Kettlebells are fast becoming renound for their great versatility

and the immensely challenging exercises that can be performed with them. The kettlebell will challenge your body in a way that most gym users aren’t used to. Thanks to its versatility you can train for strength, power, speed, muscular endurance and flexibility with just one piece of equipment. It’s been well recognised as the hand held multi gym which can be used any where, in your living room, back garden or even take your kettlebell to the nearest park and use it there. The major difference between kettlebells and dumbbells are the shape, clear to see, but there is more to it than you might think. Because the mass of the kettlebell is out side of the handle, for all dynamic exercises this challenges the body far more than a dumbbell can, as the weight is further away from the body. A prime example of this is the kettlebell swing, as the weight is further away from the hand (or the lever) it pulls the body into deeper positions more dynamically, thus the body has to work harder to stabilise and support it self. In simple terms the further the weight is away from the leaver the harder the body has to work. For more strength based exercises like the military press or chest press, you can actually lift more when using kettlebells because the mass of the weight sits closer to the moving joint.

The kettlebells compact shape allows the body to move in natural patterns which are fundamental to our development and performance. The kettlebell is non restrictive and allows a full range of movement to be achieved in all planes of motion. For example you can front squat to a full range across the ankle, knee and hip, this is great exercise for developing strength. Similarly, you can rotate, lunge and press in any way you want using a kettlebell for resistance. For these reasons the kettlebell becomes a great piece of kit to use for your specific goals, whether they are functional in nature, sports specific or general fitness and weight loss.

Thanks to the nature of most kettlebell exercises, you will work harder which will increase the amount of calories you burn during and after a session.

Kettlebells work the body as one unit, which ensures muscles are trained to work together as they naturally should do.

Kettlebells are fantastic for strengthening the posterior chain, a collection of muscles down the back of your body responsible for keeping you up straight. A strong posterior chain reduces back pain, improves athletic performance and helps to correct the bad posture that most of the modern day population suffer from.

Key Benefits:

• · Exciting and always challenging
• · Incredibly versatile
• · Train any where
• · No need for a gym
• · More exercises than you can remember
• · Higher calorie burn per work out

How to Choose your Kettlebell

Kettlebells come in plenty of shapes and sizes, but it’s important to get the right ones for the type of training you’re doing. They range from 8Kg through to 40Kg in 4 Kg increments. They should have a flat base and always have a metal handle. Kettlebells can come in different coatings, if you want to get serious with them, buy the kettlebell and then sand off the paint on the handle; this makes it easier for any exercise where the handle has to move in the palm.

Things to look out for:

• · Irregular shaped handles – handles should remain uniform throughout the range, this ensures the kettlebell sits in the correct place on the forearm.
• · Small handles – if the handles are too small you can’t hold onto the horns of the handle, reducing the amount of exercises you can do with them.
• · Grooved Grip – look out for kettlebells with a grooved grip, this can be very uncomfortable on the hands.
• · Too thick or too thin – if the handles are too thin it becomes uncomfortable to hold in certain exercises, if they are too thick your grip will go too quickly.

The two different types of kettlebell

The Multi Use Kettlebell

• · The size gets bigger as the kettlebell gets bigger
• · You can hold it in multiple ways easily

• This type of kettlebell is the most versatile it allows you to do any exercise with out the dimensions of the bell restricting you.

The Gyrevik Sport Kettlebell

• · The size stays the same throughout the range

• This type of kettlebell is not as versatile but is used for the traditional Gyrevik kettlebell sport which concentrates on a few specific exercises.