Does anyone work out using kettlebells at home?

[coodawoodashooda]

Can anyone recommend a youtube instructor? Thanks

Not tried it yet (and kettlebell is still in packaging ), but I have Caroline Girvan saved on my YT list.
She has a few kettlebell only work outs, and they do look good.

Can you get fit with this? I have terrible posture and need to strengthen my back but with a baby I don't have time for the gym or running. Could I get fit at home with weights?

I am hoping so. Don't know. I need something simple. Girvan would be too difficult for me I think!

I d

Oops! Typing with one hand and pressed send.

I don't have any YouTube recommendations but we had just kettlebells and a skipping rope during lockdown and did some fantastic workouts. DP is an ex-PT so he'd just set us up a circuit of exercises, 30 seconds on each exercise.

He'd alternate the exercises with cardio and strength-based. E.g. skipping, then kettlebell swings, star jumps, squats with kettlebell, jogging from each side of the garden, then lunges (with or without the kettlebell).

He'd play the music from Insanity (by Shaun T) in the background and the 30 mins went so quickly!

Fitness blender. Been doing their workouts (non kettle) for years now and they are fab so imagine their kettlebell ones would be too.

I do Bells Up on a paid for platform and there are 5 videos free on youtbe

Thank you. I'm so unfit. Need to start somewhere

What weight would you start with?

You do need to learn the foundational techniques first with kettlebells and try to find an instructor who actually specialises in them. Learn how to swing properly for a start!

I love Caroline Girvan, she's awesome with dumbbells, cardio, bodyweight etc. and I use a lot of her workouts but I wouldn't go to her for kettlebells. Or at least learn proper form from another source before following one of her kettlebell workouts. Useful youtube resources:

Marianne Kane - How to Fix Your Kettlebell Swing

Mark Wildman - Kettlebell Exercise Tutorials

Pavel Krotov - Follow along workouts

Precision Kettlebells - Follow along workouts

Redefining Strength - plenty of kettlebell videos and just great info all round

For most women the recommendation is to start with 8kg and, if you can afford it, a 12kg bell as you should be able to start swinging that early on.

This article from Kettlebells Workouts has a section titled 'What weight kettlebell should a woman use?', just scroll about a third of the way down the page. Or the Original Kettlebell site.

I need something simple. Girvan would be too difficult for me I think!

I attended an in-person kettlebells class once and nearly passed out after a few minutes and was in pain for days. That's how unfit I am and why I wouldn't attend a class again. They say 'beginners', but don't mean it.

Thank you everyone!

Burpee girl on YouTube is really good.

A Pilates instructor I met said every long term injury he has come across in his clients has been from kettlebells. I also badly injured my shoulder from one (via an online PT session). Dumbbells might be a safer place to start.

I recommend the YouTube channel Bodyfit by Amy. I'd start lighter weight wise and then go up; you want to make sure you have good form inorder to not cause injury. If you already use dumbells they say you should double the weight for a kettlebell workout.

I use the Fitify kettlebells app.

Hello.
I've used kettlebells for years. Great piece of kit. There's a book called The Swing by a lady called Tracy Reifkind who lost about 3 stone using a kettlebell! Also check out anything online by Pavel Tsatsouline the Russian military PE guy who introduced them to the West. Ignore the hard man marketing stuff. He's really good on the basics.

I'm a bloke who has lifted a lot of weights so started with a 20kg bell. Most blokes start with 16kg, most women 12kg. Don't go lower, challenge yourself.

Recommended. Start small with a 10 minute workout. Concentrate on technique and form. Build up slow and feel your body develop. It's a different way to exercise but great for time poor parents. Good luck!

I second PP 'Bodyfit by Amy' she has so many free workouts on youtube including tutorials.

Third-ing Bodyfit by Amy

Can I ask why? Amy quite often gets mentioned on kettlebell threads, so I popped over to her channel to see if her skills have improved since I first saw her mentioned years ago and she doesn't seem to be any better than I remember then. I can't find anywhere on her website to say she's qualified specifically in kettlebells and the majority of the moves in the videos I looked at could be performed with a dumbbell, the kettlebell is used like a gimmick and not in a way that is going to get the specific benefits of using a kettlebell i.e. she uses very, very light weights and her form can be pretty 'interesting' at points when she should be demonstrating strong, tight technique throughout.

@Doogledonk I agree with the Pavel recommendation on actual kettlebell technique and use, at the very least the videos are amusing. Or go through the Mark Wildman tutorials, at least then you'll know the safe technique when choosing a workout to follow.

There's some quite dangerous advice on this thread. Starting with an 8kg or even 12kg kettlebell for someone who is unfit and has never done them before so has no idea of form is a recipe for injury. Of course they have a bad name for causing issues if this is the kind of "advice" that's handed out.

I used to attend kettlebell sessions 3-4 times a week with a qualified PT and physiotherapist. I loved it, it's a fantastic workout and I did start the process to become an instructor, but then we moved and I changed jobs and just didn't have time to start it up again so now just do them at home. She started women who had never done kettlebells before on 4-6kg kettlebells, depending on fitness levels at the outset. You can definitely progress quickly with them, there's also 10kg between 8kg and 12kg, but make sure your form is right above anything else before you start progressing up the weights. You can still get a great workout at a lower weight level, and actually it's much better cardio/strength combined if you're using a lower weight and actually able to move it efficiently to work the right muscle groups, rather than trying to heft a weight that's too heavy around slowly, for fewer reps and with poor form, which won't give you good results and is likely to injure you.

I absolutley agree with you which is why I started off my first post with "You do need to learn the foundational techniques first with kettlebells and try to find an instructor who actually specialises in them." Technique is key with kettlebells but there are problems with starting too light without someone monitoring you, as you can get away with sloppy form and don't learn how to engage the correct muscles then that becomes hardwired, so it's harder to unlearn. Personally I would consider the links to Amy, as a source of good form, to be more dangerous, as she's a good example of someone using a weight which is so light that she can get away with consistently poor form, anyone following her who tries to follow her with a slightly heavier kettlebell could easily damage themselves. Learning to respect the weight is so important.

Yes. Caroline Girvin is great. Try 15 minutes all over body first. What weights do you have? She does 30s interval training supersetted with 30s swings and then 30s rest. Once you've built up grip strength go to 30 mins. Once that becomes easier, try aiming for 30 swings, 30 lunges etc as that takes longer than 30s and you will build up cardio too. I started at 8kg, now I'm swinging the same weights she does and heavier. Good luck.

I agree, you definitely need a session or two (or three) with a PT first to learn technique. I used to use 8-16kg with a PT doing different things but at home I have a 4, a 7.5 and a 10.

Not kettlebells but you might want to look at www.instagram.com/kimsaha/ she works with British Athletics

This might be a good investment too: girlsruntheworld.co.uk/courses/kettlebells-for-runners-triathletes/