Kettlebells - any advice?

Krystle1984
Krystle1984 Posts: 146 Member
edited November 19 in Fitness and Exercise
I have been given a set of kettlebells (2kg up to 10kg) and am wondering if anyone has any suggestions on a workout routine with them? I tried Google and YouTube, but there was so much information I don't really know where to start!

Thanks in advance for any advice! :)

Replies

  • brad837
    brad837 Posts: 53 Member
    Start with swings, perfect the swing...
  • tcbutler8627
    tcbutler8627 Posts: 279 Member
    Love kettlebells!!! You can get such a great workout from them. Like brad837 said, start with swing. You can also do squats, lunges....so many exercises!!
  • SarahJurina
    SarahJurina Posts: 38 Member
    If you go to. Fitnessblender.com they have a kettle bell workout for free. This was the one I did for my first time using kettlebells. It's about 40 minutes long.
  • Ckw130
    Ckw130 Posts: 1 Member
    I agree. Do some research on Kettlebell Swing form. I would recommend using the Russian Swing rather than the American Swing. (Russian swing ends at chest level rather than above the head). The swing should be an explosive movement and focus on keeping your legs, abs, and butt engaged and tight. Perfect this movement before starting any other, it might sound easy and boring to do one motion. However, after you finish your first day, your body is going tell you it was anything but simple and easy!
  • DevilsFan1
    DevilsFan1 Posts: 342 Member
    Check out Simple and Sinister by Pavel on Amazon. Great program for beginners.
  • Kiwi_Made
    Kiwi_Made Posts: 101 Member
    Ckw130 wrote: »
    I agree. Do some research on Kettlebell Swing form. I would recommend using the Russian Swing rather than the American Swing. (Russian swing ends at chest level rather than above the head). The swing should be an explosive movement and focus on keeping your legs, abs, and butt engaged and tight. Perfect this movement before starting any other, it might sound easy and boring to do one motion. However, after you finish your first day, your body is going tell you it was anything but simple and easy!

    Awesome post :)
  • novasunflower
    novasunflower Posts: 29 Member
    Start with swings, for sure....but I also love presses, halo, goblet squat, and sumo deadlift. That's pretty much my full body routine, maybe some windmills and alternating rows. I honestly got pretty overwhelmed with "routines" at the start, so I just started focusing on learning the most perfect form for each exercise and kept progressing in weight and repetitions as I got better. I love tracking on Fitocracy, it makes it really easy to keep track of your progress and they have EVERY exercise imaginable.
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  • Rags2Righteous
    Rags2Righteous Posts: 200 Member
    I'm also new to kettlebells, and I love them! I have the adjustable kind so I can increase the weight. I concur with starting with the swing and perfecting your form. One thing that I have been enjoying in addition to the youtube video workouts is mixing it up by doing "Tabata" style (exercise for 20 seconds, active rest for 10 seconds, for a total of 4 minutes, and I do several rounds/songs of this). That's been a fun -yet challenging -method to work myself up to longer kettlebell sessions. I'm definitely stronger and more toned, even after only a few weeks. Good luck!
  • lisa2219
    lisa2219 Posts: 85 Member
    I found a good starter workout on Meals and Moves blog: http://mealsandmovesblog.com/2015/01/22/500-rep-at-home-kettlebell-workout/
  • Krystle1984
    Krystle1984 Posts: 146 Member
    Thanks so much everyone! Lots of useful information there. Will start with the swing and move on from there. :)
  • ROBJ3411
    ROBJ3411 Posts: 72 Member
    Been doing KB stuff for years and my wife has a cert in it...Pavel is kinda the Godfather of Russian Kettlebells. There are several others. I just started Pat Flynn's 4 week Metcon plan as something new, it is alittle advanced though. If you go on Breakingmuscle.com there are some instructon videos... The important thing with KBs is to learn to do them the right way and the Swing is the fundamental move and one of the best single exercises you can do.....If you use them to just do curls, shoulder press and bench type stuff, then they are really nothing more then odd shaped dumbells, but if you learn the swing, Clean and Snatch they can be very powerful....Spend time learning how to execute these moves safely, or you WILL hurt yourself.
  • Krystle1984
    Krystle1984 Posts: 146 Member
    I have watched some videos (I made sure to watch a few different ones to make sure I had the gist of it right) and gave the Russian swing a go this morning. I think I still need to work on my form a bit, but was much better than it would have been had I just given it a go without any research! Now hoping my overtime money comes in next week and then I'm going to invest in an hour with a PT (my friend has recommended one to me) with the aim of getting some expert advice on how to improve it. Thanks again everyone! :)
  • incognitocity
    incognitocity Posts: 27 Member
    My advice to you would be to either talk to a trainer or maybe consider just using dumbells. I've seen so many ppl swing wrong and hurt themselves and others, I literally watched a girl throw a weight through glass and watched 16kh fall 20 stories onto the busy NYC streets! Ppl using momentum can hurt themselves! So just be careful
  • Krystle1984
    Krystle1984 Posts: 146 Member
    edited May 2015
    incognitocity wrote: »
    My advice to you would be to either talk to a trainer or maybe consider just using dumbells. I've seen so many ppl swing wrong and hurt themselves and others, I literally watched a girl throw a weight through glass and watched 16kh fall 20 stories onto the busy NYC streets! Ppl using momentum can hurt themselves! So just be careful

