Kate Can Cook

I recently bought a kettlebell at Target. Kettlebells are weights that have handles on them. Basically, it looks like a ball with a handle at the top. I had heard of kettlebell classes at gyms from the Misfits at the Washington Post and was interested. However, I refuse to spend money on a gym membership, so I was excited to see kettlebells at Target. I didn’t know what weight to buy, so I bought the middle — 10 pounds. In hindsight and after watching the video, I probably should have bought the 5 pound kettlebell.

This brings up an important gripe that I have. Most exercise equipment is not explicit on the package as to who it’s for or what fitness level you need to be at to use it. I bought the 10 pound kettlebell because it was the middle and I figured I could hold 10 pounds in two hands, but I had no idea how kettlebells were really used. And maybe that’s my fault; as a consumer perhaps I should be a little more educated about my purchases before I make them. Also, I know companies do this because they know people like me will buy the equipment without doing any research, thus making them more money in the long run as the equipment sits on the corner of my apartment collecting dust.

The kettlebell I bought (and no, I’m not affiliated in any way, shape, or form with the company) is Gin Miller’s Calorie Burner Workout with kettlebells. It is composed of a warm up, cool down, and three workouts. I think each of the workouts is about 10 minutes long, and I gathered from the first workout that you could do just one, a couple, or all three depending on your level. I did the warm up, workout 1, and the cool down.

Most of the first workout involved what Gin (the “host”) called “kettlebell throws.” You don’t actually toss the kettlebells anywhere, and my downstairs neighbors are thankful for that (although they don’t realize it). Basically, you stand with your legs shoulder-length apart with the kettlebell in your hands in front of you. Then you begin a squat, swinging the kettlebell between your legs. As you come out of the squat, you swing the kettlebell to be above your head. According the Gin, the crux of the workout is in using your core/legs to swing the kettlebell and then stabilize your body enough to stop it from moving.

It was tough. My lower back and thighs were killing me by the end. My arms, unfortunately, felt fine. (I say unfortunately because I need to work on my arms.) I did the workout last night, and my legs and back are very, very sore today. So sore that I did not run today out of fear of injuring myself. Now I know better: I need to have an off day after kettlebells, I think, until I get used to them.

I will say this, though: it was quick and I was feeling it. I think I’ll stick with it. I don’t necessarily think that people need to run out and buy kettlebells though, as I think that dumbbells could suffice too.