Kettlebell conditioning class at Rebell Conditioning

Chicago 7/24/12Lindsey Gerwin participates in a conditioning class at Rebell Conditioning at 2831 N. Clark Street.

Photo: Allison Williams

The class Conditioning

The details You won’t have the chance to show off—or hurt yourself—using the kettlebell the first two times you take a class at Rebell Conditioning, a nine-month-old boutique studio run by Ryan Steenrod and Mike Connelly. The instructors are intent on educating guests on how to properly use the weights with two mandatory intro classes before you can graduate to the more advanced conditioning and kettlebell classes. Because the design of the kettlebell is conducive to swinging motions, it’s a great workout tool but also a shoulder injury waiting to happen if you don’t know what you’re doing. Steenrod and Connelly have agreed to make an exception and let me use the kettlebell in this 45-minute class without the intro training—though I can do only the easiest moves—since they’ll be watching my every step. After the ten-person class is divided into two groups, one led by Connelly and the other by Steenrod, my group receives its workout instructions: about 20 minutes of interval training doing moves like the “waiter’s walk,” holding the kettlebell in the palm of one hand tipped back above the shoulder as if it’s a tray while making laps back and forth across the room. Halfway through class, we switch to the other side of the studio for a second circuit. This time we pick up the pace, and my heart starts to pound as I sweat through mountain climbers, push-ups, sumo squats holding the kettlebell in front of me, and the suspension pulley system to create the effect of pull-ups. Quicker than I’d expected, class is almost done. But we’re not free until we complete the “closer,” when the entire group congregates to do a rapid series of kettlebell swings (tossing the weight back between the legs and up to the chest). The following two days, my body is feeling the burn—especially my quads. I’m ready to return as soon as the pain eases up.

When to take it Throughout the week at Rebell Conditioning (2831 N Clark St, 773-687-8750). First three classes free, $15–$22.50 for single classes thereafter.