Kettle bell exercises

Kamzter

Anyone use a kettle bell and what exercises do you use it for?
I've only been using mine a week and its very noticeable already.

secretsqizz

Doorstop

ric/rstsport

hitting people you don't like?

ut_och_cykla

Kamzter wrote:

Anyone use a kettle bell and what exercises do you use it for?
I've only been using mine a week and its very noticeable already.

Noticeable - yes - if you don't put them back where you found them there is a tendency to trip over them.
Don't use them myself.

t.m.h.n.e.t

Bicep curls, squats,doublehand swings.. Youtube is your friend

CakeLovinBeast

Do they make a nice jingling noise when the water has boiled?

huuregeil

Yes, I use kettlebells about once a week to keep my body in check. They're totally awesome for a couple of specific things, and not bad for a general workout if you can't get to the gym.

The best reason for owning kettlebells is the Turkish Getup:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4Q9mxjhMy8

*Great* for your shoulders. Won't make you go faster on the bike. May well get you some attention with the ladies if you're strong enough :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3gQjVPaqUY

Second best reason is single leg deadlifts, which keep my hips happy. Third are the explosive lifts which you can do OK with kettlebells: swings; cleans; snatches.

cougie

Just go easy - I know an instructor who's overdone it and needs surgery to fix the injury.

PhilPub

I've never seen a Turkish Get-Up before but I think 5 seconds of that would be enough to pull my arm out of its socket and rearrange my face. I'll stick to press-ups, thanks!

trickydisco

Liam kileen doing the Turkish Get up at 0.58

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txCP2JV03yE

This helped him get back to strength

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7yTIHUBpb8

Core work was essential for him

PhilPub

Some good moves in there actually. I might incorporate some into my core routine, help the hip rehab along a bit.

huuregeil

PhilPub wrote:

I've never seen a Turkish Get-Up before but I think 5 seconds of that would be enough to pull my arm out of its socket and rearrange my face. I'll stick to press-ups, thanks!

That's half the "appeal" of the exercise, moving around under a heavy bell takes a bit of commitment ;-)

Seriously, totally different to a push up, give them a try with a light weight. You don't need much to challenge yourself at first - the point of the exercise is that it promotes shoulder stability and range of motion across a range of angles, as well as working your trunk. The girl in the vid doing the get-up with 32kg, or whatever it is, is seriously impressive!

McBain_v1

moving around under a heavy bell takes a bit of commitment

Yep, just ask any porn star

coombsfh

My cycling has taken a bit of a back seat recently which means I do plenty of weights and kettlebell. I use one of thesehttp://www.kettlebells.co.uk/buykettlebells.html (16kg partly loaded with shot) and it is brilliant.

I tend to use it as an "inbetweener" on non-gym days. Use it for high intensity circuits mixed with other things and then do your turkish getups slowly on another day till they have ruined you.

An example of a "high intensity circuit mixed with other things" is as follows:

NO REST BETWEEN EXERCISES
20 x 2 handed swings
20 x one handed swings changing at the top (once you have learned them kettlebell flips can be used here)
20 x high pulls
20 x snatches
20 x one arm presses (10 each arm) (do these "bottom up" style if you want to ruin your forearms)
20 x chalice squats

30 x leg raises as slow as you can (this works as rest for the muscles you have just been annoying)
Hit a log/tyre with a sledgehammer 40 times changing side every 10 hits
Plank for as long as you can
Whatever number of pressups suits you (25/30 for me usually)

Now you do a rest for 1 or 2 minutes and repeat the above 2 or 3 more times.

Make sure you do all of the exercises strictly as any of these done in a lackadasical fashion will be a nightmare for your back. Furthermore, if you want to encourage a bit more muscle growth then up the weight and drop the reps.

There are some great tutorials on t'internet. Mix it up and substitute in other exercises like chinups, lunges etc.

Finally, stick at it as they are very good pieces of equipment when used for a long time. This said, have rest days often as I have been making the mistake of training too much with a guy I went to school with - it has actually left me pretty useless immune system and energy wise; counterproductive.

