Someone asked me this week why I do this kettlebell challenge every year. It’s a valid question as 9,000 kettlebell swings is a substantial commitment - for sure!
The kettlebell challenge originated a few years ago in kettlebell coaching circles and is one that I have personally done for the past few years.
But wait, I’m pretty proficient at swinging a kettlebell and have been teaching kettlebells for many years, so, why do it?
Over the past few years my life has dictated that I take a spin on some pretty epic roller coaster rides. I actually wrote about it for the Huffington Post when my Dad was battling Cancer link here.
The first time I did the kettlebell challenge I was going through a tough time in my life and things were uncertain, stressful and quite challenging. Every time I’ve completed the challenge it has really help me shape a new perspective on whatever challenge I was dealing with and I wanted to share that with you!
I’m guessing there are a lot of people out there really missing their fitness community (gym, yoga studio, pilates studio), their family & friends, "regular life" and maybe just feeling in a funk.
I get it and I want to help!
The kettlebell challenge helped me immensely in the following ways:
1) It gave me a very specific goal to achieve every day. Sometimes I did light swings foam rolling and stretching, other days I did intense intervals PLUS an additional training session, other days I did what’s commonly referred to as ‘exercise snacks’ and had a kettlebell strategically placed in my house doing 10-15 swings throughout my day. No matter how I felt, or what the day presented me with, I would swing that kettlebell and accomplish that goal. Every single day.
2) It gave me a sense of stability and routine during some crazy times. No matter what happened, no matter what the day brought forth, I would swing that kettlebell. It made me fall into a routine of doing movement work EVERY DAY, during a time when I knew I would struggle, even as a professional fitness coach, do get a training session in.
3) It helped me relieve some stress and improved my mood. There is an abundance of conclusive research on how and why exercise improves your mental health and your boosts your mood. I think we can ALL agree that you will never regret going for that walk, run or doing a workout, it DOES always make you feel better. I’m ALWAYS telling my personal training clients, “You might not like me right now…but you will when we stretch out at the end of your session, when your heart rate finally returns to normal and you know you have rocked an awesome training session.”
So, there you have it. It’s why I hope you will join us for an active packed June filled with a lot of sweat, laughs, learning and yes, 3,000 kettlebell swings!
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