10,000 Kettle Bell Swing Challenge

To say I enjoy the kettle bell is an understatement. I love incorporating it into my routines and actually do so quite often.

Before I went on vacation in August a friend of mine was completing a challenge from T-Nation; The 10,000 Kettlebell Swing Challenge to be exact. It intrigued me so much that I decided to take it on right after I got back. My main goal here was to improve both my grip strength and my hip hinge with the hopes of improving my 1RM deadlift.

I started the 4 week program on August 10th. 500 swings per day, 5 days a week. 2 days on with 1 day rest and so on. The first 4 days of the week another exercise is incorporated with the swings and then on the final day of each week you just swing. The program recommends that women use a 35lb Kettlebell, however I didn't have one of that size so I went with the 40lb instead.

The first week was the toughest. I was sore every day but by the second week and every week there after it got better; my time was faster and so on.

At the end of the 4 weeks; I was able to complete all 500 swings in 18:27:22 compared to 28:58:57 in week 1.

Other improvements noted:
- Grip improved dramatically
- Power and strength both improved
- Endurance improved
- Accumulated lean mass
- Recovery improved
- Time improved as noted above
- Required rest between swing sets became less and heart rate recovered quicker

I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and would consider it again in the future with a heavier kettle bell.   I am enjoying the kettle bell so much that I have decided to move forward with a Level 1 certification from Agatsu Inc. This certification is taking place September 26 & 27 :) I'm stoked!!

If you are at all interested in the kettle bell and/or an added challenge; you should definitely try it out.
Here is the link from T-Nation. https://www.t-nation.com/workouts/10000-swing-kettlebell-workout

Good Luck and let me know how you do if you try it!

Until next time,

P.S. You will get calluses and yes they may rip but it just makes the challenge and you that much more Badass ;)

Live your Passion

Hi fitness friends.

I know it has been a very long time since I have written a post but, well let's just say; I've been a little busy ;)

I have officially opened my own personal training studio out of my home and I have gotten super busy, all in a fairly short time, which is extremely awesome. I am so happy to be doing what I love, to be helping others in the process and to be living my passion.

Personal training/ nutrition are now my full time job/business. No more office work for moi! I am my own kick a$$ boss now :)

There is certainly something to be said for going after your dream, jumping in and living the life you always imagined. There is also something to be said about the power of prayer, in being patient and in believing not only in yourself but also your abilities and your destination. I finally believe that I am doing what I was put here on earth to do. Exciting!!!

Other kick a$$ benefits of being your own boss in your own home.
#1 Pure happiness as mentioned above.
#2 No alarms required. I have early clients but I never use an alarm clock because I am always happy and eager to start the day.
#3 Yoga pants. I haven't worn jeans in about 3 months lol
#4 I get my own workouts in throughout the day (whenever I want) or early in the morning before clients
#4 I don't have to leave the house and I still get to socialize and I get housework done between clients as well

So much awesomeness. Can you tell I am happy?

I have also since started and am half way through the Precision Nutrition Level 1 certification. I am working on a 300lb deadlift (I'm at 265lbs for 1 rep), I am also training for a 10 mile race that my sister asked me to do with her this coming July and I have even had some Fitgirlsrock tank tops made.

If these interest you; please email me at

fitgirlsrock.melissa@gmail.com to order

Until next time,

Healthy Planet: Health food and Supplements

Good afternoon fitness peeps.

I wanted to share with you a recent experience I had with the online supplement/health food store; Healthy Planet.

http://www.healthyplanetcanada.com has so many great products to offer and what makes it even better is that you can simply place your order and have it all delivered right to your door. I don't know about you but with my busy lifestyle that is a great bonus.

I decided to try it out for a couple of reasons
#1 I wanted to share the experience with all of you
#2 the convenience of having my supplements delivered now that I have officially opened my new business is of great benefit to me

So I perused the site, found my staple supplements as well as a couple of new things and placed my order. It was easy peasy to navigate the site and my supplements were all available. Yippee!!!

