FOR THE LOVE OF KETTLEBELLS

RUNNING WILL ALWAYS count as my first fitness love. It ignited my passion for physical movement in elementary school when I ran circles around my parents' three-acre backyard.

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While my relationship with running has ebbed and flowed over the yearswhile staying pretty consistent over the past decade-it's also provided a path to new ways to stay active.

I don't necessarily remember my first time in a weight room, though I would guess it was sometime in high school during doubles for cheerleading, getting prepped for the fall football season. But I do remember working with a trainer at Syracuse University, also with the cheer squad, learning about bench presses and deadlifts and the importance of lifting heavy weights.

When I moved to New York and started working in fitness media, I had ample opportunity to try out other types of workouts, especially in the form of group fitness. And while I had a love affair with indoor cycling and barre for a bit, nothing quite piqued my interest as much as kettlebells.

A certified personal trainer by the time I swung my first bell, I knew this piece of oddly shaped equipment added a metabolic conditioning element to typical weight training, which upped the intensity-and the fun factor!-of lifting. So when a fellow trainer at the studio where I worked at the time asked if I wanted to join in getting a kettlebell training certification, it didn't take all that much convincing to sign up. The catch? In order to actually obtain the certification, I had to perform 80 snatches in five minutes.