Chris Nelson
Chris Nelson, SFG1
Chris says it was the other Nelson at Kettlebility (his wife, Connie) who got him hooked on kettlebells in 2015.
“She came to me one night and asked, ‘Do you know anything about these kettlebell things?’ “
As Connie fell down the kettlebell rabbit hole—and eventually started training with Andrea U-Shi Chang at Kettlebility—Chris followed. The 53-year-old aerospace engineer enjoys geeking out on the technical aspects of kettlebells. (By day, he creates and uses software to allow computers to model the flow of gases, and sometimes liquids, in and around and through various things, like air over a wing or burning rocket exhaust blowing through a nozzle). But his extensive science background also gives him a technical eye as an instructor.
“It’s maybe more natural for me to think in terms of load paths, torque, momentum, etc.,
and sometimes that can help me see things that might be harder for others as I refine my coaching eye,” Chris says. He jokes: “Of course, then I have to translate what I see into English, but that’s another issue.”
A tennis player in high school and college, Chris loves the endless variation and adaptability in kettlebell training. And he appreciates the constant mental focus they require. “I can’t really zone out and move through the exercise without thinking–not if I don’t want to get hurt.”
The Malmö, Sweden, native calls his becoming a Kettlebility instructor in 2018 a “happy accident.” Shortly after earning his SFG 1, he subbed for wife, Connie, when she was supposed to teach a boot camp class but wound up sick at the last minute. “I found afterward, quite to my surprise, that I enjoy teaching kettlebells, and I really enjoy watching the progression as people refine their skills and get stronger.” A happy accident, indeed.
7 Questions with Chris:
1. Favorite health food you couldn’t live without:
Coffee and chocolate
2. Favorite non-health food you couldn’t live without:
Chocolate and coffee
3. Favorite KB technique:
It varies…right now, I’m really enjoying press variations.
4. Proudest moment:
There are three that are hard to choose between: when Connie said, “I do”, and then when each of my two daughters was born.
5. Who are your heroes?
Abraham Lincoln. MLK. Leonhard Euler (a Swiss mathematician, physicist, astronomer, logician and engineer who made many influential discoveries in the 1700s).
6. What’s on your bucket list?
Among other things, I’d like to see both the Northern and Southern Lights.
7. Your mantra?
Be the change you want to see in the world.
