Jennifer Hintenberger | World Record Holder, Master of Sport International Class, Wellness Coach

Welcome to the platform podcast. I'm your host Jordan Kunde-Wright, founder and head coach of the Twin Cities Kettlebell Club And I'm on a mission to help others build sustainable healthy habits I know how hard that can be because I've struggled and succeeded to varying degrees throughout my life But I've lost over a hundred pounds and kept it off for over a decade now the key for me was discovering my passion for lifting weights in Kettlebell Sport on this podcast we'll talk to athletes coaches experts and everyday people about Kettlebell's fitness programming nutrition mindset making an impact and generally striving to grow and leave a legacy of positive change Please join me alright welcome into season two of the platform podcast I am incredibly honored and excited to have on Jennifer Hintenberger She is a master sport international class holds approximately 18 world records is a Kettlebell Academy level three coach And a very very accomplished lifter trainer coach and just general badass super hero So Jennifer, thank you so much for coming on. I'm really excited to have you on Thank you what an intro So I want to give people an understanding of your background I know your you know we were just talking about your origin story is pretty interesting to most people And I really like people to get a chance to hear you know how how people grew up and where they came from So you know tell us a little bit about you know how you got into Kettlebell's and you know what your life was like Before you discovered Kettlebell's Okay, those are pretty loaded questions. I'm going to do my best As far as before Kettlebell's I've always been an athlete so Growing up I figure skated for 10 years like like soccer for 10 years And then you know through Out high school and whatnot rugby was my main sport like captain of the rugby team captain of volleyball team Play what position did you play in rugby? Number eight Nice Thank you And and I play yeah, I played pretty much every basketball in Badminton, whatnot. I did some rowing But um, I was always obese. I was always I was overweight and eventually obese Especially in my university rugby years No matter what I did Even playing eight man, huh? Yeah, I know right. I um, I was fast though I don't know how that worked together or I should say I was fast enough and I was smart I I've always had a good I've always had good field vision So I think that and that that's that's relative speed to weight ratio is super important in context sports Like that's what that's what always what I would tell people is like yeah I was 260 pounds and but I ran like a five flat 40 so relative to my size I was actually pretty fast for for being that big, but you know, I wasn't I wasn't slow But I certainly wasn't beating any of our flies, you know on any races But you know when you get 260 pounds moving that fast, it's it's hard to tackle You know, so I was I was a loose head so um, you know, I'm certain I'm certain I was gonna ask you were loose head. Okay. Yep. Yep I was and I had no I I only played for a couple seasons They recruited me because I was I was an American football player in college And they recruited me from the track and field team because we did track and field in spring and I threw heavy objects And I was mediocre at that and the rugby team was like dude come on It's so much more fun to play rugby you get to drink beer you get to you know And they're like you don't just throw heavy things and then sit around for three hours like you actually play and I was like It's like no, no, no, no, no, then I don't want to get hurt for football blah blah blah blah And they're like come on dude you get to carry the ball and I was like I'm in Oh The best at selling their sport They see you you're a track athlete and you're a football player They're like this just makes sense tell me get to drink some beer and more playing time Yeah, yeah, it was yeah, it was great So and then my and then my wife was a rugby player for four years She was the captain and you know all sorts of things so she was much much more accomplished Rugby player than I but uh, that's a whole rugby's it's a whole Interesting cultures very actually very similar to kettlebell sport culture I think like the same type of camaraderie and You know competitive but also like so much camaraderie and and like a cool unique tribe of people but I was a gem owner for nine years and when I had my team there we had over 30 numbers and I brought that camaraderie And that same atmosphere as a rugby player I couldn't not have a sport and create that same environment and I find that the community As a whole especially when I go to things like world championships Um, and there's tons of different countries there the parties afterwards the Not just meaning drinking thing and just that social part is a lot of people look forward to that So it is very similar to rugby the the singing the songs and oh my gosh, especially Ireland Well, we'll spare people the rugby songs because if you're not part of the community How many people would get the jokes but uh, I love I love rugby songs So so Circling back even even in college even while you're playing and you're super active and you're a great athlete You were still overweight and you know, you said obese even even the whole time So tell me a little bit more about that how did that come about So I should say there were I was different weights at different times in my rugby career So I have been anything from a prop to a lock to an eight I was just eight probably six of the eight years I played I was eight man There was a time I got to such a lightweight when I was sick That I um I played winger Um, but I was very sick at that time and when I got hit by one of my buddies who plays for team candidate I ended up for the high eight o'hernia But I wasn't used to playing at 130 pounds when I used to be 200 pounds So I did play at all different weights, but for the most part I was overweight to obese during that time and um For me, I didn't realize I had a number of health conditions and hormone and balances and whatnot And I have something called polycystic ovarian syndrome I was prediabetic and had insulin resistance So it didn't matter how much I trained in fact if you have PCOS The more intensely you train the harder it is for you to lose weight It has a chronic chronic inflammatory condition Oh good, yes Often correlated to insulin sensitivity and lack of ability to process insulin and androgenic and estrogenic and balances So tell us a little bit for people who are well I mean I study these things for one but also you know I've worked with clients who have who have had that who have had that issue but yeah, it's uh It's a it's a tricky one though I mean, I can be a really hard one for