Kettlebell Master of Sport..kitchen...kids...and kettlebells

Kitchen, Kids, and Kettlebells

Part I…

So I’m a KB (kettlebell) Master of Sport…what does that mean?!  

I must admit, 2 years ago, when I first picked up a kettlebell, I had doubts that I could actually achieve a rank or be the least bit successful at such a sport.  I’ve been “athletic” my whole life – growing up on a farm, slinging hay bales and keeping up with my 3 older brothers.  I was always stronger than most other girls and even some guys.  But when I picked up a 20Kg (44lbs.) bell for the first time, I knew I’d met my match.  Picking it up was one thing – no big deal – lifting it up and over my head multiple times in a span of 10 minutes was a whole different obstacle.

So how did I get to this point.....and why?

My mother battled cancer most of my childhood and adult life; so I was accustomed to meeting challenges “head on” and achieving certain “milestones.”  I knew at a young age I wanted to be a wife, mother, and teacher.  Along the way, I added food and wellness-blog writer as well as musician and runner to that list.  Lots of things seemed to come naturally to me, others not so much.  I’m a pretty good cook and an even better eater, so writing about food and its’ nourishing characteristics was a breeze.  Music has always been a source of relaxation, therapy, and enjoyment; I can’t remember a time I didn’t know how to play the piano.  However, I was never a very good runner, but when my husband, Jeremiah (Dirty Gym II coach) began running to prepare for the military, I ran along beside him. Five minute run/walk intervals led to my first half-marathon as well as countless 5 and 10K’s.  In my experience, becoming an endurance athlete required months of training long runs.  But, by the grace of God, I set a goal and enjoyed the accomplishment that followed. 

When Jeremiah began working with Marcus Mucheck (Dirty Gym owner/coach), to begin his journey from endurance to strength, I followed along and started to test my own strength in a different sport.  I found elements of power-lifting to be quite rewarding, but with a full-time job and 3 little girls, it was difficult for me to keep up with the required training time.  That’s when coach Mucheck introduced me to the sport of Kettlebells.  As I watched other women compete and earn their ranks, I decided I wanted to join them.  Two years later - October 13, 2012 - this wife, teacher and mother earned the Kettlebell Master of Sport rank at the Beast of the East Kettlebell competition (my very first competition) in Connecticut. 

My road to rank was not a short one, nor always an easy one, especially with a family and a teaching career.  When I entered the sport of kettlebells, my family lived on a small farm in Ohio.  My gym was a barn and my partners were my chickens, my daughters’ horses, and our cow.  Yep…you heard correctly…our cow!  Our family was living a very self-sustained life on our little farm and I was swinging my kettlebells in a barn!  The neighbors probably thought me a little odd; come to think of it, most people think me a little odd.  Oh well.  Along the way, I dealt with the frustration of my body and its limitations…as most athletes do at one point or another.  I discovered that my shoulders where going to be a source of imperfection…the rotation required for back squatting had left them really aggravated at me.  Arthritis in my shoulder and tendinitis in the heads of my biceps were a constant pain.  However, I changed some things in my diet to decrease inflammation and left certain elements of power-lifting behind as I focused on my kettlebell training.  As my training progresses, I was also fortunate to have the insight and instruction of some very accomplished kettlebell athletes like Marty Farrell and Lorna Kleidman. 

Then a little over a year ago, our military family received the news that we would be relocating to New England.  The move was very stressful for our family and we not only hated to leave our home, our farm and our barn, we also hated to leave good friends and training partners/coaches behind in Dayton.

So that’s when The Dirty Gym II was founded.

Here, we train power-lifters, kettlebell lifters, cross-fitters, and those who just want to improve their physical fitness. www.facebook.com/TheDirtyGymII

So what does it mean to be a Master of Sport?

Simply put, it means being able to perform a minimum number of repetitions of a certain lift during a specific amount of time.  Below you will find the link to requirements necessary to achieve individual rankings.  Master of Sport in the Long Cycle requires a lifter in the 72Kg weight class to perform 118 repetitions with a 20Kg bell within 10 minutes.  I achieved Master of Sport rank by completing 127 repetitions in the 10 min. Long Cycle. 

http://www.ikff.net/site/ikff/images/Rules_Policies.pdf

So what’s next?

Well, it looks like my bells need to get bigger!  Back to the gym!

*Special thanks to my husband/coach Jeremiah True (Dirty Gym II), coach Marcus Mucheck (Dirty Gym – Dayton), Matthew Swartout, (Dirty Gym-Dayton) and KB Master of Sport Marty Farrell.
www.facebook.com/dirtygym