Don't Let The Kettlebell Knock You Back...

As I waited for kettlebell class to start, Mike peeped out from his boxing class and crossed his arms as I had my arms crossed. I wasn't in a mood so I don't know why I projected that body language other than it was 10 and I do prefer to work out in the p.m.

Kettlebell class in a nutshell:

Lots of swinging with planks, push-ups, triceps dips etc. thrown in.

Marisa reminded us to lock our knees at the top of the swing. Hmmm, where had I heard that? Why, it was just yesterday in Hot Yoga during the standing poses.

Chip was noisy as all get out -- saying that the road looked clean to him as we did windshield wipers whilst holding kettlebells over our chest. He was baffled by Mike's music selections including Hoodie Ninja. I asked Marisa if she had 911 on speed dial because, apparently, she was killing Chip. He did laugh, though, when Barbara walked into class and asked her if she had gotten kicked out of Mike's intermediate one. I had actually emailed Barbara and told her that she might like our class better until she got a better handle on the clean.

I read something useful in Kettlebells for Dummies about the clean.

The clean is an aggressive movement just like the swing in Chapter 6, but, unlike the swing, this exercise requires you to keep the kettlebell close to your body. (138)

Aggressive was the key word for me. Also helpful:

As you bring the kettlebell off the ground, your thumb goes from pointing backward at the bottom position of the exercise to touching your collarbone at the top of the exercise. Pinch your glutes at the top of the movement, and keep your chest and shoulders square -- don't let the kettlebell knock you back. (139)

We didn't do a lot of the clean because there was a newer newbie in class.

After class, Mike walked up to me with a look of fake astonishment on his face while moving his pointer finger across my pectoral area. Marisa said, Yes, she sweated.

If the workout clothes are not made of dri-wick material, I need to leave it at the store because I sweat a lot. Still, I took myself to Trader Joe's and Target with my completely wet and cheap Champion cotton shirt that I scored at TJ Maxx.