Apr 10
28
The Ice Chamber women’s kettlebell team was the first all female kettlebell sport team in the world, and are now the only kettlebell sport team made up entirely of Masters of Sport. The team was formed in the (US) Spring of 2008 and since then have been going from strength to strength.
The IC women are not only beautiful to watch and an inspiration to all kettlebell lifters who cherish the art of lifting, they are also wonderful role models for other female athletes. The IC team are demonstrating what women can do with the 20kg and 24kg bells and, very importantly, they are demonstating that women can perform one arm jerks and long cycle safely – lifts that traditionally have not been considered suitable for women.
Not to mention they’re all smoking hot 
The Ice Chamber girls on the news.
Maya Garcia, co-founder of the Ice Chamber, has kindly answered some questions about herself and her team.
Did you set out to get a women’s team together, or did you find that it was more a case of women gravitating to the sport?
We did not set out to create a women’s team. It happened completely by accident. After I attended the AKC Coach’s certification in January 2008, my husband and I began working on the methods taught to us by Valery Fedorenko and American Kettlebell Club Coaches, Catherine Imes and Kevin Jodrey. Among all of the instructors at the certification that day, they were already coaching students to Master of Sport levels so looking back, we were extremely fortunate to forge relationships with great people right from the start. We had a tremendous amount of work ahead of us in order to refine the lifts so we kept in close contact with them, taking advantage of every opportunity to continue our education.
Among the first group of students we began teaching kettlebell lifting methods to were Sara, Jessica, and Surya, my future ICKB teammates. Amazingly, they were willing to go on a crazy ride with us knowing that we were making technical adjustments and correcting mistakes as we went along too. …and luckily for us, they have never wavered from their early commitment to constantly improve. They welcome learning more than winning, something I appreciate even more so now that they’re champion lifters. I think trust is really what brought us together as a team.
How do you think more women can be attracted to kettlebell sport?
By highlighting the achievements, fitness, and femininity of the sport. I believe many women care about form and function. We want to tap into our strength, power, and potential, but we also want to look good doing it!
You are a mother, as is one of your team members, how have you guys achieved such a high level of lifting with so much else going on in your lives?
It’s very difficult to manage this level of training while raising a young son with Autism. My performance greatly suffered when I began going through the process of reaching his diagnosis last year. Most days my training is put on the back burner because of my priorities as a mother or simply because I’m emotionally beat down. I think kettlebell fitness, as opposed to sport, is far more compatible with my lifestyle right now, but I got into the competitive aspect of this long before I knew what I was up against as a mother (our son was only 10 months old when we first started competing). The only reason I didn’t give up after a series of disappointments and failed attempts on the platform is because Steve, Jess, Sara, and Surya wouldn’t let me. Thank God. It’s been empowering to remain dedicated to a personal goal throughout this experience as a mother because it’s important to prove to myself that I’m not a quitter in the face of adversity.
Maya and her son have been on this journey together since Day One.
My teammate, Surya, is an amazing mother and I believe she would have a totally different answer to this question. I often see her channeling her stress away from her kettlebell training and it is truly inspiring to witness. Her children are older (ages 5 and 9) and so they get to see their mom set such a positive example for their family. One of the best moments for me as her coach-teammate-sister-friend was when we dropped her off at home from the airport after she had earned Master of Sport in the OALC and her family ran out to greet her on the lawn. They were so proud. It was beautiful.
Why are you a proponent of jerks and long cycle for women?
The ICKB team often cleans & jerks the 24, 28 and 32 kg kettlebells and not only are we still alive, but we’re also injury-free! The one arm jerk in particular has given our team incredible total body strength in addition to solid shoulder stability. We are so grateful the doors were opened for women to clean & jerk in this country!
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