Kettlebells: Fitness Fad or Fabulous Fit?
Kettlebells come in pretty colors. They have gym classes named after them. How could they possibly be taken seriously?
OH, let us count the ways!
Kettlebells are extremely versatile equipment, which can help people of all ages (and shapes, and sizes) get stronger, shaplier, more supple. The key is how you use them.
Why Kettlebells Are Great Training Tools
Kettlebells are awkward, by design. Unlike traditional free weights, kettlebells have a displaced center of gravity. That means, whether you lift them or swing them, you’re using more stabiliser muscles with kettlebells and challenging your own sense of balance. (Also good for proprioceptors!)
Maybe you’ve been reading along and you know how much we love stabilisers – and we do – and there’s something else we love that may sound odd: the posterior kinetic chain. The cool thing about kettlebells? They do a world of good for your stabilisers and posterior kinetic chain!
The Posterior Kinetic Chain (or PKC, if you like acronyms) includes the glutes, hamstrings, lumbar spine muscles and the calves. Basically, they form a chain down the back of your body. These are the muscles you use to stand up straight, sit down, pick something up off the ground. Think about that for just a moment and you’ll see why the PKC is so vital to your strength, appearance, overall health and ease of movement.
More about the PKC: Pretty obviously, a strong PKC can help protect your back from injury – not so obviously, it also helps protect your knees. And, having a strong PKC is a good way to combat some of the bad effects of sitting too much. Which you probably do 🙁 because we all do 🙁
That’s nice, you might be thinking, but I really want to burn calories and lose weight!
OK. OK.
Kettlebells do that too: burning calories at a rate of about 20 per minute. Per minute.
For such a cute little fitness toy, they pack a pretty serious bunch of benefits. For example, working with kettlebells the right way, for even a short period of time, and you will:
- Improve your grip and forearm strength, PKC, and stabilisers
- Improve balance, coordination, and proprioception
- Increase functional muscle mass (you can see your progress with a body comp analysis)
- Boost endurance, cardio and fat-burning
Before You Start Swinging a Kettlebell…
Kettlebells are a bit odd. Even experienced athletes need a little instruction on how to best use them to get a good workout without overworking something in the process. Once you’ve learned the correct form and techniques, kettlebells are something you can use on your own, as well as at the gym with a trainer or in a class. Book a private or semi-private session with a personal trainer today to learn how those “cute” kettlebells can add some serious oomph to your fitness program.
The bottom line: kettlebells are a fabulous fit for people who want to be strong, coordinated, have good balance, avoid injury, and look amazing. Do you know anyone who’d be interested in that? If so, send them our way 😉