Kettlebells - Any Advice?

He should teach you how to minimize hurting your forearms but it just takes some time for the nerves there to toughen up a little. Sort of like riding a bike or horse. I don't think you should have bruising or even lingering soreness or pain. More like the first few times you let the kb strike it there a little too hard it'll smart a little and get a little sensitive. It goes away quickly. Have fun!

You might want to consider getting some lifting gloves at some point, but not necessarily before your first session. The right gloves are helpful because 1) kettlebells can give you some crazy callouses, which will also get ripped and torn and 2) a full kettlebell workout will make you sweat A LOT and there you are, swinging this heavy thing around ballistically with your sweaty, slippery hands .... you get the picture?

You don't need (or want) gloves with a lot of "grip" because some of the moves do require you to be able to let the handle slide smoothly inside your grip, but you can get gloves that have about equal grip to your skin, but will absorb / block some of your perspiration from getting on the bell handle. I use FitFour's "The Anti-Ripper" (NOT their other glove, "The Gripper," which is better for traditional lifting or chinups than for kettlebell exercises). Once I started using the gloves, my callouses stopped tearing (I still have callouses, and they get thicker every week!) and my anxiety about dropping the bell diminished greatly.

Kettles are a great work out. Just make them an extension of your hands. Your trainer will not give you one you cannot control. Be sure you bend your knees and swing the bell from way behind your feet and tighten your butt when you raise it up. Keep your core as tight as you can. With overhead press, the bell will be on the outside of your wrist. Don't wear a watch. I always wear gloves so my sweaty hands don't lose grip. You will enjoy it once you get use to the feel of the KB.

I have been doing workouts at a gym that uses kettlebells for the most part (also some TRX and body weight exercises). It's a great workout-it can build strength and endurance. And they look so deceptively easy but you find yourself wanting to just fall on the floor afterwards! In a good way of course. It's great you have someone who can teach you with this as some of the moves are different than typical workout/weight movements and not doing them correctly could be painful.

I never have used gloves, but you do end up with callouses. Mine have never broken. I think the higher the weight the harder it can be to grip, just because of the weight and the thickness of the handle, especially depending on the movement. You might ask your instructor if he recommends a good glove if you think you'll need one as there may be types they don't want you to use. I did get some bruising on the back of my forearms as I learned to better do the clean (it would kind of slam back against the arm some) so you could get some wristbands to help with that. At our gym we either have to do the workout barefooted/in socks or you have to use flat heeled shoes, no tennis shoes that have the heel built up because people tend to want to go up on their toes when they do the swing and I guess when you get up with heavy weights there could be the danger of the bell taking you with it. I'm definitely not to that point. So you may need flat heeled shoes if you don't like doing it barefoot, I'm sure your instructor will let you know.

Enjoy it, as I said it's a great workout and a lot of fun that can be changed up to give a lot of variety. I've got some nice arm muscles going for me now and am definitely stronger as well as having better endurance. And squats. They really help lift the rear! Good luck!

Thank you Cobblergal - I was going to wear my HRM but now I will not....

Not wearing a watch is a good piece of advice, but I will say that I actually wear a handkerchief tied around my wrist / fitbit which protects it from getting banged by the bell in cleans and snatches. So if you're willing to go that route you could continue to wear your HRM watch. Also, bells made by different manufacturers have different shaped handles and that will ultimately affect where on your wrist / forearm the bell bangs you. My first kettlebell had a really absurdly wide handle and the bell never banged my watch. It wasn't until I upgraded to more weight -- and incidentally, a different manufacturer -- that I had to start protecting my tech from the bell.