Kettle bellTraining

Are you interested in burning fat, building muscle, or increasing strength and stamina? Then kettle bell training is a fit for you.

If you are looking for a mind-blowing strength or you want to obliterate your fat, you’ve come to the right place. Kettle bell training is excellent as a stand alone workout or perfect if you’re looking fore something different to break up the monotony of your other workouts.  Kettle bells are quickly becoming the tool of choice for the elite fitness experts. They tough, unbreakable, portable, versatile, and most importantly - they deliver results big time!

Do you want to be lean, strong, and train your body how to efficiently work as one unit. Are you ready for unsurpassed muscular endurance and mental toughness. Once you have been infected with the power of kettle bell training, there is no going back. Best of all, there is no need to purchase a gym membership or spend $1000s on expensive equipment. One or two kettle bells are all that you need to increase muscular endurance, lose fat, and build size and strength. Kettle bells do not take up much space so you can train in your home, apartment, backyard, garage, or anywhere that you have a little space. Kettle bell training will not only improve your physique, but will give you strength and mental toughness beyond what you have ever experienced.

What is a kettle bell? 

Imagine a black bowling ball with a suitcase handle on it and you have an idea of what a kettle bell looks like. A kettle bell is a big hunk of iron that comes in several sizes.  You can do standard weight training exercises with kettle bells such as: bench presses, curls, and rows. However, the best use of kettle bells is derived from ballistic (fast exercise) work such as: snatches, swings, cleans, and jerks.  Ballistic exercises are not the only exercises that you can benefit from.  Kettle bell training includes exercises such as: the Turkish get-up, Bent Press, and Windmill will develop a rock-hard midsection and core, and increase shoulder flexibility and stability. As a result many chiropractors are using kettle bells with their patients for rehab. If you are a man that wants to increase size and strength, try doing some kettle bell exercises like the Double Clean and Press, Double Front Squat, Renegade Row, Double Swing, and the Double Clean. If you are a woman that wants to lose weight and tighten up your glutes, quads, abs, and arms, apply a steady diet of kettle bell training ballistic work with some low rep kettle bell training strength work and you will rapidly melt away excess fat.

You may be thinking that you could do all of the above exercises with dumbbells.  This is true, however, anyone that has used both will tell you that kettle bells are much harder to handle and yes in this case, harder is much better. Kettle bell handles are much thicker than dumbbells and will give you a vice grip in no time. Also, the off centered weight of a kettle bell will force you to use more stabilizer muscles and work the targeted muscles through a longer range of motion. If you are a martial artist, athlete or someone that loves tough, hard core training, then kettle bell training is definitely for you.  The ballistic use of kettle bells teaches you how to absorb shock efficiently, which is critical for combat sports such as: wrestling, MMA, football, and Hockey. This is why MMA fighters such as Frank Shamrock, BJ Penn, and Fedor enhance their workouts with kettle bells. Also, it is why top strength coaches such as Ethan Reeve and Louie Simmons recommend kettle bell training to their athletes. Athletes are not the only ones that are hooked on kettle bell training. Members of the entertainment world such as Chris Pontius of MTV's JackAss and WildBoyz and Harley Flannagan, founder of the legendary NYC hard core band "The Cro-Mags" are ecstatic about Kettle bell training.

Q: Is kettle bell training the ultimate way to train?

A: No one system is the ultimate way to train.  Training is not all black and white.  Kettle bell training id effective for fat loss, strength training, and building muscle. It is also a great and exciting way to train. In order to keep training interesting, you have to keep it fun, and kettle bells are a great fit. You can benefit from kettle bell focused programs or you can incorporate kettle bell training into your current regimen. There is something for everyone.

Q: Are kettle bell exercises dangerous?

A: Only when done with poor form. However, any exercise is dangerous even push ups and machine exercises when poor form is used. People die every year from bench pressing.  Bottom line is most people will require in person instruction to maximize the benefits of kettle bell training safely.  Kettle bell DVD's and exercise videos, while useful, are not a replacement for in person instruction.

Q: Is kettle bell training effective for fat loss?

A: Absolutely.  However, proper nutrition and eating a balanced diet is even more effective. Fat loss is 70% diet and 30% training.  Kettle bell training can be a very effective way to ramp up your metabolism, but only combined with proper nutrition can you melt the fat off of your body.

Q: Is Kettle bell training effective for building muscle?

A: Yes.  What do barbells, dumbbells, and kettle bells all have in common? They are all forms of weight training. Thus, just as barbells and dumbbells are effective for building muscle, kettle bells are effective as well. If your have been training with barbells and dumbbells for a while and want a new stimulus then kettle bell training is a great fit. Also, kettle bells are great for building the shoulders, hamstrings, and arms. Kettle bells are not the best fit for quad development and of course calf development. A combination approach utilizing kettle bells and barbells is a very effective way to go. However, nothing takes the place of progressive weight training with barbells. Barbell squats, barbell dead lifts, Barbell Military Presses, and weighted dips are among the kings of muscle building. If your main goal is to build muscle then you are better off with barbells.

Q: I want to get stronger without getting bigger. Is kettle bell training for me?

A: Yes, this is one of the most popular benefits of kettle bell training. Women for example love kettle bell training as it helps them tone up and lose fat without over developing muscles. Truth be told, building muscle is not easy for men and especially women so that should be the least of your worries. Worrying about getting too big is like worrying about making too much money. Therefore, kettle bell training is very popular with athletes, martial artists, members of the armed services, secret service,  law enforcement community, and anyone else that wants functional strength that carries over to real world.

Q: Do women use kettle bells?

A: Yes, especially the smart ones.  Women use them all of the time and they love kettle bell training. Exercises such as swings, one-legged dead lifts, and the windmill are favorites for tightening up your glutes, hamstrings and for your abs and core.

Q:  If kettle bells are so great, then why aren't they in most gyms and health clubs?

A: Having worked for a major fitness club chain in the past, I can tell you first hand that the main goal of a fitness club is to make money and keep liability costs low. The trend in most clubs is to have more machines and less free weights. While machines are not as effective as free weights, they are much easier to use and require minimal instruction. Thus, they have less of a need for highly skilled trainers. If a gym adds kettle bells they also have to pay to have their trainers educated in proper kettle bell instruction. They would much rather spend money on their sales staff, because most of the income the health clubs generate comes from membership sales. The potential client that has not signed up yet is far more important than the client that has already joined. Therefore, many gyms spend the majority of their income on marketing to attract new members, not getting results for existing members. Now there is nothing wrong with making money as that is an important goal for every business, but few gyms realize that they could make more money by providing exceptional service to their clients. Unfortunately, the clients that gyms prefer are the ones that sign up for a year and never show up. The ones that actually use the gym regularly are costly.  The last thing a gym or fitness club wants you to know is that you can get in great shape at home with a just few kettle bells. You only need one or two kettle bells to get in great shape. Just about anyone can afford this and has room for a few kettle bells, which can be easily stored in a closet, or corner of the garage.  

Get more out of kettle bells by joining Laguna Beach Fitness Today!