Kettlebell therapy

Today I went to a kettlebell get-together-class with RKC instructor Sandy Sommer of Charm City Kettlebells.  This had been planned for a couple of weeks, but I had been feeling sick since Wednesday, with a headache and fever that kept coming and going, and I kept going back and forth (much like the headache) on whether I should even go.  At one point I even composed an email saying I couldn’t come, but I forgot to send it, so when I woke up this morning and it was a perfect cool breezy sunny day, I thought, get off your butt and just do it.  So I fueled myself with coffee and a big bowl of ramen – Japan’s breakfast of champions – and took off for Towson.

It turned out to be the best decision.  About eight other people were there along with Sandy, his girlfriend and son.  We learned two of the most basic kettlebell moves, the swing and Turkish getup.  I had been doing these for awhile, but it was good to reinforce and improve what I already knew so I could keep getting better at them.  You don’t have to get fancy with kettlebells; if anything it’s best to keep them simple.

After an hour of solid instruction, we did six rounds of 15 swings and called it a day.  I felt the best I’d felt all week and went home and washed the car.  Kettlebells have a terrific way of making you feel worked out and energized at the same time.  Give them a try!  (I would suggest going to a good instructor, like Sandy, instead of trying to learn from DVDs.)

Here’s a video of Sandy teaching the Turkish getup while balancing a shoe. I’ll start with a sock and work my way up.