people to get their their hands around because of course You know when you're you're told you need to lose weight and you need to reduce your inflammation You're like okay, well, I'm gonna work out So you get you get people get into the vicious cycle of like well, I'm working out and I'm not losing weight I need to work out harder and I need to eat less and so they work out harder and they eat less and shit gets worse For ever and so it was so it was a combination of the fact I had this condition and I didn't know so yes I would exercise more but I also had a needing disorder often referred to as exercise So I would binge but I wouldn't purge I wouldn't throw up I would Obsessively over-training out of fiddle chain for everything that I ate so I was always crazy fit like I was A CIA international all-star athlete. I I played rugby for Ontario like I wasn't a mediocre player. I was always fortunate to be pretty good at sports. I was healthy and I sorry. I wasn't healthy. I was fit, but Also very overweight So anyways So how did you how did you figure out the PCOS? I mean obviously at some point you probably got a diagnosis So I mean more how how did you figure out the The puzzle of the you know the hormonal puzzle talking me a little bit about because there's different ways it can Obviously that it can represent and that it can that it can be show up in your in your hormone profile So how what did your what did your numbers look like? How did you how did you start unlocking that puzzle? Great questions I mean I have the symptoms. I have the facial hair. I had I had hair on my cheeks like on my upper lip on my belly I had acne everywhere my I was I was had bald spots all over my head Um, I suddenly had all of these food sensitivities and I was constantly bloated And I haven't had my period more than once a year for six years Um, and the doctors would tell me well, it's because you're an athlete and I'm like I'm 200 pounds I'm not an anorexic Yeah, yeah, then they get I don't know for I think it's amenorea. Yeah, amenorea. Yes Right if you don't have your period. I'm like no, well this can't be right But anyways, it wasn't they didn't find PCOS because of my PCOS symptoms I had a lot of health issues in my early 20s and I didn't know what was going on But I was having everything but I also had PTSD from some childhood experiences And um also I There was a lot of trauma so from 19 I rolled my car Someone cut me off and I slammed on the brakes to avoid going hitting oncoming traffic I hit black ice rolled in the ditch Head went through the passenger window off the windshield broke the rear view mirror off The roof caved in on me so I tore my labrum and my right shoulder Um, but I had a lot of head injury from there and I don't know if it was that in head injury that did it But it seemed to trigger all of these childhood experiences. I had and I started having nightmares all the time and I was having nighttime paralysis And then I developed insomnia and so it started there and then I had increased stress starting to happen all within a year My mom hit a horse. It came through her windshield. They needed the jaws of life to get her out Um, that was very scary to see my mom with her face full of glass and everything and then Right after that my younger brother was diagnosed with leukemia who was one of my best friends And then my older brother was in an accident and was in a coma Which is seeing your older stronger brother with tubes, you know And up and down his mouth and nose was pretty traumatizing and then right after that my dad on Christmas Eve that year I needed to have a triple bypass surgery And so all of these really big things were happening one month after month And I was also working 52 hours a week doing my bachelor's degree in kinesiology um Playing university rugby and coaching high school rugby and I was also working midnight shifts So my sleep was off There's so much stress and I was just sort of like everything's gonna be okay Meanwhile every time the phone rings I'm shaking because I'm terrified. They're gonna tell me my brother with cancer Only as a couple days and so that went on for five years of this constant fear Of when's it gonna happen? Anyhow trying to make this short wrap it up I started all of this visit this this mental emotional stress started manifesting in my body And I had the nightmares. I was losing my hair so much So much worse. I couldn't I had so many issues with my digestive system I could not go to the washroom. I was going to washroom maybe once a week after taking extreme amounts of X-lacks and dull clacks and using suppositories and doing um I can't think of the names like the flush to try and help you go to the washroom. Yeah, um, I could not go And I ended up my eye the yellow the white of my eyes were yellow my nail beds were all blue with white chips all over them I was itchy constantly from head to toe. I was just Heading towards being septic And so I went into many doctors here in Canada and they couldn't figure out what was going on Um, so they just put me on 16 different pills for the different symptoms I had and all the joys of western medicine Oh my goodness. That's all they just and then I asked them about the going to the washroom I was like listen like I don't go for days and when I do it's like black tar and it's next to nothing And they're like eat my more fiber take medicine they gave me a case of suppositories a case And I was just like oh and all I did was eat fruit and vegetables at the time But anyways, I ended up in the Philippines with a client who um Was one of my good friends. She She lost I was a personal trainer at the time she lost uh over 60 pounds with me in six months and she was heading over sees for Business and she said I'm afraid I'll gain weight. She's and she literally said to me I remember she was chest pressing from the machine. She goes, Jen, you know what You've got nothing to lose. You're dying anyways. Why don't you come with me Both she's such a backwards very direct, but I love it She totally said that she's like you're dying anyways come with me and I'm like, you know what? I will and so I went there But the thing is I kept getting more and more sick and finally I couldn't breathe to breathe I always had to put my hand on a table Lift up try to open my diaphragm and go Like this to pull in air. I could not breathe. I couldn't eat anything. I was so hungry all the time But I would just suck on stewed prunes because Nothing had was coming out of me, right? So I was just like Just standing at such a mess. I look like I was having triplets So I went into a merge. She's like that's it. We're going to emerge and now because I couldn't sleep Jordan I would put all kinds of pillows behind me, but um You know how you move when you sleep I'd end up on my back and I'd wake up in stomach acid I was just be choking