TO kettlebell or NOT to kettlebell?
I am a careful exerciser – where I believe your body must be of optimal health everyday in order for you to function.
I believe kettlebells have FEW good uses and one is the Sumo Squat. This piece of equipment are atomically created to keep you balanced by having the weight at the bottom of a heavy handle. However when used in a thrust over your head suddenly they become weapons of body destruction. If you are new to using them. When kettlebells are used to throw between your legs and over your head in an upward motion they create hip misalignment and back muscle spasm.
Women should never ever DO these especially straight from birth.
Men should never ever do this exercise if they have weight in their belly is excessive and is already creating in balance.
This exercise cause so many injuries in gyms around the world yet is promoted heavily as a benefit to your body. IT IS NOT! There are so many exercise that are great for muscle building and core stability without throwing your alignment out!
TRY this——
Sumo squats are my weekly or twice weekly exercise to make my inner thigh muscles work. This exercise is a hip stabilizer and has made a huge difference to my body alignment by working on my groin muscles I have created greater strength through my whole leg. In order for your legs and hips to function properly all your leg muscles must be equally strong. I believe a totally aligned body creates less injury, body fatigue and therefore better body function.
Try this Sumo Squat workout with kettle bell
- Stand with your legs apart- a little wider then shoulder width
- Hold the kettle bell loosely in your hands
- Bend your knees and allow the weight to touch the ground for each repetition
- Then straighten your legs up onto your toes for complete leg workout
- Complete 15 reps of these 24kg Sumo Squats
- 3 sets
Add this exercise to your other b.live.wear workout combinations.
b. is wearing running bare crop
nike pros shorts
nike breeze shoes
lift time keepers watch
enjoy
b.
x
Given the fact that you split the word Kettlebell into 2 words,Your credibility on this issue is a big fat zero! Maybe actually learn about Kettlebells and their uses…I “thrust” 20kg overhead and have had no injuries at all. What a load of uninformed drivel
Thank you for your thoughts on this important subject. Well done on completing 20kg overhead thrusts! I am glad your body is currently handling it. Hope you remain to Stay well!
You clearly have zero comprehension of a kettlebell or the hundreds of lifts and exercises one can do with them. It’s trainers like you (and I use that term loosely) that spew misinformation and keep people in bad shape. I bet you think deadlifts are bad for the back too. Have you never heard of StrongFirst? Dragon door? The RKC? Valery Federenko? Girevoy Sport? Maybe if you read a book or watch a dvd on how to properly use kettlebells you’ll understand what they are and how to use them. Oh and there is no exercise as a sumo squat
Thank you for commenting on this important issue. I agree there are many great exercises with kettlebells however I only focused on one for the average exerciser and to help women in particular. I believe deadlifts are great for body alignment and gaining good body composition. I am well read and highly educated in this field and am simply passing on basic ways to get bodies into shape. I use a range of fitness equipment with people and value each exercise except ‘kettlebell thrusters’ as in my experience of 11 years has been detrimental to women’s bodies post birth. Thank you for your valued opinion and stay well.
Once again, someone with ZERO experience with a piece of equipment writes an article that is an opinion. This is your uneducated opinion. Kettlebells, which is one word by the way, are wonderful tools and are ment to be used in a ballistic manner. Swings, cleans, and snatches are wonderful. However the movements need to be learned from a professional and qualified trainer. Do not self teach these movements from a DVD or magazine article. And do not discount the worth of a Kettlebell from a person that doesn’t know what they are talking about.
Thank you for your thoughts on this important subject. You are correct in that these movements must be taught correctly and by a professional. Glad to hear you are gaining a balanced body through kettlebell usage.
Me thinks it’s not the EXERCISE that’s causing the injuries, it’s that the INSTRUCTORS aren’t training people properly. They just jump onto a new ‘fad’ without knowing much about it. Many many many people have had fantastic results when they train with a specific kettlebell trainer who takes a holistic approach to the sport, not by some cereal box-certified PT who has no clue.
Thank you for commenting on this important discussion. I absolutely agree knowledge, good alignment and instructors who have excellent knowledge in women’s bodies are key in completing kettlebell exercises. Stay well!
IF someone were to read only the article, they would likely be left with the impression that kettlebells are only good for sumo squats. You changed your point of view when a poster stated that your approval of kettlebell usage was confined to a sumo squat with a ’24 kg’ bell. So everyone should use a 24kg bell? No? Why isn’t this stated clearly?
I only comment because many clients have come to me confused about what is correct and what is not, leading me back to articles of this very type. If you truly are concerned for others’ health, perhaps round out the article with clear intention and not waiting until you’re called out by a poster. The internet is mind field enough for willing novices. No need to add another opinion fueled caveat.
