Have you ever done a kettlebell full body workout? Get your full body involved with this at-home kettlebell workout. Watch Dr. Chelsea Axe guide you through some of her favorite kettlebell exercises and then try them out yourself!
If you’ve ever wondered what a kettlebell workout might be like, you’re not alone. For many, the idea of swinging around a cast-iron ball that weighs between 3 and 30 pounds may seem somewhat intimidating. But don’t let the fact that you have never used a kettlebell before—or even that you are not particularly fit—put you off. There are many things you can do to get ready for your first kettlebell workout, including a little research.
If you’re looking to get the most out of your workouts, Kettlebell training is one of the best options for full body fat loss and muscle building. Kettlebells burn more calories than other types of weight lifting, which is why many trainers use them with their clients. The weight of the Kettlebell engages multiple muscle groups at once, so you can burn more calories and build more lean muscle mass in less time than with other equipment.
How to Do a Kettlebell Full Body Workout
Benefits of exercising with a kettlebell
From a fitness perspective, using a kettlebell is similar to lifting weights and can be a great addition to your existing workout schedule. The fact that kettlebells require you to use your bodyweight to supply resistance makes them a great tool for those looking to lose weight and sculpt lean muscles. Unlike a traditional weightlifting routine, kettlebells are also great for engaging the muscles of your core. This improves your posture and makes you more resistant to injury.
Exercise is something we all know we should do, but unfortunately, most of us fall short on the “do” part. According to a 2013 CDC report, only 1 in 10 adults meets the recommendations for cardiovascular activity. The same report also showed that only 1 in 3 adults meets the recommendations for muscle-strengthening activities. So, what’s the deal? Why do some of us find it so darn difficult to get moving?
Importance of kettlebell training
The kettlebell is a cast iron weight with a handle, which makes it a great addition to any exercise regimen, whether at home or in a gym. Kettlebells, which have been around for centuries, became popular in the US in the 1990s when Russian strength and endurance coach Pavel Tsatouline brought his methods stateside. With a little study, you can learn how to use kettlebells to build muscle and increase your cardiovascular endurance.
Can Kettlebells workout the full body?
You may have heard of kettle bells from your neighbor or your friend who recently taken up weight training. In the past, weight lifting was restricted to the gym only, while any alternative form of exercising was limited to the outdoors. Now, with the introduction of kettle bells, weight lifting is not limited to the gym alone. You can enjoy an effective weight training session from the comfort of your home while enjoying your favorite music. Kettlebells workout the full body, and as such, they work to increase the strength of the muscles in the arms, shoulders, back, core and glutes.
Kettlebells are one of the most intense workouts you can do, with the ability to provide a full body workout that is easy to fit into a busy schedule. They can be used to target specific muscle groups, such as the biceps or triceps, or for more overall toning. In fact, you can do a full body workout that only takes 15 minutes, and that only requires one kettlebell.
How to add kettlebells to a workout routine?
When you’re trying to get in shape, you may be advised to focus on one type of exercise, and one type of exercise only. But this approach can be limiting, since most people get bored easily, and may also have trouble pushing themselves to do too much of the same thing. The best approach is to mix things up a bit, so that you can have fun and stay engaged while working on your fitness goals. The great thing about this is, even if you have to modify your workout, you can still get in shape.
Kettlebells offer a whole-body workout that can add a great deal of additional strength training to your current routine. If you are a seasoned weight lifter, you might be surprised at the benefits of adding kettlebells to your workout. If you are new to strength training, you’ll be blown away by how much stronger you are in just a few short weeks.
How to Use Kettlebells For At Home Workout
Training from home has a huge number of advantages. Not only does this allow you to workout in an environment of your own creation but it also means that you no longer need to travel to the gym when you’re low on energy and you no longer need to feel self-conscious training in front of strangers. It also means you don’t need to wait for the squat rack to become free anymore! But this brings us on to our next point. Because in all likelihood… there probably won’t be a squat rack.
If you’re like most people with a home gym, your equipment will consist of some dumbbells and a pull up bar. And this is fine for the vast majority of things you need to do. The problem only arises once you want to start pushing beyond those basics and start building bigger muscle. And in particular, it comes when you try to build leg strength. Because it’s much harder to train your legs with bodyweight or even with basic dumbbells. So let’s look at what you can do to solve this little challenge.
Using Dumbbells
First of all, don’t write dumbbells off completely. These can be sufficient for building leg strength as long as you know how. Using heavy enough weights and performing shoulder presses for example, you can make your squats quite difficult – even if you’re not going to be able to approach the weights you use for deadlifts or for squats. In all honestly, the legs are composed of quite a lot of slow twitch muscle fiber (we rely on them to get around all day afterall) and this means that they respond well to training with lighter weights and higher volumes.
Using Bodyweight
Moreover, you can also train your legs with bodyweight if you know how to make things harder. Performing one legged squats for example is a good way to squat twice your bodyweight (effectively) and also requires a lot of balance and concentration. Performing jump squats meanwhile challenges you to use explosive power. If you then stack these exercises correctly in order to fatigue the muscle, you can create some quite punishing workouts.
Kettlebell Weight
The best thing to do though? Invest in a kettlebell. This is the closest thing to having a barbell in your home and especially if you get one that is sufficiently heavy. That’s because you can use it to perform deadlifts, clean and presses and even goblet squats. Depending on the weight, you may need a little help picking it up – but a goblet squat can be highly challenging for the legs just as a regular squat is (the only difference being that it places a little more emphasis on the quads over the hamstrings). Better yet, is to use the kettlebell to perform kettlebell swings – exercises that build your legs by letting you drive the weight up and forward by performing rapid squats and pushing through the floor. This is also brilliant for cardio and triggering a big anabolic hormone response!
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