No, really. I love kettlebells. Aside from the facts that they are compact, portable and make you look like a bad ass while whipping them over head, they give you a really great cardio and strength training workout. If you’ve never done a kettlebell workout, you have to try it soon.
A kettlebell is basically a ball, about the size of a cantelope with a triangular handle on top. Some kettlebells are adjustable (i.e. you can add or take away weight) and others are not (I have the non-adjustable type, but have a 5 pounder, 10 pounder and 15 pounder – today I went with the 10).
There are TONS of different moves you can do with a kettlebell, but in my opinion, swings and snatches (get your mind out of the gutter!) are the best and give you the best burn.
A great example of an American kettlebell swing
A swing is basically what it sounds like. You hold the kettlebell with both hands, use momentum to swing the kettlebell up to eye level (Russian swing) or above the head (American swing) then bring the kettlebell back down between your legs whilst squatting. You do not need to have a lot of upper body strength for the move as the power for the move comes from momentum and your core.
The snatch – my favorite move!
A snatch is not what it sounds like (again – get that dirty mind out of the gutter!). Now, I may be oversimplifying it somewhat, but a snatch is basically a one-armed American swing. At the top of the swing (when you have the kettlebell overhead) you “whip” it back down. In other words, you use momentum and your core to whip the kettlebell up overhead, but don’t let it just sort of fall down. You actually whip it back down or use your core to force it down. The end result is a great workout on the way up and an equally hard workout on the way back down.
I was not feeling up to my planned long workout today (i.e. a 60 minute workout) and so I perused my treasure trove of Jillian Michaels’ DVDs (did I ever mention how much I love her too?) and decided I would go with Shred it with Weights today. It’s been far too long and my kettlebells were feeling a little neglected.
Jillian Michaels and cohorts doing a “windmill.”
The great thing about this particular workout is it’s just shy of 30 minutes (including warm up and stretching) so I have plenty of time to blog afterwards (yay me!). I would recommend basically any Jillian Michaels’ DVD (with the exception of Yoga Meltdown – it is neither traditional yoga, nor does it feel like it is melting much of anything). Usually, after I do this workout my quads, glutes and shoulder are sore for a few days afterward which is always a satisfying feeling to me. I am in much better shape nowadays than I was historically, so I am curious to see if the same still hold true.
I have a Body Media BodyBugg so I am actually able to see how many calories this workout burns for me (today it was 178). If you are serious about weight loss I would recommend a BodyBugg or Body Media product any day of the week and twice on Sundays. It tracks calories burned (by YOU with the help of sensors that monitor skin temperature and moisture – sweat! ick!!!), steps taken, duration of activity and sleep. With the help of my BodyBugg and a lot of hard work I lost about 30 pounds within 6 months (and I have a small-ish frame at just 5’6″ so 30 pounds is a LOT of weight for me) before I went on a Hawaiian cruise a few years back. I was able to rock a bikini for the first time in years! The downside is it requires a subscription (boo!), but it’s just $7 a month and totally worth it in my opinion.
Okay….time for the sales pitch to end (but seriously, I paid for my JM DVDs and my BB and I am not being paid anything to recommend them – I just love them that much).
I feel really good today. It’s not a running day, but it is also a day I just did not feel like working out at all. I was going to skip it all together and relax, but a little voice in the back of my head kept saying “you don’t regret the workouts you do, just the ones you miss.” That was all I needed to hear to get my butt in gear because it is TRUTH!
I am off to enjoy my weekend. 4 easy miles of trail running Saturday and 5 road miles on Sunday. This tapering is tough stuff!
Xoxo,
Mimi
Run with Mimi 
I love kettlebells too. I just own a 10 pound one, but i do all sorts of exercises with it. It is a great way to cross-train and keeps your strengthening workouts fun! Awesome post 🙂 I found you through the running bloggers hoop la!
I love kettlebells as well! Great all in one workout! Must do them tonight!