More kettlebell, please

In high school gym class, 37-year-old Anaheim Hills resident Andrea Scheff was always the girl who didn’t want to get sweaty, or mess up her hair.

Now she’s a mother of 2 1/2 -year-old twins who wants to get in shape for her kids’ sake.

“It seems like I’m at a point in my life where everything in my life is perfect except my weight,” Scheff said. “I’m tired of it getting in the way.”

Scheff hopes Newport Beach kettlebell instructor Alysia Gadson can pummel her into shape over next six weeks with a rigorous diet and workout regimen.

Gadson has invited Scheff and four other students from across Orange County, all weighing more than 250 pounds, to work out with her over the next six weeks, free of charge. The camp starts Monday morning.

The students will work out with kettlebells and follow Gadson’s strict dietary plan, which breaks down to “no sugar, no alcohol and no bread,” she said.

Gadson will document her students’ progress in videos and blogs posted on her website, www.alysiagadson.com.

Gadson was inspired by Newport Beach resident and former “Biggest Loser” contestant Shay Sorrells to host the kettlebell camp.

A school social worker, Sorrells lost 172 pounds during season 8 of the hit NBC reality show.

One of the show’s sponsors, Subway, has offered Sorrells $1,000 for each pound she loses by the season 9 finale of the show in May.

Gadson found Sorrells on the social networking website Facebook after watching her on “The Biggest Loser,” and has been working out with her five times a week ever since.

Sorrells was out of town this week and could not immediately be reached for comment, but Gadson said she has been inspired by her commitment to get fit.

“She works really hard,” Gadson said. “‘What would Shay do’ has become the saying for people at the gym now, because she works out every day, even when she’s tired and doesn’t feel like it.”

Gadson has been a kettlebell instructor for the past four years. When she started, hardly anyone she met had heard of the cannonball-esque weights, which have become a popular celebrity workout.

Kettlebells, also know as girya, were first used for strength training by soldiers in the Russian military.

The weights can range in size from 6 pounds up to as much as 80.

Working out with the cast-iron weights has caught on in the United States recently because the exercises work the muscles and cardiovascular system, and the equipment is small and portable, Gadson said.

“You don’t need a big piece of equipment that takes up a lot of space; you only need 6 square inches under your bed,” Gadson said.

More Online

To watch videos and follow the progress of participants in Alysia Gadson’s Ultimate Kettlebell Camp, visit www.alysiagadson.com.

Gadson also has a full-length workout DVD for sale on her website.

Kettlebell Camp participant Andrea Scheff hopes to raise money for lung cancer research for each pound she loses. Visit www.lungevity.org to make a donation.