Now as most of you know, I live in Northern Alberta so typically it takes quite awhile for shipments to get here, however not this one, within a week I had my order and was enjoying my supplements.

If you haven't tried this site; I highly recommend it. Easy to use, has a huge variety of products, delivery to your door, and as an added bonus save 10% using code fitgirls10 until May 31, 2015.
Don't miss out; get your order in today. #healthyplanet

Now I bet you want to know what I ordered.  

My order consisted of my powdered BCAAs (Amino Energy), Greens powdered supplement (Vege Greens in blueberry flavour) and I also tried for the first time, Coco Natural...coconut seasoning sauce. My husband likes seasoning on his rice and this is a great alternative to soya sauce :)

oh and before I forget, another great thing about Healthy Planet is that they are a Canadian company. All products are in Canadian dollars. Yay! 

Happy Shopping!!

Until next time,

p.s. Don't forget code fitgirls10 saves you 10% on your order until May 31, 2015

Healthy Planet Store Offer

Good afternoon fitness peeps.

I am pleased to announce that my at home personal training studio is up and ready for clients. I actually have some bookings for tomorrow :) I am super excited about this new venture and following my passion of helping others achieve their fitness goals.

I have some other great news as well. This morning I was approached by Healthy Planet to offer all of my readers a 10% discount code to shop in their store. I just placed an order myself and this store has so much to offer.

The discount code is fitgirls10 and expires April 30, 2015 so don't wait; get your deal today.
Just visit: http://www.healthyplanetcanada.com/

Enjoy and comment below telling me what you order; I'd love to know :)

Thanks Healthy Planet!!

Until next time,

ISSA Specialist in Fitness Nutrition

Hi again.

Wow, twice in one week....I might actually be getting better at this blog again :)

I have news.

I registered for the ISSA Specialist in Fitness Nutrition certification in mid January and the course was honestly so interesting to me that I could hardly put the book down. I completed the course material within 3 weeks, finished the exam on Friday, Feb 13th and submitted it over the weekend.

Today, I got an email.

"Dear Melissa Shevchenko,
Congratulations on your successful completion of the ISSA Specialist in Fitness Nutrition (SFN) examination! We recognize that you put forth a tremendous amount of time and effort and we commend you on a job well done. If you continue to live the fitness lifestyle coupled with your newly acquired knowledge with regards to nutrition and dietary programming then I feel your career as an ISSA trainer will be long and lucrative. Overall you received a 92% final grade. Good luck on your endeavor as a Specialist in Fitness Nutrition."

I am so excited and so happy. The material in this course was extremely informative, useful and I am so happy to now be able to bring this to the table as well when helping clients.

Totally stoked to be able to add this to my list of qualifications and I may look at more courses as well in the near future but for now I need to get my personal training studio up and running to get clients rolling with programs and feeling great :)

Until next time,

Personal Development Reading and Book List

Hi Fitness Peeps,

I am a book worm.....I love to read and this morning I posted my latest book on my facebook page and since I got a lot of questions I thought I'd complete a list of personal development books I've read along with a brief review/explanation of them.

I am always looking for interesting books to read and I thought that you guys might enjoy the list as well. Feel free to add recommendations in the comments as I am always, always looking for something new to read or add to my list :)

#1 The 7 habits of Highly Effective People ~ I actually did a 2 day course on this book and I thoroughly enjoyed the interaction. I can be honest here and say that I am not sure I would of enjoyed the book quite as much without the course to go with it

#2 Devote yourself to an Ideal ~ Highly recommend. Very captivating and motivating (online only)

#3 Wheat Belly ~ Another good book especially if you are interested in the effects of certain foods on the body or are wondering about a food allergy/intolerance

#4 Metabolic Damage and the Dangers of Dieting ~ If you are concerned that you may have metabolic damage or are wondering what it is, this is a good read. (Online only)

