Transformation Tuesday: Buffy the Kettlebell Slayer

After having her first daughter, Buffy Belt suffered from chronic pain for two years, which led her to put her fitness on hold. While she tried Pilates, yoga, and personal training, Seattle Kettlebell Club was the first gym where Belt found a workout that she could consistently stick to without agitating her pain.  

“The personal trainer (she worked with at a previous gym) pushed me too far and wasn’t really thinking about my body getting injured,” Belt said. “There are just things I cannot do, and Nikolai (SKC owner) has always been really flexible about modifying, while still pushing me without making me feel like I’m not doing a good job.”

 “I bought size 8 shorts this summer, where I bought the 12s two summers ago,” Belt said. “Everything fits so much better.”

With three kettlebell sport competitions under her belt, Belt has enjoyed competing because it has given her the opportunity to set personal goals and measure progress while also being part of a team. 

  

“It’s given me more gratitude and pride for my own body, and I’m able to do so many more things in my daily life as well,” Belt said. “From what I used to get from running 5-10 miles, I get in a 45-minute class.”

Receiving her Master of Education in counseling from Seattle University, Belt works as a school counselor, which she loves, but kettlebell training has supplied her with a different type of outlet. 

“[Kettlebells] is the only thing that I can actually complete. I can never actually complete anything in my job because so much of what I do has to do with other people making choices. This is something I can finish every day, which is huge,” Belt said. “It’s that period of time when I do something that’s just for me.” 

Belt notes that her training has not only helped her gain strength, but she also uses it as a teaching tool for her students. 

"I ask them to do things that are outside of their comfort zone every day,” Belt said. “Modeling that I’m trying this thing that’s out of my comfort zone, but slowly over time I’m getting better, is so much better than me just telling them what to do. I never ask a child to do anything that I wouldn’t do myself.”

When she tells friends about her kettlebell training, Belt says that many have a misconception about how much strain the lifts put on one’s back. 

Photo Credit: Matt Burn

“I couldn’t even hold or carry my kids when they were little for more than a couple of minutes at a time. My core was gone; my back was shot. I’m somebody that had no strength,” Belt said. “I’ve been doing this for over a year now, and I’ve never been injured. I think that says a lot.” 

Although she was doing many solo workouts over the summer, Belt prefers the comradery the classes at SKC offer. 

“Misha (SKC trainer) is my number one workout motivator. If I can get that very serious Russian man to crack a teeny-tiny smile, it just totally makes my day,” Belt said.

In the future Belt hopes to achieve CMS (Candidate for Master of Sport), and this Saturday she will be representing SKC competing in a 5-minute biathlon with 16 kg bells at the IKFF Northwest Kettlebell Championship. 

We believe in you Buffy! We know you'll slay those bells! 

-Camille Borodey