Kettlebells!

Devon and I are friend-lifting again!!!! I am optimistic that this will help inspire me to be big, bad and tough with my gym regimens again. Here's to hoping...

Devon has agreed to let me tag-along at his weekly kettlebell workout:

Umm..sure. That's exactly what I looked like doing the workout... :)

Let's take a step back and talk kettlebells. Kettlebells are somewhat controversial in lifting circles from what I understand, but that is changing as they are becoming more and more mainstream thanks to the likes of Jillian Michaels



and friends. According to Devon, the benefit (or difference) of kettlebells is that they add an extension to your body. Your body naturally extends at the elbow and the wrist. The kettlebell provides an artificial additional extension that traditional dumbbell workouts do not have. They are controversial because our bodies are not used to this additional extension and as such, if not used properly, people can hurt themselves.

In short, do not try this at home without proper training.

Kettlebells are typically used for power-focused training and most exercises work the full body. Because of these facts, the kettlebell sessions are shorter than my typical sessions. We did only 5 exercises today. All 3 sets of 10 reps each. Devon says that the workouts we are doing are designed to be done twice a week--a low-rep and a high-rep day. We will be doing this every Saturday and will alternate between low- and high-reps. Next week it will be 15 rep sets or as Devon says, "It will suck." :)

When choosing which weight kettlebells to use, Devon asked me what I typically shoulder press. I can do 25s but feel out of shape so said 15s to 20s trying to sell the 15s. Devon suggested I use 20s. Not sure what the guideline would be officially, but if you are considering trying this out, choosing the size you can shoulder press in dumbbells cannot be too far off.

The workout (explanations below). All are 3 sets, 10 reps using 20 lb kettlebells:

Push Press (1 bell, 10 reps each side)
Double Arm Swing (1 bell)
Bilateral Overhead Press (2 bells)
Double Arm High Pull (1 bell)
Squats (1 bell)

Explanations. I will try my best. :)

Push Press: Hold the kettlebell in the basic wrap position with one arm. This is when you hold it by the handle and it makes 3 points of contact with your body: the hand grip, your forearm and your bicep. Your arm is against your chest, the bell resting on top. You then squat and use your hips/legs to push up forcing the arm with the bell to rise into a press. Let it down and repeat. Here is an image displaying the steps:



Double Arm Swing: Grab the bell with both hands and let it hang down in front of you. Squat and powerfully raise up. The bell will naturally swing forward to about eye level then back down between your legs as you squat again.

Bilateral Overhead Press: Basically a shoulder press. Have a bell in each hand in the wrap position. Press with rotation up.

Double Arm High Pull: This is like a squat to calf raise combined with an upright row. Begin in the same position as the Double Arm Swing. Squat. Powerfully raise up onto your tippy toes while simultaneously bringing the bell up into an upright row. Lower and repeat. It looks like this:



Squats: Hold the bell from the bottom with two hands and do squats. Devon encouraged me to focus on form and depth since 20 lbs is WAY lighter than I normally squat with.

Since the exercises are full body and for power, they really wore me out! I'll be curious to see how much pain I am in tomorrow. It will be good pain. It was a good workout. :) And it's so great to be friend lifting again!!!