Having Dinner with Justin Timberlake

This is how I explained last Saturday to my sister.

What I actually did on Saturday was go to a Return of the Kettlebell Seminar down in La Jolla, California which was put on by my friends Franz and Yoana Snideman of Revolution Fitness. The focus of the day was Double Kettlebell drills and Pavel instructed. I have been very fortunate in Southern California to be able to attend workshops in my own backyard that are taught by some of the best in the industry. So, on Saturday we learned Double Snatches, Double Presses, Double Cleans, Double Jerks- all of the things I'm afraid to try in my gym by myself. Of course, we got a lot of really good tips on corrective exercises and stretches to help our clients and ourselves into these incredibly difficult postures.

So, the seminars are always great, but another thing I love is networking and meeting new people who share the same passion.  Michele runs a really successful boot camp called Kettlebell Kamp in Mission Valley. Petra is getting her Dragonfly Kettlebells business going in East San Diego County at here home as well as at the Marine Corps Base nearby. There were a couple of guys from the Equinox in Chicago who were trying to escape the cold and get some ideas for their club. Everyone was focused on personal gains as well as trying to bring back ideas for their victims.  At the RKC we're all a big family, learning from eachother and sharing our experiences.

The highlight of my day was the group dinner at the Fleming's Steakhouse after the conference. I had the pleasure of sitting at a table with SrRKC Jon Engum from Minnesota, Dr. Mark Cheng from Los Angeles, AND Pavel! To be able to have an hour with ONE of these Kettlebell celebrities would have been enough to make me giddy, but all three was a total treat. We talked some shop, some wine, and lots of random stuff in between. Again, that's what I love about this community- everyone from Pavel and the Masters down to the greenest RKCs are friendly, down to earth, and always happy to share what they've learned along the way.

For those of you (including my sister) who do not understand the significance of eating dinner with Pavel, I will say that for a lowly RKC, it's like my sister sharing a table with Justin Timberlake, like Steff breaking bread with Neil Diamond, or like the data-entry clerk having a meeting with the CEO of his company. It was really freaking cool. =)

I picked up a lot of great ideas and a couple of sore muscles (abs- OUCH!)- can't wait for the next workshop!

To see pictures from the event, check out Yoana's blog.