My name is Svetlana. I am 22 y.o. And my sport journey started in Ventspils.
I never thought that I will be in GS. The first time I saw guys lifting kettlebells was when I was about 16 years old. My brother went to fitness and started to do that. One day he asked me to go with him. He didn’t want me to start doing it. He was just lazy to walk all the way from home to the sport hall 🙂 That’s how I got there 🙂 I’ve seen it just once, but decided to join. I didn’t want to exercise with kettlebells. I was oriented on simulators. I’ve done it for about a year or two. But then I have to leave the country (but it is completely different story).
I was away for a year. I was working in Norway and couldn’t find any kettlebell there, at least not in Trondheim. Plus I didn’t have time for anything but job. I was exercising in my room. But I didn’t have any sport equipment, so my practicing wasn’t so effective. I came back to Latvia in the end of June and went back to sport immediately. But this time I decided to exercise with kettlebells. I even took part in the “Ventspils Atlants” competition. Actually, we didn’t compete, because there were only 4 girls and all of us were from one team, plus we were in four different weight categories. We decided to make the same number of snatches to complete the tournament.
But then my life took me to another place again. I moved to Riga to study in University. For the first two years studying and working took too much time and it was no time left for sport. We had sport classes at the university. But it was aerobics for girls. I didn’t like it, because I didn’t feel tired after that. The only place where I could do kettlebell lifting was in about one hour drive from my place. Which means that I needed about 4 hours, 3 times a week to keep exercising the way I used to do in Ventspils. Unfortunately, I didn’t have that time. But I was always thinking of coming back. I took part in “Ventspils Atlants” tournaments, but only like a secretary and interpreter. I felt that I miss GS a lot.
Finally, this year I’ve got enough time for sport and joined Riga team.I am very grateful to Robert Innus (he is my coach now) and other guys that they accepted me in their family.
That’s how I got to GS. You might ask “Why?” I never really understood why… But I will try to explain my feeling about kettlebell lifting.
I’ve tried a lot of sports, such as swimming, athletics, taekwondo, aerobics, volleyball and others. But I always felt like there is something missing. I didn’t get what I wanted. In case of GS I’ve got it. I like the sweet, stretchy filling in my muscles after I exercise. I like how I look – my back became straight and strong, my arms, legs and tummy are nicely shaped (at least I think so). I became healthier and stronger. But it is not only about physical feelings. Emotions are included, too. I don’t know the reason why, but all the kettlebell lifters I know are very friendly and amiable. When you come to practice or take part in competition you have that peaceful and warm feeling, like you came home after a long trip. You can’t stop smiling around kettlebell lifters. And if something happens with one of them everybody take part in the problem and solve it together. It might be just me, but you never know until you try 🙂
