Mother-daughter duo becomes kettlebell world champions

A mother-daughter duo raises the bar in international kettlebell competitions.

For Jennifer and Gina Hintenberger, age is just a number, even when it comes to competing at international levels in fitness.

“I started kettlebell lifting over 20 years ago and started the sport 16 years ago,” Jennifer said. “One of the biggest questions people asked me is how I tend to continue to break world records and compete in the open division amongst the 20-year-olds at 45.

“And I would say that the biggest reason has to do with my nutrition, not my training.”

At 45, Jennifer is a 19-time world champion in kettlebell competitions, often beating her own records. And she does it as a vegan.

“I used to be obese. I’ve lost 70 pounds, but my goal wasn’t to lose weight. I was very sick in my early 20s, I had bleeding stomach ulcers, I had indication of kidney issues, I had all kinds of health problems,” she said.

“And so I looked into nutrition to treat what was happening with my gastrointestinal health. And in doing that, I became more plant based without intending to, because it made my stomach feel better. I have been vegan for over 16 years. I was vegetarian for two before that and the intent was not to be vegan.”

But she is more impressed by her mother Geri.

“Because even though I am an elite athlete and I completely compete in the elite division doing numbers no one has ever done before, that’s in itself an impressive thing,” she said with a laugh. “It’s my mom everyone comes to watch. People walk straight by me and they’re like, ‘Oh, my goodness, how do you do what you just did? That was so amazing.’ Being 69 years old, she didn’t start working out until she was 53 when I opened my gym. So, it’s not like she’s done sport her whole life.

“And to go from that to becoming a multiple world champion herself and at 69, lifting what many 20-year-olds couldn’t do, for me, it’s super satisfying to see how much she inspires all lifters, men, women of all ages.”

Geri, for her part, uses the competitions to not only stay in shape, but stay connected to Jennifer.

“My daughter opened a kettlebell studio and asked me if I wanted to join her boot camp. So that’s where I went,” Geri said. “Just to spend time with my daughter. Number one and number two, just to get back into shape. I used to be more athletic before I had children, but then they got took up all my time.”

Geri’s son, who was also Jennifer’s brother, passed away 18 years ago this October. He’s a big reason why they compete together.

“I don’t say we really enjoy it until the bell goes down, but I’m just motivated to keep doing better each time,” said Geri. “I like to beat my own records. And just to change my health completely. Work more on keeping myself healthy, to be more competitive and to spend more time with my children and grandchildren.”

She has five grandchildren, ranging in from right to 20.

She is also vegan like her daughter. They compete with team Vegan Strong.

“About two years after my son passed, so close to 15, 16 years,” Geri said of how long ago she made the dietary change. “I had some stomach issues so when I switched over to vegan it really improved them and I don’t have all those stomach issues I had before.”

Both often get questions on how they can be so strong with a plant-based diet.

“It was a need to stop hurting in my stomach. And in doing that, I didn’t just heal my gut issues, I actually balanced my hormones, which helped with severe anxiety and depression that I’d been battling at the time as well,” Jennifer said. “And as a side effect, I lost 70 pounds. I do believe that this is why I’m able to perform at such a high level, because I seem to be able to train a lot more often than my competitors, and I think that has to do with plant-based nutrition, allowing me to recover faster so I can train more often.”

They recently returned from a competition in Moldova, where they both medaled.

“Spending time with my daughter and traveling. Get out of the house,” said Geri of her favourite part of competitions. “I think I enjoyed Moldova. It was very well organized, very competitive.”

“My mom has become my best friend,” said Jennifer. “And I think a lot of that has to do with the sport, because growing up…there were four of us so my mom was busy working full time plus hours and managing all four of us in sports. And now this is one thing that I coach her on and we stay in contact with on a regular basis. And my mom lives in Ontario, which is, as you know, a flight or a 21-hour drive.

“Don’t see her often. And it’s one time a year we go to a world championship and we take two weeks where we compete and then visit nearby countries together. So, it’s a really special time for us.”

“It’s just mind over matter. You just got to want to do it. And if you don’t try, you’ll never know,” said Gina. “It’s just important to prove that at any age you can do whatever you put your mind to.”

“I think it is continuing to break my own personal records and world records at 45,” said Jennifer. “Because I think that really breaks all the rules in the fitness industry with being vegan and then in general with how we’re taught.”