

Finally, when we moved to Pennsylvania we happened upon a Strong First Kettlebell User Course in our area and decided that it would be worth actually learning how to use the darn things. Little, did we know, that was a decision that would completely transform our lives.

At the course, which was AWESOME btw, we learned about the Strong First Level 1 Instructor Certification. After hearing about all of the requirements my first thought was, “I could never do that.” I mean, I could barely press the 16kg for a single rep—let alone FIVE!! Not to mention I’d never even attempted a kettlebell snatch.

We both kept talking about how challenging and scary the certification sounded even days after doing the workshop and decided we didn’t really have anything to lose except our pride so why not at least try it? So, we signed up for a Philadelphia area certification the following June, hired a coach and got to training.

It was wild and eye opening because we were actually training FAR less than we previously did but we were making crazy progress. Like, how cool is that?!? It almost didn’t feel real.

From December 2018 to June 2019 we worked our butts off, or maybe on 🤔, training for the SFG1 certification and I’ve gotta say, it wasn’t getting the certification that changed anything, but the process of preparing for it and the experience itself that made me level up in ways I never dreamed I would.

I fell in LOVE with the practice of strength training—particularly learning kettlebell skills—and I realized that I have so much more potential than I imagined.

No, I’m not really an athlete but moving with, and practicing kettlebell skills, sure makes me feel powerful and gives me a sense of accomplishment I’ve never felt from any other training tool.

After completing the SFG1, the rest is kinda history. I accidentally 🤷‍♀️ got a coaching job at a gym about 45 minutes from my house. Completed the SFL, SFG2 and SFB all within the next 16ish months and eventually quit my nursing job to go all in on being a trainer/kettlebell coach. Some would say I’m a little obsessed 😂

There are so many other great workout tools and options beyond kettlebell training but, for me, kettlebells have helped me get more deeply connected to my breath and movement, seriously increased my strength and conditioning levels, improved my mobility, coordination and balance, and provide a fun and efficient way to workout as well as play with movement. Obviously the kettlebells didn’t DO this, I did through consistent practice but the kettlebells provided a system I could get excited about.

Kettlebells allow you to train strength, hypertrophy, mobility, power, endurance, coordination and balance. They’re an all-in-one tool that may not be the best for super specific training goals like hitting a 1RM deadlift or winning a body building competition BUT for being stronger than average, pretty dang fit, saving time and actually having FUN with working out…you’ll never convince me there’s a better tool. It’s all in HOW you use them.

Now, I’ve completed multiple kettlebell instructor certifications through various organizations and have even been working as an assistant coach for Bell Mechanics, coaching up other trainers on their skills and ability to teach kettlebell movements to others!

If you’re interested in learning more about kettlebell training or want to take your skills to the next level then we should chat!

Complete an application to schedule your free 30-minute Connection Call so we can discuss your goals, how I can help and decide if we’d be a good fit to work together. Can’t wait to hear from you!