How Kettlebells Helped Cynthia Edwards Lose 135 Pounds

By Rachel Galvin

For Cynthia Edwards, getting fit has been a challenge. She had tried swimming for years, watched her weight Yo-Yo on various diets, including Atkins, but nothing was working. She went to 24 hour fitness and tried ellipticals, weight machines and walking. She still wasn't seeing the results she wanted. It wasn't until she found Kettlebell instructor Zachariah Salazar and he introduced her to Kettlebells four years ago, that she started having the results she desired. She dropped from 330 pounds to 195.

BK (Before Kettlebells)

AK (After Kettlebells)

Not only did Kettlebells give her the results she desired, but also flexibility and ease as well as a personal connection with her routine. Salazar was able to customize a workout and nutritional system to fill her needs and to work around her schedule.

"When I first came to see him," she said, "he told me to write down not only what my goals were but why I didn't have them already, what got in my way. He told me to be honest. One of the things involved eating habits. I am always doing something for others, which makes it difficult to eat right. It is easier to eat when I can. Once I had identified issues like this, he said that he could help me find something that would work best for me. Identifying it like this was gold. It made it more personal to me. I could incorporate the workout with it. I have had to follow certain things every day, just like you brush your teeth every day; you make sure you do certain things no matter what. It is a mindset. Zachariah explains why I am doing something and makes sure I understand why and the benefit. Knowing why helps. He says if this is not working for you, we'll find something else."

"What I like about the Kettlebells," she said, "is the fact that I didn't have to go to the gym. At gyms, people look better than I do. It is uncomfortable. I had a membership to 24 hour fitness. I did mostly leg machines. But me going there was few and far between. With Kettlebells, I don't have to pay for a gym and don't need to do all those machines. I also like that it utilizes the entire body. It is fun to do. With a Kettlebell instructor, I get the technique right. I show Zachariah what I am doing and he makes sure my technique is right. He goes over anything I need to do for Z-Health. And I go for the next step of progression. He not only tells me what might be wrong with the technique, but how I can tweak it to work better. I work 30-40 minutes with him."

Cynthia planned to do the RKC in February in San Jose, CA. But, she got sick and had to have her appendix out. Today, she is working to where she was physically before. "Doing as well as I was with workouts and starting to feel really good, I didn't notice the symptoms of my appendix perhaps as much as I should and I got really sick. I took off six weeks. After the surgery, I started workouts off slowly. I worked my way up to being close to where I was before I got sick. Within five weeks, I was up and moving and had strength enough to go to Disneyland," she said. "Doing Z-Health before workouts helps me not have cramps. It is amazing to me. It is weird how you can make your body do certain things. I see my performance getting better and better."

For Cynthia, this process is on-going. "I am currently at 195 lbs. I would like to be 175 lbs. I will see how I look and feel at that time. I may set another goal. It will probably be more about strength than weight. I don't think I would look right under 175 lbs. I am 5'6."

Cynthia will be continuing her quest for health, strength and fitness and plans on working with Salazar and utilizing Kettlebells to that end.