I resumed training for Olympic Weightlifting in January with the intention of competing again in the Masters Program.

I last competed in 2001, where I did 75kg in the Snatch and 95kg in the C&J.

My flexibility was and still is non-existent and I was and still am fat and weak.

I have been trying to analyze the reasons why I keep getting injured once I reach a certain strength level and I have come to the conclusion that this is because of a weakness in my core musculature.

For decades I have had constant pain in my lower back – hip area and for the last two years or so my left hip has been stuck making simple tasks like putting my socks on in the morning or tying shoelaces very painful.  Just walking around has caused me pain, running – forget it.

I believe that part of my constant back pain has been there since I was 10 years old when I hurt my back for the first time.

However, doing exercises targeted at core muscles invariably caused me to hurt my lower back and there we go again….

Most of these exercises may have been effective, I even did some Yoga, but in general all these exercise programs bored me to tears.

Then I came across the Turkish Get Up exercise using russian kettlebells.

The first time I even attempted the TGU with a book in my hand for a weight, I found out that I had no idea at all which muscles to use to maintain my stability – they seemed not to exist, I had to let myself fall sideways like a drunken hippopotamus to get out of the situation where I was stuck.

However, during that first attempt, I felt a lot of cracking and release of tension in my hip area and I regained almost full mobility in my hip instantly!   The morning after I woke up almost pain free !

I immediately ordered the Kalos Sthenos instruction DVD and book for this exercise, can´t wait to receive it in the mail and get started for real.

Note:  I have received the Kalos Stenos and it is worth every cent.

I also got in touch with the local kettlebell club in Iceland and purchased a set of kettlebells from them – half pood, 3/4 pood, one pood and 1-1/2 pood weights. (8, 12, 16 and 24kg).

These are exercise kettlebells, not suitable for the competitive lifts of Kettlebell Lifting, however.

Watch Pamela MacElree perform a TGU with 4o kg – incredible !  I can´t even perform this movement without a weight yet

All of this has now led me to the fantastic sport of Girevoy Sport – more information here and here.

An excellent introduction to Kettlebell lifting (Girevoy Sport) may be found here.

A lot of information about Girevoy Sport can be found on the Girevoy Sport Australia website and there is some good information here.

Girevoy Sport combines everything I  love about Olympic Weightlifting with the added element of health, fitness and fun thrown in.

Who knows, perhaps I will be able to do the Olympic lifts again once my core strength is built up and my back injuries healed.

Finally I have discovered  REAL exercise and a REAL sport beside and as an alternative to Olympic Weightlifting !

I am now convinced that I will regain my health.

Russian Girevoy Sport Women’s Competition

Ivan Denisov does 175 reps jerk 2 x 32kg world record

165 reps snatch 32 kg in category 60 kg

Watch the final two minutes – tough stuff indeed.

Pavlos Giorgiadis does 180 Snatches w/ 1 hand, 32kg

World Champion Ivan Denisov attempts to break his own Jerk record with 169 reps of 2 x 32kg

Denisov makes the 60kg (132lb) Kettlebell look easy..

Valery Fedorenko does 60 reps with 60kg.

An interview with Fedorenko is here.

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