Brace the Lats

Warm-Up for Kettlebell 101:

Run around the room. Run around the room swinging one arm then the other. Skip around the room. Shuffle towards the mirror. Shuffle in the other direction. Make use of all the floor space while running...

After the warm-up, another newbie said: Okay, I'm done. I gave her a high five then went to assume the position near my kettlebell.

We moved on to our usual of jumping jacks et al. Warmed up the shoulders a bit more. Warmed up the hip region and the knees...

Mike was not playing around (row, push-up, around the body and catch, shoulder press, squat curl). When it was all over, he had administered a very thorough beat down.

We did our regular kettlebell swings and we did that darn one minute circuit of lunges. It's official: I cannot stand that curtsy situation.

The newbies got introduced to the swing and release. Um, I didn't quite catch on to that one. Not sure if this is the one that Mike said you should have T-rex arms for...

I have to say that I like it that Mike insists that we get into a circle or, really, an oval. It makes you feel more connected to your classmates.

Towards the end, we sat down and took our legs far apart. Each person said a number and we did arm presses and some other move. There were eleven of us so it was pretty intense.

We also did ab work. Have you ever held a kettlebell over your chest while doing bicycle motions with your leg? Or extended your straightened legs toward you then the floor? We also did windshield wipers with our kettlebells poised above our chests.

Mike also introduced us to the waiter walk. You put the kettlebell in your hand and hold it out as if you're a waiter serving someone and you can't curl your fingers around it. Mike said that when you're doing the waiter walk, you should brace your lats. There was not enough bracing in the world for me to be able to serve. I tried with my right hand and got absolutely nowhere with the left.

I bought my first kettlebell. I was going to get it from Play It Again Sports but they only had the kb's in five pound increments and Mike suggested that I get a 10 kg. Like luggage, I need to put an identifying marker on my k'bell because I don't want anyone to walk away with it. Maybe I should name it too. I like Adabelle or, maybe, just Belle.