SGS Team Member Takes Home European Award
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| Laura (right) at the Kettlebell European Championship |
The origins of kettlebell lifting reach way back into
Russian and Eastern European history, with the sporting events that we
recognise today being popular since the 1960s. It is a highly challenging
activity of a cyclical nature that tests endurance, strength and flexibility,
simultaneously requiring the right breathing patterns, aerobic capacity,
stability and mental focus for a lifter to excel and progress.
Laura Crosby, a Technical Trainer at SGS Mauritius, not
only enjoys kettlebell exercises, she’s also an extremely talented professional
lifter. She began using kettlebells six years ago at a fitness class, discovered
kettlebell sport a year later, and since then has been committing many hours to
improving her technique. This led to Laura competing in Glasgow in February
2014 in the British Kettlebell Championships, at which point she knew she was
hooked.
“The atmosphere, support and sense of achievement was so exciting,”
says Laura. “Afterwards, I regularly took part in competitions across the
country until October 2017 when I attended my first international competition.”
Laura currently competes in the Amateur 16kg Ladies One Arm
Long Cycle. Kettlebell competitions involve lifting one or two bells and
choosing from three different lifts. You lift for ten minutes and the aim is to
achieve the maximum number of reps. A judge will count the reps and there are
strict rules on what counts as a lift, making it a very precise and competitive
sport.
Competing in kettlebell championships requires absolute
commitment, so Laura has a coach who plans her programme. This usually consists
of three kettlebell training sessions and 2-3 cardio session per week. Laura
trains at home but in the past she been a member of various clubs and gyms across
England.
“There have been times over the last five years where
keeping up with training has been difficult due to other commitments, but
recently I have managed to keep a consistent training pattern and it's really
paid off!”
This is very true, as this month Laura won a medal at the
Kettlebell European Championship.
In order to enter, each year the lifter needs to qualify for the England
team, run by the English Kettlebell Association. This is judged through a
ranking system and you must achieve a certain rank to make a place on the team.
You’re then able to enter international competitions in the year you have
qualified.
Laura first qualified in 2017 and entered the World
Championship in Greece in October of that year. She didn’t achieve a medal at
the time, but that didn’t put her off. She qualified again this year and
entered the European Championship in Portugal in November, which resulted in
her taking away the silver. To do so, Laura had to achieve 111 reps in ten
minutes – incredible!
Starting her career at SGS as a reprographic operator
twelve years ago, Laura is also highly dedicated to developing her career. Five
years ago she became a team leader, production planner and print technical for
several accounts in the UK. Earlier this year she was presented with the
opportunity for a change and took a secondment at Diadeis in Mauritius, which
is where she trains classes of 18 students at a time to become graphic artists.
She certainly has a bright future ahead of her.
For those who want to improve their fitness, Laura says
that she never found the treadmill much fun and weight benches don’t have any
real aim or focus. She thinks it’s better to find something you enjoy and which
will give you a sense of achievement, such as entering a race or trying a fun
sport.
Laura is now training for her next competition, the World
Championships in Ireland in May 2019. Her coach is making sure that she
focuses on increasing her strength and fitness, as this time she’s going for
gold! We wish Laura the very best of luck and can’t wait to see the result next
May!
