LOVE getting these emails

I'm always so touched when I get these beautiful emails!  Here are some snippets. 


"Hi Lauren,

I discovered your first DVD about three or four years ago now and have been following you ever since.  While I haven't consistently worked out all of this time, I learned that I LOVE kettlebells.  I want to thank you for sharing your passion with the world.  You are an inspiration.  I have all but three of your DVD's (KB Body is my new fav!), your app, your book, and today I just ordered Be SLAM!  Long overdue since I don't always want to fire up the DVD player.

You have been a reminder to me that I can improve my life by taking good care of myself.  That I should do what excites me and that I need to enjoy the process of what I am doing, not just the results!  Most importantly, you speak to the fact that we all have different bodies and we need to appreciate the one we are in no matter our age, size, or abilities.  A thousand times thank you.

Well, I downloaded Be SLAM and immediately got to work organizing my schedule (a compulsion) which included setting up an excel spreadsheet so that I can upload it to my google calendar.  You are so generous with your time and expertise, even for those of us who are remote that I wanted to give you something back. 

My personal results so far?  I am down from 267 lbs and not being able to do a burpee to 240 lbs and squat thrusts being one of my favorite exercises!  This since getting serious this past spring (maybe April).  I still have (approximately) 90 lbs to go.  I can't wait to see the strength and conditioning gains I experience from Be SLAM.  I'll keep you posted.  Have a blessed holiday season, and again, thank you for all that you do and who you are in the world, it is a better place because of you.

Hugs and many blessings,

Chante Fields"

Kat's Kettlebell Journey From the Philippines (Mom of 2 and inspiration)

Two days ago I received such a warm hearted motivating email. I'm always touched when people choose to write to thank me for their what inspired and motivates them for becoming the strong! 

Kat (AKA Mamakat) wrote me several emails on what she has done to achieve a beautiful strong and lean body (6 pack) with kettlebell training and clean eating. 

Thank you Kat for sharing this with me and allowing me to share it with the world.  I hope people find you on instagram and follow your transformation!  ----> mamakathere

Here are a few clips of her email and photos that she has sent over.  

Greetings from your #1 fan in the Phillippines.

Hi Lauren, 

I'm Kat a mother of two. I got hooked into kettlebells when I leaned out a few months after giving birth. I heard about you from our kettlebell instructor marc. He is the only certified ktb instructor here in Manila. I'm lucky to be trained by him. I am a part time model and perfume maker, but my passion for health and fitness is beyond, im a big time ufc fan... Meisha tate has been my long time idol. My goal this year is to spread the beauty of kettlebell training! There are moms here who cannot afford fancy gym and trainers... I want to share how kettlebell training transformed the body I have.... Im 5'9 100 lbs... My energy is insane!  I eat well and never a fan of diets.  I am still nursing.  

I able to double swing, clean and press a 35 pounds bell... Never in my dreams I thought I could ever lift 1/4 of my weight! You are an inspiration! I keep watching your videos over and over for motivation!

Anyway my dream is to meet you."

Best,  

Mamakat

Oh by the way I'm a mother to a special child, my eldest has autism and one of the reasons why we went kettlebell training is that we had no time for fancy gyms last year...my husband is the one who got me into this...He never resorted to any kind of diet.. He ate well but went on working with kettlebells as he leaned out. I documented my transformation on instagram under mamakathere when I started 6mos ago.  There you will see how I got ab cuts with my 14 pound bell. I wish to spread the beauty of kettlebells to all mothers here. That is the very reason why I am training with Marc. I wish to be a blessing to others.

Todays Workout - Three is a Magic Number

3 Pull Ups,
6 Sandbag High Pulls,
9 Push Ups.

10 rounds as fast as possible.

Record your time.

Train hard!

Todays Workout - A Bit of Everything

10 Sandbag Deadlifts,
10 Sandbag Thrusters,
10 Push Ups,
10 Sandbag High Pulls.

As many rounds as possible in 12 minutes.

Record your score.

Train hard!

Todays Workout - Pushin'

Get over the holiday with this simple but challenging workout.

