We are on Tv :)

It was an ordinary Friday, when my coach called me and said that I have to go to Riga for a training on Monday. Of course, I asked what is so special about the training that I have to make 200km to get there. And there was the most unexpected answer - one of Latvian central TV channels were going to make a program about kettlebell lifting. And my coach wanted me to be filmed, too. Try to imagine what I felt. He could just call on Tuesday and say that they were filmed, but instead he called beforehand and asked me to be there. I can't put it in words, but I was grateful and happy and I felt so much at that moment. I understood that I would be just one of many lifters there, but still I was a part of the team and the feeling was great.

It is a military program that is showing soldiers' life. My team mostly consists of military people and we are training in the Latvian National Academy of Defense. Which made us suitable for the program.

It was a very nice experience. I came to gym at 16:30 and started to warm up. The TV team came at about 5p.m. They were filming us for about 2-2,5 hours. We finished training at 19:30. And almost all that time we were working with kettlebells. We had to make a good impression and that's why we all worked with heavy stuff. I myself took 16kg KB and made snatches and jerks... and then made some swings with 24kg KB... I have no idea how many reps I made during the training, but I am sure the word 'many' wouldn't be enough :) When I was so tired I couldn't do any more snatches and jerks, I decided to switch to 8kg KB and do some juggling :) And of course the operator was filming. At one moment I thought that I am very close to dropping the KB. But I remembered what my cousin once told me "Try not to make so serious face while lifting" and it helped me to find some strengths to smile :)
I forgot to mention that while Robert was giving the interview I was showing snatch technique to our new girl. I did it with 12kg KB and didn't count it as reps. Only after the training I realized what a great job I did that time.

In the end of the training all guys felt as tired as after a competition. We really worked OUT :) But we all felt great and were looking forward to watch ourselves on the TV.

It was almost a week of waiting. And there came Sunday :) I wasn't with my team, but I knew that we all are sitting in front of our TVs and watching the program. And I felt like we were in the same room.

Just after the program Robert (coach) called me and asked if I will be able to download it anywhere. And of course I said 'Yes'. There was no other answer :)

So I got the program on my computer, cut the part about our training, translated the interview, recorded the English version and added it over the original video. I don't like my voice being recorded, but I am posting the result anyway :)(the sound quality is not very good, but I was in a hurry to post it :) I might try to improve it later):



Or you can watch the original piece with no changes:

One great team!

So... 10 days passed... And I am back from the Latvian cup, that was held in Jekabpils yesterday (7/Nov/2009).

We left Riga at 7:00a.m. Unfortunately, our coach Robert Innus couldn't go with us. He suddenly felt very sick and had to stay at home. We all were very upset, but decided to do our best and even better for our coach.

Couple of hours later we were in Jekabpils. Guys met us in a newly built sport hall, which was very nice and comfortable. Guys helped to set up the scoreboards and I was busy switching on the computer and preparing a secretary work space. Yes, I was both - a competitor and a secretary again :)
We started weighting at 10:00 and finished at about 11:30. There were 66 sportsmen present.

12:00 - the official opening ceremony. National anthem. Speeches. ...

This time girls were first to lift. There were 3 young girls (U-18) and 10 women. I was in the 3rd flight. The girl I was trying to win was in the second flight. It was very god for me, because I knew her result beforehand. I was warming up, but watched her all the time...

It was a funny moment while warming up. I took a yellow KB to lift it a couple of times... It suddenly felt too heavy... Level off stress went up as I thought "How am I going to lift this thing 70 times if I can barely make two reps?" At the same exact moment Eduard Trusevich came over and started to scream at me "What are you doing? Put it down!" I was shocked... Why would he stop me? The second after he told me the reason - "It is yellow, but it is 20kg!!!" :) So now I know - I can lift 20kg :) Maybe I can lift 24kg if I paint it yellow? :)

But let's get back to my story :)

Santa made 72 reps, which was very close to my personal best and I decided that I have to make at least the same to win (I am 6,5kg lighter than her). I made 45 reps with my right ... Everyone was shocked! Me too :) I switched hands after 6 minutes. I could do 30 reps with left hand at training. But something went wrong this time... Everything was fine, I was lifting the KB not thinking of numbers and felt great. But then my referee said 69... And switch off my automatic movement... I made another rep... 70... I needed just two more... I was looking for my coach... but he wasn't there... my team mates were somewhere far... my hand suddenly started to hurt as hell and didn't want to move... I had 1,5 minute... I was just 2 reps away from the champion title... I tried to make another rep... and... I dropped the ball :( I fell down to the floor and cried. I felt miserable... Since then I call myself "the greatest LOSER"...