Those women should have sought professional instruction. Perhaps they were given a generic workout with a 24kg bell based on equal bewilderment of the proper use for this apparatus.
Thank you for commenting on such an important issue with very valid points. Kettlebells have many excellent uses and I will be adding multiple single simple exercises to my b.livewear platform. My key focus in writing this simple article was to stop the misuse in kettlebells at which I see everyday and have over my career. I believe women in particular should not complete this ‘kettlebell thrust’ exercise after birth until there body is completely realigned. I agree profession instruction is needed and this is the evident point at which I would like people to value. Stay well!
Show me your evidence. I would like you to produce one reputable study to support your claims. I on the other hand can produce countless studies to show that kettlebell swing for example can help average exercises develop optimal posterior sling strength and force development. And to say that a sumo squat is the only safe movement for women. Do you understand movement ? Biomechanics ? Q-angle? So guys like Gray Cook, Mcgill, Verstegen, and Remedios are all wrong and you are right? Your experience doesn’t mean anything, I have been a coach at the amateur and professional level and worked with clients from housewives to Shaquille Oneal for nearly 14 years and my experiences means jack squat if I can’t back it with quality data
Thanks so much for joining this important conversation. Cory, you obviously have outstanding experience in biomechanics and body movements. However, you are NOT female and have no understanding of how women function and disfunction post birth. I am showing women simple first step exercises to alignment after birth and getting them moving again in a safe manner at home. Kettlebell usage needs to be monitored by a professional not by an amateur at home this is the very valid point I am making. Stay well!
And the evidence?
Cory, the evidence lies in my 11 years experience in health physical education as well as my own personal experience – pure and simple. Just like you have your own valid personal experiences in your own biomechanics.
This is plain and simple ignorance about one of many tools and the sheer fact that you use a qualifiers like “body fat” for exercise selection has no validity. I suppose male Olympic Lifters, Power Lifters or lineman in football due to “belly fat” should stop doing these movements .
If you actually knew anything about these movements and the KettleBell as a tool you might rethink your “misinformed consumerism” need for some attention and validation on the Internet. Take a selfie it does the same thing.
David, your integrity just became irrelevant in your last sentence for assuming my knowledge is about gaining attention. My fitness and health knowledge is multifaceted and complete. I am helping women become strong again after the birth of children by teaching them simple exercises with a range of equipment. I still believe ‘kettlebell thruster’ are a waste of time and there are plenty of other excellent weights options that have been used for years before this exercise option was developed. Thanks for reading my blog.
You said in your article “I believe kettlebells have ONE good use…”, yet in your reply to Josh, you state “Kettlebells have many excellent uses and I will be adding multiple single simple exercises to my b.livewear platform”. Perhaps you need to re-think your communication skills? Poor article.
Again Nathan, thank you for reading my blog. My skills in communication are my forte and maybe you are lacking an understanding of my point of view & how women are affected by ‘kettlebell thrusters’. Thank you for being part of this open discussion. Stay well.
I have 15 years of dancing experience and truly value the importance of good body alignment. This understanding of my own body as a woman, has impacted the workouts that I choose to do. This kettlebell set is perfect for me as although I have a strong core, good technique and body alignment, I do feel lower back pain when using the kettlebell in a swinging or thrusting motion. Obviously everyone is different, men to women, mothers to non-mothers, person to person. If using the kettlebell in a swinging or thrusting motion works for you… Good on you! If not, I strongly support this kettlebell exercise to target the inner thigh area. I personally have been able to gain benefits from adding this exercise to my fitness program every week. Thanks for supporting my fitness journey B! I have finally been able to target my ‘problem area’ in a safe way that works for me! Keep up the good work… I’ll be reading! x
Thank you Brig! Enjoy the blog x
Thank you to everyone who has commented on this subject of Kettlebell – (Swings, Thrusters, American Thrusters, Overheads) or whatever you call them in your local gym or area. My opinion of this type of exercise and I am certain in my knowledge that it is of NO benefit to any body. This exercise whether you like it or not is NOT a normal motion in any shape or form. When do you ever lift a heavy weight through your legs and throw it over your head in everyday life? Well you simply don’t and should NOT! Ever since gyms were established the slow and aligned movements have been key to creating a well balanced and defined body. However, now there is a belief that throwing heavy weights in high repetitions will create a better body? I disagree and am entitled to my highly sort after opinion. I am purely speaking on my experience and knowledge that is well researched. Stay happy and healthy everyone!