Why you should use kettlebells (and how to get started)

Here at DSC, we LOVE the kettlebell!

It's a staple in our workouts and a big reason why our members see such incredible results!

In fact, if we had to choose just one piece of equipment to use with our members, without question it would be the kettlebell due to it's incredible effectiveness and versatility.

If you're someone looking to:

Start or improve your fitness routine
Improve total-body strength and muscle tone
Burn fat
Increase your cardio
Shape your body and arms
Improve your daily energy
Lose inches
Increase the fun and variety of your workouts
Improve your posture and flexibility
Decrease injury - in and out of the gym

The kettlebell is for you!

If you're looking to lose weight...

If you're looking to get stronger...

If you're looking to improve your cardio and transform your body....the kettlebell is a the ultimate tool for the job.

And no, you do not need to be a fitness expert or fanatic to enjoy the massive benefits of working out with kettlebells.

In fact, everyday we have members join DSC who are brand new to both working out and using kettlebells.

These members thrive by learning how to properly workout with kettlebells as they take their fitness and strength to incredible levels in a very short amount of time.

So why do we love kettlebells? I am going to do my best to keep this article short as I could go on and on covering the endless list of benefits of working out with kettlebells.

Today, we're covering why you should start using kettlebells and exactly how to begin!

Let's start with the benefits of using kettlebells.

1| Strength

The first reason why we love the kettlebell is the incredible total-body strength that they provide.

They help build tremendous strength in your legs, hips, abs, core, shoulders, back, and arms.

If you're someone that wants to improve your workouts and see fantastic results, strength is a must.

When you use a kettlebell, it provides external resistance to your movement. This resistance stresses your body, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones in a way that forces them to grow stronger.

The stronger you are and the more muscle you have, the better your workouts are going to be. This simply means that when you're strong you can do more during your workouts, at a faster pace, and with more intensity.

The more intensity you can workout with, the better your results are going to be.

Strength improves every aspect of your exercise. When you get stronger your walking improves, your running improves, your endurance improves, your cycling improves, you name it.

Strength also:

Decreases injury
Builds muscle and tone
Improves the ease of daily activities
Increase longevity and life expectancy
Builds confidence

2| Cardio and fat-loss

The number one mode of exercise for fat-loss is called metabolic resistance training.

This is a fancy way of saying, completing resistance training exercises (done with a kettlebell) while keeping your heart rate elevated.

Metabolic = elevated heart rate and calorie burn .

Resistance training = using external weight like a kettlebell to build strength.

Think of this as a perfect blend of cardio and strength training. It's the best of both worlds and delivers the biggest bang for your buck.

This style of training is at the foundation of our DSC workouts and has led to our incredible transformations.

This is exactly how we complete our kettlebell exercises here at DSC. We call it circuit training where you're completing one kettlebell exercise for a certain amount of time and then move to another kettlebell exercise and another with limited rest in between each exercise. This style of training keeps your heart rate elevated to improve your cardio, but the resistance of the kettlebell allows you to build serious strength and tone.

It's the ultimate calorie-burn and body transformation workout.

Too many people, rely just on cardio, which is good for your endurance but misses the incredible benefits of strength training.

This metabolic resistance training is the most effective and time efficient way of building your cardio and strength, all the while burning serious calories and fat.

It's the absolute best of both worlds and why our members thrive at DSC!

3| Progress and variety

Why do most workout routines fail?

A lack of progress.

The problem with traditional cardio focused workouts like walking, running, and spinning is that we can easily fall into doing the same old routine, at the same pace, for the same amount of time.

After a while, our body adapts to these workouts and we plateau.

Enter a lack of results and frustration.

One of the biggest reasons why we love kettlebells so much is there is so much room to track and feel your progress.

We can easily ensure we're making progress by:

Improving our kettlebell technique
Increasing the size and weight of the kettlebell we use
Completing more sets or reps of our kettlebell exercises
Decreasing rest periods between kettlebell exercises
Incorporating new exercises and workouts

Seeing the results you want is all about progress and small, continual steps in the right direction. The kettlebell will help with that!

Another incredible feature of the kettlebell is the endless variety of exercises you can complete.

Squats. Presses. Swings. Lunges. Rows. Sit-ups. Curls. The list goes on and on.

This variety keeps your workouts fun, fresh and exciting and allows you to avoid plateauing.

Are you ready to get started using kettlebells?

1st: What size kettlebell should you start with?

When choosing your kettlebell it's important to start light. This will allow you to work on your technique and build a great foundation of strength and fitness before moving onto more advanced or heavy kettlebell exercises.

Females: start with a kettlebell between 6kg (13lbs) and 12kg (26lbs).

Males: start with a kettlebell between 12kg (26lbs) and 16kg (35lbs).

2nd: How do you hold the kettlebell?

Checkout the video below to learn how to safely hold the kettlebell and the different grips you can use.

How to grip your kettlebell

3rd: What exercises should you start with?

We've created a list of the 10 most beneficial kettlebell exercises to get you started.

These exercises are designed to slow things down and help you learn how to use kettlebells. They are going to improve your kettlebell technique, build your total-body strength & cardio, and help you build some incredible momentum.

Let's get into it!