A Beginner's Guide To Kettlebell Training

Kettlebells are the best strength and conditioning tool around for losing fat, building muscle, and boosting performance. Anyone and everyone from 60 year old females trying to get fit and fight osteoporosis to world-class athletes can benefit from kettlebell training. You'd be hard pressed to find a piece of strength training equipment that could match the effective and efficient workout you can get with kettlebells.

In this special report, I'll explain exactly what kettlebells are, how they can help you reach your fitness goals, show you how to perform a few basic exercises, and give you a sample workout to get you started.

A kettlebell is a cast iron weight that looks something like a cannon ball with a handle. It's thick grip, unique shape and weight distribution are among the things that make it different from a more traditional weight like a dumbbell or barbell.

One great thing about kettlebell training is that you can get an incredibly efficient workout in a very short amount of time. For example, a circuit incorporating three or four different kettlebell moves will give you all the resistance and cardio training you need in less than 30 minutes.

The three basic kettlebell drills are the Goblet Squat, the Turkish Get Up, and the Swing. Let's briefly cover how to perform each of these.

The Kettlebell Swing

The Kettlebell Swing is the foundational movement of kettlebell training. It hits almost all of your major muscle groups, especially those of the all-so-critical posterior chain (a fancy term for the back of the body): the glutes, hamstrings, back extensors, and lats. It can be used for a wide variety of applications, including fat loss, conditioning, building explosive strength, and much more.

The Kettlebell Swing

Start with the weight about a foot or so in front of you; hike it back between the legs and use the legs and hips to snap it up. Remember that the swing is a lower-body driven movement, not a squat and front raise. When the bell reaches the top of the swing, it should float for a second if youre doing it right; snap the weight back down and repeat for reps.

The Turkish Get Up

In contrast with the Swing which is considered a ballistic move (its fast and explosive), the Turkish Get-Up is a considered a grind (slow and controlled). One of the best descriptions of the movement Ive heard comes from world-famous physical therapist and Certified Russian Kettlebell Challenge Instructor Grey Cook: (The Turkish Get-Up) is as close to weighted yoga as youre going to get with a kettlebell.

The Turkish Get Up Steps 1+2

The Turkish Get Up Steps 3+4

1. Start the movement lying on your back with the kettlebell at about shoulder height. Roll to your side, pull the kettlebell into the body, roll to your back, and punch it up towards the ceiling like youre doing a chest press. Both hands should remain on the bell until you get it situated.

2. Keeping the arm extended, roll to the opposite elbow and straighten the off arm

3. Bring the leg underneath you, come up to a lunge position, and stand up. Keep the shoulder 'sucked down nice and stable and attached to the

body.

4. Reverse the motion and return to the ground.

The Goblet Squat

The Goblet Squat is performed by sitting back like youre sitting in a chair. The back stays flat, the spine stays lengthened, and the chest stays tall. Everyone is going to have a slightly different foot position, but a narrower stance than typical is indicated. Most people will do well between shoulder and hip width apart.

Beginner Kettlebell Workout

Now you know how to do the three basic kettlebell exercises, let's go over a sample beginner kettlebell workout:

Start with a 10 minute warm-up pick three or four body weight exercises like push ups, squats, sit ups, etc. and put them together into a circuit do 10 reps of each about two to three times through. Make sure to choose movements that hit different parts of your body for example:

10 body weight squats

10 push ups

10 sit ups

Repeat this sequence two times without rest

Now grab your kettlebell. Perform three sets of 15-20 reps of Kettlebell Swings. Take 30 seconds of rest between sets.

Next, perform three sets of 15-20 reps of Goblet Squats. Take 30 seconds rest between sets.

Finally, do three Turkish Get-Ups on each side, switching sides with each rep.

You should now have a basic understanding of exactly what kettlebells are, why they're a great tool for a variety of different fitness goals, how to properly perform three of the most basic kettlebell exercises, and how to perform a beginner kettlebell workout.

One more thing: safety first. There's no replacement for getting a qualified kettlebell instructor to help you learn the movements properly.

Train hard!

Forest Vance, MS, RKC II

Enjoy this report? Want to learn more? Here are some additional resources for you to check out:

KettlebellBasics.net Forest's KB training blog frequently updated with new kettlebell videos, workouts, and much more

Kettlebellswingsforfatloss.net Your complete guide to HardStyle kettlebell swing mastery

30daykettlebellfatloss.com Learn how to use kettlebells to lose as much fat as humanly possible in 30 days includes KB combo workouts and special meal planning guide

10x10kettlebells.com 10 weeks, 10 exercises and 10 workouts to tranform your physique and get your old body back with kettlebells!