in it because Nothing was going down and out and I didn't realize I had a hernia. So my gastric sphincher's also open and nothing's going down It's coming back the other way. I mean, I was also so lethargic all the time. I was falling asleep driving I could barely make it away. Yeah, you're not digesting or absorbing any energy. I mean Oh, you were you were a mess girl. I'm I'm I'm I'm glad you're still here Thank you, and you know, it's funny. You say that because there were some major People in the Philippines some doctors who said to me like you're on your way to cancer like this This is bigger than these 16 pills a day. You're taking like if we don't figure out the cause Like this you're 20 you're like in your early 20s. There's there's no way that you're going to survive at the rate that all of these symptoms are coming out within you. So I'm definitely blessed that I ended up in the hospital there Um that night they immediately called in a gastroologist respirologist sorry gastroenterologist a respirologist a cardiologist and they had six student doctors All there at the same time and they ran every and any test That I don't know it felt like They felt like they were doing everything Even the anesthesiologist because my heart rate was like 38 and my blood pressure was super low He held my hand the whole time. They put me under to do a colonoscopy and uh endoscopy Because they were concerned about how low I was he wanted to be So he held my hand the whole time during it and they were just amazing and they found out Um, I had all different kinds of things going in my body. I had well of course. I had hemorrhides I had lesion throughout my intestinal tract. I had a high edo hernii three stomach ulcers. My esophagus was eroding I had stomach cells in my esophagus which was showing the beginning of their its disease um, and then they found out that I had polycystic ovary ovaries at the time and I had polycystic brass and that I was severely anemic And not only were my was my iron my blood iron low, but also my baritone blood like your stored iron Um, I'm trying to remember everything. I haven't talked about this in so long um, I was Showing signs of stage three kidney disease according to my blood work my creatin kinase or something um, so they had to check that though every Month for three month period or something to make sure that it was consistent and it was so there were some stuff happening in my kidneys as a result um I mean you were just I mean you were in systemic failure. I mean essentially I mean you were starting to have multiple system failure Because of how bad things were I mean it's uh it really is incredible that that you've uh that you were able to turn that around I mean that's uh You know, I made a quip about western medicine, but you know, that's a credit to modern medicine just in general that they were able to Call in a team of doctors and figure out all of the things that are going on simultaneously and Kind of solve them, you know, uh in parallel essentially because otherwise things were gonna go really bad Yeah, it was amazing um They and they sat down with me after I woke up and um, they sat down with me for two hours and they took these giant diagrams And this was in Manila the Philippines and They went over every single thing And then they repeatedly said to me do you have any more questions and I would have more and they would not rush me at all And then I got up to walk away and leave and I was like oh wait, I have one more question They were like we'll come and sit back down. They wouldn't just quickly brush me off like you experience a lot here They were like no come and sit and They were so thorough and this is the doctor's name. I'll never forget her. It's doctor Flores She talked to me about how she said Jen listen in your country. You would likely undergo a number of surgeries right now But we are not going to treat we don't want to focus on treating your symptoms We understand you have them. Yes, you will probably need some medication to support the healing right now so that you don't have to Experience such discomfort with the symptoms, but we need to talk about why is this happening in your life? What is the cause and she wanted to know about the stress in my life? And she wanted to know about my sleeping habits and she wanted to know about what I eat and She introduced me she started my journey towards natural health and healing and you know looking towards food as medicine and what Yeah, it was she saved my life without a doubt And saved your life and obviously changed the path of your life too because now I mean that's a big part of of what you teach your clients that you work with right is is how to use Food as fuel and food as medicine right to to deal with You know root cause and not just not just treat symptomology. Can you talk a little bit about that that path? Um, absolutely. She did take me exactly that and it was a long journey um Who it was a long journey. So I didn't heal overnight. So if anyone's listening and they're experiencing even, you know I'd yes, it's one of the things I was diagnosed with. Like if you have irritable bowel syndrome um or just different conditions that are very frustrating Uh and causing you pain It took me years and I still have to practice certain things to make sure that it's it's it's balance But it took me about three years to notably heal any different after Implementing all of these healthy changes. And so what I held on during that time right and this is why when I work with people especially body weight tribes me insane um People will try hard for Four weeks and be pissed Five pounds you suck. You're a terrible coach. You only lost five pounds in four weeks. God you're awful Right and I'm like And it's just what I can think is like how and they get mad at their bodies and all I can think is like how Dare you and this is the point I had to get to talking to myself this way like Jen How dare you be pissed that it's taking three years to heal when you neglected sleep For Lord knows how long when you I drank a lot too as a rugby player and I was a bartender for years When you drank five nights a week heavy when you Binge eight because you couldn't handle the stress in your life and the emotions that we're going on We're talking 10 15 20 years of a beauty by body and I'm going to be pissed that I can't heal overnight Um, and that's how people get with weight loss. They're like I only lost five pounds in a month I worked so hard and it's like yes, how it looked last 10 20 30 40 Didn't It doesn't just get undone that way so um Yeah Anyhow I I had started with learning more about I went more to natural paths at this time and I learned about I did a whole bunch of different food elimination diets and I learned more about food intolerances and food allergies and um Recognizing just I guess intuitive is the