When my brother came around to give me my birthday present I had a sore back. He said, “Well this will fix it!” I’m thinking, ooh goody a back massager of some kind. Then he gave me the package and it was hea-vy! I opened it and found this:
My very pink Kettlebell
This is the mystery object from this week’s Wordless Wednesday. Still a mystery, right? I mean, what do you do with it? Right now mine is being a very good doorstop, all 8kg of it. You might also be asking why my brother thought this would be a good present? He is a personal trainer. Why couldn’t he be a chocolate factory owner, why???? Anyway, this is meant to help me with my core strength which I have been working on rehabilitating through Pilates. Here’s the low down on Kettlebells.
From what my brother has told me, Kettlebells are the latest fitness fad, even though they’ve been around more than 200 years. Apparently they were used as counterweights by farmers when weighing grain. They used to heft and swing them around a lot and were completely ripped as a consequence. This side affect was duly noticed by all the girls in the village, I mean, the Russian military, and they incorporated kettlebell exercises into their training. Now everyone is swinging these things around:
Famous Kettlebell Swingers
Articles about Matthew McConaughey, Katherine Heigl, Lance Armstrong
Just let me know when you’ve finished drooling and I’ll continue.
So what do you do with it exactly? Well, this:
Kettlebell Swing in action
Remember that pelvic-thrusting I promised? It’s your hips’ forward momentum and butt-clenching that does all the work, not your arms or your wrists. This simple exercise is meant to be one of the most efficient fat burning activities out there. Gee, starting to sound like an infomercial much? There are a few other exercises too (I know because I got the accompanying instructional DVD). This isn’t however a fad product bought via a TV infomercial. My brother bought my Pro Grade Kettlebell from the Iron Edge in Melbourne. You can buy online, but bear in mind that you’ll have postage to pay! They have some good tips on how to reduce the cost of getting your kettlebell delivered.
I guess this is the part where I commit myself, in the presence of my readers, to actually using my kettlebell! I would like to lose 5kg and have a little less jiggle when I wiggle ;)
Here’s my challenge:
- One set made up of 45 seconds swinging, 2 x 30 seconds of squats (with kettlebell held to each side), rest 60 seconds (yesss!)
- 3 sets in total
- That’s less than 10 minutes exercise!
- I’m going to do this once a day for the next 7 days and then get an updated routine from my slave-driving, I mean lovely brother.
Front squat with Kettlebell
I’ll let you know how I’m feeling each day on my FB page. If you have access to a Kettlebell or are inspired to get one, please join me!
What do you think, 10 minutes a day, too good to be true?
Laney
Ps I reserve the right to not post a ‘before’ photo. If I happen to look super hot after I have lost 5kg I’ll totally post an ‘after’ photo!
At least it’s pink and it looks pretty. Although possibly that will be scant consolation when you are nearly dying from the exertion. Good luck!
Zoey @ Good Googs’s last post..Sometimes Parents Say Ugly Things
I won’t be swinging it much at all – I put my back out today :(
Omg it’s a pain in the ass but totally awesome. I hate that piece of metal ball but it’s great.
MummyK’s last post..Needy friends
Rofl, looks lie a form of torture to me, but hey, it’s pink – very cute! I would honestly worry about “doing it wrong” and causing myself some sort of injury – you, swinging something that heavy around! I reckon if you look super hot afterward, you SHOULD post the before photo just to show the difference! I would!
Sif’s last post..Mission Statement…
Ok Sif, you’re on. I’ll post a before and after once my back gets better and I can start the exercises!