#5 Burn the Fat; Feed the Muscle ~ Phenomenal book. I learned a lot and enjoyed the read

#6 The Love Dare ~ My husband and I are still working through this book as we chose to read this one together. After each chapter there are tasks to do and I feel the book teaches you a lot about yourself, your spouse and your marriage plus it opens up to some great communication

#7 The Compound Effect ~ Very well written, very captivating and motivating

#8 Spartan Up! ~ As you all know, I am a fan of Spartan races and if you are as well or if you are thinking about doing one, I recommend this read

#9 What on Earth am I here for? ~ If you are not a spiritual person this book may not be for you. It is a religious book about God and living your life the way he wants you to. I don't consider myself a highly religious person however I did enjoy this book and it certainly got me thinking

#10 The Fast Metabolism Diet ~ I bought and read this book as I have been having issues with leaning out and issues with my metabolism. I followed the plan and although I felt good energy wise, it didn't repair whatever is wrong with my metabolism as it suggests that it would. However I am just speculating that I have a metabolism issue as there does not seem to be any other explanation at this point. If you are curious about your metabolism, it may be worth a read

#11 The Big Picture ~ Another very motivating and captivating book. Recommended read

#12 The Power of Now ~ Although I enjoyed this book it took me awhile to really get into it. Once I did however it was very enlightening

#13 Wild ~ Although may be not a personal development book per say, it does get you thinking about life, love, loss, etc. I can't wait to see this movie and I loved the book

#14 The Burn ~ Another book by the author of The Fast Metabolism Diet. It is an ok book and an interesting read in some respects. I haven't tried any of the plans and I likely won't but she has different plans for when you seem to be doing everything right but the scale is stuck for what seems like no reason. Her plans are based on food for hormone imbalance, etc

#15 The 5 Love Languages ~ Loved this book. So easy to read, so enlightening and all about finding your love language vs your spouses love language, etc. Everyone has a different love language. My husband is reading this one next. Recommend

#16 The Gifts of Imperfection ~ I just finished this one last night. Another enlightening book that I would recommend

#17- You are a Badass ~ I'm just starting this one but I will say that I have heard nothing but good things about it

I have 1 other here in the house waiting to be read and that one is Push. There may be others that I have forgotten here but I think I have covered most of them :)

If you are interested in seeing some of the other books on my list or others that I will add for future reading I pin them on my "Personal Development Book Love" Board on Pinterest. See link below.
https://www.pinterest.com/mshevchenko/personal-development-book-love/

If you are reading a book or have any that you would recommend, please comment below and I'll be sure to add them to my list. I just love to read!! :)

Until next time,

Fitgirlsrock Personal Training Studio- Why?

Hi Fitness Peeps,

I wanted  to take the time to give you more details about my Fitgirlsrock pt services, studio and why I decided to go for it.

As the majority of you know, fitness has been my passion for a very long time. I played team sports in highschool and in my university years I became a runner and an occasional weight lifter. The running and occasional weight lifting aspects continued for years but I wasn't seeing the significant improvements in my body cosmetically that I wanted. I had goals.....I wanted to lift heavier but wasn't sure I knew how to do so properly, I wanted to compete and I wanted to feel good both inside and out, so in 2011 I decided to hire a trainer. I hoped to achieve the goals I just mentioned, to learn more about lifting/training in general and also about clean eating.

I actually achieved all of those goals and many more. I listened to my trainer, I asked questions, I trained hard, I learned what clean eating actually was, I became a gym rat and I loved it. In November of 2012, I stepped on stage....an amazing accomplishment for me and I haven't looked back. I actually created this page just after that competition and started my blog as a way to journal my journey to the stage. In June and every June following, a couple of friends and I complete in Femsport, I've completed many races over the years and started running Spartan OCRs in 2013 and in 2014 I achieved my Spartan Trifecta.