word people tend to use I started learning more and paying my attention more to which foods Made the symptoms worse And then I had to get to a point. You know, it's very easy to say I hate that I hate no no I just I was going to say this is just a pet peeve of my I hate the term intuitive eating because it gives it gives the wrong impression The only reason I because when I heard the first time I heard that I was like well, yeah Intuitive eating sounds awesome because all intuitively eat pizza and beer and you know all you know That's what my brain tells me I want but I like to call it like biofeedback driven eating Because it's because it's because that's really what it's about what you're talking about is you People aren't naturally in tune with their bodies. I understand why they call it intuitive eating They're talking about you need to be in tune with your body and that's that's what should guide your decision great But if you're taking somebody who is currently not in tune with their body or you're taking somebody who's in tune with their their their Intuition intuition is to use food as an escape like you and me who had the the very similar binge binge shame work out You know that cycle right food is not necessarily something you might have a great relationship with or you might not be super in tune with right so Telling telling someone to eat intuitively might not be the best way to frame it No, I'm so happy you brought this up because I just learned this whole word intuitive eating Or this phrase within the last month and I thought oh, okay, maybe that's kind of what I'm teaching people but when you explain it like that It's like no not at all and you said that so well especially for people like us our intuition is not This is self-destruction Right for me now. I'm lucky like I what I honestly had to almost die as you just learned to for this to change for me I will not eat unhealthy food. I will not do it. I have no interest. I but I will eat more than I need to eat So that's my I don't listen to my internal clock so Regulation in terms of dead. You don't need to sit down and eat 15 dates right now. You could probably have two or three But they're so good What's that? Oh, but they're so good the module the module dates. Oh god. They're like little Dates and cashews and the combination of them So I do not eat that like I haven't put gluten in my body in 15 years gluten is not good That's common though PCOS gluten and dairy tend to be the two What most powerful things once you remove like what I tried all kinds of diets for years and years and years Couldn't lose a pound. I must say when I stopped gluten my last 35 pounds that first year Yeah, it was like I was no longer wearing this squishy suit because I always felt like I could see myself inside this body And and that's that's how it is with PCOS. You're just in this swollen For the food all the time Chronic inflammation right exactly and so I don't I don't eat those I I don't eat junk food I make healthy versions of anything that I want but I definitely do eat more than I need I know that So but continuing down the path of you know how many times has has Jen tried to kill herself And I mean you didn't not that this was when you tried but you went down a mountain too right like you had a brush with death like falling down a mountain too But that was like mountain biking if I remember right right yes, you startled me at first. I was like what Not yet. Sorry. I don't mean I don't mean that in the literal sense. I mean I mean that in the Further evidence that Jen is a superhero She is really hard. She is really hard to kill and says survived all sorts of crazy things right Yes, I was actually in New Zealand I went there and I did a competition and then I taught a workshop in the next day the host of The competition he foam and super cool guy and family he took me on this walk and It was a stunning hike. I had no idea what we were in for but anyways. We were about seven eight hours in and couldn't find the way down So we started going through it was all rocks scree everywhere and At first it was fine because the rocks were were tiny so we were skiing down essentially and we were moving out a wicked pace and having a good time But then suddenly the rocks became really big and they were moving beneath us And so what we would do is kind of let them move beneath us and that but we Aim our bodies towards big boulders in the mountain and then we hit ourselves against them to stop and we're getting cut up And we're bleeding and and whatnot and it's me and heath and his friend Claire And then suddenly we get to this one part where it's open other than like kind of like Broken trees along the side and I was standing and the rocks moved underneath me and I I Was like kind of skiing and trying to lean back But my body went forward and I somersaulted and I slammed down and I kept Slighting and then suddenly I stopped and he ran over to me and he's like oh my god Jenna can't believe that just happened are you okay? And I was like yes crazy. I'm like That was so much fun actually But I don't want to do that again. So I'm gonna crab walk I'm not gonna stand up because I couldn't Get my footing and so he said okay I'm gonna walk with Claire because she's scared and I said yeah, no worries And he said but meet me when you get to the bottom which is where the cliff was he says go left Don't go right and we'll meet you there and then he makes a joke and he's like don't go straight because obviously you'll die and then I start trying to Crab walk down the mountain and then the rocks start moving from beneath me and I'm focusing on trying to stop myself digging my heels in because my My tights my little lemons are getting ripped up and I'm getting all cut all down the back of my legs My wrists and elbows are all bleeding because I'm digging in trying to stop myself And then I look up I didn't realize I got into the cliff and so I quickly tried to roll to my right hoping that the path was just mine but um The rock started to slide underneath and Claire above me So I not only had mine rock slide I was in I had theirs coming from above me and that's what said me up so fast and I couldn't roll out and then Yeah, I went off the cliff and I just you know, it's like those dreams you have or in the movies where I was just floating It was just dust everywhere and I mean right before I went off the cliff I grabbed for a rock with my left hand I remember looking back and thinking like oh man, this is my weak arm and then picking Jen you have no choice But then I got a boulder to the left side of my head and I tore my lat actually I'm pretty sure it was at that point and I just got thrown off and then I just waited to shatter um somehow I landed And it took me a moment to recognize because I'm still being bounced around this mountain cliff by my button and