Hi Warriors, I hope you are well! After about a year into the pandemic (plus the previous six months living out of suitcases in Germany), I was ready for an upgrade in my home gym equipment. I will always have love for some solid resistance bands, but my body needed something different. I settled on a few kettlebells and I am in LOVE.
Kettlebells are amazing. Full stop. They are less expensive per pound than equivalent dumbbells and are more versatile. They take up less space storage wise. Kettlebells allow you to train explosive movements easily. They activate the posterior chain effectively and are super efficient full body training tools.
They are also intimidating. If you’ve never used one before, or are completely new to strength training, kettlebells can be anxiety inducing. All the swinging. And the weird shape. How can one not be worried about dropping what is effectively a giant off balance cannonball with a handle on their foot?
Well, Warrior, I’m here to help! I’ve got a full body beginner friendly kettlebell workout that you can follow! If you don’t have a kettlebell, you can sub dumbbells for these exercises. For swings or exercises using a grip at the horns, grip the dumbbell by one of the bell ends. You can also make your own makeshift kettlebell by either filling an empty gallon milk jug with water or sand (make sure the lid is on tight) or tying a sturdy rope around a dumbbell to create a looped handle.
And before you hit play, a couple of notes.
Kettlebell Anatomy: The bell is the rounded part where the majority of the weight resides. The handle is the top portion of the grip, usually parallel to the bell. The horns refers to the portion of the grip that angles down and in to attach the handle to the bell.
If you are brand spanking new to some of the dynamic motions (i.e. swings) I recommend that you do them either unweighted or with very light weight to start. Form is everything and these dynamic motions have a slightly greater inherent injury risk. As always, you know your body, so listen to it and stop if anything feels painful.
Exercises Demonstrated
Split Squat and One Arm Row Superset, one side first, then the second.
Kettlebell Thrusters: hold upside down by horns, squat to overhead press motion.
Windmills (repeat second side): hold at handle with arm extended in air, feet hip width apart; stretch opposite hand down to outside of foot and return, repeat on other side.
Figure 8 w/Chest Catch: hold in one hand at handle upside down and crossed over opposite side of chest, bell in opposite hand, release bell and swing down, through, and around opposite leg grabbing with other hand up to chest; repeat on other side to form other half of 8.
Swings: hold at handle, lower into partial squat extending kettlebell between legs and behind, powerfully extend hips to stand, swinging kettlebell out in front
Halos: hold upside down by horns, rotate around head clockwise then counterclockwise.
Until next time, swing on Warrior!
