180 Kettlebell Gym Testimonials

Testimonials

I have been working out with Jodi for four months now and I feel great, but I didn’t always feel great. Before October I was happy with myself, or so I thought. I run a daycare in my home and thought that spending my days running around with the eight kids and going for walks around the neighborhood every night was enough. As far as my eating habits go, I was eating whatever, whenever I wanted. I was trying to stay away from drinking pop and eating sugar, but was eating lots and lots of carbohydrates for almost every meal. I was out of breath from walking up and down the steps at our house and anytime I tried to go somewhere and work out at a gym I thought I was going to die just from walking on a treadmill for 10-15 minutes and I would give up. I couldn’t run, do a push up, or a pull up. That was before I took a chance and decided I was worth more than that and I wanted better for myself. I needed to live a healthy lifestyle so I could teach that to my children someday. I too met Jodi at the park in our neighborhood on National Night Out. When some of the other neighbors were talking about things they did during workout with her in the morning I thought “thank you God for giving me a job that starts at 6am so I don’t get asked to go do it with them.” Then Jodi said they were going to be doing it on Saturday morning and Bobby (my husband) and I should come. I was quick to try and come up with any excuse possible to keep myself from going there. Bobby however was very excited about it and talked me into going. That Saturday was the end of a lazy lifestyle and the beginning of something great. I cried many times that day because it was very hard work. When we got home Bobby asked if I wanted to start going to the new night classes Jodi offered and I said no immediately. However I stuck with it and went back for more. I cried for five weeks straight and almost every time went home mad at Jodi for pushing me so hard, but I was really mad at myself. For the first time I was doing something for my health and my body was kicking my butt. As time went on I got stronger, much stronger and I started to actually enjoy myself. I have lost a total of 5lbs and 13 inches since I started and couldn’t be more proud of myself for not giving up when I wanted to. I have come a long way in such a short period of time. I look at people who struggle with doing five push ups and other simple workouts and think how simple it seems now. I am so thankful for Jodi and everything she has done to get me where I am today. For those of you like me, and I know your out there, don’t sell yourself short. You will never know what you are capable of doing until you have tried and tried again.

Rachel Blaisdell

Hi my name is Trish, and here is my story :)
I think back 4 months ago, and think about my attitude and overall perspective towards my health.
I was one who never struggled with weight or should I say seeing or caring.. About the actual " I call it fluffiness" starting to occur on my figure- sitting at a computer for the last 10 years, and then working from home the last 2 years sure did not contribute to my overall "fluffiness".
I ate what I want, when I wanted.. Having no care to the fat grams or calories I would be consuming each and every day, literally must have been around 3500+
I always lets say, "interested" in becoming in better shape, getting more toned and being more self disciplined with my eating habits, but just no exercise program/regimen/machine..ever got me to the mental and physical point of where I am today.
I met Jodi at National Night Out in our neighborhood, I felt her motivation/determination and it completely was contagious, She just had this spark, aura around her.. And I wanted to feel and be a part of what she was feeling.
With 3 plates of food in front of me, She invited me to stop by one of her classes, so she could introduce me to one of her workouts and introduce me to kettlebells… KETTLEBELLS? I had no clue what she was talking about, I told her I would love to (knowing in my heart/mind this was just another self failure I would see by the end of next week).
The morning came and of course once again I hesitated- thinking I don’t really need this, or am I ready to committ myself to this? NO…
but walked down to her house to meet the kettlebell.
My first workout was one that I will never forget, my last 10 years of me eating out of control, and never exercising was all slapping me in my face hard. At the age of 35, and only having 1 baby, I literally could not do 1 push up or 1 sit up, its like I had no stomach muscles anywhere- Oh I did have them of course.. But they were hidden about 6 inches into my stomach. My strength and endurance for any of the exercises were completely exhausting each move I made.
The kettlebells itself were mystifying, intriguing - something I have never seen.. Or few people have heard of..
Every move, motion/swing I took completely worked every large muscle all at one time, never before did I have this…or felt this.
Using stationary weights a few times in my life would only work that one muscle group. I LOVED THIS, and knew if I continued.. My goals were only a few months away. A complete metabolic resistance training program which burns more fat then any other workout.. One workout is 2-3X more then any cardio/weight training program out there.
I think that was my eye opener, I seen the light at the end of my LONG tunnel/road.. I knew that if I wanted to do anything for myself for the first time this would be for me and the road was right ahead of me.
Within the first few weeks, my body started to cooperate. It took 10 years for me to get to where I am, a few months to see some transformation was all I needed to come back again.
Within 1 month,
I was down 3 3/4 inches.
2nd measurement - 6 3/4 inches
3rd measurement - 3 1/2 inches-
4th- 2 1/2 inches
I have lost 16" and 10# since August 10th… who would have ever thought I even had 16# to lose anywhere?
But its amazing, how you really do.. Somewhere.
The inches and weight are not why I am still doing this workout program today.
Besides my posture being improved, my neck and back being strengthened tremendously have benefited me sitting at a desk/computer all day, no longer do I have tightness, or feel that my muscles are in knots. The friendships I have gained, and the commitment we have to each other is truly remarkable. Jody herself is one special gifted woman, she focuses on each and every one of us and our individual goals- So many times mentally I put myself there thinking I cannot literally do one more move.. And she will get down right with you.. And walk you mentally thru it- She is an inspiration.
But first and foremost~
I finally have the desire to take time out for myself a few times a week, to ensure that I continue to feel as mentally and physically strong as I do, and feel that I do have control over my body and health for the first time in my life.