getting pummeled by all these rocks and I and it took me a minute to realize holy crap I'm still alive so my next thought was I must not have gone off the cliff he was talking about because he told me I'd die and so I thought kind of like the movies and I'm thinking in slow motion But in the movies where they have like people going they always have that scene where they're in the rapids And they're gonna go over a waterfall And so they're trying to grab a rock to stop themselves and so I was looking for a rock to grab myself And I grabbed one missed it like and I'm being smashed off all of these rocks and I turned I grabbed another one I missed it. I started crying because I was like good job Jen you just missed two chances to save yourself And then I seriously screamed out loud. I was like god I need a rock And then boom there was one and I don't go to church I'm I've never been a big religious person but it's funny when you're in extreme situations You tend to be like oh my god you start praying and And this rock if huge rock appeared in front I slammed my leg against it and then leaned back against the mountain cliff and I thought I was fine and then suddenly this big white boulder comes right over my head and I realized that like The rock slide was still happening so I just leaned back and covered my head and Let it all go until it was finished and then yeah, I didn't die Oh Wow That was intense. I'm sweating and I didn't even live through that like that is such an intense story I can't like that's that's something that needs to be in a movie like that is uh Wow, that is that is insane and and so what were all of the injuries that resulted from that you tore your lat I know I mean I saw the bruises and the scrapes and everything on your Instagram post from that and I was like holy shit How did she survive this? Because in inflammation I gained 30 something pounds that year I didn't eat an ounce different I just Welled and kept swelling and kept swelling and I brain injury that I didn't realize caused anxiety I had such an anxiety I didn't know until now looking back. I closed my gym months later I just had so much anxiety. I didn't want to go down and teach. I didn't want to be in the thought of Going down and teaching the class, which is my heart with the people I love Made me just want to sit on the floor and cry and I didn't know what was wrong with me I just thought maybe I had too much stress in my life and then later I realized it was from The head injury. Yeah So anxiety head injury was one of the problems torn lat I separated my shoulder um Broken tailbone to this day like sitting here right now. It's painful um because I rode that mountain cliff over I think it was He's he's went back later and tried to give an estimate. I believe it was over 400 feet total And I was riding down this mountain of rocks gnashing off these boulders with my butt So that still hurts when I fly it feels like Almost as painful as the day it happened So that's that's really painful my left foot still swells up to the point. I can't walk on it some days um Yeah, there were I was pretty banged up my elbows still feel it as well And so now like for fun, you're like I'm gonna lift a kettlebell for three hours straight As many times as I can Well, that's my 60 days Jordan So that's the water's open up. It'll be three years every day for 60 days 12 Kilograms all 50 states and 10 provinces and I have tested this during quarantine 56.8 million pounds in 60 days. So I have tested it, but it will be much harder on the road Now the other the new goal is the 100 days, which is in I think might be Even it's hard to say I think it might be even more impossible It's 100 days of one hour 16 kilogram lifts. I just tested day six and bringing in weird It's a different kind of hard You know what I mean like you might think three hours 12 kilograms seems I don't know they're both so hard. I don't know which one's harder. Yeah, but I mean they're yeah They're they're just different different types of they're different types of suck. I'm sure That is that is that is crazy, but like this is this is your thing like I mean Obviously, it's not your only thing This is how I came to know who you are and you know and started following you was you know It's like you know somebody told me about this crazy Canadian chick who would who would live for just hours and hours straight And I was like oh, okay cool. I started watching some of your videos. I was I was like I was like oh my god This this ladies intense like this is crazy like you're because you're not taking it easy for three hours like You're doing you're doing you're keeping up RPMs that like most people wouldn't be able to sustain for more than 10 15 20 minutes You know, like how is that I've been trying to explain that to non-lifters like when newspapers interview me You could tell it's over their head a kettlebell lifter is like damn. She's jerking like today. I jerked One hour 16 kilogram at almost 27 RPM the full time. I was eight reps short of 27 RPM for now And I never know less than 14 to 15 That's yeah, that's I mean, that's crazy like with two bells 14 RPMs is the max pace that I recommend for for anybody with one bell I'm like 18 is going pretty fast Well, that's and that's why I say that's that's like as fast as you could probably go is 18 and that and that'll You're getting questionable fixation, but like 16 17 like that's that's really fast to To sustain that for that level of time is I mean it boggles my mind. It really does It's it's incredibly impressive. So what what Why I mean, that's why You know what um I happened to the initial idea happened when I was watching the iron cowboy on Netflix while I was just training one day And I saw him do 50 iron man's 50 days in a row and all of a few states and I was just like I was so hype watching this video that I was like, I want to do something cool like that And so I was like, what do I do that's kind of kettlebell like okay? So he did something that people train you a year sometime years to do to do one time So that's insanely hard and then he's going to do that we did that 50 days in a row and I thought well What's the kettlebell equivalent well many people train to do one hour lift and that's a big deal and I thought no I asked if you way harder I'm like dude did like an iron man a day like we need to we need to up this and so I thought two hours And I thought oh come on let's do three. Let's do three like that's that's that's a big deal And I knew it was quite impossible. I couldn't even do that with an eight kilo at the time, but just contistant training and Yeah, consistent training and I'm really really really adapting um It's still scary though because I have no idea if I hit the road if it's still going to happen the 16 kilos. I really don't know That's possible today's the most I've ever done today