What's So Good About Kettlebells Anyway?

This is what I asked myself for quite a long time before I 'saw the light'! I was based in a gym and saw one of the other trainers using kettlebells with his clients and to be perfectly honest I thought it was all a bit of hype. The exercises looked dangerous and the clients were all getting bruised! I was sceptical at best...

Even when I finally got him to give me a 'taster' session I wasn't completely convinced, I had a decent enough workout but just didn't get what the big deal was.

I can't even remember what sparked the mental shift from cynic to evangelist. One minute I'm happy with my dumbells, the next I'm raving to all who would listen about a shiny round chunk of iron!

I bought a few DVDs and a couple of kettlebells and the addiction came pretty quick - the sheer versatility of the kettlebell intrigued me. I always thought 'anything you can do with a kettlebell you can do with a dumbell' but how wrong I was!

The shape of the kettlebell and the way the weight is held means that performing what would be a simple dumbell exercise becomes a whole new experience as there is an additional stability factor to consider.

The fact that the bell is designed to be swung is what really makes it stand out from the crowd, though. As soon as you add in the classic kettlebell exercises, like the swing and the snatch, the power of the kettlebell to transform your body and workouts becomes clear. You can get a killer cardio workout, while loading all your 'behind' muscles (back, butt, hamstrings...) that are usually underworked in most people. The era of the cross trainer was clearly over - cardio was just never going to be the same again...

Any exercise you can do with a dumbell you can do with a kettlebell, sometimes feeling more comfortable and sometimes being a hell of a lot harder (DB renegade rows vs KB renegade rows?). You can use your kettlebell as a piece of cardio equipment or as an extreme strength tool. You can use your kettlebell to increase mobility and stability and even rehabilitate.

And they look so good, all in a line in the garage, smugly reminding you that you never need to pay gym membership again!

Quick Saturday Evening Workout

With half an hour to spare before going out I decided to squeeze in a quick dose of interval training and yoga (full body training days are Monday, Wednesday and Friday and the remaining days are for intervals and yoga only, or windsurfing, surfing, mountain biking etc...).

Not wanting to think too much about things I kept it nice and simple - using 2 handed swings only. But what a killer workout - thanks to Mr Tabata's interval protocol:

20 s swings, 10 s rest, repeat....

I did this a total of 30 rounds, so 15 minutes in total and it really does prove that you can get an amazing workout into a very short period of time!

I followed it with David Swenson's 15 minute ashtanga yoga routine - basically 5 sun salutations A and 5 Bs followed by a forward bend, twist, boat and backbend (and the all important shavasana, or relaxation pose!)

30 mins to energise and calm, invigorate and destress!

Who says they don't have time to be fit and healthy? With kettlebells you really don't need a lot of time....

Kettlebells For Women

Kettlebells are the perfect tool for creating a lean, sculpted, feminine physique!

In fact, I'm off to go train with them now - will post more when I get back...