But it was the only sad story of the day. The rest of my team was great!! Our new girl, who is 20y.o. made 123 reps with 12kg and became first in her weight category. One of our guys - Lauris Morovskis - broke his personal best, became the master of sport (national category) and became a new Latvian record holder among men (under 85kg).
Only one guy in our team went home without a medal. My team won in a relay race and we've got the first place and the cup among teams. So we are still the best even if there are such a losers like me in the team...

We've called our coach immediately to inform him that we are bringing the cup to Riga. He was very happy to hear it, still sad not to be with us. It was another great day for my team and we all drunk champagne from the cup in the bus on the way back :) Even me :) I am not drinking any alcohol ever, but this time I wanted to celebrate my team's and Lauris' victory and I wanted to forget my defeat.

You can see the results here.

Unfortunately, we didn't have a camera with us, so I don't have any video. It is very bad, because there were some great moments. Lauris was fighting for the record and it looked amazing. I wanted to see my technique, too. People say it is very good (some of them even say that it was the best among women). And the relay race was very interesting, too. I will try to find pics or videos from other teams. And I promise to post anything I find! (if there will be anything).

So, that's the story :) Sad and happy at the same time :) But it is what I like about sport. You can never know what is going to happen, but you can be sure that it will be a great experience anyway! :)


P.S.: the only thing that keeps me optimistic is that my result was second best not only in my weight category, but among all the women. And if you count the absolute result (weight lifted divided by the personal weight of an athlete) I am ... the best :) I hope it will help me to overcome the bitterness of the defeat.

10 days before the competition

Yes, there are only ten days left until long cycle competition that I was preparing for.
I looked at my results, that I posted about a month ago. And guess what? I have increased my reps :)
I did 70 reps (40 right + 30 left) with 16kg in 8:30 minutes yesterday. And it is even more than I expected! I hope that I will be able to repeat this result at the comp.
As I already said in my last post I am now living in Ventspils and training with Vasily Ginko. It is hard for me to train without my coach and other boys from Riga. But I am very grateful to the guys here for taking me back and letting me train with them.
So... 10 days... or is it already 9? :)

Back to Ventspils

... I spent five years away from my parents and the town where I grew up. But a week ago I came back to Ventspils and going to stay here for... who knows... maybe for ever.
I was sad when I realized that I have to move and leave my team in Riga. I was with them for two years and they became my second family. But coming back and training again with my Ventspils team was exiting, too. There a lot of new people here, but my coach and other team mates are the same. So, now I am training with Vasily Ginko (am I lucky or am I lucky?) and Eduard Trusevich (I AM lucky! ... LOL). They welcomed me back and I am very grateful for that. But switching training places always was a challenge for me. I have to get used to the new place (even if I already trained there five years ago). I have only three weeks left to train for the Long Cycle event. Hopefully I will be able to overcome the stress and train well to get a good result.
One more thing. I was the only girl practicing GS in Riga, but now I train with three other girls which is something I am not used to...
And the last, but not least - I can do juggling here. We don't have a well equipped place for that in Riga, but there is such a place in Ventspils. And I can watch Vasily and learn from him.
I missed my Ventspils team when I moved to Riga and now I miss my Riga team because I moved back to Ventspils... Life is like a swing going up and down, back and forth...

Long cycle

... I've been doing long cycle all last week. I need it to participate in Latvian Cup in November. Yes, we have a long cycle event for women in Latvia :)
I proved to myself again that I love to do long cycle. I like it much more than snatch.

I've done it before, too. We already had a long cycle competition this year. I took the third place with 104 reps (with 12kg)... 1st and 2nd place holders did 114 reps each. We all could do more, but time was over. So I decided to check how much reps can I do now... I wasn't doing LC since March...

And here are my results:
First day I took 8kg, 12 kg and 16kg KBs and made a long set of 20 reps with 8kg + 15 reps with 12kg + 10 reps with 16kg + 15 reps with 12kg + 20 reps with 8kg (it was one set without rest). It took me about 15 minutes.
Next time I decided to take 12kg and make as much as I can without time limitation. I did 65 reps with right hand and 55 with left (I droped the KB because my palm was too sweaty). It took me about 13-14 minutes...

Now I have to increase tempo to make same 120 reps in 10 minutes instead of 14... Or I can take 16kg KB and make 60 reps whitch will be counted as 120 points (one rep with 16kg is counted as two reps with 12kg in the competition). I guess I will try to increase my reps with 16kg and try to make 30+30 or more... I still have a month to go (comps are in Nov.7th).

Wish me a good luck ;)

Why GS?

... Many people are wondering - why girls choose kettlebell lifting? Same people think that girls who do it are not very feminine. Is it so? And why do we choose it? Here is what I think about it.

Let's start with some facts:

• Name: Svetlana
• Age: 24
• Sex: female
• Personal weight: 45kg (+/- 2kg... goes up and down)
• Occupation: Student
• Sport activities: Kettlebell lifting (amateur)
• How long in GS: 2 years
• Best result in snatch: 67 reps with 16kg (sum of two hands)
• Best result in jerk: 104 reps with 12kg (sum of two hands); could do more but 10 minutes were over
• Awards: some medals in Latvian and Baltic competitions

And here is the story, that explains why did I choose to do kettlebell lifting, what motivates me to do it and how I feel after trainings.

