Grab a Kettlebell and Try This New Workout

Kettlebells have been the big craze of 2013, with people incorporating them into their weight and fitness routines. These kettlebells are fantastic for your wellness and wellbeing, and can help you to tone up all over.

 

Incorporating kettlebells in your workout can help to shave valuable time off your workout, without seeing any dip in your results. Dynamic combo moves that target at least two of your muscle groups are the best way to go (such as quads and biceps) and you need to incorporate these into each rep. This is a great time saver and also challenges your stabiliser muscles which helps to improve our core strength and boost your balance.

 

You can use a dumbbell to do those kind of moves, but a kettlebell is even better because the weight is not evenly distributed, which means that your muscles have to work even harder to steady the bell each time you lift or swing it.

 

The best thing to do is do two sets of exercises three or four times per week using an eight or ten pound kettlebell.

 

A swing with a leg raise is one of the best exercises that you can do. In order to do these, you need to start in a half squat, holding the kettlebell with your arms straight and your chest up, hanging down between your knees. Swing the weight up overhead, holding your arms straight, and raise your right leg straight out to that side as you do so. Return to the start and then do the exact same thing with the other leg. That counts as one rep and you should do 15 in total.

 

Another good one to try is the lateral lunge with the biceps curl. For this one, you hold the bell in your right hand, take a step to the left and lower yourself into a side lunge. Curl the weight up towards your left shoulder and then reverse the move until you are standing. Do the same on the other side.

Categories: arms straight, kettlebell, nbsp, swing, time, weight, Workout

Why Kettlebells Beat Dumbbells Every Time

There is no end to the wellness benefits of kettlebell training, especially if you want to improve your fitness in an effective and affordable way. A kettlebell is an all-around tool that can actually do the job of almost any fancy piece of exercise equipment, and the dynamic nature of the kettlebell will give your wellbeing everything it needs – providing an all-in-one workout of a lifetime that combines both strength and cardio aspects.

 

For those of you who’ve never seen it, the kettle bell has a unique shape. The bulk of the weight is massed into a dense ball, and it also has a handle for easy lifting. Thus, the kettlebell is somewhat different from a dumbbell, allowing your body to perform a multitude of ballistic and grind exercises in a natural, fluid motion. True, you can use a dumbbell in place of a kettlebell for a number of typical kettlebell exercises, but doing a snatch or a swing becomes noticeably more cumbersome when you do this. Since it doesn’t have a handle, the dumbbell doesn’t become an extension of your arm like the kettlebell does. With a kettlebell, you can use a loose grip so that you provide more momentum and give the kettlebell a wider swing. With dumbbells, on the other hand, you force your arms into more use than necessary because the bulk of the weight is on the sides and not massed into a ball.

 

Moreover, the handle of the kettlebell means that you can easily pass it back and forth between your hands, which enables you to keep your exercise set going for longer periods. This provides you with an even more intense cardio session. The ball has an offset weight, which means more muscles are forced to stabilise. This allows your body to take each exercise through a longer range of motion, which will improve your flexibility as well as the strength of your deeper stabilizing muscles. Still, the benefits of a kettlebell workout don’t end there. With a kettlebell in your hand, you routine can provide you with:

 

• Increased endurance

• Rapid fat loss

• Muscular strength without the added bulk

• Increased core stability

• Saving the money you would have spent on a gym membership

• A stronger back

• Rehabilitated shoulders

• Flexibility

• Mental toughness

• Decreased musculoskeletal pain

• Twice the results in half the time you would spend at the gym

• It’s a full-body and very balanced workout

• A fun way to workout, which increases motivation

• A very strong and firm rear

• A transportable device that can be used almost everywhere.

• A social activity that can be shared in a group setting

• A way to target every single muscle group in your entire body

 

The benefits of the kettlebell workout have long been studied, and so you can be safe in the knowledge that – providing you’re using it right – you are doing an effective routine for your wellness. Researchers from American Council on Exercise undertook one such study, which showed the effectiveness of kettlebell training for burning calories. According to the researchers, participants who did kettlebell snatches for intervals of 15 seconds of work and 15 seconds of rest burned the equivalent amount of calories as they would if running at a six-minute-mile pace. I wouldn’t be able to run that fast, would you? For the study, the subjects were required to perform about six snatches every 15 seconds of work for 20 minutes, which led to an average calorie burn of 20.2 calories per minute! And that’s without adding on the after-burn effect that intense interval training has on your metabolism.