100 Skips,
20 Sandbag Thrusters.

5 rounds as fast as possible.

Record your time.

Train hard!

How to make an injury not suck

If you are like most people, you are, unfortunately, likely to encounter an injury or major setback even if you live within your comfort zone. I can tell you this from my own personal experience since I've had my share of injures and setbacks. I wouldn't attribute any of these to being negligent with my training regimen, but, rather, to mere life circumstances. The reality is that we don't control everything around us. Although I've had the bad fortune of having had many bodily challenges including two Cesarean sections, a torn ACL, a broken foot (twice), a fractured hand, a torn wrist ligament (twice), and two head injuries (that must explain a lot about me... LOL), I have had the good fortune of recovering from all of them relatively quickly. Luckily the training I do helped me rehab these injuries and keep me sane while recovering. These setbacks occurred from life events that were not training related. In fact, if I hadn't been so strong from my training, these injuries would have truly sucked. 

The major question is, how can we learn from our injuries? How can we get stronger regardless of our new limitations?

First off, focus on what you can do. This allows you to get extremely creative. Your mind set will shift from the negative to the positive as soon as you focus on the can do's. For example rather than dwelling on the fact that your knee is inflamed and now you have to stay away from squats of all kinds for a while, focus, instead, on all the amazing things you can improve. For example, it's time to get those pull-up numbers up. Or maybe one leg push-ups? You'd be best off going to someone who specializes in working around injuries to provide a fulfilling workout and to someone who has experience along with a good track record rehabilitating injuries.

Learn something new. After I tore my ACL I had to stop Krav Maga right away. However, instead of crying about it, I decided to research and learn how to rehabilitate my knee injury without following the commonly suggested ACL reconstructive surgery. Not everyone will nerd out like I did, after all this is my profession.

Pick up a new hobby that enhances and exercises your mind. Spending time releasing tension in a different way from what you are used to can be a good change of pace for your psyche. Great options if your'e body needs to rest are: learning a new language, playing an instrument, taking an art class, sewing, and baking; the sky is truly the limit. Get your creative juices flowing stronger than ever and you won't be sorry. 

Spend time helping someone else. Rather than sitting on the couch, feeling sorry for yourself, do your best to inspire or help someone in need. Helping others is the best way to get out of your own head. It's very easy to become self absorbed and play "the poor me" record during this time. Do yourself a favor and make a list of the positives. Then share this information with a good friend. Once you put a smile on someone else's face, you will find that you already feel stronger and studies show that a strong mind will promote faster healing!

Adjust your goals. Goal setting is key for recovering from an injury. When I tore my ACL, I worked on my pull-ups which became super strong. I don't think my pull-ups would be as polished as they are now if I hadn't gone through an ACL tear. Another example is that when I had a fracture in my hand, my one leg squats, which were very weak at the time, became very strong. I also became very empathetic to people with weak and painful wrists. This led to my coming up with all kinds of great ways to do push-ups with neutral wrists due to wrist and hand injuries of my own. As a coach, experiencing an array of injuries allows me to know first hand what it takes to get yourself through and to be empathetic to others. What a gift I tell myself! At the time I may have spoken some words that I wouldn't have said in front of my kids, but now I look at each of my injuries as a blessing in disguise. As a gift that was given to me to give me a lesson. To educate myself and pay it forward time after time. I have to admit that each injury I've had has had a positive ending. We obviously can't say this for all injuries.

Hopefully this blog post sheds some light on how to make an injury not suck so much! 
Now focus on being patient, allowing your set back or injury to heal properly, while strengthening other areas!

Feel free to share how you came back stronger in the comments below. 


Happy Training! 

Todays Workout - Skipping Around

200 Skips,
20 Sandbag Back Squats,
200 Skips,
20 Sandbag Overhead Presses,
200 Skips,
20 Sandbag Back Squats,
200 Skips,
20 Sandbag Overhead Presses,
200 Skips,
20 Sandbag Back Squats,
200 Skips,
20 Sandbag Overhead Presses.

Complete as fast as you can.

Record your time.

Train hard!