Kettlebell Training for weight loss

Sunday, November 9th, 2008 at 10:59 pm

If you have never seen a kettlebell before, just imagine a cannon ball with a handle. They range in size from 8lbs all the way up to 105lbs. It has been my experience that a good starting weight for women would be 15lb to 26lb kettlebells and 35lb to 45lb kettlebells for men.

Kettlebells are great tool because they are small and you can train anywhere with them. All you really need is a kettlebells and a little bit of space. They are great for working out at home, in your garage, backyard, or even outdoors.

You can perform all of the traditional dumbbell exercises like presses, squats, or rows. However, the real difference has to do with the wider handle and the shapes of the kettlebell, which cause you to use have to use more core stability to perform the exercises.

In addition to being able to perform traditional exercises the real benefit from kettlebell training comes from the more explosive movements that require the whole body to work together as one. A few examples of these exercises are; clean and press, snatch, squat to press, and kettlebell swings. All of these movements use large muscle groups, there for require more energy to perform. This causes you to burn a ton of calories during your workout and it will also give you the “afterburn” effect following your workout, which can be described as an increase in your metabolism.

Kettlebells were first used by strongmen and athletes as a way of training for competitions. In the last few years more and more people have begun to train with kettlebells because of the many benefits as well as their versatility.

Anyone can train with kettlebells as long as there are no medical conditions or previous injuries that would prevent them from training with them. The important thing is that you always use proper form when you exercise. If you are unsure about form proper form, you can always ask your personal trainer.

I will be posting some videos of kettlebell exercises that you can refer to as well.

Kettlebells can help you build lean muscle, improve your conditioning, and burn fat. They are versatile and can be used almost anywhere. Training with kettlebells can be fun and challenging alternative to using machines and free weight.

By Benjamin Petitpas