Posted on December 09, 2013 by Jenny Cromack

Whether you think of a kettlebell as a cannonball with a handle, a weighted handbag or an oversized paperweight; if used intensively enough, the kettlebell could be the single best piece of kit you could use for a full body transformation

As usual I’m biased – I teach 6 kettlebell classes a week, and am known to some of my personal training clients as “Kettlebell Kate”. But whilst people continue to buy the latest fitness gadgets, gym memberships and assorted gym equipment in their bid of making their new years resolution become a reality (this time) – they could have saved their money and just bought this one single piece of kit.

The cynics amongst us will question do kettlebells work? Are there really any benefits of kettlebell training? What’s wrong with a plain old dumbbell?

So let’s look at the kettlebell briefly. Dumbbell handles are centered and therefore balanced; but the handle on the kettlebell isn’t. This affects it’s weight distribution and therefore your body’s centre of gravity – so in theory you have to use your stabilizing muscles to maintain correct postural alignment throughout the exercise. That’s even before we look at how the main kettlebell lifts encompass a whole body movement requiring a lot more muscle groups to do the work for you.

As with all exercise, kettlebells will only work for you dependent on your personal training goals. If you’re looking for significant muscle gain, these are probably not the best piece of kit for you. However, if you’re looking for core strength and stability, explosiveness and agility; it’s worth giving them a shot!

But I’m not going to all scientific and debate whether kettlebells are good or bad – as let’s face it, using our core and stabilizing muscles is a must for any exercise . I’m not even going to debate whether a kettlebell is better than a dumbbell or not – as let’s face it (again), some kettlebell exercises can be done with a dumbbell (although maybe not as effectively and you’d need two dumbbells!). So instead,  let’s look at how to use kettlebells, because there’s a lot more to them than swinging them between your legs! At least you can then try it and decide for yourself!

Personally, I’m a big fan of kettlebell Interval Training! I vary the intervals dependent on whether I’m doing upper body, lower body, core or whole body movements.

Why not try this predominantly lower body one for size:

Add-On Format of 6 Exercises:

You perform Exercise 1 for 30 seconds and then rest for 30 seconds; then perform Exercise 1 for 30 secs AND Exercise 2 for 30 secs, then rest for 30 secs. Then do Exercise 1, 2 & 3 then rest – and so on and on.

I prefer to use nothing lighter than an 8kg Kettlebell but honestly, this is lower body – BIG muscle group so grab a 12 or 16kg if you can!

Exercise 1 – Squat

Exercise 2 – Squat & Upright Row

Exercise 3 – Lunge

Exercise 4 – KB Burpee (got to get some cardio in there!)

Exercise 5 – Figure of 8

Exercise 6 – Round the Body

Feel The Burn!

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