Kettlebells

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  • htimpaired
    htimpaired Posts: 1,404 Member
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    Lauren Brooks is an RKC who has put out books and DVDs. Great instructor, will teach you proper form. Sarah Lurie (I think I spelled it right) is another one-I bought some DVDs of hers for very cheap on Amazon, two are instructional and two are workouts. She wrote a book called "Kettlebells for Dummies" that reads really well.

    I'd be careful on youtube or pinterest. As noted above, anyone can put out a video with bad form. I love fitness blender, but not for their kettlebell workouts. That chick from Biggest loser is a perfect example of why not everyone should put out a kettlebell video-she'll get you injured. And pinterest workouts have a tendency to just throw exercises on a meme with no rhyme or reason as to why you're doing it.
  • questionfear
    questionfear Posts: 527 Member
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    dlm7507 wrote: »
    I currently do these ladders:
    2 goblet squats then 10 swings
    3 goblet squats then 15 swings
    4 goblet squats then 20 swings
    start over at 2 + 10 and repeat the ladder.
    I end it in 10 minutes. If you did them on the minute in 30 minutes you'd do 90 goblet squats and 450 swings. That's a lot of calories burned. I'm too old for that ;0)

    The Simple and Sinister mentioned above is 10 min of 10 swings on the minute and 10 Turkish get-up in 10 minutes. 20 minutes total. + some Goblet squats and halos for your warm up.

    Is that what your kettlebel workouts look like?

    Actually S&S is 10x10 one handed swings in under 5 minutes with a 24kg bell for women, and 5 turkish get-ups (one on each side=1 get up) with a 16kg bell. So it's actually quite the butt kicker trying to reach those times!

    Good points on the swing forms...I spent HOURS watching videos and recording myself to make sure I didn't jack my back up when I started, and I once saw Jillian Michael's "swings" and my back hurt for her.
  • dlm7507
    dlm7507 Posts: 237 Member
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    My bad, it's been a few months since I was doing S&S (swings on the half min). I'm doing the SFG course program now which is very pressing oriented (trying to improve my pressing). At my age the simple goal for women isn't easy. ;0)

    I found the Strong First kettlebell user class to be worthwhile and enjoyable. In addition to it's cost I had a long drive and two nights in a hotel (I decided to not drive through the night going home) so it wasn't cheap for me but I have no regrets. It was worth it to get the instruction and corrections from people who know what they are doing.
  • questionfear
    questionfear Posts: 527 Member
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    dlm7507 wrote: »
    My bad, it's been a few months since I was doing S&S (swings on the half min). I'm doing the SFG course program now which is very pressing oriented (trying to improve my pressing). At my age the simple goal for women isn't easy. ;0)

    I found the Strong First kettlebell user class to be worthwhile and enjoyable. In addition to it's cost I had a long drive and two nights in a hotel (I decided to not drive through the night going home) so it wasn't cheap for me but I have no regrets. It was worth it to get the instruction and corrections from people who know what they are doing.

    I am thinking of doing that in the future! My goal right now is to complete the Simple goal, then I am thinking i will hit Rite of Passage from Enter the Kettlebell. There's a kettlebell focused gym a few towns over from me, so I think I will start with setting up a few sessions there to make sure I have the form down for snatches and clean and press. But if I get through both I want to try a Strongfirst class as a reward!
  • dlm7507
    dlm7507 Posts: 237 Member
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    Just for grins I just did some math and using the formula based upon weight and distance traveled 100 24KG (53LB) kettlebell swings is 60 kcal. With the S&S protocol mentioned above that should be a 5 min effort. 20 calories/min seems overly optimistic based upon a weight lifting calculation.

    Doing calorie burn based upon heart rate is problematic for kettlebells since they are a form of interval/HIT training. I did a bunch of modeling comparing average heart rate (total time (work + rest)) vs. peak heart rate for actual exercise not counting rests and found that for interval training the actual calorie burn needs to be scaled down 50% +/- 20% making it very inexact but once again pointing to the idea of 20 calories/min as overly optimistic

    The bottom line is that if you are tracking calorie burn to eat them back you should be considerably more conservative in your estimation. Disappointing since a "good" kettlebell workout is clearly more work than a steady state treadmill or elliptical workout. The silver lining is that you are doing much more for your body than simply burning calories with kettlebells (getting stronger and burning fat).

    The bottom line is that a model of a thing is not the thing and calories burned with exercise is modeling. An inexact model al that.
  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
    edited July 2016
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    tech_kitten wrote: »
    I am interested in kettlebells but they're so heavy. Do they make smaller ones, like 3 or 5 lbs. My arm strength is really weak.
    I've started with a ten and 15 - now using 25- 36lbs....


    You do not use arm strength for kettlebell swings - you use your core. The average female can easily start off with a 15lbs kettlebell and mayby a 10lbs for anything involving arms. You will not build strength in your arms if you keep using 3 and 5 lbs.....
  • KetoneKaren
    KetoneKaren Posts: 6,411 Member
    edited July 2016
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    I am just starting, and purchased a 10 and 15 lb weight to start. If I like it, I am going to invest in these:

    http://adjustablekettlebellreviews.com/best-adjustable-kettlebell-overall/

    or something similar.

    @dlm7507 Thanks for the link to that instructional video.
  • questionfear
    questionfear Posts: 527 Member
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    dlm7507 wrote: »
    Just for grins I just did some math and using the formula based upon weight and distance traveled 100 24KG (53LB) kettlebell swings is 60 kcal. With the S&S protocol mentioned above that should be a 5 min effort. 20 calories/min seems overly optimistic based upon a weight lifting calculation.