~ Have a *´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·´ * Wonderful day ~
Trish Henry

Success to me is not a number on the scale or a goal you meet, it is the feeling of "self fulfillment"! That is how I feel everyday I decide to take an hour for just me and push myself to extremes I never thought possible.
     Before working out with kettlebells I was very religious about using my elliptical and walking everyday. I will be honest, it worked for me, It felt good and I was happy with my body. So why would I change it up? Well..... I have been very interested in health and fitness for years now so lets just say Jodie, and my curiosity got to me.
     When first introduced to a 26 pound kettlebell Jodie said, " watch this... try that... we also do things like this." I told her she was CRAZY, that I would probably hurt myself, but Jodie just laughed and told me to come back the next morning at 9:00 for my first class. So I did!
     It is now 8 months since that morning. I am doing things I have never in my life been able to do. A simple push-up, I can now do 25 in a row, a pull-up, I can now do 3, and as far as my endurance goes... try me, I am easily persuaded into a nice challenge, and trust me, Jodie loves to challenge all of us not only physically but both mentally and spiritually as well.
     I still tell her she's crazy every now and then, only now with the confidence that it is possible!

"I don't know the key to success, but
the key to failure is to never try!"
                            author, unknown

I have a bit of a different story than others may have. My quest to become healthy started almost five years ago. I started running which lead to lifting weights. To follow, I started to research nutrition and soaked in as much as possible about overall health and well-being. If you don't know me, many people know that I am very passionate about nutrition and eating naturally. You may even notice that I teach the nutrition portion of this class which is an added bonus.

I was successful in what I had done up until the point that I met Jodi and was introduced to the kettlebell. I had a routine of running or doing some type of aerobic exercise as well as strength training with free weights 3-4 day/ week. I was maintaining my weight through nutrition and exercise, but it seemed that I had lost my drive to improve. I became very complacent with where I was at physically.

My wife was looking at starting different exercise programs to get involved with including dance, kickboxing etc, but was not sure which direction to go. I knew from experience, that aerobic exercise alone would not be enough since it cuts the fat, but muscle is necessary to keep it off as well as to look fit.

We moved to the neighborhood about 1 yr ago and recently became friends with many of our neighbors and were told about Jodi and her kettlebell gym. After some discussion, we decided to go over one weekend and try it out with some of our new friends. Rachel was very apprehensive, and I came thinking it would be a "piece of cake". I could not have been more wrong. Since I was in good shape, Jodi pushed me hard. After our first workout, every muscle in my body was for over a week. I had not been sore like that in years and never from one single work out. It showed me that I wasn't in the best shape possible and started to make me think. This is what sealed the deal for me.

After about 1 month of working out 2-3 days/ week with Jody, my body began to change. I saw results that I didn't think were possible. I didn't have any weight to loose, but my muscles became very defined and felt stronger every day.

The moral of the story is that this class is for everyone in every shape and the workout is fun and always different.

I looked at personal trainers in the past, but Jodi is affordable and knows her stuff. I can't tell you how nice it is not having the burden of creating my own routines anymore. Her motivation motivates the rest of us.

Bob Blaisdell