Kettlebells and Staying Fit
January 28th, 2010Hardly a modern invention is the kettlebell. The current opinion would have them around three hundred years old. It’s only recently that kettlebells have risen to planet wide fame, however, and at the time of writing they are as popular as any fitness aid.
Kettlebell exercise routines are simple, don’t need much unusual gear, and there’s no barrier to beginning. You can’t just leap immediately into the more complicated moves, though. You should practise the easy techniques before proceeding to the really advanced moves. Whatever else you do, with kettlebells as with any weight work, you have to be certain you acquire the correct weight for your body. You need less weight than you’d think when you choose Russian kettlebells for your exercise. Typically for female enthusiasts, an 18lb kettlebell can easily be more than you need at the outset, and meanwhile male enthusiasts should choose the 35 lb weights. The reason for this lies in the mechanics by which these exercises will benefit you. With a Russian kettlebell it stems from the movement as opposed to how much weight is used. It can also be advisable to get hold of an educational DVD or pamphlet to learn from and make sure you perform the exercises correctly. The starting routine to practice when using the kettlebell should ideally be a double-handed swing. As the origin point of a great many exercises, this needs to be mastered early on — and there’s more to it than you’d expect. No matter what your movements must be flowing, not sudden. We recommend that you ensure you don’t lift the Russian kettlebell with your back — it’s wiser to use your hips instead.
By the time you’ve got all of that, you’ll be in position to progress farther; you’ll be ready to tackle more complicated exercises. Bring different sets and increased reps into your day’s exercises, and change it all up by accompanying it with a variety of different music to keep it fun and interesting. Later on, as your experience with them grows, you could vary the weights of the kettlebells you use and perhaps bring in an additional set. Naturally, you don’t want your routine to decline in effectiveness, and these tips should help you prevent the problem.
It’s worthwhile to note that if you’ve begun working out with kettlebells with the intent of increasing your muscle mass or for body building, you will probably be disappointed. Instead, use them for weightloss and, also, to develop and maintain all round fitness and health in the long term.
Personally, I advocate bringing a kettlebell routine into a broader workout scheme. How often you pick up the kettlebells is obviously your decision. Simply going for a couple of exercise sessions per week, it’s a no brainer to support your baseline levels. And if you up that to five you’re certain to lose excess fat rapidly.
