kettlebells for women

speedy2007

Hi,

just a couple of questions about kettlebells - i did a search but couldnt find any threads to answer my specific questions.

As a quick background of where im at, im female, 5ft 2, weigh about 57kg and have never used weights before. Ive been running the last year, and the last few months have started doing bodyweight exercises at home. But looking at some posts on here and it seems like kettlebells are a good way to go, esp for people who cant afford the gym right now.
I googled and i found 8kg is generally recommended for women. There are some on sale at a place near me, one weighs 7kg and the other weighs 10kg. Im wondering what size i should get? I dont want to get 7kg and then find im used to it after a couple of months, but i dont want to get 10kg and put my back out or something :P

My other question was how well they work out your lower body (if at all). Most of the exercises i see seem to concentrate on upper body, which is great but i also really want to tone up my legs, thighs especially.

All advice welcome, thanks for reading

G86

I'd go for the 10kg if I were you, you'll probably move up to 12/16kg pretty quickly anyway. As for what bodyparts it targets, there are a range of different exercises you can do with it, you tube is your friend for tutorials For lower body there's KB Swings, where you use your hips to gain momentum. There's also squats, lunges, or even turkish get ups which are a brill full body exercise. It might benefit you to try and do a KB Workshop if there are any running in your area.

chadmustang

Definitely do a workshop or check out youtube! 10kg wouldn't be enough to "put your back out" as long as you have the technique down! Goblet squats are fanastic lower body exercise and the teach you proper squat technique too which is an added bonus.

hug0

Theres a kettlebell class on Monday eves in the Phoenix park mostly aimed at women. Email kettlebellsinthepark@ireland.com for more details

Theres also workshops in town that would teach you the basics.

Utube is great for showing you how to do the exercises. Great for toning up in a small amount of time. Maybe start on 8kg and go from there. 12kg is quite a lot if you dont have experience lifting weights.

j@utis

I've got an 8kg one from irish-lifting.com, it's a bit light for swings but too heavy for some other exercises, I'm planning on getting 12kg or so in few months. I'd say having a few a set of 3 or so kettlebells would be ideal, but they're not comming that cheap

p.s. I'm female too, 5.4ft, 60kg, I run sprints and cycle, and do kettle bell swinging of course.

speedy2007

Thanks everyone
I went down to get the 10kg today all excited, but when i got there i found out it was actually 10lbs not kg ..no wonder they were so bloody cheap.

But i'm def going to get one somewhere else

hug0

10kg seem to be hard to come by. They seem to go up in 4's. So you could get 8kg, 12kg, 16kg.

d'Oracle

The usually come in sizes based on the Pood, which is a Russian Imperial measurement roughly equivalent to 16kg. They go up in 1/4 Poods which for those not given to mathmaticals is 4kg.

g'em

d'Oracle wrote: »

The usually come in sizes based on the Pood, which is a Russian Imperial measurement roughly equivalent to 16kg. They go up in 1/4 Poods which for those not given to mathmaticals is 4kg.

well there's my 'something new' learnt for today

TommyKnocker

Hi

A 10 kg KB is a standard size.

They sem to go up in 2kg jumps between 8kg and 16kg, and after this they go up in 4kg jumps.

You should be able to pick up 10kg KB's in Buy Kettlebell Dublin from their competition kettlebell range @ €35 each.

I checked the Irish Lifting and Wild Geese MA sites, but they both jump from 8kg to 12kg . Also the cast iron model on Buy Kettlebell Dublin also skip the 10kg KB Strange that the Competition sets have the 10kg KB but the cast iron sets don't

I use the competition KB's from Buy Kettlebell Dublin myself and prefer them over the cast iron models.

There's also the option of online from Wolverson Fitness UK £22 for the 10kg cast iron model + shipping

M

d'Oracle

g'em wrote: »

well there's my 'something new' learnt for today

"You can't truly know a man untill you have eaten a Pood of salt with him."

- A bat**** insane Russian Proverb.

d-sher

d'Oracle wrote: »

They go up in 1/4 Poods which for those not given to mathmaticals is 4kg.

mmmmmmm... Quarter Pooder with cheese on cheat day ....

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

jeff lebowski

My girlfriend has an 8kg and she hasn't outgrown it yet, so to speak :-)

As for working the lower body, swings, snatches etc. if all done properly stem from the lower body. A lot of it is in the hips and legs, thats where the movements start. You can do all the standard free weight leg exercises with kettlebells ike lunges, squats, front squats etc. They are very versatile.....highly recommended.

I got a 20kg and an 8kg one for herself from buykettlebellsdublin. Arrived in 1 or 2 days and found the price to be great so I'd recommend them.

What the others are saying about weight is correct, they tend to go up in 4kg increments. best of luck with whatever weight you get though, they are a fantastic bit of kit and you can take them anywhere.

jeff lebowski

It turns out, buykettlebellsdublin do have a 10kg kettlebell, a nice pink one too :-)

(my gf was disappointed that they had no pink ones left when she got hers. My insistence that colour had no bearing on how good it was for training fell on deaf ears)

j@utis

argh! but she can always spray paint it in her favorite colour

Hanley

Serious birthday presents...

TommyKnocker

Hanley wrote: »

Serious birthday presents...

I reckon most ladies have the equivilent already and don't realise it



:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

M

foodaholic

had my first class last week, was given an 8kg weight which was great for squats ect but some of the stuff over your head it was a bit too heavy. I asked for a lighter one to be told its for rehab only :eek: now i see people starting of on 10kg, i need to get my ass into shape.

PS couldnt walk for 3 days after

jeff lebowski

PS couldnt walk for 3 days afte

Thats good....at least you know it's working :-)

foodaholic

doing it again tomorrow so will be able to walk again on sunday !!