Kettlebell beginner!!

[kaynnate19]

Hi,

I'm completely new to kettlebells, to start me off I've bought the davina set from Argos today. I've looked on you tube for some ideas. I need to work my body all over but also I'd like to get my abs nice and toned as at the moment I do have some muscle but it's underneath alot of excess skin and fat . Does anyone have any ideas on exercises and how to protect your back? Any advice would be great. Thanks

 

[kaynnate19]

Bump

 

[Mis-behave]

Hi the davina set of bells are not so good, being plastic and the hoop at the top of the bell is too big..

Argos has the kettleworx DVD set for £59.99 including a free kettle bell - these DVDs are very good and are generally what most people on here are using.

Argos code: 906/0728. Is a good price as they are a bit more pricy off official web site 79.95

I would take the davina ones back and upgrade to kettleworx set.

Tesco do a 5kg bell for about £10-15
Sports direct also do Lonsdale Kettlebells at a good price too

The York plastic bells are not good either, to bulky etc. cast iron are much better.

The Argos maximuscle bell looks ok too at 7.5kg but look around and maybe find a better price

 

[porkscratching]

Hi the davina set of bells are not so good, being plastic and the hoop at the top of the bell is too big..

Argos has the kettleworx DVD set for £59.99 including a free kettle bell - these DVDs are very good and are generally what most people on here are using.

Argos code: 906/0728. Is a good price as they are a bit more pricy off official web site 79.95

I would take the davina ones back and upgrade to kettleworx set.

Tesco do a 5kg bell for about £10-15
Sports direct also do Lonsdale Kettlebells at a good price too

The York plastic bells are not good either, to bulky etc. cast iron are much better.

The Argos maximuscle bell looks ok too at 7.5kg but look around and maybe find a better price

I agree with Mis-behave. I bought the Kettlercise for women dvd and 2kg bell for £35 from Amazon (should have gone for 4kg) and got a 5kg one from Tesco. They have the York ones at the gym I joined and tried them today - nowhere near as easy to handle and arkward.
I just do about 20 mins and concentrate on abs with some basic swings but I am doing a couple of circuits at the gym as well each week.
Good Luck!
For abs try crooking knees and then doing a sit up whilst moving kettlebell from behind head to the front and then push up towards your toes - does that make sense? Or have a look for flutter kicks on you tube - find them a killer, especially at the end of a session.

 

[Donzy84]

Hiya I started with a 5kg tesco one which was fab then had the Argos maxi muscle one which I wouldn't recommend as handle very rough. I like the kettleworx set and also did some online ones to get into. Maybe google techniques for your back I've never had any problems though. I would suggest you start with a light weight until ur confident with the moves.

Sent from my iPhone using MiniMins

 

[kaynnate19]

Thanks ladies for your replies, I have found the davina ones quite bulky but can't take em back because I've thrown the reciept :/ silly me the 2.5kg and 5kg are the ones I'm using but because I've got arthritis in my back and get sciatica and can get in alot of pain with my back I have to be extra careful. I got the kettlebells because I had a load of injections done in my spine on a day case and it has really improved the pain so I thought I'd make the jump from normal weights and boy is it a jump! I couldn't move the next day, do you have any tips to help protect the back area? I hold my stomach in as much as I can and when I feel it going I stop an hold my stomach back in and I stop straight away even if I feel the slightest twinge...damn back, I wouldn't mind but I'm only in my twenties!

Thanks again x

 

[porkscratching]

Thanks ladies for your replies, I have found the davina ones quite bulky but can't take em back because I've thrown the reciept :/ silly me the 2.5kg and 5kg are the ones I'm using but because I've got arthritis in my back and get sciatica and can get in alot of pain with my back I have to be extra careful. I got the kettlebells because I had a load of injections done in my spine on a day case and it has really improved the pain so I thought I'd make the jump from normal weights and boy is it a jump! I couldn't move the next day, do you have any tips to help protect the back area? I hold my stomach in as much as I can and when I feel it going I stop an hold my stomach back in and I stop straight away even if I feel the slightest twinge...damn back, I wouldn't mind but I'm only in my twenties!

Thanks again x

Would one of those belts weight lifters use help at all? I haven't noticed any back pain - but doing the side twists makes my back crack as I know it's out of line since I crashed my car, doesn't hurt though. And thankfully since I lost some weight have had only the odd sciatic twinge, so can't really help.
Are you pushing well back with your hips when doing the swing? Maybe try one class while a proper instructor shows you the correct moves as there's very little strain on the back itself on the dvd I have. Or what if you tried more of the exercises that are done with your back on the floor for support (most of the ones on my 10 min ab programme are floor based).

 

[kaynnate19]

Hiya,

I think I'll look into some support for my back for when I'm using the kettlebells. I was looking at a DVD from amazon I think it was called the kettlebell bootcamp and that looked quite good so maybe I'll get that and see what happens. But for now I think I'll use my lowest weight and then when I'm used to that I'll move up to the next weight. Thanks for your help x

 

[kaynnate19]

Just an update, I used the kettlebells again today but used the lowest weight and it was much better so maybe starting off slow and building it up is the best way

 

[Plumfoodie]

I would definitely do what you can and increase as it becomes possible. My kettlebell sculpting book suggests doing non-bell spinal stability exercises to activate the deeper muscles (which are what help support during changes of direction) before starting to swing; these might help support you? The suggested exercises in the book are things like planks, bridge position, quadruped progression and side planks. (I had to google some of these and watch youtube vids, lol)

 

[kaynnate19]

Ooo I like the sound of those and some I'll search for on you tube hehe, where did you get your book from?...I'm such a bookworm x

 

[Plumfoodie]

Just off of Amazon. Kettlebell Sculpting for Women - nice digest of moves with form tips etc.