A couple months ago, my old roommate emailed me with an article from the New York Times about kettlebell gyms around the country. Highlighted in said article wasa well-regarded kettlebell gym located here in sunny/windy Albuquerque. The name of the gym is Firebellz, which is a nod to the Firefighting/EMS background of the founders/owners.
I first got into kettlebells back in 2009 while training at Daddis Fight Camps in Philadelphia. I would mix one or two kettlebell classes in between Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes in an effort to continually mix up my workout.
For those unfamiliar with kettlebells, they are basically a cannon ball with a handle welded on to it. I'm sure anyone who is curious has already Googled the topic to find out more, so I won't labor on the details. The workouts typically consist of various lifts, swings, stretches and moves that incorporate the kettlebell(s) in some fashion. It's been said to be the secret behind the Iron Curtain and the crazy strength/toughness of the Russians. I bet Ilya Bryzgalov could tell some good kettlebelling stories.
The KB (kettlebell) classes at Daddis were intense. They were only 30-minutes in length and they were never an easy 30 minutes. The classes were advertised to be a similar burn to a full hour or even 90-minute session lifting weight in a gym. I believed it. I would have sore muscles that I didn't even know I had.
When Christina (my old roommate) sent me that NYT article it got me interested in getting back into the swing (no pun intended) of things and potentially add it into my workout schedule. But, for whatever reason, I didn't act on it until a few weeks ago. They were running a Groupon special for their introductory course and I decided to give it a go. After just a few minutes getting reacquainted with the KB, I was re-hooked.
The special was for their "Spark" class which is required for newbies (like me, sort of) to learn the techniques, postures, etc. in order to properly and safely workout with a KB. It was very beneficial. My experiences at the KB classes at Daddis were very technical and safe, but I never had the one-on-one interaction with a certified KBer to show me the proper stances, positions, angles and details. The devil is definitely in the details. The first Spark class we did nothing but deadlifts. A lot of them. Some with the bell, some without. The instructors were very thorough and patient. The deadlift movement is the basis for a lot of KB moves. It's critical to master, thus we spent a lot of time on it. My second class was much of the same, but spent some more detailed time on the swing, also another key movement in KB training. My hamstrings and glutes were very sore afterwards. (And they still are.)
While at my first class, I was keyed in on a program Firebellz offers called the Body Transformation Contest. It is a 12-week program they run, monitor, motivate, etc. in order to help people reach their fitness goals, whether it is to lose weight and tone up, or to bulk up with some solid mass. In addition to attending the classes they have offered at various times during the week, they assist with tracking your goals, monitoring your diet, and increasing your knowledge about your body, nutrition, injury prevention, and other hot-and-critical topics. The results from those who have participated in the past are pretty amazing. You can see for yourself on their website. If you're anything like me, you're skeptical of these before-and-after photos. You see them all the time on TV, whether it's for P90X, Weight Watchers, Curves, or whatever and you're never quite sure if you can fully believe the truth behind the advertising. Are they the same people? Did they post-produce the photos with some modifications to enhance the results? But I met the dude who won the past BTC (Body Transformation Contest) and he's legit. (Although, I just me the guy, so I didn't know him as the "before" dude.) The people coming out of this are filled with praise for the program. Chatting it up got me pretty amped.
So I took the plunge and threw my name into the hat for the upcoming BTC.
And it starts this upcoming week (4/30).
Tomorrow (4/28) I'm due at the gym for the initial photo, weigh-in and measurements. This Thursday is the first group meeting to review all the details and to meet the rest group. Meal logs aren't required for this week but getting to the required classes is. No better time to dive into things than now.
Between triathlon training (ITU San Diego is right around the corner), hockey season starting up and this BTC, it'll be a full schedule, but a healthy one. And since I have this little lane in the information super highway, I thought I would make a constant effort to update my progress along the way with weekly stats, results and thoughts to share with you, my loyal readers.
Stay tuned for more.
No comments:
Post a Comment