Okay, I'll ask again...

How much time each day do y'all spend doing your kettlebell workouts?..

Thanks...

20 minutes is about average. Kettlebells are meant to be short and intense

Thanks Sacha... I guess I'm doing okay then... I'll just carry on...
hugs

I dont do a full workout, with KBs, but I usually do about 20 minutes 3X per week.

Besides the dipping side lunges, does anyone know another good inner thigh move?

I purchased a 20lb bell, but at the gym I use the 22lb for everything. The next one up is 26 and it seems SO heavy, but I can only imagine how it could help shape up my legs doing swings!

This past week I've noticed that my 10 lb. kb wasn't winding me a bit, so I went shopping for a heavier one... next size up at Academy was 15, then 25... I picked up the 25 & almost dropped it, so I ended up buying the 15... glad I did, it had me huffing & puffing in no time... I tried some bicep curls & could barely get it up there... I expect it to get too easy though in a short time, just like the 10 lb. did... then on to the 25, I suppose...

The kb I got came with a DVD, "Kettlebell Konnection" from GoFit... have any of you used it?.. I watched it, but didn't try it yet... I wanted to get used to the heaver kb with a more familiar workout, but I might try the DVD in a few days... still doing a 20 minute or so workout 3 or 4 mornings a week, plus I've added a short, maybe 10 minute, swings/snatches/thrusters 2 or 3 nights a week...

hugs

I was doing some looking around online last night for kb workouts & came across a video of kb jerks... looked like an intense workout, so I tried it... not so bad, but how do I keep the kb from bruising my forearm when it bounces against it at the top of the jerk?.. no matter how tightly I held the handle, it still bounced... today I've got a couple of swollen spots just above my wrists & I don't think they've been there before...

Thanks!..

hugs

I just bought my first kettlebell today. I got one of the GoFit ones, 15lbs, and did the DVD. The DVD was cool - I was drenched in sweat by the end, and had to stop a few times.

Did I make a mistake in getting the 15lb one? I mean, the exercises were tough for me, I definitely felt it, but I don't want to have to buy another one in a couple of weeks. I'd rather just return it and buy the 20lb.

Any suggestions on that would be helpful. Thanks!

I'm not familiar with the video, but it depends what exercises you are doing with them. If you are doing swings, then the 20 is probably the better bet, since that movement is powered by the force of you opening your hip ("closed" hip would be what happens when you sit or squat, "open" would be standing upright), not by pulling with the arms/shoulders. If you want the KB for overhead press with one arm, or something similar, then it just depends how strong you are and what feels right and safe at this time. (dumbbells might be a cheaper option for that, though, since you'd need to increase weight in smaller increments) Hope that helps!

Not doing jerks yet. I'll ask my RKC next Tuesday and post on Tuesday night. I've been using Kettlebells in my training with an RKC for over a year but my omentum (belly fat) is still significant enough to prevent me from feeling safe doing swings. Sure to get there in another 50 lbs, maybe sooner. As my core strength, which was nil after an emergency C-section, increases and my belly decreases there will come a tipping point where I can feel confident that I won't injure myself and then I'll do swings with the best of them!

For now, I am happy doing military presses, bent rows, deadlifts, suitcase deadlifts, windmills and, my fave, Turkish Getups. I've lost over 60 pounds of fat and gained an amazing amount of dense, functional muscle. I have increased my strength and endurance along the way and am grateful that her patience with me has kept me lifting when I would have given up.

Glad to be back here at 3FC and will be posting my training daily when my 4 yo lets me get online. LOL

Now that I'm back online and moving again:

First, confession time. I regained 11 lbs during a health crisis between the beginning of April (286 lbs) and the end of June (297 lbs). Lost the ability to lift even a coffee cup for awhile. Began falling to my right side frequently and had an unexplained loss of consciousness for 4 hrs one time. Docs are still plumbing the mystery but all my initial labs have been great. Able to lift again and have begun to lose fat and reduce inflammation/bloating again.

In any case, it had nothing to do with my training, but may have been connected to my finances. I had gotten the idea that I was too poor to afford to continue my supplements of Vitamin D3 and Fish Oil. I was wrong, I'm too broke not to take them! Started back on them July 3, 2010 and Oh, what a difference!

HW: 352
SW: 325
New SW: 297
CW: 288
GW: 145 (November 4, 2011)

Since I've been able to pick up my Kettlebell and to track my intake and training online again, I've lost 9 pounds in 14 days. My waist had been at 48.5" and had crept back up to 50.5" over the 3 months in question. In 2 weeks, I've got it back down to 48.5" (so probably more bloat/inflammation/water weight than just fat) and I'm not giving up until I break into the 20's. A 28" waist is my current goal but I'll adjust that as I get closer to Onederland, next year.

Today's Bodyweight training:

20 pushups (at wall, slightly inclined, standing as far from the wall as I can and still do any pushups) X 2 sets

In between the 2 sets of pushups:

10 minutes with my 12kg KB (26 lbs) [This includes short rests between sets.]:

*military presses (8 on each side)
*bent rows (8 on each side)
*deadlifts (8 two handed)
*suitcase deadlifts (8 one handed on each side)

Training done and tracked.

I'll be attempting to do 12 minutes/day except for Sunday, when we hike as a family after a Sunday post-worship Family Feast and Tuesday, when I train with my RKC/Z-Health coach.

12 minutes X 5 days = 60 minutes of strength training solo per week
+ 30 minutes of strength training with my coach
(and 30 minutes of Z-Health which repairs much of the damage morbid obesity has done to my mobility, flexibility and coordination)

for a grand total of 30 intense minutes of rehab/repair and 90 min. strength training/week.

Yay! I'm back, my body is healing and happy and I get to celebrate with all of you!

Stay Strong,
RW

I've turned this into a thread and removed it all from the sticky. I think there is enough interest here for a separate thread!

Have at it!

Mel

Thanks, Mel. Beautiful day here in Seattle. Today I see my RKC for training. Yesterday I measured my waist at only 48". It's that legendary Kettlebell WTF factor! I'm melting, I'm melting.

Mwu ha ha ha

Let you know what torture Jen comes up with for me later tonight.

Thanks, RW... I'm not doing jerks yet either, I was just curious about them... right now, I'm content with 2-arm swings, 1-arm swings, snatches, overhead presses, bicep curls, thrusters, & an occasional Turkish get-up... I've started adding 25 swings between each set of the other moves... really keeps my cardio going...

Congrats, melting is good!!!..

If you really punch through the jerks at just the right time, it doesn't smack the back of your forearm. Be VERY aware of your form.

That being said...my form is hardly perfect for an entire workout, and I bought kettlebell guards from nofearfitness.com. I LOVE them!

Mel

Today's training with Jen. Farmer's walks, pushups, walking laps, pushups, sprints, bent rows, Z-Health cam shafts and other repair work, followed by more pushups.

Celebrate with me, today my pushups were strong rather than me frightened that I'd fall and smash my nose. I love my kettlebell and am deeply indebted to my RKC, Jen Waak.