On my “off” days, my assignment is to complete a total of five minutes jumping rope. If I take a “rest,” then I need to get down and do some pushups. I finish the assignment with some baby ab work.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVsmkvp3C1s

I never thought that 5 minutes could last so long!

Shout out to my tweeps!

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We had the best walking partners- a 3-year old dog and my 2-year old son. This week, I wanted to try out the new little kettlebells, so I packed the original orange 4kg (8 lbs), the new yellow 5 lber, and the red 10lber.

Lia and I warmed up with a brisk walk and then stopped in the shade to let all the  Army runners pass. While we were there, I pulled out the kettlebells and used them to loosen up.

We did circles around our body (I still don’t know what this is officially called) in both directions until we got tired. I did a little knee slapping (no butt slapping today) to get my heart rate up, and then we took off.

Around the first bend, two Army women were cheering on the runners, and gave Lia and I a “Good job!,” clapping for us. 

Having recently taken my son to an orthotics appointment, I was especialy conscious of how I step; I noticed that I walk with my right leg in a turnout. Unfortunately, I’ve experienced pain in my right calf, hamstring and glutes for as long as I can remember.

I think there’s a link between not walking toes forward and this pain. I concentrated on correcting my gait, especially while pushing my 30lb son and the kettlebells in the stroller.

About 3/4 of the way through, I stopped again to loosen up. I practiced the warrior pose that my trainer had taught me on Friday, using the 10lb kettlebell.

Pointing my toes towards Queen’s Beach and bending my left knee, I racked the kettlebell on my right side and pushed it vertical to my ear. Pushing my hips outward towards the right, staying long in my torso, I continued to keep the kettlebell above me.

The movement of my hips to the right causes my left side to move towards the ground. Turning my palm outward, my fingertips eventually touch the cement. (In this position, I feel like Rodin’s “The Thinker” statue in A Night at the Museum 2.  I almost want to yell, “Boom! Boom! Fihyah powaahh!”)

After repeating the pose on the left side, I stretched and was ready to roll (literally). We took a shortcut in the pond area and enjoyed the ducks and their brood.  Not much later we were back at our starting point. I’m estimating the walk to be 1.7 miles due to the shortcut.

When we stopped at our cars, I pulled out the 10lb kettlebell and practiced some swings. I heart the new vinyl covered kbs!

I also did about 10 Zercher squats with my 30lb real kettlebell, as did Lia. These are essentially squats with a baby.

Of course, none of this is demonstrated in the video below, since I was focused on walking correctly and working out. You can check it out to get an idea of where we were and what I was pushing around! (Oh, and to listen to a Hip/Hop R&B flashback from about 1999.)

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www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WtWyk0VejM

After feeling successful with Saturday’s walk, I decided to try out the 5-10-20lb kettlebell set again on Sunday. Check out the next blog for that home workout!

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I had a great day! My new kettlebells came in, I’m not sore anymore, and my friends were visiting Honolulu from Austin, Texas.

They decided to come by to swing some kettlebells while the kids ran around in the backyard.

What commitment. In the past, when I was on vacation, I never made plans to see my friends and exercise at the same time. What a cool way to kill two birds with one stone!

So, we set up all kinds of toys in the backyard. Of course, the older kids wanted to run around with the nerf guns.

My 3-year old nephew, however, has taken a liking to the yellow vinyl-covered kettlebell, which is part of my new set of 5-10-20 pounders. He calls it a “keowbeow.”

My friends were showing me some really great moves. The first probably has an official name in kettleworld. It’s a basic move, pushing the kettlebell with one arm around your meridian, twisting to one side, and grabbing the kettlebell with your other hand behind you. Then twist to the other side, bringing the kettlebell around the other side, and grabbing it with your other hand.

Simply: you’re pushing the kettlebell around you. It sounds so easy- until you realize that your obliques and your abs are on fire.

The other move is a “Figure 8.” You are pushing your kettlebell through your legs in a figure eight motion. Again- simple and effective.

As we moved on to deadlifts and squats, the older kids completely engrossed in their styrofoam gunfire, my 3-year-old nephew decided to join the fun. He even created his own move, pushing the kettlebell above his head. We call it, “The Cody.” As you can see, my 2-year old son is not that interested in the “keowbeow.” 

Enjoy this 1 minute clip (with Feel Good Inc. playing in the background):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRZpo9NyrT4

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I can’t wait until my next kettlebell workout with my friends on their last day in Hawaii!

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His reply to my e-mail? “Fat doesn’t take a break,” or something like that.

So, while not extremely enthusiastic about it, I did agree with his reasoning. I didn’t gain these extra 55 pounds Monday through Friday. In fact, I probably ate more on the weekends.

It’s been a busy family day, but I finally was able to carve out some me time, or so I thought. I went through my mental checklist:

• Is the baby sleeping?       
  

  Check! (Hanging off the bed, sound asleep!)

• Do I have my running shoes?        

  

  Check! Another pair of barely used shoes!

• Is the weather cooperating?        

  

  Looking okay!

• Where’s the babybell?        

  

  In the baby seat!

Okay, I’m good to go. Here was my first assignment:

Briskly walk from the house for 8 minutes. At eight minutes, turn around and go back home, except this time, in 7 minutes.

Now, give me an inch and I think I’m the ruler, so I decided:  I can walk on flat ground instead of uphill, and, the instructions were to walk briskly, not run. ‘Cause I don’t run.

I set out to go for my first walk with a goal since, oh, 2003. Did I make it back in 7? No. Did I run? A little! 

