Hannah Campden Kettlebell Competition

How did you get into kettlebells?

I’ve worked in the fitness industry for 22 years and have always been passionate about strength training, including kettlebells. However, it was only during lockdown that I discovered kettlebells as a sport. 

A friend of mine was at an event and I spotted someone in an England jacket in one of her photos. She got his number and I called him up and asked: ‘What are you doing and how did you get there? I want to get there too.’ My motto is: Be strong, be fearless and believe anything is possible.

From then on, during lockdown, I learned about the fast-growing sport of kettlebells. I began to do weekly online training with Jonny Skinner at Garage Fitness Project, himself a kettlebell World Champion many times over. He coached me to my first competition qualifier in Northampton.


Presumably you qualified?

I smashed it and went on to compete for England in my first international. The event was in Denmark in 2023 and I came away as World Champion, even though I’d been doing competition kettlebells for less than a year. I realised I’d found my thing!

I set myself a goal of spreading the word across the country and beyond; the sport is traditionally bigger in the north of England than in the south. Jonny and I joined forces, rebranded to Garage FitWorks Project and started building a team – currently 12 people – for whom we create kettlebell programmes and deliver online kettlebell training. It’s all geared towards competing in kettlebell competitions.

Quite a few of our team lift for England and Scotland, but our services are available to anyone anywhere in the world.


You also have a FitWorks gym…

I do. Located in Beaconsfield, FitWorks is a gym I opened with my business partner Pippa Lance in November 2023. 

Kitted out by Physical, it’s a gym for everyone – everything from mums-to-be to families to strongman enthusiasts – with the slogan #findyourfit. Everything is group exercise-based, not just kettlebells, and is designed to be fun. 

I believe happiness and health are two of the most important things in life and that confronting life’s challenges makes you stronger. Over the years, I’ve worked with many wonderful people in large groups, small groups and one-to-one and know my experiences have helped me become a stronger person and instructor.


You’re also sponsored by Physical…

I’ve known Physical for a long time, including working as part of its demo team for events such as FIBO, so it was great to be sponsored by them for my most recent competition in Poland.

I’m really looking forward to trying out Physical’s new competition kettlebells, which are coming very soon. Jonny and I will be their models for the shoot and plan to use these kettlebells for a grassroots competition we’re hosting on 28 September 2024. It’s so important to have high-quality bells that meet competition specifications, even for beginner events such as this.


Tell us about the competition in Poland.

These were the World Kettlebell Sport Federation (WKSF) World Championships, which took place in Rzeszów, Poland, on 7–9 June. 

It was awesome! There were competitors from all over the world, with England bringing a fantastic team of 10 athletes. There were big crowds, TV screens, judges in suits checking your fixation as you lifted… I really had to focus on myself, on my breathing, on keeping calm, one rep at a time, not letting myself worry about what my competitors were doing, many of whom had been lifting at competition level for many years.

My event this time was double 16kg bells, so one in each hand, doing clean-and-jerks for 10 minutes. This was the first time I’d done doubles; in Denmark I did half-snatches with a single 16kg bell for 30 minutes, setting a PB [personal best] of 484 reps.

In qualifying for Poland I had done 61 reps, with the bells in the air for seven of the 10 minutes; in this event you’re allowed to put them down. My main goal for Poland was to keep the bells off the floor for the full 10 minutes, which I did, completing 80 reps – a massive PB.

I’m very happy to say I came away with a bronze medal, making me WKSF bronze medallist as well as IKMF World Champion in kettlebell sport with three gold medals.


What’s next for you?

Right now I’m just trying to come back to normality after all the emotions of the competition, but I already have my sights set on my next event. I want to compete in Corfu in October, with a goal of setting a new PB: 100 reps in 10 minutes with 16kg bells. After that, I’ll move into the elite category and lift 24kg bells.

As I say, we’re also hosting our own grassroots event in the UK in September, plus I’m keen to take some of our Garage FitWorks Project team to the next set of qualifiers in Belgium. I’d like to work with Physical to help build awareness of kettlebells as a sport, too.

Kettlebells are my absolute passion and the journey so far has been incredible. I am looking forward to more adventures and meeting more people from all walks of life.


@hannahcamdenpt