Paul’s Story of Injury and Re-Invention
"What are you doing at the gym the day after Achilles tendon surgery?" is the question that everyone has asked me this week. I wish I had a cooler answer, but the honest one is I NEED to be here.
Farmers Walk Tradition
It was a workout that started as a joke. In the summer of 2012, when we had to move the gym, someone quipped “The new location is so close that we could farmers walk the kettlebells there!” Not only did we farmers walk the kettlebells to the new gym but we had so many people participate that I had to drive the some ‘bells back to the starting point three times! So began a Farmers Walk workout that turned…
StrongFirst Bodyweight Certification
The SFB is a 16 hour training course on how to teach high level calisthenics to the general population. The curriculum focuses on 5 main exercises with dozens of accessory exercises and variations that range from beginner to elite. Instructor candidates must pass an extremely difficult physical test which includes a one arm push up and a one leg squat (pistol).
Kettlebell Programming
Our Kettlebell programming focuses on the 6 main lifts that are taught in the StrongFirst SFG1 certification. These lifts, along with their variations, progressions and regressions, are the foundational skills in kettlebell training. Whether or not a student plans to pursue becoming an instructor…
Strength After Sixty - Origin Story
The Strength After Sixty is a senior fitness program that was developed over the period of about 20 years. It's something I've been working on my entire career.My first job in the fitness industry was in 2006 at Oak Crest Retirement Community. However, my first…
Losing and Winning
I've always said that the more someone is intimidated by the gym, the more respect I have for them for walking into it on that first day.Recently, I've gotten to experience that myself…
Self Imposed Challenges
There are two types of Self Imposed Challenges. 1) Goals and 2) Things that keep you from achieving them Let’s talk about the last one. Obviously, these are negative challenges. You probably have an idea of what’s holding you back from getting stronger, leaner and…
My SFG Experience Part 2 - The Rest of the Story
By Katie Armero, SFL, SFG -I still remember the feeling well. Pulling up to the gym for my first kettlebell class, partially out of interest and partially because I knew Dan, owner of Baltimore Kettlebell Club and a friend since middle school. I was at a point in my life where I needed…
Grand Opening
This past weekend we celebrated our 10 year anniversary and Grand Opening of our new location. It was a memorable event (to say the least).I am completely humbled by the people…
Get in the Game
Last October I started training Brazilian JuJitsu at Grapple Academy aka Perry Hall Martial Arts. It’s going well - I’m a 2 stripe white belt now and I’m hoping to test again soon. It feels good…
My SFG Experience - Part 1: The Anti-Monkey Butt Saga
by Katie Armero, SFG, SFLIf asked how my SFG certification went, I will probably be compelled to tell this story. As you may know, StrongFirst certifications are available all over the world…
Why you need Restorative Exercise for Health & Strength
Although strength training is about resistance exercise, it's important to know when to incorporate restorative exercise. Restorative exercise allows you to recover from tough training sessions…
The Ups and Downs of Expanding into a New Location
I’m writing this after having verbally accepted the terms of a new location for Baltimore Kettlebell Club. I’ve been working on securing this spot for about 6 months now. The fact is, I’ve been looking to move…
10 Things I've Learned in 10 Years Being a Gym Owner
5 years ago I wrote an article “10 things I’ve learned in 10 years of being a kettlebell instructor” It’s now been 10 years that I’ve been a gym owner so I figured it was time that I write this…
Discipline, Self Control and Personal Responsibility
I often talk about how much I’ve learned through strength training. Things like work ethic, goal setting and perseverance, but all of these lessons follow a similar theme. That theme is discipline and…
One Year of Live Workouts on Facebook
I began doing Facebook live workout videos a week after the shutdown happened in March of 2020. It has now been over a year since that first nerve racking recording…
Struggle for the Kids
As the world we know continues to change it’s hard to know what to think of it. With political unrest and tensions on the rise, it doesn’t seem like 2021 is going to be any…
What COVID did to me and my gym
This article is going to have two parts:
The enforced shutdown of Baltimore Kettlebell Club due the COVID pandemic…
Evolution of Kids Fitness Classes
We started Kids Fitness Classes in 2018 because we had just started homeschooling our oldest daughter. One of the reasons we chose the homeschool route was because…
The Everyday Program
6 weeks ago I started doing overhead presses everyday in a program I called my #quarantineroutine The reasons for doing the same lift every day were twofold: 1) to inspire…