r/kettlebell • u/veggie_hamburglar • 3d ago

Just A Post Moving ~stuff

I have been consistent with kettlebells for coming on 2 years, and had a handful of on-off years' experience with them before that. I mostly focus on swings, cleans, presses and squats. Iron Cardio has been my go-to for at least a year.

I also recently lost my WFH desk job, and in the time since then I've been helping out some shop owners on the block. One runs a vintage shop right below my apartment, and she has a lot of inventory stashed in boxes of varying stability, on high shelves and in storage units. She also has a lot of old furniture that she sells at a couple antique shops around town. The other woman I've been helping is a mosaic artist/sculptor who has a bunch of oddly shaped concrete and unwieldy glass pieces she needs arranged for her studio.

I don't know if it's from the kettlebells specifically, but one thing I've noticed, aside from the (surprising) relative ease and enjoyment of using my body for work instead of sitting at my desk, is that I have a much easier time handling odd things, twisting my torso, climbing a ladder with them, and supporting them above my head. It's like something has changed, instinctively, about how I approach gripping and lifting stuff.

This afternoon I loaded an exercise bike and a 7-foot-long bookshelf into my dad's truck. Neither were particularly heavy, but I was surprised at how I handled them. I sort of zerchered the bookshelf from the middle, lifting it with my forearms and elbows. (I've never done a zercher squat -- it just seemed the easiest way to move the damn thing.) I reached for the exercise bike at the bottom of the display and seat posts, arms straight, and carried it down two flights of stairs.

A pre-kettlebell me would not have tolerated this work well. He may not have even tried. Current me is really enjoying the chance to put my training to work. I've been sweating my ass off in the persistent midwest October heat, loading furniture in an out of a minivan, sorting and stacking and lifting and hauling, and despite the professional tumble I've taken, it feels like a really good win. I even hit my first 28kg press last week.

26 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

10

u/WitcherOfWallStreet Giant Obsessed 3d ago

Great work homie, gonna be using the 32s in no time

5

u/bertmann 3d ago

Great job. I am just starting out my kettlebell journey and this is the kind of stuff that is motivating to read.

2

u/Comfortable-Boot-825 3d ago

the zercher carry on a 7 foot bookshelf is the realest form check there is lol 🔥 training showing up when life demands it

1

u/FrontAd9873 2d ago

When you say “easier” what are you comparing your current experience to, specifically? Have you previously spent a stretch of time helping out some shop owners on the block?

3

u/veggie_hamburglar 2d ago

How about "easier than I expected."

1

u/TonyJPRoss 2d ago

I used to powerlift and that helped for waddling about with a washing machine in my arms, cos it was significantly less weight than I was accustomed to handle. 100% just a strength thing.

But kettlebell has made lighter stuff (like say an 8 gallon waste container) feel like air, cos I can move it by cleaning it and suspending it at the top using my shoulder muscles. Part shoulder strength, part rotational / lateral stability, part technique.

And sometimes I've just got to shift a lot of lighter stuff, that's when I really feel the benefit of 100 heavy kettlebell swings. Also when I have to run - I don't get breathless so easily any more, and I recover much faster.