was day six of one hour lifts That's the most I've ever done and I've Volunteered myself to do 100 so is and so the 100 days is is this the official is this just training or has the official 100 days started now Good question. No, I just came up with the idea on Saturday Okay, okay, and I already have 12 countries that have registered Oh, yeah, let me see actually I have Canada, France, Bulgaria, Australia, Poland, Russia, Spain, Ireland, England, Belgium, Sweden and the USA Um, and then I have 65 lifters and I've from absolute beginners to the best lifters in the world I have Ivan Dennisop then a specialia Andrea look boy. I shouldn't be naming names. I know I'm going to miss people Um, there's just you know, and we have big teams. We have a team of nine from Australia We have another team of five from Australia a team of seven from England Uh, we've got a team of six from Canada. So there's some some are individuals and some are teams but I've got uh, I've got like eight people here. I will put it to my team to see who wants to join me But you can count me in for a day too. Oh my goodness. That's awesome. Thank you And and what I've been doing with this is I originally um I don't want to talk about the original uh, sure, real quick I was in this Miss health and fitness competition to be on the cover of muscle and fitness hers And there were thousands of people in it. I got into round seven out of eight Um, so I was in the top 64 out of thousands and then what it came down to is money because you win by the most votes But you could also have your votes purchased And so the girls in my group just you know, one's a doctor, one's a professional hockey player I just couldn't keep up with their money. I don't have any money to put down on votes And I didn't want to ask my friends And that's ridiculous. That's not what it should be about It's totally against it, but once again business, right? It's one of the Saturday I was still in it and I thought you know what I need money. That's it. That's that's the only way to move forward is money That's it because whenever it was just revotes. I was in first Every single time for the last two and a half months And then when it came time to being because I have this many people supporting me which is incredible And then when it came to two big sell these votes two for one and I get bumped and um So anyway, I thought Jen don't quit because that's not me. I thought just think you don't have the resources You do not have the money you do not want to just take money from your friends But you can be resourceful and So this is where I came up with the 100 days to generate money And we generated just over three grand within 24 hours and I put that three grand down I didn't move an inch in the competition. And so I thought you know what we're not throwing any more money at this one I don't want to win because of money They changed their website this weekend to show their only donating 25% to homes for wounded warriors And I thought I had no idea the magazine was taking you know all this money from it which I feel naive looking back um But they didn't put that out there the public so I bailed my message to the magazine. I'm like I'm out I don't want to be a part of this but I had already committed to a hundred days Jordan so And and about you know about 25% Have of places have already been paid for so obviously Does it make sense to have them pay and not other people so I decided I'm gonna turn this into I'm gonna donate to a cause that I care about. I mean homes for wounded warriors is brilliant But I asked something that I can relate more to with childhood abuse So 50% of donations are going to go to Jillian's place It's a place I've had friends reach out to me and tell me that when they were it's for women and children and abusive situations And they would show up at this place and just didn't the clothes they had on because they're fleeing right and And Jillian's place would provide them with all their toiletries their toothpaste and shampoo and conditioner and brushes and pajamas and they gave them a place to live for six months And then when they found their own place They gave them all their pots and pans When one of my friends said when their husband was released from jail They made sure that they were there and case anything happened And just having grown up in an abusive situation I think this is a cause that well, it's definitely a cause a worthy cause So that's where the donations are going to be going from this That's fantastic. That's that's awesome. Yeah, I'm I'm somewhat familiar with with Jillian's place I'd heard of it before and I didn't know the specifics behind it. I just know it was it supported Women and children that were escaping abusive abusive situations at home I didn't know any of the specifics. So that's that's awesome. I feel I feel even even better about About signing up to join you. So tell people it's it's a hundred dollars for an individual, right? And then if it's if it's a group of people it's 70 dollars per person So if you can get multiple people to sign up, obviously it's it's it's less money and it's all going to It's all going to a good cause It's it's for two people it's 70 each for three or more. It's 50 each. Oh nice. Okay. Cool It was a US funds initially because the competition was US, but now it's Canadian funds but equal numbers. So less Okay, oh, okay, so with the exit with the exit well either way We'll just say it's it's it's a hundred to 50 depending on how many people you get and depending on your conversion Your currency conversion to Canadian dollars So Just because they care about it and they want to These are just suggested donations and I mean if there are people really want to participate and don't have money I know what it's like to not have money. I'm not going to say You're not welcome. So awesome. That's great. That's that's fantastic Well, and when they do open the borders up and you and you get to do your 50 states and 10 provinces I have I have a platform in my garage that is a competition platform that I just finished building and staining and everything and I have I have You know 20-ish bells Depending on how many are lent out to various lifters at a time But I will make sure that there's a platform and a bed and some bells and You know somewhere for you to somewhere for you to rest your head after after you're after you're done So you're you're more than welcome to join me here at the club and stay with me while you're hitting hit Minnesota You are amazing. Thank you. And you know what I had almost all 60 locations already But I can't remember what was happening in Minnesota. Oh nice But if there are let me know if it changes The offers on the offers on the table. That's that's fantastic. Thank you Really really appreciate your support and I'm so excited. You're going to be like 100 days