All the best,

Fred.

suzyb

I have pathetically weak arms (can barely manage 10 on knee pressups). Would I be better trying to get some strength in my arms before trying any kettle bell exercises.

huuregeil

suzyb,

It really depends what you're trying to achieve. You can do a lot of different things with kettlebells, and you can do lots of things you can do with kettlebells with other things, they're not a magic bullet. That said, press-ups are an excellent exercise, they're great for your shoulders and core, and if you only did press-ups and pull-ups (standing on a chair if you can't do a full one hanging free), and variants, for the next while, this is a pretty complete upper body workout and enough to whip anyone into shape!

t.m.h.n.e.t

Match your base strength to the KB then move on as you progress. Most of them come with some sort of paper guide or basics dvd to get you started

suzyb

huuregeil wrote:

suzyb,

It really depends what you're trying to achieve. You can do a lot of different things with kettlebells, and you can do lots of things you can do with kettlebells with other things, they're not a magic bullet. That said, press-ups are an excellent exercise, they're great for your shoulders and core, and if you only did press-ups and pull-ups (standing on a chair if you can't do a full one hanging free), and variants, for the next while, this is a pretty complete upper body workout and enough to whip anyone into shape!

What I'd like to achieve is just increasing the strength in my arms. I've never had strong arms but now I feel like I'm getting out of breath doing every day stuff because my arms are so weak.

jgsi

We use them in a controlled environment for training purposes.
Having 12/16/20 kg bell swinging about by a novice is sometimes quite disconcerting for the observer.
Most domestic situations do not cater for a clean and press without leaving great gashing holes in the ceiling, so best off kept to a gym or outdoors.

huuregeil

suzyb wrote:

What I'd like to achieve is just increasing the strength in my arms. I've never had strong arms but now I feel like I'm getting out of breath doing every day stuff because my arms are so weak.

An interesting question! First point worth noting is that it's probably not just your arms - you tend to do "everyday" type stuff (carrying shopping, lifting boxes) standing up, so everyday strength is also about your shoulders, back, and hips through which the force from your arms gets transmitted.

What can you do about it? Depends a bit your level of commitment and where you can train, but easy stuff to do at home includes:

Press ups, which are great, also because to do the press-up you need to be able to do a plank, which is also worth training to be able to do full press-ups.
Chin-ups, if you can rig a bar in a doorframe made easier by standing on a chair until you build up enough strength. Also a great exercise and really essential for upper body strength. They're tough but a massive achievement when you get your first full chin-up unassisted!
Shoulder press with something heavy-ish (dumbell or kettlebell), done standing up and one arm at a time. Also great. Just holding a handstand for as long as you can against a wall is a decent equipment-less alternative, really sorts your shoulders out.
Picking up something heavy. Single leg deadlifts (ideal with a kettlebell, or you can be creative e.g. a 4x2l pack of fizzy drink from the supermarket = 8kg). Farmer walks.
Lunges or static split squats, with some weight. Again, 2l drinks bottles make good improvised weight if you don't have equipment!

If you really want to get into shape and want to head to a gym, I'd highly recommend olympic lifting as just an awesome way to train. Don't know where you are in S Lanarkshire, but Kilmarnock has a good club. Turn up at one of their beginner sessions and I'm sure they'd sort you out. Doesn't bulk you up and yet develops great practical strength as well as sorting out any biomechanical issues.

http://kawlc.com/training/

suzyb

I did the plank for a couple of weeks, few days at a time with a couple off. But found my lower back was getting sore so have stopped for a while.

Thanks for the advice. I know I wouldn't stick to going to a gym, even if I could face going in the first place but exercises I can do at home I will do.

huuregeil

suzyb wrote:

I did the plank for a couple of weeks, few days at a time with a couple off. But found my lower back was getting sore so have stopped for a while.

OK, this means that the plank is too strong an exercise for you at the minute - you're getting a sore back because you're not able to hold your spine static and it's going into extension, which means soreness and this is bad! (The plank is an anti-extension exercise). You need to reduce the intensity a bit at first - try kneeling planks on your elbows or something called a birddog with a pvc pipe on your back (e.g. http://robertsontrainingsystems.com/blo ... rformance/).

If you're finding a plank a challenge, you'll likely find the inverse exercises (anti-flexion) similarly challenging. Stuff like single or double leg deadlifts http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA1n11ph_wU which are massively beneficial. Nail both the plank and the deadlift and you're well on the way to getting stronger.

Thanks for the advice. I know I wouldn't stick to going to a gym, even if I could face going in the first place but exercises I can do at home I will do.

I used to think going to the gym was dull as dishwater until I learnt to lift properly. Just going to the gym and doing boring stuff is terribly tedious! However, learning to lift is extremely engaging and interesting as you're learning a technical skill, not just moving metal around. I'd recommend trying it!