How a weak, deskbound computer jockey transformed into an elite kettlebell strength athlete

Rob Lawrence discusses success with Russian Kettlebell Strength Training

January 18, 2011 10:26 AM

"Five years ago, I was working a nine-to-five desk job and not exercising at all. I was thin, but not strong. I felt stressed out all the time and just generally uncomfortable in my body. I started doing karate and soon saw that I had a lot of issues with flexibility. I came across Pavel's book Beyond Stretching and was really impressed with it. I bought his strength training book, Power to the People! next, and after working with it for a couple of months, I noticed (to my surprise) that I had gotten kind of strong.

I continued doing the exercises and my strength increased more and more. I gained five pounds of muscle, which is a lot for my size. I eventually realized that strength training was what I was really interested in, and was excited when kettlebells came out. I felt that if Pavel was doing kettlebells, they must be good!

I sent away for a set when they first came out (I think I got one of the first shipments!). I was living in Brooklyn at the time that I ordered my kettlebells, and if you know Brooklyn, you know that it's like a giant recycling system. You put something out on the curb, and someone comes along and takes it in about five seconds. So the UPS person came while I was at work and left the kettlebells outside. They were sitting there all day until I got home. Most likely someone tried to steal them at some point, but since they hadn't been training with Pavel, they couldn't even lift the box!

I've noticed that working out with kettlebells makes me feel better in general at work - my posture's improved and even though it's still hard to sit all day at a desk, my body feels better.

I feel a lot more alert, too. I used to have a hard time staying awake in the afternoon, I think because I was not in shape and I was eating too many carbs for lunch. After starting with Pavel's exercises, my diet improved without any effort, because I began craving only good food. Now I eat mostly meat and vegetables, and some fruit.

I've been working with kettlebells for close to two years now, and in that time I've gone from being totally sedentary to having goals of competing in kettlebell competitions."

Rob Lawrence is a Senior Certified Russian Kettlebell Instructor who has assisted Pavel with his Russian Kettlebell Challenge certification Program.

Rob Lawrence can be reached at: robt_lawrence@yahoo.com

For more information on Rob Lawrence's instructor services visit his Instructor page on www.dragondoor.com

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