Melissa Melton is know by many names at Nashville Kettlebell. Mighty Mouse. UberGirl. The ABdominal Snowgirl. Melly Mel.

Her most recent name is the one that I most proud of, however- SFG instructor. Melissa used the StrongBody Challenge as part of her plan to prepare for the first-ever StrongFirst Girya instructor certification in Houston.

In 8 weeks her body weight went from 138 to an official SFG weigh-in of 120lbs. She spent ZERO time on a treadmill, elliptical or any other lame-ass piece of equipment doing “cardio”.

She did not run.

She got strong. Very strong.

She did swings and getups. She Squatted. She pressed. She did snatches and more swings. She deadlifted and pressed some more. She did more swings. She ate bacon. Her results are pretty much the definition of a good plan.

I was there as one of the instructors at the certification and I can honestly say that I have never had a student go into a cert better prepared than Melissa. The week before she joined the elusive and exclusive 600 club by doing 602 swings with a 32kg (70lb) kettlebell at a bodyweight of 122. At SFG I was told “Go look at your student” by a certain Russian. Across the field, there she was partnered up with a group of guys who averaged 220-240lbs doing sets of 10 swings with a 40kg. And smiling.

I asked her to write something about her accomplishments in the SBC and she gave me this:

“This challenge in it’s nature caused reflection. It forced me to focus on my inner well-being and that of those around me. I became acutely aware of everyone else. I am a better person because of the challenges we (the SBC participants) faced together these past 8 weeks.

I did not accomplish anything. WE accomplished everything. We grew closer together as a family and that is the most important thing I will take away from this challenge. StrongFirst –> Doesn’t necessarily mean physical strength. My Nashville Kettlebell family preppared me for SFG level one.  my family prepared me for a new life.” – Melissa Melton, SFG

The next StrongBody Challenge begins on Monday, April 8th.  Are you ready ?

Sometimes I have the privilege of working with a student who has decided to make a change, but has no idea where to start. Andrea talks about her experience in her first StrongBody Challenge.

“I’ve wanted to do something about being overweight for a long time now, but I didn’t know where to start. There are so many different exercise programs how do you choose? I met David the owner of Nashville Kettlebell through martial arts. I was always impressed with his strength and knew Kettlebells must be serious. I decided to take David up on his offer to try out his Kettlebell classes, and shortly after I started at Nashville Kettlebell they were starting a StrongBody Challenge. I thought  ”what have I got to lose?”……. and now I think it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

The StrongBody Challenge helped me become better because I’ve lost 17 lbs and 11.5 inches in 8 weeks. I’ve learned better eating habits and a new concept of what strong is. I came to Nashville Kettlebell with a broken body. After a few weeks in this challenge my knee and hip pain went away. With 4 degenerative disks and recovering from a rotator cuff injury I know it will take time to strengthen my back and shoulders, but now that I’ve found a way to get stronger I don’t want to stop.

After taking this challenge I’ve noticed a lot of differences in my physical abilities. Apart from Nashville Kettlebell, I also do 3 different types of marital arts. The biggest difference I’ve noticed is some of the drills and exercises I was having trouble with before are a lot easier now. I’ve have more energy at the end of the day, and instead of feeling worn down I feel energized.

By completing this challenge I’ve come to realize that there is no easy way to loose weight. Sure you can take diet pills, join a club, or start a diet. All of those things are easy, but changing your lifestyle and eating habits are difficult. We’ve all been there. You start a diet and what happens when you stop? The only way to succeed is to change your lifestyle with dedication, determination, and a strong support system. The group at Nashville Kettlebell is very encouraging, and I’m glad I could be apart of this experience. Even though I may not win the challenge, I think I’ve gained so much more.”

In 8 weeks, you will wish you started 8 weeks ago……StrongBody Challenge.

James Todd has been at Nashville Kettlebell for a while. The StrongBody Challenge was the thing he needed to get all his energy going in the same direction, toward revealing the strongest possible version of himself that he can. In this first phase, he lost over 30lbs of fat and added 3lbs of lean muscle.

Here is what James had to say about the first 8 week challenge:

“Before the StrongBody challenge, my weight ranged from 220 to 230. I felt unattractive when I looked in the mirror and my clothes were ill-fitting. Thanks to the challenge, I am now under 200 lbs for the first time since an injury in 2010.

The StrongBody Challenge helped me become better because I am now able to discern between emotional hunger and physical hunger. I am now equipped with better tools to re-frame food as “fuel” or “not-fuel”. The value judgments of guilt and shame associated with food are drastically reduced. I have more energy and don’t flinch anymore when I look in the mirror.

