Author: Rebecca Rouse
Rebecca found kettlebells in 2014 shortly after graduating from the University of Maryland and starting her first job as a personal trainer at a corporate gym. She earned her SFG I in 2016, and at the same time became the 16th woman to earn the Iron Maiden title. She ventured into the sport of weightlifting in 2018, earned her SFG II in 2019, and has been integrating both barbells and kettlebells into her training ever since. In 2022 she competed at the national level for the first time, and in January 2023 became the Texas state weightlifting champion in the women’s 64kg weight class.
Professionally, Rebecca has nearly a decade of coaching and leadership experience in the fitness industry, both in corporate and entrepreneurial capacities. Currently, she is a strength coach, entrepreneur, and owner of Semper Stronger, an online training platform that she co-founded with her husband in 2020. In addition to her online business, she does in-person coaching with combat veterans undergoing treatment for traumatic brain injury (TBI), helping them improve their strength, mobility, balance, and functional movement capacity in order to regain quality of life after combat injury.
Introduction One of the very first principles learned in the school of hardstyle kettlebell training is that “power comes from the hips.” In the kettlebell ballistics (swing, clean, and snatch), the hips are largely what drives the lifter’s ability to move a weight from back between the legs to the end point of the movement. […]