    Doing calorie burn based upon heart rate is problematic for kettlebells since they are a form of interval/HIT training. I did a bunch of modeling comparing average heart rate (total time (work + rest)) vs. peak heart rate for actual exercise not counting rests and found that for interval training the actual calorie burn needs to be scaled down 50% +/- 20% making it very inexact but once again pointing to the idea of 20 calories/min as overly optimistic

    The bottom line is that if you are tracking calorie burn to eat them back you should be considerably more conservative in your estimation. Disappointing since a "good" kettlebell workout is clearly more work than a steady state treadmill or elliptical workout. The silver lining is that you are doing much more for your body than simply burning calories with kettlebells (getting stronger and burning fat).

    The bottom line is that a model of a thing is not the thing and calories burned with exercise is modeling. An inexact model al that.

    I agree! I don't even log the kettlebell workouts, because it's really hard to nail down the calorie count. I do think that the improvement in core, hips, and shoulders makes you more efficient in moving in general, which leads to you moving more, which can lead to overall better health, but all that is a chain reaction that isn't terribly quantifiable.
  • pefal1
    pefal1 Posts: 43 Member
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    dlm7507 wrote: »
    I purposefully understate calories burned so I don't think, "Hey, now I get to eat more." ;0)
    Me too! I only probably eat back my calories burned through exercise but maybe once a week and those are estimated on the low side
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    I use anywhere from 5 to 40 lb KB depending on the exercise!
  • Bluepegasus
    Bluepegasus Posts: 333 Member
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    questionfear wrote: »

    I agree! I don't even log the kettlebell workouts, because it's really hard to nail down the calorie count. I do think that the improvement in core, hips, and shoulders makes you more efficient in moving in general, which leads to you moving more, which can lead to overall better health, but all that is a chain reaction that isn't terribly quantifiable.

    I don't log my kettlebell workouts either for the same reason. The only thing I log is my run, because I know roughly how much that burns.

  • KetoneKaren
    KetoneKaren Posts: 6,411 Member
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    I started out yesterday with my little 10 lb kettle bell, doing goblet squats, kettle bell swings, and figure 8. Going to add some other basic moves today. I feel great today, a little sore in the keister but no back pain, so I'm going back for more. :)
  • tiggerlove
    tiggerlove Posts: 225 Member
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    I hope to start using kettlebell next month, I have a few cd's and also found some stuff on youtube.
  • almostanangel21
    almostanangel21 Posts: 143 Member
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    Nevertheless, I'm going to stick with the 10 pound for the first 3 or 4 workouts. I want to make sure to nail the form before upping the weight.
  • pefal1
    pefal1 Posts: 43 Member
    edited July 2016
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    My first kettlebell workout (30 min) I was not sore at all the next day but my weight did not seem heavy enough so I returned my kettlebell for a heavier one. Did a 30 min workout the next day with my heavier weight. Did I do something wrong? Is my kettlebell not heavy enough? Is it really true no pain no gain? Or is that a myth haha. Just seems weird a whole new routine did not cause any kind of muscle soreness. Makes me feel like I didn't do anything :(
  • almostanangel21
    almostanangel21 Posts: 143 Member
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    pefal1 wrote: »
    My first kettlebell workout (30 min) I was not sore at all the next day but my weight did not seem heavy enough so I returned my kettlebell for a heavier one. Did a 30 min workout the next day with my heavier weight. Did I do something wrong? Is my kettlebell not heavy enough? Is it really true no pain no gain? Or is that a myth haha. Just seems weird a whole new routine did not cause any kind of muscle soreness. Makes me feel like I didn't do anything :(

    My personal rule of thumb is that if you're sweating instead of merely glistening, you're at the right intensity. If you feel like you can handle more weight, go for it, but the general rule is not to sacrifice form for higher weights - I'm guessing the same is true here.
  • dlm7507
    dlm7507 Posts: 237 Member
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    What movements did you do and what rep range for them?
  • pefal1
    pefal1 Posts: 43 Member
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    almostanangel21 wrote: »
    pefal1 wrote: »
    My first kettlebell workout (30 min) I was not sore at all the next day but my weight did not seem heavy enough so I returned my kettlebell for a heavier one. Did a 30 min workout the next day with my heavier weight. Did I do something wrong? Is my kettlebell not heavy enough? Is it really true no pain no gain? Or is that a myth haha. Just seems weird a whole new routine did not cause any kind of muscle soreness. Makes me feel like I didn't do anything :(

    My personal rule of thumb is that if you're sweating instead of merely glistening, you're at the right intensity. If you feel like you can handle more weight, go for it, but the general rule is not to sacrifice form for higher weights - I'm guessing the same is true here.

    Oh I was for sure sweating! I think I could use a heavier weight with the arm exercises and swings but keep it lower for certain moves.
  • pefal1
    pefal1 Posts: 43 Member
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    @dlm7507 I can't remember all the names because I follow a video some were Russian twists -50. Halos -30 one was where you place the kettlebell on the top of your thigh leg lifted at 90 degrees and lifted you leg up -30 each side. Back scratchers -30 deadlifts, lunges, swings all were 30. Some cardio and push ups added in.
  • dlm7507
    dlm7507 Posts: 237 Member
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    You are doing a different kind of program than I'm accustomed to. Looks like it's intended to be cardio if it
    s 30 reps in one set. Strength is typically lower reps with heavier weights. Some different exercises too. That doesn't mean bad, it could be exactly what you are looking for. If the program calls for 30 reps then you can only go as heavy as you can accomplish that.

    Here is a link to more traditional kettlebell exercises. There are programs in the back of it and you will notice that they are fairly low rep but perhaps high sets. I'm not suggesting that you change what you are doing, but you might want read it.

    I've been doing way too much pressing and am wearing out my shoulders so I've decided to do something different starting Monday. I think I'll choose from the book I just put in that link. Thanks for causing me to think of it ;0)

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