Kettlebell help please

tiggsnanny

I was thinking of buying a kettlebell but have no idea which weight to buy. I can't go to a gym, it's too far away and I can't drive now due to a stroke. I have a hula hoop but i'm not very good at it lol. I was thinking a kettle bell would help me strength wise. My balance is not brilliant but I think I could manage a kettlebell.

I'm 5ft 2 and 140lbs and would like to lose another 16 pounds or so. I walk a lot with my dog but I think I need to shape up a bit.
Thanks in advance

SnuggleSmacks

You're going to have a difficult time doing a full range of exercises with just one kettlebell. You'll need different weights for different moves. A better option for now might be to get a set of adjustable dumbbells. Walmart has a cheap set for $20, and Amazon has tons of inexpensive sets that aren't as cheaply made as Walmart's (even the cheap crappy Walmart set will last for years as long as you're not throwing or dropping the plates on cement floors). This way you can change the amount of weight you're lifting.

Another option is to check into bodyweight exercises. There are quite a few books out there which get into very basic to very advanced moves.

tiggsnanny

I was thinking of getting a small set, but I didn't want to buy too low weights and then have to buy more, I think i'll start small and work up seems the best way

I'm in the UK so just looked at Argos, we don't have Walmart here, but I will def look at Amazon. It's so confusing with all the different types of excersise, i've never been into excersise so it's all new to me. Thankyou for your help xx

SnuggleSmacks

Around here, we have some shops which buy and sell used exercise equipment. It's called Play It Again Sports. You might see if there's something like that near you. Also, Craigslist is a good place to check for weight sets from people who purchased them and never use them. Sometimes you can get great bargains. And lastly, check your local sporting goods stores to see if they send coupons for signing up for email. A lot of times you can get 40% off one item, and that should allow you to get a small set at a much more reasonable price.

tiggsnanny

Oh good idea, we have a recycling website here as well, I will look on there. I just looked on Ebay, so many on there lol

2BeHappy2

I was just thinking of other things you could use from around your house at least to start off w/ and to build up endurance plus itll be free for you!
Canned foods...different size water bottles.
I don't consume pop but maybe ask around for someones empty 2 liters, fill a 1/2 gallon and 1 gallon milk jugs with water.
Small water bottles, recycled laundry detergent containers....get creative!

kirkor

I think a 8-10kg would serve you well at this stage ... you want the bell to be heavy enough to challenge you and give you room to grow, but also light enough that you can actually do the movements.

Froggymcconnell

I would start 4kg or 6kg for female or 6kg or 8kg for Male - given that you have suffered a stroke before - no point over doing things. Start light and work your way up. I go to kettlercise class and instructor gives same advice.

One kettlebell is enough for loads of exercise there are over 250 exercises just for one kettlebell.

If you can find a shop who sells kettlebells lift a few and try a few swings and see what you can manage.

tiggsnanny

Thankyou for your replies, sorry I couldn't find my thread lol

The only thing I could use and hold ok would probable be a 4 pint milk carton that has a handle.
Thankyou Kirkor, I didn't want to buy a small one then find I needed a larger one, i'll go to a shop and try a few I think.

sympha01

I was thinking of buying a kettlebell but have no idea which weight to buy. I can't go to a gym, it's too far away and I can't drive now due to a stroke. I have a hula hoop but i'm not very good at it lol. I was thinking a kettle bell would help me strength wise. My balance is not brilliant but I think I could manage a kettlebell.

I'm 5ft 2 and 140lbs and would like to lose another 16 pounds or so. I walk a lot with my dog but I think I need to shape up a bit.
Thanks in advance

I love my kettlebell, it's fun and I get a fantastic cardio workout with it that includes a good amount of resistance! Generally speaking I wish I had started heavier and for most women I wouldn't suggest starting with anything lighter than 15 lbs. It depends a lot on what you're going to do with it. I see a lot of exercise videos on youtube for kettlebell that seem to use it mostly like a dumbbell (rows, triceps extensions, curls etc.) and you wouldn't want something heavier than you can manage for that kind of exercise if that's what you plan to do. But if you are doing the more kettlebell-specific exercises (swings, swings, swings! clean and press, around the body slings, snatch) you probably want something a little heavier than you're intuition tells you.

There are a couple of things you said though that suggest to me a couple of points of caution. 1) You're recovering from a stroke and 2) you're maybe a little uncoordinated already (hula hoop, not great balance). Bear in mind that with traditional kettlebell exercises you'll be flinging the thing around. It's easy to drop it (just ask all the dents on my floors!). So if you have coordination problems, or maybe don't have full control of your grip because of the stroke, you'll definitely want a lighter kettlebell, and ideally you'll want to practice with it outdoors or somewhere where you can't do too much damage if your grip or coordination fails you.

Good luck!

sympha01

Also, I highly recommend getting a pair of lifting gloves to use with your kettlebell. Kettlebell makes you sweaty and the handle can get slippery. Plus I found that kettlebelling gave me callouses ahem I mean skin trophies. I use the FitFour "anti-ripper" (NOT the "gripper") for kettlebell -- they add enough extra grip + sweat absorption to protect against the slipperies, but not too much grip that would get in the way of bell movement in snatches.

tiggsnanny

Thankyou Sympha01, I was a bit worried about dropping it, my stroke was 10 years ago now, but I still have the balance coordination problems, i've just sort of got used to it. I'm more worried about damaging the television or something, my life wouldn't be worth living if I broke the telly lol.

The gloves sound a good idea, I hadn't thought of that thankyou