    That was why I asked for advice. I'm starting off slowly with the smallest weight and concentrating on getting the form right before I progress. Unfortunately a professional trainer and gym membership are beyond my budget for the time being, but I have made use of the free information available and the advice above so hopefully I won't have a problem. Fingers crossed as I quite enjoyed it!

    I don't want to use dumbells as I want a more full body workout. :)
  • ROBJ3411
    ROBJ3411 Posts: 72 Member
    Getting a professional set of eyes to help is always a good thing. If you you can & are gonna spend the money ensure that the trainer you choose has a background and/or certification to teach Kettlebells and I suggest Russian KBs; your normal globo-gym trainer is probably not the right answer as they PROBABLY don't have the background in KBs...Generally speaking, the Kettlebell certification is much tougher then your normal certification. GOOD LUCK....
  • Krystle1984
    Krystle1984 Posts: 146 Member
    ROBJ3411 wrote: »
    Getting a professional set of eyes to help is always a good thing. If you you can & are gonna spend the money ensure that the trainer you choose has a background and/or certification to teach Kettlebells and I suggest Russian KBs; your normal globo-gym trainer is probably not the right answer as they PROBABLY don't have the background in KBs...Generally speaking, the Kettlebell certification is much tougher then your normal certification. GOOD LUCK....

    Thanks! The person I have been in touch with actually teaches a kettlebell class so I'm hoping he will know what he's doing! Gonna be a week or so before I can afford it so I will persevere with the videos for now and see how I get on. :)
  • Immerito
    Immerito Posts: 105 Member
    Krystle1984 wrote: »
    ROBJ3411 wrote: »
    Getting a professional set of eyes to help is always a good thing. If you you can & are gonna spend the money ensure that the trainer you choose has a background and/or certification to teach Kettlebells and I suggest Russian KBs; your normal globo-gym trainer is probably not the right answer as they PROBABLY don't have the background in KBs...Generally speaking, the Kettlebell certification is much tougher then your normal certification. GOOD LUCK....

    Thanks! The person I have been in touch with actually teaches a kettlebell class so I'm hoping he will know what he's doing! Gonna be a week or so before I can afford it so I will persevere with the videos for now and see how I get on. :)

    If your instructor is not certified, find someone who is (see link to see if your instructor is among them. )

    http://www.dragondoor.com/instructors/
  • professionalHobbyist
    professionalHobbyist Posts: 1,316 Member
    KB swings with a heavy single are one of my core hamstring/glutes exercises.

    The exercise isn't complex. There are many YT vids.

    A 60lb KB can wear you down hard with a half dozen sets of swings. It is a cardio event for sure. Love to hate them. They get me panting like a set of squats.

    Great gift you have there.

    Good luck!
  • Krystle1984
    Krystle1984 Posts: 146 Member
    I have to keep reminding myself to keep my head up (I keep following the Kettlebell!) but so far so good! I really enjoy it. Just focusing on the Russian swing for now, but hoping to expand my repertoire soon. Just using the smallest weight to start so I can focus on form, but will try and increase that next week. Thanks again everyone! :)
  • lulucitron
    lulucitron Posts: 366 Member
    I just use them for goblet squats and single leg deads
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