Kettlebells AKA weight training that women love

I've been training with kettlebells since 2002 - way before Ginger Spice got her dainty little mitts on them and I originally used them to improve my strength and conditioning for martial arts.

The first seminar I attended had a mix of gentlemen, well let's just say that if you saw them out in public you'd be worried about what prison day release schemes were for, involved in combat sports, rugby and general hard nuts. Nice bunch though!

Skipping forwards a few years I find that kettlebells have grown immensely in popularity and amongst women the curiousity (and publicity) is immense.

So I thought it was high time that the proper reasons why women (should) love kettlebells were explained properly and we'll clear up a few myths about weight training in general.

You won't get bulky
There are quite a few misconceptions about weight training; and the biggest one is that women tend to believe that weight training will make them bulky.

The first question, and I ask this with good faith, is what is too bulky? For example, some people think Jessica Biel is too muscular.

Seriously? My opinion is no but I would love some feedback from women. Is that too muscular?

Now onto a bit of science. Firstly, women don't have enough testosterone, which makes building muscle harder. Secondly, it takes a lot of time to build muscle. Final reason is that getting bulky requires a lot of extra calories. Cut down the calories, you'll never get "bulky" - in fact, packing on some lean muscle will make you slimmer, more toned and accelerate the fat burning. So start hitting them weights!

You can spend less time training (and more time showing off)
I've trained enough clients to come to the conclusion that we all go to the gym to look good. And I really don't have a problem with that! The alternative is muffin tops and moobs...

Celebs are at it.
Okay, this is a bit of a tricky one to deal with. Celebs from the aforementioned Ginger one, Penelope Cruz, Matthew McCoughany are all reported to have trained with kettlebells. As they should since they are a fantastic piece of equipment to be using!

My only concern is that the hype and publicity behind it all is all a bit inflated. They aren't magical; touching the handle of a kettlebell doesn't quite have the same effect as liposuction. They are effective - we've tested this out with some volunteers strapped up to a heart rate monitor and in one session burnt over 900 calories, but they are hard work!

You get excited about training again
Let's face it...sometimes routines can get a bit stale and stagnant. Time to swap in a tool that will blast the cobwebs away! There is something about kettlebells, as soon as you touch the handle your heart starts racing and the adrenaline kicks in, ready for training!

Interested in finding out more? Contact me here and we'll get a session booked!