As you can probably tell, fitness is now one of my biggest passions in life. I have seen setbacks, I have struggled and still do but I have never, ever given up and I believe that I, like my own trainer at the time, walk the walk and talk the talk. I eat clean with an occasional treat, I lift heavy, push my body and I believe in doing things the natural way. It is amazing what the human body can do :)
In early 2014, I completed my ISSA personal training certificate and from there I was employed part-time by Gym Nation. In December of 2014, during a conversation with my husband, I decided to build my own gym and to use it as a pt studio to take clients and train them from my home. I did this for a couple of reasons #1 I, personally, wanted my own gym so I could work out anytime I wanted and to also make it easier for my husband who gets home from work a lot later #2 I had talked to many women who wanted to make a change and wanted to workout but are intimidated by the bigger gyms, are shy and would prefer one on one private services #3 By creating a gym and taking clients from here I can make it less expensive for clients as there is no membership fee just my pt rate #4 I want to make fitness my full time career.

Fast Forward to today and the personal training studio is almost ready. Construction will be completed this week, from there equipment will be moved in and setup and then final touches/decor and I'll be ready for business. While the space will not be huge, it will certainly provide everything I need to help clients (women only) workout and achieve their goals. I hope to be open for clients by late February (date to be confirmed).

I am also in the process of studying to complete my ISSA specialist in Fitness Nutrition Certification as another means of helping my clients. I actually just opened  my exam....eek!

In closing, I want to thank Andrew Bambury, who trained me and who I feel to be one of the most influential people in setting me on this path, to my hubby who always said "go for it; you can do it", to all my friends and family and to all my followers here on this page.

I truly believe that helping people with health and fitness is what I was meant to do and so here I am.
For more information on my pt services, opening date on my studio, etc please send an email to fitgirlsrock.melissa@gmail.com

Until next time,

Fitgirlsrock Personal Training Studio

Sorry that I haven't written or provided any updates in such a long time. It has been a hectic 2015 so far and I have already put some of my biggest goals into motion. Yay me!

Happy New Year!!!!

My biggest news of the year so far is that I have took the leap and am working on opening my own Fitgirlsrock personal training studio (women only) out of my home. I am hoping (fingers crossed) to open and start taking clients as early as mid to late February. I am renoing my basement and while it is not a huge space I am fairly confident that it will provide all my clients need as well as fulfill my own training needs as well. You may be wondering what happened to my position at Gym Nation.....nothing...I am still employed there as a trainer but I felt the need to do this for myself but also for all those women who #1 may not be able to afford both a gym membership and personal training fees together #2 may also be intimidated by the gym or just shy in general.

*Coming soon to Fort McMurray,AB*

So that's my biggest news. We are at the painting stage, flooring next, wall mirror install and then moving in the equipment. I have gotten all my stuff from the Fitness Depot so far, well that is any additional stuff that I didn't have before. What sorts of equipment will this gym have? I'm so glad you asked...lol

Power rack/smith machine combo complete with chin-up bar, cable system and attachments
treadmill
Olympic bar and plates
EZ curl bar
Hex bar
battle rope
Swiss ball
bosu ball
bench (flat/decline/incline)
kettle bells
power blocks instead of dumb bells to save space
TRX
lebert bars
push/pull sled
agility ladder
plyo boxes
medicine balls
skipping rope
ab roller
foam rollers
mats
chin-up/dip bar for doorway
big a$$ tire and sledge hammer

I'm super excited about this endeavour so if you are in Fort McMurray, Alberta or know anyone who is, please pass on the word. Contact fitgirlsrock.melissa@gmail.com for more info.

What else have I been up to? Another one of my goals for 2015 was to register and complete my ISSA Nutrition Certification. I just recently registered and so far I am finding the course very interesting and enjoyable.

Other goals are similar to other years; keep pushing on, keep beating PRs, some races will be had, some OCRs but I also want to focus this year on finding a good, comfortable balance.

So what are your 2015 goals? I'd love to hear them.

Until next time,
Stay fit and healthy.