Categories: Benefits, body, dumbbells, exercise, kettlebell, kettlebell training, kettlebell workout, kettlebells, nbsp, Workout

How to Achieve Amazing Abs, With No Crunches

There’s one reason you pay attention to diet and exercise and, let’s be honest, it’s not to improve your fitness levels or ensure overall wellbeing; you want to lose weight and – let’s be even more honest – your belly fat. However, even after crunches and crunches, that six pack still resembles more of a beer barrel. So how do you actually achieve amazing abs?

 

According to strength and conditioning trainer and wellness expert Arnav Sarkar, ‘Before you start ab exercises you first need to clean up your diet. Create a slight calorie deficit while consuming a lot of protein, fibrous fruits and veggies, healthy fats, water and complex carbs. This is the first step to help you flatten your midsection. When it comes to ab training, you need to focus on compound exercises. Compound exercises are multi-joint movements that work various muscles or muscle groups at once.’

 

Sarkar explains the reason that your crunches aren’t working is that ‘Crunches are easy; you simply lay on the floor and lift up (many people perform this exercise wrong, and injure themselves instead of strengthening the core). To really work your core and trim your stomach, you need to do challenging movements. Difficult exercises, like squats or push-ups, take you out of your comfort zone and utilize your whole body—this is the key to develop rock-hard abs.’ So which no-crunch moves can give you a solid core and defined abs?

 

1. Kettlebell Renegade Rows: While rows are traditionally thought to work your lat muscles, they actually engage your whole body—especially the core. Make sure your body is in a straight line for this exercise, and don’t let your hips sag or become lifted into an “A” position.

Begin in a push-up position with your hands on two kettlebell handles.

Row one bell to your side and use the other handle to stabilise yourself.

Return the rowed bell to the ground.

Repeat on the other side.

Do six to eight reps on each side, or 12 to 15 reps if you’ve gained enough strength.

 

2. Russian Twists: This exercise is best done holding a medicine ball or a weighted plate, depending on what works for you. Remember you should be turning your torso, and not your arms, from side to side in this exercise.

• Sit on the floor with your knees bent, and lean back about 45 degrees.


• Hold your arms out straight in front of you.


• Twist your torso to one side and hold for a second.


• Return to the start position, and twist to the other side.


• Do 15 to 20 reps.

 

3. Kettlebell Windmill: This exercise isn’t only great for your abs, it also improves your flexibility—especially if you have tight hamstrings. If you can’t lower all the way to the ground, go as far down as you can for now. The more you do this exercise, the more flexible you’ll become, so soon you’ll be able to reach the ground, no problem. To increase the intensity of this workout and ensure it’s improving your wellness, you should aim to use heavier kettlebells rather than pushing yourself to do the maximum amount of reps. Here’s how you do a kettlebell windmill:

 

• Hold the kettlebell in your right hand, and lift it up over your head.


• Turn your feet 45 degrees to the left.


• Keeping your right arm straight overhead, bend down and touch the ground with your left hand.


• Return to the start position.


• Do three to five reps and switch sides.

Categories: abs nbsp, compound exercises, crunches, exercise, kettlebell, Kettlebell Renegade Rows, kettlebell windmill, Kettlebell Windmills, nbsp, reps, Russian Twists

Could a Kettlebell Help to Improve Your Health and Fitness?

There are many ways to reduce your weight and improve your fitness, but using a kettlebell has got to be one of the most effective ways of all. These amazing weights can help improve your wellness and wellbeing by giving you a cardio and strength training workout all in one.

 

That’s why kettlebells are the talk of the health and fitness circuit at the moment, as they are thought to enable you to burn up to 20 calories in just one minute of using them, and can produce some impressive toning results, too.

 

In case you haven’t seen one before, a kettlebell looks like a cast iron cannon ball which has a handle on the top. You use this handle to pick it up and then perform dynamic movements, such as swings, presses and cleans, as these movements tax a great deal of your body’s musculature.

 

The difference between kettlebell exercises and traditional weightlifting is that kettlebell exercises work all of the major muscle groups at the same time, so that your whole body receives a work out with nearly every exercise that you do. Traditional weightlifting isolates muscle groups, whereas kettlebell exercises are far more generalised. This means that your heart rate goes up and then stays up for the duration of your workout, translating into some pretty major fat burning.

 

Hollywood stars, athletes and regular gym bunnies have all taken to kettlebells recently, due to their calorie burning abilities, and their ability to increase your mobility and flexibility. This translates into real life strength that you can use in your day to day life. Kettlebells also help you to get lean and strong muscles but in far less time than most traditional exercises, and you need far less equipment as well.

Categories: exercise, exercises, fitness, kettlebell, kettlebell exercises, kettlebells, muscle groups, nbsp, traditional, traditional weightlifting