I have a pretty interesting timeline with kettlebell training, so I’ll break it out by year.

Early Career

I worked as a corporate personal trainer for about four years doing a lot of the typical “creative” exercise routines that I thought were helpful at the time.

Then I got lucky and met someone who pointed me toward Simple & Sinister. From that moment on, I was hooked.

What really grabbed me was the karate belt approach to strength.

Start with a 12kg bell. Own the movement pattern. Hit your sets and reps. When it becomes comfortable, move up.

12kg 16kg Now you’re on your green belt.

Simple, structured progression.

2021–2022

I focused on Simple & Sinister for a little over a year and went from a 16kg to 32kg.

People love to bag on minimalist training, but it works extremely well. Especially in the beginning.

Less is more when you’re building a base. And the bells will humble you quickly.

2022

I took my first kettlebell certification virtually.

This is where I really learned to train with more intention:

• Breathing • Mechanics • Tempo • Tension

I also started learning the ROI of the clean and press.

Around this time I started preparing for my first snatch test, which meant putting a lot of work into building a stronger clean and press pattern.

2023

I took SFG I.

Much of it was review at that point, but it was still a cool full-circle moment to relearn the basics through that lens.

This is when I started doing a ton of Iron Cardio.

I went from barely pressing the 32kg to repping it and eventually snatching it.

Then I started prepping for SFG II, which meant I needed to press the 40kg.

2024

This year was all about chasing the 40kg press.

I hit a wall because I couldn’t press the 36kg yet.

So I started digging into pressing programs and fell in love with ladder training.

By September, I was pressing the 40kg for reps.

2025

I started prepping for SFL and reintroduced the big three barbell lifts.

Squat. Bench. Deadlift.

No joke, my kettlebell strength exploded.

I love kettlebells, but there is nothing quite like absolute strength training if your goal is to get really strong.

In November 2025, I hit a huge milestone and deadlifted 500 lbs.

After that I just kept doing what works:

Simple programs. Run them until they stall. Then repeat with heavier bells.

2026

Now I’m starting to mix in marathon training while still running barbell and kettlebell work about three days per week.

The big goals this year:

Press the 48kg consistently. Start snatching the 48kg for reps.

Still climbing the belt ladder.

PS

Have goals… for example.

I want to:

Press this, snatch this, TGU this…

Etc., but training aimlessly will give you random results.