I found out that there is such a sport as Kettlebell Lifting from my brother. He was doing some fitness and met Vasily Ginko at the gym. After a short time he switched to kettlebell lifting. I went to gym with him one day. I just wanted to watch. I didn't even think of lifting anything myself. I sat there and watched... The next time I took my sportwear with me and decided to do some fitness. Some years passed... Guys were still lifting KBs, but I was working with free weights and machines. And then... I finally decided to try to lift 8kg kettlebell. It was so nice and cute and didn't look so scary as its "big brothers". Oh, what a feeling I had! No one can ever explain it... But I will do my best to attract you to the GS and make you try it yourself.

The first lift is like a first step, like the first 2 meters by bike without dad's help, like the first day at school... You think you can't do it, you are afraid to drop the KB, your knees feel weak, but at the same time you are very exited. Some advice from a coach and the kettlebell is over your head... What a relief! Now you feel like a hero, like you've killed a monster... All the world is yours at the moment! Then you try another time and it feels even better. You are flying!
You keep training and then one day change 8kg for 12kg, then you go up to 16kg... And you experience this feeling again.
But what happens when your coach says "I think you are ready to compete"? Next thing you know, you are standing on the platform and some guy down counts "5, 4, 3, 2, 1... START!" You are freaking out, you want to run away, to disappear, to become invisible... But instead of that you take the KB and start lifting. One rep, another... And at this point you understand that you CAN!
Then you are back home sitting in your favorite arm chair... You have a smile on your face, you look at yourself in the mirror and you see a winner. You are happy, you feel strong and ready to to do more. You've got something inside of you that keeps you moving. You stand up and go back to gym.

The same thing happened with me. I came to gym after two years without sport. I felt miserable! I thought that I am not able to do anything. But thanks to my coach Robert Innus I didn't run away and kept working out. I didn't do lifting immediately. I spent couple of month at the gym before I took the KB in my hand again. The reason for that is that the lightest KB we had there at the moment was 16kg. And of course I was scared and not ready to lift it. But after some training with free weight my coach decided I am ready. It wasn't my idea! I still thought I am not ready. But he told me "Today you are lifting" and then invited some guys and said "Look, how she does it!" I had no choice but to lift. And I did! I was shocked that I can do it, but still happy to realize that I CAN! Many days passed from that happy moment, but I am still into it. I still remember the feeling and going through it every time I break my record or try something new. I've tried jerking this year and I love it. I've tried juggling a week ago and I am deeply into it already!

So what are the advantages of the GS?
First, you feel healthier, stronger and happier. Second, you look better. Third, you meet a lot of nice people from all over the world. Fourth, you can still win a prize even if you are 80. Fifth, you automatically attract people by just saying "I am into Kettlebell Lifting". I can go on and on about the advantages...
And what are the disadvantages?
First (and the only one), you can have blisters on your hands in the beginning. That's it... But there are ways to get rid of them quickly. So it is not really a disadvantage.

Ask any woman in GS why she chose this kind of sport and she will not know what to say. Ask her if she likes it and you will hear a strong YES! Ask her if she is going to quit and you will hear a strong NO! It is the thing about Kettlebell Lifting - you never know how you got in, but you are sure you don't want to get out.
And one more thing - I've never seen a sad kettlebell lifter! Which means that GS brings you happiness. Doesn't make sense? But still true!!!

Try it and we will see if I was wrong.

Here some pictures of me. The way I look at the gym and everyday life.



P.S.: If you have any questions feel free to ask (SvRukina@gmail.com or via Skype - Tapochka20 or via MSN - svetik12345@hotmail.com). If you are not sure you have to try it - try it! If you think you are not ready - try it anyway! Good luck! ;)

Power Juggling

... I was always amazed how people can juggle with this heavy things called kettlebells... And I never had a chance to try it myself.

We don't have a well equipped place for juggling in Riga. And we've got our first 8kg kettlebell just about a half a year ago. The lightest we always had was 16kg. Imagine me throwing this thing :) I was scared to do my first snatch there, cause I jumped from zero to 16kg just after 3 or 4 month of training with free weights. And of course I wasn't even thinking of juggling.

But today was my lucky day! I went to the Ventspils Olimpic Center with the girls who train there (Julia and Jevgeniya Prokopenko). They were practicing power juggling. I was watching them... and then... I decided to try it myself. Girls were very happy to hear that I am interested and gave me some advices how to begin.

I can't say that I am already a world champion on power juggling, but I managed to do some swings and didn't kill myself :)

That was a great experience! I am really looking forward to the next day of juggling which I hope will be next monday.