The Day After

Hello everyone I know you are anxiously awaiting to hear whether or not I am in serious pain today after my first kettlebell class yesterday and the answer is NO. I was in far more pain than this the first time I did the shred actually. See? Jillian really is serious. However, in defense of the seriousness of kettlebell, I have been doing the shred a lot making me a lot stronger in the first place. Also, the shred doesn't really "ease you in" I wouldn't say...where as my kettlebell class definitely is. I am expecting to be a bit more sore in the coming weeks when we spend less time learning the moves and more time doing them. The good news is, I survived in one piece and my knee doesn't even feel horrible today. I will stay my bee sting from the other day has swelled up half my leg and is itching terribly. As a result everything else on my body seems better, haha.

I also had a few inquires about how to do kettlebells at home. First of all, apparently you can buy them at Target. I can't remember ever seeing them in my store, but I am going to look now because I may want to buy some to compliment my in class work out. One thing to be aware of when you are purchasing is that many kettlebell moves (at least the ones I learned yesterday) were done with 2 hands. I grabbed a five pound weight at first because I didn't trust my own strength. I quickly realized I was more than capable of doing a 10 pound weight. Only you know your own strength, but if you are doing some weight lifting and videos like the shred, you may be ready for the 10 pound kettlebell right away.

Next, you will need a dvd to teach you how to do the moves and a work out to do with them. Here are some recommended on amazon (also, note you can buy kettlebells on amazon as well). The Kettlebell Goddess Workout DVD and Power Body: Kettlebell Bootcamp have good reviews and are reasonably priced (26.99 and 14.99).

Still it does not seem like kettlebell is a particularly cheap way to go considering the different weights you may want, and purchasing the DVD as well. Therefore...

Save Money and Still Try Kettlebell

1. Check out your local YMCA for classes. My class only cost $40 for me as a member and was only slightly more expensive for non-members (I think $50). This is a good way to try kettlebell to make sure you like it, learn the proper ways to do each exercise and have the opportunity to use lots of different weights to learn which one will be the best for you.

2. Partner with a friend and buy the kettlebells and DVDs together. During class we were doing sets where one partner would do moves, while the other rested and then we switched. This was a great way to do it and since you don't need to do kettlebell on a daily basis, it won't be so bad to have them at a friend's house. Start with one or two different weights and see how you do.

3. Don't want to invest in the DVDS? There are some free videos online. This one is kind of goofy, but it does teach how you to do the moves.

Would love to hear if anyone tries kettlebell, or any other weight lifting routines :)