No matter what you want to call this super tough vixen of a lady, this months Caveman Athlete Of The Month does things you and I can only dream of. This martial arts lady knows how to swing bells and kick our arses both at the same time.
Without further ado, allow me to present to you…
Name: Kimberly Fox
Age: 33
AKA: Kettlebell Kim
Specialty: Kettlebell Longcycle
Nationality: USA
Weight: 160lb / 73kg
Height: 68in / 173cm
Personal best: 2x24kg Long Cycle 72 reps /Jerk 87 reps/ 2x28kg LC 40 reps
Quote: Determination, it’s not if you will do it, but when!
Personal growth is the key to continued happiness, always make time for your own goals and accomplishments.
Hi, my name is Kimberly Fox M.Ed Exercise Physiology. First woman to achieve Master of Sport and Master of Sport International Class with two Kettlebells. I like all things fitness but the Kettlebell is my love. I have served in the Army for 16 years, own Fox Fitness, and I am the mother of an energetic 4-year-old boy. I’m happily married to Jake Fox, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, for 11 years, but it seems like a lifetime (in a good way!).
I grew up a very competitive and active kid in various competitive sports. I had a couple scholarships to play softball in college but I decided to join the Kansas Army National Guard instead. Side note, apparently, I was a hefty high school kid since the Army turned me away two times because I was too fat. So I worked my butt off (pun intended) to lose 30lbs and join the Army. One thing I always missed as I grew older was being in competitive sports. There is not much available to older people after high school and college athletic careers are complete. The challenge of self is how people obtain personal growth and I believe without goals and challenges one cannot be happy.
I started training boxing while I was I was deployed to Iraq in 2005. After returning home I went to a local boxing gym to sign up, but the coach there told me he did not train girls. I have never been the one to listen when someone tells me “no”, but I’m definitely the one to listen when someone tells me I can’t do something. So I gave my money to the Muay Thai coach instead. I trained in both Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu over the next couple years. Which is where I met my husband, Jake Fox. He was working on his master’s degree in exercise science, personal training, and teaching Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. We started working with kettlebells as a fitness tool about 8 years ago. I was mostly doing some hybrid hard style techniques I had learned from YouTube videos. A friend, Matt Sanders, saw that I was really interested in kettlebells and told me about Girevoy Sport. I had never heard of it before, you basically swing around a metal weight for 10 minutes straight “Sounds brutal, sign me up”. So I started doing some training with him and I was instantly hooked.
My first competition was in 2013 with the IKFF. I competed in snatch with a 12kg bell, which resulted in 145 reps. I kept training and switched from snatch to long cycle (LC). I was working to compete in 24kg one-arm long cycle (OALC) when I got pregnant in 2013. I continued to train through my pregnancy. Switching back to snatch when my belly was too big to OALC. Fast forward a year after my son was born I started training with Arseny Zhernakov who suggested that I transition from single bell competitions to two bells. My first question was where was I going to compete? At the time women were not allowed to touch two bells at the same time. But he simply told me that we would find somewhere. So I started training with no potential place to even compete. I think in the first training set I could only finish 30-ish reps with the 16s in 5 minutes. Much has happened since then. I have competed in over 17 competitions in 6 different countries, set world records, became one of the first professional women to compete in the IULK with two bells, and become world champion. I have maintained and continued my military career (only 6 years left until retirement). We have opened a business, Fox Fitness Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, going strong now for almost 6 years, and managed to maintain a happy family.
Why kettlebells? One of the things that really interested me was how the endurance and power achieved through kettlebells directly translated to other sports. I noticed that I had increased hip strength and speed, improving my hitting power, after just 4 months of working with kettlebells through the winter and spring. I went from hitting a couple home runs a season to hitting 1-2 per game. I was amazed that one simple addition to my training could make such a difference. This is what really hooked me to kettlebells. I never thought when I first started training kettlebells that one day I would be one of the first women to compete with two 24kg kettlebells or that I would be a world champion. My current goals are to grow the youth kettlebell community and continue to advance my own lifting. Kettlebell sport, like many other sports, gives people the opportunity to push themselves to a new level at each training session. For me, that level will be 85 Long Cycle reps with 24kg bells.
“There will be blood sweat and tears on the way to success but if you are determined, it’s not if you will make it, but when.”
Kim Fox
Do you take any pre-workout supps before competitions?
Caffeine is my daily addiction.
What does your daily diet consist of?
Meat, rice, and lots of vegetables! Is whiskey a food group? I am kidding I don’t have that daily.
Sports achievements?
- 2x28kg: 40 Long Cycle MSIC WR
- 2x24kg: 87 Jerk MSIC WR, 72 LC MSIC
- 24KG: 432 Triathlon, 117 Biathlon MS
- 24KG: 60 Snatch
- 2x16kg: 105 long cycle CMS, 150 Jerk CMS
- 16kg: 154 snatch
72 Rep LC
Competitions
- 1st Place BOLT Ironman IKLF Worlds May 2017
- 1st Place IKLF Nationals April 2017 LC24 72 Rep
- 1st Place Absolute World Champion 24kg Triathlon WASKC Worlds Feb 2018
- 1st Place Absolute World Champion IUKL Worlds South Korea Nov 2017
- 1st Place 24kg LC Chicago Open Aug 2017
- 1st Place 16KG LC AKA Regionals May 2017
- 1st Place 28kg Denmark March 2017
- 1st Place 24kg LC WASKC World Championship 2017
- 1st Place 24Kg LC California Open 2016
- 1st Place 24kg LC North Texas Open Kettlebell Sport Championship2016
- 1st Place 24kg LC California Long Cycle Championship 2016
- 1st Place 24kg LC AKA Nationals Vintage Strength 2015
- 1st Place 24kg LCTexas Open Kettlebell Sport Championship 2015
- 2nd Place Biathlon 5 min 20kg IKFF Chicago 2014
- 1st Place 12kg Snatch IKFF 2013
What are your future goals?
Well, I have all kinds of Kettlebell goals. For LC 24kg I would like to do 85 reps and for Jerk 120 reps. But I would really like to get more kids involved in Kettlebell sport.
Final word
Don’t wait to get fit to start doing what you want. As a trainer and a gym owner, the one thing I hear the most is “I’m going to start doing it when I’m healthier/thinner/stronger”. There is no better time than today. Our “time” is a choice, instead of saying I don’t have time, try saying to yourself “it doesn’t matter”. If you are okay with how that makes you feel, then you’re right and it doesn’t matter. Everything is a choice. If you aren’t doing something, accept the responsibility that you chose not to do it!
Kimberly Fox
www.foxfitnessbjj.com
foxfitnessbjj@gmail.com
Instagram @KettlebellKimFox
