Why Kettlebells are the best Weight Loss Tool for Women

 

[Updated June 7, 2020]

Want to get into lean, slim, toned and fit? The only tool you’re ever going to need to complete this goal is the kettlebell. Let’s take a look at why this is the perfect solution for those particular training goals and what you need to do to make it happen.

Stresses your muscles for growth

When you train with a kettlebell, you are using a weight that is unevenly distributed. Its center of gravity moves as you move the weight resulting in the angle of the resistance and adding new elements like balance and resistance.

This forces you to brace your body and balance yourself in ways you wouldn’t have to with something like a bicep curl and that is what allows you to bring in the involvement of your smaller supporting muscles found throughout your body.

Combine intensity, resistance and cardio into a single exercise

The first huge advantage that training with a kettlebell has is that it allows you to use what is known as ‘resistance cardio’. This basically means that you’re combining resistance training (this is the term used to describe training that requires muscular force to push or pull a heavy object) with cardio (any exercise that continues for an extended period and increases your heart rate ).

By using a movement like the kettlebell swing you’re forced to both lift the weight while also repeating a rapid movement. This combination results in burning calories stored as fat.

Burns Fat Faster than lifting static weights

This is a fancy way to saying “you are building muscle and you are burning fat at the same time”.  This is great for getting an attractive body because you’re not going to simply become skinny (or worse, ‘skinny fat’).

Rather, resistance cardio will allow you to tone and burn at the same time. The fact that you’re engaging muscle means the muscle will be protected from deterioration as you’re training.

Moreover, resistance cardio will allow you to burn more fat in a shorter space of time than you could otherwise. This is because you will be forced to apply more effort in order to complete the movement, thereby taxing your system more and burning through more calories!

American Council on Exercise concluded that “kettlebells provide a much higher-intensity workout than standard weight-training routines and offer superior results in a short amount of time.”

Kettlebell Swing Benefits

The other great thing about building muscle while performing a cardio workout, is that the more muscle you add, the more you increase your metabolism. If you have lots of muscle, you will burn more calories even while you’re sleeping!

At the same time, each workout that causes muscle damage will trigger the release of anabolic hormones like testosterone and growth hormone that actually increase the rate of fat loss.

Kettlebells are ideal for High Intensity Interval Training

Also useful, is that the kettlebell allows you to train in this manner on the spot and without a lot of tools. Unlike running, you can enjoy kettlebell training in any whether and in a short space of time.

You can combine kettlebell with ‘high intensity interval training’ for awesome results. HIIT – a form of exercise that challenges you to alternate between brief bursts of high intensity exertion and shorter periods of relatively steady-state exercise.

In this case for example, you might perform the kettlebell swing for 1 minutes and then rest for 30 seconds before going again.

Discover How To Get In The Best Shape Of Your Life using a simple kettlebell

Excerise your entire body with a simple Kettlebell

The kettlebell is a fantastic training tool because of its ability to train the entire body quickly. n fact, a kettlebell is versatile enough to provide an entire body workout and can be a ‘home gym’ all on its own!

Below are 5 top kettlebell movements to help you get started

1. Goblet Squats

Squats are a core movement that delivers awesome gain strength and shape. They are especially popular because it simultaneously works muscles in your butt, hamstrings, and calves

This moves the weight forward slightly but is otherwise effectively the same movement as any other squat!

Goblet Squats are an effective variation on the traditional squat. To do it, here are the steps

• Stand by holding the kettlebell against your mid-chest with elbows at your side. Legs should be slightly bent, and shoulder length apart. Tighten your abs, and look straight ahead.
• Take a deep breath
• Slowly low into a squat cradling the kettlbell, at the bottom of the squat your butt should be 1-3 inches lower than the top of your knee
• Raised controlled, exhaling on the way up back into the starting position.

Keep your back,core and abs tight throughout the movement

2. Kettlebell Swing

The kettlebell swing is an ideal movement for resistance cardio that involves swinging the kettlebell between your legs and then straight back up in the air using a slight hip thrust movement to provide the forward momentum.

The key is to use a continuous motion and to use your hips to thrust the weight forward rather than engaging your legs or back too much.

3. Kettlebell Curl

The kettlebell curl is a movement that works similarly to a regular curl and targets the biceps. The difference is that the center of gravity is lower down, thereby altering the angle and changing the direction of the force.

4. Turkish Get Ups

Turkish get-ups is a powerful movement that works your shoulders, legs and core. It begins in a lying on the floor with a kettlebell extended out in your right hand.

Keeping the bell extended, carefully move into a leg position and finally stand up . This is a very challenging exercise as it requires strength and balance.

3. Straight Legged Deadlift

The deadlift is another movement lacking from most home workouts and once again, the kettlebell comes to the rescue. A deadlift can be performed as normal, simply by squatting and grabbing the handle with both hands.

Likewise though, you can also train similarly while keeping both legs straight and bending only at the back to hit the erector spinae. This works better considering the slightly lighter and taller nature of a kettlebell.

6. Kettlebell Clean and Press

This movement is good in all kinds of ways and involves squatting down to grab a kettlebell in on hand, then throwing it up to lean against the shoulder, standing up and pressing it over head. This trains a huge range of different movements but what’s perhaps most effective of all about it is that you are training on just one side of the body – meaning you need to work very hard to maintain balance and to stabilize yourself.

Conclusion

For women who want toned their lower body, the kettlebell swing is ideal.  You can use it to target those muscles.  This is the same combination of muscles as those used in squatting and if you do a Google search for ‘women who squat’, you’ll see that they are famous for having particularly round and firm glutes.

If that’s the look you’re going for, then there are few moves better than the incredible kettlebell swing!

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not medical advice and should not be used or interpreted as such. You should always consult a medical professional before making drastic changes to your diet and physical exercise