When I got back, my little guy was stirring and the backyard was getting hit pretty hard by some rain, so I decided to work out in our makeshift storage area during the home remodel. 

The assignment:  

Using my 4kg kettlebell, complete Counterbalance Squats, leading into the Forearm Plank, and ending with a Shoulder Press. Complete as many rounds as possible within 20 minutes.

I’d like to say I finished everything I was asked to do in the manner it was assigned. However, the rain and home construction in the background posed a challenge. Not to  mention that my son had a different idea about how I should be spending my Sunday.

Enjoy this montage of my first attempt at working out at home!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN_D4JaeJ3s

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I went to BodyVox in Kapahulu to train with Bill Maeda. My friend Liz had trained with him in the past, so she and I decided to workout together.

Today was really just a getting to know you meeting. We discussed my goals (overall more healthy and 55 pounds lighter), my current fitness routine (none), and my weaknesses (chocolate. daily.) We even took my weight and measurements, which I am proud to display right here:

• Age 35
• Height 5′ 4″
• Weight 210.2
• Bust 44
• Waist 42 1/2
• Hips 49

I’m pretty excited that these last 6 days of stressing out about working out have caused me to lose 2 pounds and 1 1/2 inches! Woo hoo!

Back to my newfound infatuation. As you know, I met the kettlebell through a friend and I wasn’t interested… at first. But today, I got to actually put my hands on a 8kg kettlebell and learn how to properly hold it.

Isn't it cuuuuute?

We assessed what I’ll need to work on. Now, those of you who have tons of experience holding a kettlebell may have forgotten just how unwieldy it is. Even the word unwieldy sounds unwieldy; that’s how strange it was to carry a 17 pound round weight with my small hand wrapped around the solid metal handle, and try to avoid breaking my wrist. I think I held the kettlebell pretty well in the “racked” position.

We practiced some squats, holding the kettlebell upside down, also known as “bottom up,” and then holding it in the right-side-up position, also known as… you guessed it… “bottom down.”

Next, I did a few squats with the kettlebell in the racked position. Hello!? Anyone ever try to sit their butt down on  a chair while balancing 17 pounds on their left side? And then stand up and repeat until fatigued? Well, that’s exactly what I did. Four times is a challenge — five times  is where I had to draw the line.

Oh, I forgot to mention the “press!” How can I forget? This consists of you pushing your “racked” kettlebell up, such that your elbow is locked and the kettlebell is almost perpendicular to the ceiling. I’m making it sound a lot more complicated than it was. As difficult as it was for me, I enjoyed it!

As for stamina? I will definitely need to build my stamina up, but I was able to complete each exercise without hurting myself.

So, that’s the quick and dirty synopsis of my very first workout with an 8kg kettlebell. I felt great!

When I got home to start writing this blog, I was still in the clouds, feeling quite accomplished. I had to pause to run some errands, which is when I started to feel the effects of today’s session. My lower back, my sides, my calves, and muscles in my arm I didn’t even know existed started to ache.

The real test happened when I tried to pick up my little guy, and almost fell over. I couldn’t carry my 30 pound child! 

I got out my salonpas patches for my back and legs, and rubbed my now-aching neck. And that’s when I realized…

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I live in a pretty sizeable city, so it was only a matter of time before I would be introduced to the kettlebell. A friend of mine has been sharing the benefits of using kettlebells for overall fitness, and showed me some of his.  

Closeup of a 12kg kettlebell

Once I actually saw a kettlebell, I kept bumping into them. It was kind of like when you get a new car, and all of a sudden, you see that exact same car everywhere. My friend started training with kettlebells and has been twittering about it after his sessions. A girlfriend of mine had been training with kettlebells over the past few years. And apparently, firefighters are using them all around the nation.

Sometimes kettlebells are referred to as Russian Kettlebells, due to their popularity in the former Soviet Union for strength training and in competitions.  Although there are some typical weight-bearing movements that can be done with kettlebells, such as squats and military-style bench presses (they aren’t called these names in kettleworld, by the way), the main difference with a kettlebell is that it is used in a fluid, swinging motion.

Unlike machines or free weights, kettlebell training integrates both aerobic and anaerobic activity, or cardio and weight training. This aspect appealed to me most, since I don’t have a lot of time and in a sense, would be killing two birds with one… kettlebell.

Kettlebells typically are described in kilograms. My American mind has a hard time wrapping around this concept, so I’ll break it down for you:  For every 1 kilogram, there are 2.20462262 pounds. Just to be clear- when talking about kettlebells, low numbers of kilograms equal much higher numbers of pounds. (I’m not an idiot, but for some reason, this troubles me.)

So, a woman may start out with an 8kg kettlebell, but she’s actually swinging and lifting almost 18 pounds of solid metal. A man may begin his program with a 16kg, which is really about 35 pounds.

I finally decided to take the leap and find myself a trainer. On this day, I am nervously awaiting our first meeting. In the meantime, I received what I’m calling a “babybell,” a 4kg kettlebell that looks like an orange bocce ball with a black handle.

My babybell: Cute, isn't it?

Just to give you an idea of how much work this program is going to be for me– I was quickly demonstrating a few kettlebell swings at home, and I broke into a sweat. The next day, my triceps hurt. (Although, I was also lifting my real 16kg  babybell over my head for fun that day as well.)

My real 16kg babybell

So, if you’d never heard of a kettlebell before KettleTell– I know from experience– you’re going to see a lot more about them from here on out! (And stay tuned for upcoming video and pics of me trying kettlebells for the first time with my trainer!)

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