This morning I did my very first kettle bells class at my gym. Normally the classes that my gym offers are included in the monthly dues, but starting today and through the end of February I'm doing a special program that costs (a lot) extra. Remember that I am doing the six week challenge at my gym as well, but it works out just fine because the kettle bell classes count towards the challenge.
Being that it was my first kettle bells class, I have no idea how it compares to other kettle bells classes. However, one of my best friends does kettle bells on a regular basis, and from hearing her stories, I think my classes are more kettle bells mixed with cross fit.
So I got to the gym this morning and did a quick walk/jog on the treadmill just to get warmed up. As it got closer and closer to 10 am I got closer and closer to throwing up. I don't think I had ever felt so nervous for a class in my life! Staring at the treadmill screen was making me nauseated and I was praying that I would make it through the class okay.
The instructor is one of the calmest guys I've ever met. I've done cross fit before, and those instructors will pump you up if not yell at you to keep you going. I don't mind people yelling at me, but it was a nice change because he created a more comfortable atmosphere. Other than my friend and me, there were about five other people in the room. We started out doing a bunch of abdominal work, including plank and side plank, but that was basically just the warm up.
For the next 30 minutes, we did 4-5(?) sets of exercises. My friend and I were partners and one of us would do an exercise with the kettle bell while the other did an exercise on the floor (e.g. v-sits, flutter kicks, etc). I believe we did an exercise for one minute, then switched, then everyone did a one minute power exercise like monkey jumps or mountain climbers. Then we'd hear the instructor say those sweet words "Ok, take a break" and we'd have about two minutes to get some water, or just lay in the fetal position on the floor. The other people in the class got a kick out of watching our faces as the instructor said what was coming next.
The kettle bell exercises are not like working out with standard dumbbells. One exercise we did was taking a wide stance, bending our knees, swinging the kettle bell through our legs, and raising it to our chin as we straightened our legs. In other words, it was intense.
After class it took maybe 30 seconds for me to start feeling sore. I felt like I could barely speak. My intention was to go put on my bathing suit and sit in the hot tub, but I was too sore to do that much work!
Tomorrow is supposed to be my long run day, and the instructor said that that will help with the soreness, so we will see about that. I would like to do my long run as best I can, and then hopefully do another class on Monday. That might be pretty ambitious of me, but I really do want to work hard! I have been unhappy with my figure for a long time now, and I'm ready to get back the figure I was really proud of back in 2010.
Once I got home from class I made a juice: apple, pear, lemon, celery, carrot, and beet. Juicing is expensive because you have to buy a good amount of produce to get a sufficient amount of juice, but I love it. I've said this a thousand times and I'll say it again: I don't have a budget for food. I can justify spending the amount that a family of four would spend at the grocery because I really care about what I put in my body! I spend so much because I buy mostly organic produce (not bananas and not citrus fruits because their peels/rinds are so thick), I love Fage Greek yogurt, I love Larabars, I love kombucha, etc, and those items aren't cheap. It is not my intention to sound like a food snob; I just like quality stuff. If I snacked on Godiva all day and only drank Champagne that would be a different story. Maybe some day ;)
I hope everyone has a great weekend - I might be in bed for the rest of it!
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