The One piece of equipment your gym is lacking...

and Why You Need It

The kettlebell is quickly taking center stage to many strength and body sculpting enthusiast. What makes kettlebell training different than your regular gym routine? Firstly you can train full body strength, flexibility, and cardio in a few simple moves, in a fraction of the time you would spend in the gym. Secondly, you only need one bell to train your whole system, and it takes up the same space as a bowling ball. Thirdly, as much of an ‘on the go’ society as we’ve become, you can throw the bell in the backseat of your car and take it anywhere with you.

Kettlebells offer all the benefits, then some, of gym training in a fraction of the time. Sounds like any other gimmick we have seen come and go. But for those that have used and quickly abandoned late night infomercial gym equipment, the kettlebell has been the answer to your life long fitness needs. Many personal clients have reported that they look forward to working out and have stuck with kettlebell training much longer than any other fitness routine in the past. Some have been committed for four plus years, and are not looking to put the kettlebell down any time soon. That’s huge for meeting, maintaining, and even setting bigger, once unattainable and unbelievable goals for the average Joe and stay at home mom.

So the kettlebell has gotten the stay at home mom committed to training regularly for years, what does that mean to someone already committed to a routine? It means that you can look forward to training again. You can have those feelings for training that you had when you first started working out; because you enjoyed it and liked the way it made you feel. Kettlebell workouts are a little different than traditional western gym routines. That’s what makes them so enjoyable. With the kettlebell, training compound movements and working the body as a whole, delivers even better results than breaking the body into parts, sculpting it piece by piece, and ‘having to’ do cardio on top of it all. With a sense of re-teaching the body how to work as a unit, you will have fewer injuries, be able to train harder, and for longer cycles.

Cardio, full body strength, and flexibility in ONE move, it is not too good to be true! The most basic kettlebell drill, the swing, delivers them all in one neat, tough, package. Many people spend hours in yoga, then hours sweating away on the treadmill, then hours in the gym to get limber, strong, and lean. But the swing strengthens the entire posterior chain (from the calves to the low back and beyond), skyrockets your heart rate as if you are sprinting, and mobilizes the body through a full range of motion, stretching the ever tight hamstrings and hips. It looks easy, but once you have tried it, you may never step foot on the treadmill again.

I only need ONE kettlebell for an entire workout? Absolutely! My dvd: Strength by Sara, outlines several “simple yet sinister” workouts you only need one bell to complete.

The kettlebell swing and get-up are two basic yet tough kettlebell drills that serve as the foundation for any grueling and results-based training. Linking drills together; from the clean to press to front squat to snatch, and windmill, can be fun, calorie burning, and you never have to set the bell down to make the load feel challenging.

What size bell should I start with?
Women generally start their kettlebell training with an 8kg kettlebell and quickly progress to a 12kg kettlebell. They can optimally utilize that 12kg bell for the rest of their lives. Once a drill becomes “too easy” there are adaptations to make that 12kg bell feel much heavier. The options and fun are limitless when it comes to training with kettlebells.

More than the fun of training with kettlebells is where you can train with them. I had many clients contact me when we lived in Vegas. We would easily do an entire workout right there in their hotel room. I have also led many Air Force Squadrons, Army Units, and Marines through their early morning Physical Training (PT) sessions out in baseball fields or right outside their shops.

Parks, fields, parking lots, living rooms, garages, porches, any open area, big or small, can serve as the perfect spot to whip out a complete, serious workout. You can’t say that about a gym full of dumbbells, barbells, and cardio machines. Instead of being a slave to the gym, you can do your workout anytime and anywhere you want, even if it’s right there in your office in the middle of the work day! You can haul an entire gym anywhere in any car, if you train with kettlebells.

With a kettlebell in your training arsenal, there really is no excuse to miss a workout...and after training with one, you won’t want to miss a workout.

Who is Sara Cheatham and what are her credentials?
With a Master’s degree in Health Sciences: Community Health Promotion, from the University of Arkansas in 2004, Sara Cheatham is the proud wife of CPT Michael Cheatham, USAF. They are currently stationed on Fort Bragg, in North Carolina. After attending a kettlebell convention in 2005, she was convinced that kettlebell training truly was the ultimate no hassle, no bells and whistles, straight forward way to get and stay in shape.

She became a Russian Kettlebell Certified (RKC) instructor in 2005 under elite former Soviet Special Forces instructor Pavel Tsatsouline. She quickly moved up in ranks with the RKC to a Level II instructor, then was selected and invited to return to the kettlebell certifications as an assistant instructor. In 2007, Sara was selected as one of the first ever RKC Team Leaders, and then quickly became the only female Senior RKC amoungst 8 other males.

Also in 2007, Sara began pursuing additional elite forms of training and discovered Z-Health. She is now a Z-Health Master Trainer Intern, under the direction of Doctor of Chiropractic care W. Eric Cobb.

Other credentials Sara holds include:
•Red Star Athletics Small Business Owner, 2005-2008. Nellis AFB, NV
Red Star Athletics Small Business Owner, 2008-2009. Fort Bragg, NC
•Kettlebell Specialty Instructor, Professional Fitness Institute, 2008. Las Vegas, NV•Health and Fitness Instructor, Health and Wellness Center, 2005-2006. Nellis AFB, NV•People With Arthritis can Exercise Instructor, HAWC, 2005-2006. Nellis AFB, NV •Healthy Living Workshop Instructor, HAWC, 2006. Nellis AFB, NV
•Health Promotion Director certification, Cooper Institute, 2004. Dallas, TX
•Master Fitness Trainer certification, Cooper Institute, 2004. Dallas, TX
•"Effectiveness of Diabetes Education: Analyzing Physiological Indicators of Diabetic Health,” Area Health Education Center-Northwest (AHEC-NW), University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Fayetteville, AR 2003-2004 •Outcome Evaluation of Patient Education, AHEC-NW, Fayetteville, AR 2003-2004
•Weight Room Supervisor, Little Rock Racquet Club, 2001-2002. Little Rock, AR •Sports Camp Counselor and Instructor, Walton Fitness Center, 2000. Bentonville, AR

How can I contact Sara Cheatham?
E-mail saracheatham@hotmail.com