Kettlebells!

I have been researching for a while for weight resistance workouts that I can do at home in minimal time for maximum benefit. So, I bought myself a kettlebell. I think it could possibly be the best $30 I've spent in a while. I absolutely love the multiple muscle groups it hits at once. I get a good cardio workout as I go like a mad man with no break for a solid 15 minutes and then I'm done. I'm sweating like I was a competitive figure skater again and huffing and puffing like I ran the 1500m in high school again. I cannot recommend this type of resistance training enough. And I've started dropping more weight again and dropped 2 dress sizes in a week. Sweet! I'm now pre-baby #2 with 10 lbs to go to be pre-baby #1. Sweet! And I'm still feeling fantastic lupus symptom-wise. Nothing to report, no stiffness, pain, nothing, nada, fantastic! I know that my use of exclamation points in all my entries of this blog are beyond any point of necessary but if you could fathom my quality of life just 2 and half months ago, you would be shooting exclamation points from your ass too. So, I'm not apologizing!!!!! Ha!

So, I started with a 20 lb kettlebell and let me tell you, for someone who hasn't done weights in a while (and I would suspect anyone who does wimpy weight machine circuits at the gym for women), hurting and sore just begins to explain that wonderful ouch-y I've been experiencing the past couple of days. I ordinarily hate this feeling, the not being able to bend over and not being able to get up from a sitting  position. But this is different, I don't know if it's the diet or what but my recovery seems to be faster. I'm sore for a day and then done.

Twenty pounds is still very challenging - have you tried doing 50 clean and presses non-stop on each arm? Hard! And, I hope it's hard for a while, kettlebells are a bit pricey but I'm telling you, so worth it.

There are a gazillion videos available online to show you proper form and beginning workout routines, so don't feel intimidated. And, most of all, don't get a weight below 20lbs. You can get 5, 8, 10 and 15's but don't do it. Push yourself, do a couple of reps, then the next day (or day after) get another rep in. It's about improving your strength and getting strong. You're not going to get bulky, you're going to get firm, lean and strong.

Strong is beautiful.