Photos by Craig L. Moran/VieWTop, Lisa Balash trains at her kettlebell studio Elite Physique, 2595 S. Cimarron Road, Suite 202. Bottom, Carrie Cutler, left, performs an exercise while Balash and her husband, Jay, look on.
You might call Lisa Balash a walking advertisement. She wears a necklace that sports a miniature kettlebell.
That's right, a kettlebell -- a cast iron sphere about the size of a cannon ball, topped by a thick metal handle. The Eastern European weight is a standard in the produce industry. Now, it's the basis of a workout routine that Balash is pioneering in the Summerlin area.
In March, she opened her kettlebell studio Elite Physique at 2595 S. Cimarron Road, Suite 202.
"It's a gym in the palm of your hand," Balash said of the old-fashioned iron weights.
But the techniques for using them are anything but old-fashioned. Unlike barbells, this workout involves swinging the weights using whole body motion. That motion incorporates the legs, requires balance and engages one's core.
Her studio is about 600 square feet and is covered in mat flooring. Lined up in front of the mirrored wall are the kettlebells, ranging in weight from about 5 pounds to 57 pounds. A workout ball is in one corner. The rest of the place is bare.
But add a client for 1-on-1 training or a class of up to 10 and the space is transformed. The kettlebell workout demands ever changing forms of leverage, balance and hefting capabilities, hitting large muscle groups at the same time, to help stabilize the movements. The workout offers cardiovascular challenge by virtue of the swinging technique.
Roughly 70 percent of Balash's clients are women. Sometimes, Balash has to address a hesitancy by newcomers about exercising with the kettlebells. "People think that weights make you big," Balash said. "But it's food that makes you big."
Summerlin resident and UNLV student Lacey Miller is a client. She said she likes that kettlebells are making her lose weight. More importantly, they have addressed her back pain and shoulder problems to the point where her doctor is no longer recommending another shoulder surgery, Miller said.
"It really gets your heart rate up," Miller said. "It feels like you're running and lifting weights at the same time.
Balash spent 14 years working in casinos as a dealer, but has always been into fitness. She said she has wanted to open her own gym since 2003. Besides being certified in kettlebell training, she is a certified Pilates instructor and enters national fitness competitions.
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