Kettlebells advice please

Chickyjd
Chickyjd Posts: 136 Member
Hi, Looking to begin kettlebells, as I currently do 3/4 (up to 4 hours) treadmill workouts per week which covers cardio. But not really sure where to start and what weight kettlebell I should be buying... Any advice greatly appreciated! :)

Replies

  • Kxgz
    Kxgz Posts: 198 Member
    Mine is 15 pounds. I find it's a good weight for a beginner. I would just pick them up and see what you are comfortable with.
  • Tonwen
    Tonwen Posts: 6
    I used the KettleWorX program for awhile last summer and enjoyed it. It's work, but I got some good results. I got out of the habit whe I loaned the program to a friend, but I'm going to be going back to it after I finish a Rushfit program. The DVDs are not the greatest as far as production quality goes, but they were "working on that" when I was using the program. You need less weight than you may think to get great results.
  • alisonlynn1976
    alisonlynn1976 Posts: 929 Member
    I started with 4 kg (= 8.8 pounds) kettlebells (the very smallest), now I also do some of the exercises with 8 (= 17.6 pounds) or 12 kg (= 26.4 pounds) ones. I'll keep working up in weight. I searched for kettlebell exercises online to figure out what to do, and I also do some exercises that I was doing with dumbbells before. I think kettlebells are great! I've been working with them for about a month, and I am already noticeably stronger.
  • sisa1965
    sisa1965 Posts: 52 Member
    I am so glad you asked this question! I hope someone has good suggestions about a work out DVD that uses kettlebells
  • CCNYE63
    CCNYE63 Posts: 64 Member
    I use a 10 lb ketttlebell, and bought it to use with the Jillian Michaels 'Shred it with Weights' video. I liked the video a lot, and lost several pounds over the 2 months I did the workout (I did every other day.) Some have said that it's not a 'safe' workout, but I learned and practiced the exercises ahead of time and had no injuries.

    This video can be done with a regular dumbell as well. The first couple of workouts, I used a 5 or 8lb weight.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    I am so glad you asked this question! I hope someone has good suggestions about a work out DVD that uses kettlebells

    NOT Jillian's DVD!! ....... she should have taken the time to learn proper form before putting out a video ..... her form is truely horrible.


    You're not looking for a household name ..... Sarah Lurie and Lauren Brooks are both good.

    Don't bother with a 5 lb KBell ..... you will grow out of it much too fast. Make it 10 Lbs. at the very least.
  • Chickyjd
    Chickyjd Posts: 136 Member
    Some great advice here, many thanks :)
  • twestla70
    twestla70 Posts: 28 Member
    It really depends on the type of program you want to do. If you are considering the more traditional kettlebell exercises, (The swing, Snatches, Clean & Press, Squat/Press, Squat/Pull) you should start out with a minimum of 15lbs. (as a beginner, at only 5'2" that is what I started out with and it was fine). Make sure you research people for proper form. Steve Cotter (youtube) and myomytv.com are amazing CERTIFIED resources. Stay away from Jillian Michaels - her form is not correct for many of the moves. if you do get light ones (i.e. 8 to 10lbs) those are good for general upper arm exercises, but they will be difficult to perform swings with since they are too light for proper technique. Good luck. You will really enjoy it!
  • rich347
    rich347 Posts: 508 Member
    All I can say is be careful when using them their great for getting in shape. You can go on bodybuilding.com and look up kettlebell workouts. When you find one you like go on Youtube.com and look at how the exercise is done for safety. Turkish Get ups are the best in my opinion
  • h9dlb
    h9dlb Posts: 243 Member
    KBs are great