What kind of blogger goes someplace really cool without a camera? ME! Doh! I meant to take a few pictures tonight, but totally forgot! Shame on me! Why am I so upset about that? Because I have a Punch Kettlebell Gym in my town, two actually! Anthony Diluglio started these gyms here in Rhode Island and I had no idea who he was and why these gyms were so special until I met my kettlebell hoisting friends!

I became interested in kettlebells after talking with my friends and seeing the variety of uses and workouts they got out of them.  Also, they are great for compound exercise movements and working the entire body in a shorter workout while burning more calories! Kettlebell workouts increase overall strength much better than conventional weightlifting! I had to have me some of that! When I told them there was a kettlebell gym here and I told them the name, they got all excited!

So, I set up an appointment for an orientation and that’s what I did tonight!

I walked in and my first impression was “Ew.” It’s gritty, not fancy or loaded with top of the line equipment and it was LOUD! I’m an at home exerciser, so the noise was difficult to get used to. They were dropping the kettlebells and dumbbells right on the floor. No rules against it and, in fact, it’s encouraged! They do their workouts indoors and outdoors! How novel! I sat down and waited for my trainer and took some time to watch the end of the class that was going on. They were working in 1 minute intervals from planks to ropes, back to planks, then full sit ups with a kettlebell in hand and exercises with the kettlebells that I didn’t know the name of. There wasn’t a dry body in the house! The participants were old, young, big, small and all hoisting some serious weight! They make swinging those ropes around look easy!

Oh! The dumbbells? Remember those old silent film clips of the guys with the handlebar mustaches lifting those barbells with the big round ends? That’s what they use there! How cool is that? They also have these things that look like bowling pins. Nifty!

My trainer came over and introduced himself. We talked for a bit and then he took me to a relatively clear area of the workout floor. Did I mention that everything is done in one big room? No fancy sound-proofed separate rooms for classes and individual workouts. It’s a true community gym!

The first thing he did was put me on the ropes. I thought, “Hey! I can do this! What does it take to sling a couple of ropes around?” Yeah, right! I started out strong, but by the end, I could hardly get the rope to move! I was panting and sweating.  That was only after 1 minute! lol I’m a fit girl, really, but the way you move those ropes and the weight of them, gives you a heck of a workout in just 1 minute! Next, he taught me to do a Turkish Get Up without any weight. These are challenging just like that! We kept moving from one exercise to another. I learned how to move to do a proper windmill and a clean and more! I can’t wait to see how I feel tomorrow! I learned a new way to do pushups that doesn’t stress my shoulders or my wrists and, of course, he had to throw some planks in there as well!

I thoroughly enjoyed the orientation!

I finally remembered what the gym reminded me of. I worked out at a gym back in Georgia like that – gritty with that old gym sock smell, full of big guys serious about their workouts. It was the best place I ever lifted weights at!

Now, to convince my husband I HAVE to go back for the more in-depth kettlebell workshop . . .