Kettlebells are gradually becoming more and more popular in the world of commercial fitness training. If you’re not familiar with them though, let me give you a quick rundown.
The kettlebell is a cannonball shaped weight, with a handle on the top, and is thought to have been invented and first used several centuries ago by Russian Special Forces. Its unnatural shape, and the fact that the main mass of the bell is away from its center of gravity make it excellent for performing explosive, and repetitive swinging movements with.
Official Russian kettlebells start at 4kg, and go up in further 4kg increments.
Benefits
The main benefit of training with kettlebells is the huge calorie burn they provide. Most kettlebell exercises involve lots of different muscle groups, and nearly every kettlebell move makes use of the muscles around your hips – your glutes, hamstrings, core and lower back, which means that you burn a tonne of calories. Not only that, but they’re great for building muscular strength and endurance too.
Training in a circuit style with kettlebells is very demanding on your cardiovascular system, meaning that your fitness improves dramatically when you start training with them.
Considerations for Obese Trainees
On the whole, kettlebell training is perfectly suitable for anyone, no matter what weight or size you are. As most exercises involve no jumping or bounding movements, there is little stress placed on the joints.
There are however, a few kettlebell exercises such as jump squats and split jerks, which you should avoid if you’re overweight, at least to begin with, as they are much higher impact, and could cause unwanted stress on your tendons, ligaments and joints.
Another aspect for obese trainees to consider is fitness. Kettlebell training is extremely demanding, even for experienced trainers and athletes, so if you haven’t exercised for a while, and are out of shape, then trying to jump straight into an advanced workout is a mistake.
This also links in with the issue of technique.
Technique is absolutely vital when working with kettlebells, as poor form can easily lead to injuries. To begin with, work on mastering the basic moves, such as the swing, overhead press and goblet squat. Once you have these down, move on to the Turkish get up, snatch and windmill.
Starting Points
If you’ve never used a kettlebell before, or haven’t exercised in a while, then it may well be useful to hire a trainer for a few sessions, or at least get a book on kettlebell training.
Many people find it hard to decide on the correct kettlebell weights to pick. Use this guide to help you –
- Woman with no/very little exercise experience – 4kg
- Woman with some basic gym experience – 8kg
- Woman with lots of gym experience, and a solid strength base – 12kg
- Very experienced female trainer looking for strength gains -16-20kg +
- Man with no/very little exercise experience – 8kg
- Man with some basic gym experience – 12kg
- Man with lots of gym experience, and a solid strength base – 16kg
- Very experienced male trainer looking for strength gains -20-24kg +
When losing weight, your diet is crucial too. Make sure you’re eating in a calorie deficit, and consuming lots of nutrient-dense whole foods.
Sample Workout Plan
Try this plan two to three times per week, once you’ve got to grips with the techniques.
Swings – 30 seconds swings, 30 seconds rest x 5 rounds.
Goblet Squats – 3 sets of 10 reps.
Overhead Press – 3 sets of 8 reps per side.
Snatch – 5 sets of 5 reps per side.
Turkish get ups/ Windmills – 5 sets of 5 reps per side.
Beyond this sample workout plan, if you’re looking for a long-term kettlebell fat loss plan that will give you results for life, then I recommend checking out Chris Lopez’ Kettlebell Revolution program. Click here to learn more
