I admit, over the last few months I’ve done little strength training. While I miss it, I’ve been more focused on cardio and being active in every day life. Strength training workouts have been few and far between without any kind of schedule. I miss the days of squats and lifting weights.
I’m hoping to incorporate more strength workouts and one thing I’m planning to try is kettlebells!
Say hello to my new kettlebells!
The awesome boyfriend knew I wanted to try out kettlebells so he got me one from Titan Fitness, a company I’ve mentioned before here in Memphis that makes fitness equipment. They sell things like squat racks and crossfit equipment and recently started selling kettlebells. Good timing for me!
I am obsessed with the 5 lb kettlebell simple because it was the first one I got and because it’s adorably tiny and cute. Plus I think a lighter size might be good for me to start and practice with for form. I’m sure I’ll use it but I also plan to use larger weight amounts.
They have several options: 5 lb kettlebell, 10 lb kettlebell, 20 lb kettlebell, 40 lb kettlebell and even more! Once I figure out my routine and how I want to use these I’ll be picking up more.
What size do most people use? This is something I need to learn and will be looking into since I honestly have no clue how it compares to traditional strength training and sets of dumbbells. Do I need all of these? Or a select few?
The only problem I’m currently facing is lack of knowledge.
Everyone starts somewhere and we are all beginners sometimes. Right now, I’m a kettlebell beginner.
I haven’t used or really even seen kettlebells used before in person, so I’m going to have to do some research before using these awesome new toys in a real workout. I’ve played around with them but it’s time to hit Google and YouTube since I’ve got kettlebells itching to be used properly.
If you’re a kettlebell pro, or even just use them, please email me or drop me a link in the comments for kettlebell resources. I need to learn and I’m sure there are a billion places to get info, so if you guys have the best resource let me know!
Hi Mary (that’s also my name!): I am not a kettle bell expert, but I do use them occasionally and have a small set by now. My first kettle bell was an 8 pounder. I quickly realized that was too light and now have a 10 pound and a 20 pounder. I skipped 15 because I have dumbells in that weight which I do similar exercises with. I mostly like to use kettle bells for lower body exercises like kettle bell swings, dead lifts, goblet squats, etc. Fitness Blender has several videos including a beginner one, so I would check those out. (In fact, the first video I ever used from Fitness Blender was their beginner kettle bell workout, and I have been hooked on using their videos ever since.) Hope that helps!!!
Hi Mary! That’s exactly what I was looking for! I’ll check out those videos tonight. :)
Read this the other day – good timing! I’ve used kettle bells at Crossfit and they are a great workout as long as you’re using one that’s heavy enough. You shouldn’t do a kettle bell swing and think “This is super easy! I could do this all day long!”
http://whole9life.com/2015/07/mistakes-kettlebell-training/
Denise is right; you have to use a kettleball that isn’t “easy”. I had a personal trainer a few years ago that started me with 10lb kettleball and after a couple of weeks (I met with her twice a week) increased it by 5lbs once she saw I was able to do the reps easily. BTW, she did the same thing with hand weights, starting me on 5lbs and increasing the weight by 5lbs every other week or so until I was up to 20lbs. Too bad I couldn’t afford her anymore.
Form is important. I would try to find a class or a trainer to make sure you’re using them correctly. Even when I was a beginner who hadn’t lifted a weight in years, I started with 8kg bells. Five pounds isn’t really heavy enough to do much.
That’s a great idea!
And yeah the 5 lb is more just because it’s cute and tiny and I like tiny things. It probably won’t be used much to be honest.