Well, yeah, I'm excited. I I've done you know We've done the one hour long cycle a couple of times or at least I have for you know And that's usually for wounded warriors are various various charities But I I don't do one hour sets. I'm not going to lie to you. It's not generally my cup of tea so It is it is a sign of how much I respect you and appreciate the effort that you're making and like the charity that you're doing I mean, I'm really looking forward to it to be honest, but Generally generally not my cup of tea. So how are you going to recover from all of that? Like that's such a like what We've got like 10 minutes left, but I want to talk just a little bit about your recovery plan because I know that that's Got to be that's got to be a huge part of this like how do you recover after afterwards question of all the questions I can I was starting. That's a question I get asked the most is how do you recover because like I said I already tested three days Or sorry 60 consecutive days of three hour lifts with 12 kilogram at max pace like oh, and I must mention that in those 60 days Not only did I do three hours every day? I didn't eight I did two eight hour lifts as well That were great Guinness world records along my 60 days, but Guinness said my 60 days is too big of a record They don't track records that big they only do records for one like one minute three minute one hour three hour six hour eight hour 12 hour 24 hour and I said okay, well, I'll do some Guinness world records on top of my Cuz why not Right and so I did and I'm saying I did an eight hour day with 12 kilogram jerk at 25 rpm to 26 for eight hours Wow, and so how do I recover people ask and To be honest, I don't recover. I don't focus on recovery So I'd have to say that it's my nutrition in my sleep Do I wish I had the money for massages? Oh my gosh Anyone who has coverage for massage and doesn't use it or chiro I think they're insane This is so much. I didn't have one massage or one chiropractic treatment the entire time I just don't have coverage and I don't have any extra money So I recommend those but I didn't do many of that I simply eat very healthy all of the time. I don't leave room for play with that everything that I'm putting in my body is very healing So nutrition is a big thing and I do prioritize sleep now that I no longer have night terrors and Insomnia my and are you are you vegetarian? I can't remember. I tell them to just a little bit about what you do eat What's good for you? Right, I've been vegan for over 10 years. I stopped gluten. I believe it's over 15 years now. I haven't eaten meat in 12 or 13 So I was vegetarian for a while before I became vegan And like you said for me. Do I know that that's right for everybody? No, I just know that I feel better this way and to be quite honest When I was getting those results with my kidneys all the time showing that I had stage 3 kidney disease um I Thought it's a longer story than this, but I'm gonna cut some parts out I thought you know what I do know that animal-based products are the toughest on my kidneys So let's just take this out for a while until my blood work changes because they told me my blood work couldn't change Just a matter of trying to do things to delay the progress of this Anyways, I tried it and then when I got my blood work done in I had seen improvement. I ordered fish I went to my brother I went out for dinner with my brother and law and sister and I ordered fish and then it came to the table and Jordan I looked at it and I had instant fear. I was like I just felt like what if I get sick again like in the Philippines? I was like can't do it I can't do it. I looked at my brother and I was like could you please eat this for me? I'm so sorry I never meant to quit eating meat. I was the big I wouldn't eat one of those like You know you go to grocery store and they have those pre-cooked toll chickens Oh, yeah I would eat one of those a day. I would eat the personal trainer. I'd go in. I have my office And I tore down my chicken. I'd rip a leg off. I need it. I'd go train somebody come back Or the next leg off eat it I'll just pick away a chicken all day like I ate so much meat and and just I loved you know all the typical proteins that you know all the jim bros talk about But I just I just I ended up vegan because I just felt I went from such an one extreme of being sick And lethargic and constantly having digestive issues and being obese to being a very healthy way and being loaded with energy and sleeping well And no longer having this anxiety and depression and I never had I don't have food cravings anymore That is wild as a former food addict. I don't crave anything ever. Maybe a green smoothie So if I had a dollar for every time I crave the green smoothie I would be broke Oh good like literally when I wake up in the morning I'm like if I get out of bed I can have a smoothie and I'm like good time and I just They're so good. No, I do I do actually like smoothies. I'm actually really big on I'm really big on berries spinach Protein and you know either almond milk or dairy milk depending on If I'm if I'm consuming dairy at that time like that's one of my favorite like just to get just to get good protein Good antioxidants and like you know I use like three cups of spinach. So even even when I even when I do berries and they're like it still ends up being mostly a green smoothie Because I just I load the load the Vitamix with spinach first. So Yeah, that's one of my favorite that's one of my favorite like on-the-go breakfast All but not that I go anywhere anymore. I just go down to my basement But it's still it's I work at home too But you know I can't take protein powders. I tried. Oh my gosh. I tried everything out there My stomach is not a fan. So I really even even the vegan even the vegan protein powders You're in the vegan the vegan the sun warrior probably the two best on my stomach But any of the other ones. I mean I've even tried the fermented ones. I've tried the 100% pumpkin seed 100% On chickpea 100% so there's no other added ingredients and my stomach is not having it So I just use hemp seeds hemp seeds How a lot of protein in them. Yeah Sometimes chia What else do I use? That's probably the main ones. I eat a lot of cashews and pumpkin seeds too But yeah, I'm not a I have probably I don't have a clue how much protein I consume but I Don't imagine it's very much But you know, it's enough. That's the thing like I think people You know, there's obviously the there's obviously the the the research out there that says that you should get 0.7 to 1.2 grams per pound of body weight or 0.5 grams per kilo a body weight if you're an athlete and yeah, yeah Okay, yes, I know that there's research that says that but there's also all sorts of anecdotal support that shows that It's probably not as much as as the research Right there