Bellingham man scores high in international kettlebell competition | People

While many of us spent this week preparing for the Holiday and long weekend, one Bellingham man was busy pumping iron—or to be more precise, swinging it.

Brad Jones, 45, earned high marks at the International Kettlebell and Fitness Federation World Championships in Detroit last Saturday, placing in both second and sixth places.

Kettlebells are weights that--as the name suggests--look like kettles, but also have a handle. To use them, competitors complete a variety of tasks such as swinging them between their legs or lifting them overhead.

It’s a sport that has been really catching on in America, Jones said. He has been using kettlebells for about seven years, he said, but only competitively for the past three. In those three years, he’s competed in seven or eight tournaments, but he said, this one was by far the biggest.

More than 150 competitors, including some world champions from Russia, participated in the competition, making the event the largest ever held in the U.S.

Despite strong competition, Jones placed well in two of the events he competed in. He took second place in the 5-minute chair press competition, and sixth in the long cycle event.

During the first, Jones was required to press two 44-pound kettlebells overhead from a seated position, meaning he was unable to use his legs. Jones completed 43 repetitions that way, in a category that was open to all ages.

Jones, who owns at practices at Rolfing Bellingham, competed in the professional division during his second high-placing event, after also placing high in the open division at a previous competition.

During this event, Jones faced off against 21 other competitors in a grueling 10-minute event. In long-cycle competition, a competitor completes a repetition by swinging 53-pound kettlebells (yes that’s how much is in each hand in the above video) between his legs, cleaning them to a rack position and then jerking them overhead until a judge signals approval. Competitors weren’t allowed to set the kettlebells down once during the grueling 10-minute event.

Want to know more about kettlebell and what it can do for you? Jones also teaches a weekly class at Jogo Crossfit Bellingham.