Keeping a food and workout log has been a great way to challenge myself to continue improving and it has been one of the most impactful habits I have ever developed. I blew away my goal of sub-200lbs and hit my goal of 500K lbs moved in training. (I weigh in at 195 lbs and moved nearly 504K lbs in 8 weeks.) I achieved a series of 4 PR’s in weight moved in one day; my Turkish Get-Up is in the best form it has ever had; I completed 100 beast swings (48kg) in 4:40; I made a PR in assisted pullups (16); and I made PR’s in both max deadlift weight (143kg) and deadlift reps (30 * 102kg).

The camaraderie in the StrongBody Challenge was really empowering for all of us. At the beginning of the challenge, I worked to encourage the whole team to succeed and I believe that I was a part of their success. The surprise to me was how much I also needed others to encourage me, as well. The NKB crew helped me to not give up when before week 6 I had a car wreck and sprained my shoulder. I went from a PR of 28K lbs in a day in WK5 to starting my recovery in WK6 with 81 reps with 1 lb Indian club. Through 2 weeks of focus, encouragement, and kettlebell rehab, I was able to reach another PR of 29K lbs in WK7. I’m still not back to 100% yet, but I’m improving every day and have goals to reclaim and exceed my overhead press PR’s from December in the next 2-3 months.”

The next StrongBody Challenge begins April 8th. For details on how YOU could become the next Success Story and maybe even win the $700 Grand Prize, go HERE.

Jen and Chris Creed are a young couple that I have known for a while. They decided to enter the StrongBody Challenge together and had a combined weight loss of over 30lbs.

“I became proud of being strong for the first time in my life. The inches and pounds started finally coming off, and it made it easier to continue. To see food as fuel, not a reward, I proved to myself I could push through and not give in, and that I could say “NO” to unhealthy foods even if the people around me were indulging. (but also knowing that the occasional, thought out–not impulsive– splurge is ok!). All the while being cheered on and encouraged by new friends!”

-Jen

“The biggest thing the StrongBody Challenge helped me with was changing the way I think about eating. Instead of letting it control me I listen to my body and eat when I need to eat.

For as long as I can remember food has been something I used not as fuel but as a clock. When it was time to eat it was time to eat. This made it easy to justify and easy to overeat. It had nothing to do with hunger it was just time to eat so I ate.

Over the past eight weeks, this habit has been destroyed. Most days I go 16-18 hours on a fast. I don’t worry about what time it is but when I get hungry, I eat. That’s it. I didn’t think at first that the intermittent fasting plan was going to hep me at all (because I’m a growing boy and I gotta eat!) but it totally did.

Second to that was the incredible weight loss. This part I was expecting but I thought I was setting a lofty goal by saying 275lbs by the end of March. Here we are not even half way through March and I have 10 pounds to go! I’ve lost 21 pounds in 8 weeks and I pretty proud of that.

My expectations from the scale throughout went something like this:

“Man, It’s gonna be awesome when I step on the scale and it consistently reads below 300!”

That came fast.

After that it was below 290 and now I excited to see it read below 280 consistently.

Thinking about it this way didn’t put pressure on me to lose a certain amount or hit a certain number. Thinking about it this way, even if I don’t hit the 275 mark, I’ll still be happy to see it below 280 consistently. So that’s awesome.

I think this challenge worked because it gave me a reason to commit and to be intentional about my my eating habits and my workout habits. Another huge bonus was knowing I wasn’t the only one. That if I’m faced with the temptation to eat junk someone else probably was too. It helped me to think that they were saying NO so I could too. Very powerful to have that kind of help.

I feel awesome to have completed the challenge and even more awesome to have habits changed and huge jump start on a great year. That’s what’s up!”-Chris

Indeed, that’s what’s up. The next StrongBody Challenge begins April 8th.  Click HERE to get in on it.

George Walker has been at Nashville Kettlebell for almost 2 years. He is the only student in our School of Strength to hit the lofty 200 snatches in 10:00 with a 24kg.

Always dedicated, always ready to do the work and ALWAYS ready to have fun, the StrongBody Challenge was a new opportunity for George to surpass himself.  Here is his experience, in his own words:

“The Nashville Kettlebell StrongBody Challenge helped me become a healthier person because I lost 21+lbs., dropped 4.5 inches from my waist, exceeding my goals for the challenge. I love the fact that I have to go out and buy new pants and belts because my old ones are falling off my butt. I have not been this light since 2000.

Through the challenge I proved to myself that I can make better choices when preparing meals and stay away from the sweets except on Sundays (ha ha), train harder and heavier, and intermittent fasting is a good thing. By the way pull-ups are easy after you lose 21+lbs.

The Challenge has inspired me to continue the process of getting stronger and leaner. I hope to show off a new six-pack by the start of summer if not sooner.

It has been an amazing experience.

THANK YOU DAVID and NASHVILLE KETTLEBELL!!!!!

George”

The next StrongBody Challenge begins April 8th. For details on how YOU could become the next Success Story and maybe even win the $700 Grand Prize, go HERE.