are there are all sorts of people like yourself who are I mean, you're not exactly a dainty flower. You are an incredibly lean and very strong So it's not like you've wasted away to skeleton right you can and you can lift for eight hours You can lift six million pounds in a month, you know, like so clearly you're clearly you're you've got enough Protein coming in to support the tissue that you need and you know, you're you know, you're you're doing something right So I think there's I think there's a window for everybody eight and but I think that that biofeedback really tells you a ton If we just if we just listen to it and eat the things that that make us happy and I mean us is in our body, right That's right. I think that's I think that's huge and making making the best choices. You can and and buying the best foods that you can afford it, you know is Is a is a is an important thing well said and the ones yes exactly Biofeedback is such a great word for it and I just have to say in those 60 days. I didn't lose a pound I think I gained seven in that time. I did not fade away. I gained towards the end I was eating like probably once I got those two eight hour lifts in the last two weeks I just ate the world I gained weight and I progressed through the entire 60 days My results my speed my total poundage progressed the whole time So that doesn't make sense in terms of Like we were talking about what's normally expected with recovery and rest days and All that stuff. I didn't have any of it and I got better the entire time wild, right? I don't get it That is that is what well. I mean, I'm gonna go ahead and say you are Genetically gifted. I won't call you a freak, but you know, you are definitely you are definitely You're gonna be gifted Say that. I'm like there's no way I'm genetically gifted These siblings all blonde all skinny all mean and I was always Yeah, how many world records did they have between the three of them? Do you know they're well my younger brother passed from from the chemia My older brother was always the athlete to beat he was always The track media come home with old medals like he's the best hockey player my sister is a ridiculous athlete She's already qualified for Chicago and ran it. She's a marathon runner All of my for London England, but it's been postponed. She's breaking who records presently So they're great. They're really really great athletes, but what I'm saying and so this is supposed to go against your argument that you have That was that's not a good genes I was trying to say well, there's there is there are genetics and then there's genetic expression You know, so there's you know, there are things you know, you've clearly gotten to a place where now you understand What helps you express your genes as well as you can so But you're I'm it is yeah, I mean you are an incredibly impressive athlete I'm always I always marvel at what your accomplishments are and obviously you're very mentally tough to because I don't care How genetically gifted you are like you are kicking the shit out of your body when you lift as hard as you do for as long as you do And so, you know, I'm sure there are moments when you're just like ah fuck this, but you keep going anyways and you keep going at a crazy pace So With the one sorry Jordan and I keep coming off that's why I'm fighting with the one-hour lifts is I'm having to up my mental game I'm like Jen, what's your problem? I'm getting like 30 minutes in and I want to quit and I'm like Jen what what what is your problem right now? You lifted for three hours every day for two months. What's a problem with this hour? But the 16 it does it brings you to a different place and I'm I'm sure you know that when you go up and wait Yeah It's gonna it's gonna definitely I'm gonna have to go back I'm gonna have to take myself to different places mentally for sure and I think that That's definitely one of our greatest assets as athletes is figuring out how to work with our own mindset and And adapt to serve us well So it's gonna be a good part of this journey I'm excited for it. I'm really excited for everybody to see it. So Where can people find you? How can they follow you? How can they donate to the cause? How can they sign up like You know, how do people how do people get in awesome? Thank you people can either reach me through my Instagram, which you know at Jennifer Hintenberger Also Facebook I don't know if maybe I could give you the links to this or something But there's my Facebook, which is Jennifer Hintenberger in there. Yeah, if you send if you send them to me I'll put them in the episode notes so so that people can click on the episode notes and find them and find them there as well Okay awesome And then I just started a Facebook group two that is for anybody who is a participant of oh I just started a couple hours ago. There's 74 people in it now. It's called 100 days 100 kettlebell marathons Yeah, and that's where I just started so I have to start inviting people but everyone's welcome to request and I will of course Have them jump in and then this way they can choose one of this 100 days if they want employing me or they can contact me about donating which is obviously greatly appreciated Or they could just watch it because it's going to be documented. I have a professional producer Andrew tidby who was going to be documenting the 60 days who's now who's going to be traveling with me the whole time Just like the iron cowboy had his team But I'm obviously not traveling so he's going to be here with me So hopefully we'll do some interviews with the other lifters who are joining me and whatnot and make it a good community experience Awesome. Well, that is great Well, Jen, thank you so much for taking the time I really enjoy I really enjoyed the conversation. It was great to hear you know your origin story and all of the crazy things that That you've overcome and you're such an inspiration to so many people and I just really appreciate you taking the time to be on I really appreciate you. Thank you, John. It's been a pleasure and it's also been really nice learning about Just what you know for one. I did not expect that And learning about your rugby background as well and I cite that uh you ended up on the 100 days. That's a result of this. Yeah. Thank you I'm excited. I'm looking forward to it. Thank you. Thank you. We'll talk soon. Yes. Have a great day. You too. Bye bye. Bye Thanks for listening to this episode of the platform podcast. I'm Jordan Kunde-Wright If you have a question, please email me at Twin Cities Kettlebell Club at gmail.com Follow us on Instagram and Facebook at Twin Cities Kettlebell Club on Twitter at TCKB Club Online at Twin Cities Kettlebell Club.com And please help us grow our reach and give us a review on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you get your podcasts Until next time