Dragon Door: What were some of the biggest things you like about what you learned at the RKC?

Mackenzie Phillips: There’s just such an elegance, technicality and grace in the movements we learned—it’s akin to a martial art. Kettlebell training is a beautiful way to learn how to move, gain strength, and work on cardiovascular endurance. I've been in and out of physical therapy over the years for a variety of injuries, so I think a lot about my training modalities.

Kettlebells can be used for everyday training, for elite athletes, and even competition preparation. In Chicago, we have the Kettle PRT competition, which was in early May. This year, the woman who won the individual prize was a figure competitor. There's so much you can do and leverage with kettlebells, including recovery from injuries, and I think that's the beauty of it.

Dragon Door: What’s your favorite kettlebell exercise?

Mackenzie Phillips: It changes! But today, right now in this second, it’s the get-up. I think it's probably one of the more graceful movements if you do it properly. As a dancer I love that, it reminds me of how dancers move.

Dragon Door: How are you using—or planning to use—what you've learned at the RKC?

Mackenzie Phillips: When I got back, I immediately starting using kettlebells with a lot more vigor with my existing clients. I feel so much more competent to lead my clients through the various progressions of the different movements. I already have clients who say they love kettlebells, and that warms my heart to hear! And for clients who have weight loss goals, kettlebells can incinerate the hell out of some fat! That’s been huge!

I recently saw a set of kettlebells for sale on a very mainstream shopping website. Kettlebell training has now moved into popularity, and is no longer at the back of the gym. I realized that there’s so much power with kettlebells, and I want to bring it to more women. Some women are shy about using weights, and some gyms really feel like they have more of a male focus or setup. So, to see kettlebells in the mainstream helps—and then the movements can be performed with such grace and elegance. There's a technical nature to it, and I think people like that a lot.

I'm also super excited to introduce kettlebells at the Wander Woman Wellness Retreat, a wellness retreat I’m hosting for goal-driven women who need to prioritize their selfcare. It’s happening on June 21st through the 23rd, in Harbor Country. It’s the Martha’s Vineyard of the Midwest and is about 70 miles outside of Chicago. We’re going to have some kettlebell training to help master our inner goddesses. We’re also offering "Get Roped" classes with my colleague, Rachel, who has developed a jump rope method. I’ve taken one of her classes and it was amazing. We’ll also have yoga, meditation, and some retail therapy aboard LuxeWagon, a mobile fashion truck based in Harbor Country. It's going to be A-MAEVE-ING!

Dragon Door: That sounds very exciting! Now that you've earned your RKC, what's your next goal?

Mackenzie Phillips: The RKC Level Two! But, I'll probably wait until next year and see what other workshops will be added—either in the Midwest or in New York. Annie Vo helped me think through how long I should train for the RKC-II after doing the RKC, so I am taking that into consideration. I am currently working on earning my credentials as a Certified Nutrition Coach so once I get that done, I’ll be able to refocus on doing things like hosting an RKC here in Chicago.

Also, to bring more awareness about the beauty of movement, I am working on pitching an event to management at the Soho House in Chicago, of which I am a member. It would be a performance art event combining art and movement. I am partnering with Rhonda K. Brown Fine Art who executes exceptional gesture drawings. She would capture the motion of movements like swings, get-ups and maybe another movement in succession. It would really help to capture the feeling of training with kettlebells. We’re working to bring art and kettlebell movements together.