Greetings, Everyone!
A few days ago, my kettlebell trainer gave me my first taste of traditional lifting in the gym. I already knew that I wanted to take my strength training to the next level by incorporating lifting into my current routine (i.e. lifting bells 2x/wk and doing weekly boot camp for more conditioning), but WOW…after Saturday, I’m really excited about it to say the least!
He kept it very light as it was only meant to be a quick intro. to some things before regular kbell class, but I really enjoyed it and am eager for more! He told me after the fact that I had bench pressed 75 x 5 (obviously, I knew how many reps, but I had no idea how much weight…he kept adding until I was challenged). I think I squeezed out 3 more reps before stopping; had never done those before, so I was happy with that.
Hopefully, I’ll be able to get into the gym regularly within the next couple of weeks (need to iron out the schedule), but in the mean time, I’ll continue to lift KBs and do boot camp. Trainer has been encouraging me to sign up and share that here, so for anyone who might also lift KBs, I’ll be looking forward to sharing notes.
I’ve been doing it for a little over 2 years solid, and to say that I’m hooked is an understatement. Really quite happy with the progress I’ve made and how it’s changed me for the better. I lost fat, built muscle, and got stronger - and in combination with improving my nutrition plan, it’s been a great journey thus far towards creating a better “me.” Btw, for you regulars here, you know my trainer: Rick Fischer. I’m super blessed to have him not only as my coach but as my friend!!!
Basics: When I first started with KBs, I was probably ~145lbs. and had wasted 3 yrs. after the birth of my second child saying that “I need to get back into shape.” For several months now, my weight had been pretty steady at 123lbs (I’m 5’3" tall, age 43), and in the past couple of weeks, I’ve been hovering ~120-ish. Short-term KB goals include staying on the heavier end of my range for sessions (i.e. use 40 and 45lb bells more than the 35) and messing around w/adding weight to my pistols, which I’ve been having fun working on.
Longer-range goals include HKC (Hardstyle Kettlebell Certification) and eventually RKC (Russian Kettlebell Challlenge Certification). This is more for personal development than anything else as I’m not a trainer. Looking to tweak things with the addition of lifting outside of KBs to build stronger shoulders, stronger back, stronger…everything. 
Not sure how consistent I’ll be with keeping up a log, but I look forward to reading more of yours and learning lots.
oh - kinda hard to quickly find a “regular” pic of me, since I’m the shutterbug in the family and am rarely IN the photo, so the one I posted is from my first-born daughter’s “Dress like a Rock Star” 7th bday party last October. We have lots of fun w/her parties each year, since she was born just a few days before Halloween.
Jean
