Keep Your Eye on the Kettlebell

Pain is temporary -- wish that Mike had said that at the beginning of class. Mike also had on a t-shirt that said: pain is weakness leaving the body. Yeahyeahyeah...

We did calisthenics and lots of stretches before getting to swing. And how long does it take to feel the pain? Just one short minute.

Kettlebell Swing, 30 Seconds
Jumping Jacks, 30 "
Right Arm Swing, 30 Seconds
Mountain Climbers, 30 "
Left Arm Swing, 30 Seconds
Criss Cross Jumping Jacks, 30 "

At some point we did planks to push-ups and regular push-ups in between swings but I've tried to put that out of my mind because it kinda hurt.

Next, we did a lunge while pulsing the back leg and moving the kettlebell from one side of the front leg to the other. We also did a curtsy situation with the kettlebell and the side lunge was saved for last.

After lunging around, we got to incorporate more lunging when Mike asked the people who knew the Turkish Get-Up to stay put and do them while the rest of us went off to learn the TGU. I was introduced to the TGU at CrossFit but it was during basic training and I haven't done it since...

Mike demonstrated first then five of us worked on getting up. The one and only guy in the class, poor thing, has big challenges with coordination -- even bigger than me.

We worked on the TGU without the kettlebell first. Next, Mike told us to take a shoe off and we practiced with our shoe which was a pretty cool exercise because you had to move carefully to keep your shoe balanced on your hand. Practicing with a dumbbell was next. By the end of class, I felt like I had a pretty good grasp of how to do the Turkish Get-Up. I'll have to start practicing at home so that I don't forget.

Oh yeah, Mike told us not to just grab the kettlebell but to roll to it, cradle it then lift it up. He also said that you want to keep your eye on the kettlebell. Is that like keeping your eye on the prize?





Things That I Need to Remember:

The leg that's bent is the leg on the same side as the kettlebell.

Take it to the bridge i.e. your leg can't go through if you don't lift your bootie.

Remember the way that I came i.e. the moves are exactly the same but in reverse.


P.S. Thanks to my classmates who were keeping an eye on me and offering tips while we were doing that curtsy situation...