Kettlebells..? Am I just too old school..?

MSH2930 wrote: »

astrampe wrote: »

I have bad wrists - especially in winter. I wear lifting gloves with a wrist support and happily play with my 36 and 25lbs kettlebells - if your form is correct your wrists should not bend anyways and the weight is handled by your core, not your wrists....

Wow, that is awesome!! And yes, I am finding the weight is handled mostly by your core, and thankfully my core is very strong!!! May I ask if you are male or female..?

Female, 47 years old....

hollynurse803 wrote: »

does anyone have any suggestions for YouTube videos or something I could download. I have a very light kettle bell (5lbs) but not sure where to start.... Thanx

Livefitrevolution.org has a ton of videos (I think 28 weeks worth). It's completely free and they are on youtube though only accessible through their site. This is where I really got into my kettlebells because I like the motivation of doing it 'along' with people and now I just use their printouts or create my own with what I have learned.

That being said, like others have mentioned, if you're using your kettle bells properly 5lbs really isn't much use for most exercises, maybe starting out for the cleans, presses and snatches but you will want to try and find a heavier one.

MSH2930 wrote: »

Thanks all. I got a set/kit and it includes a 3 lb kettlebell, a 5 lb kettlebell a DVD and wall chart. So far, so good, I am enjoying it!! I think this is a great way to get broken into kettlebells, especially being I am such a novice to working out, having 'let myself go' for years...

I will say the kettlebells seem lighter than the alleged weights, but for me, that is fine. They feel comfortable in my hands and being I have wrist problems, I am not sure I would want to go any heavier.

Those kettle bells are way too light. I train with one of Ireland's top instructors and she would give the most unfit person a 4kg kettlebell to start with (4kg approx 10lb). You would hold it with both hands to start with. I started on 6kg and 8kg but would use 10kg up to 16kg depending on the exercise. I'm a 41 year old female with very little muscle mass. Kettle bells are fantastic for a short workout which combines cardio with strength.

I second the recommendations for Sarah Lurie or Lauren Brooks dvds. I have both and like them. I've been doing kb for about 4 years now and still love it. I started my strength training adventure with dumbbells and barbells, but feel like kettlebells give me a solid core and "functional" overall strength if that makes sense. Good luck!

If you are serious about kettlebells StrongFirst

Get a proper sized KB. You'll probably hurt your form more than anything by trying to practice with no resistance. a 10 lb would be the absolute minimum, and for a woman in "normal" fit and health a 20 lb is a good starter. If you worry about your wrists, get straps for security while doing swings but do try to get in some grip strength training as well.

Other than that, a kettle bell is a great piece of equipment to have at home.

MSH2930 wrote: »

Also, I guess I should mention, when I mention that my wrists are bad, they often prevent me from gripping things properly and I've dropped things. It is not so much actually moving the wrist(s) as it is it keeps from getting or keeping a grip on things..so I have a slight fear of dropping the kettlebell on my foot or my head..Seems silly, I guess, but when you've dropped things to lack of gripping sometimes, it can be a bit if a worry..hopefully someone out there knows what I mean and/or has similar "problems"..

Thanks...

Just curious, has your grip always been weak relatively or has it gotten worse? I actually had issues where my thumb basal joint became arthritic due to age and years of keyboard work on a computer, resulting in a weak grip. I had reconstructive surgery on both thumb joints. I did the rehab to the letter and 6 weeks after surgery I was tested and had the grip strength of a 40 year old man that does manual labor (the standard my PT used).