Indians are increasingly getting conscious about fitness and it’s about time too. People are ready to spend lots of money and precious time at gyms. While all this gives results, there is a fitness programme which could give you faster results. This revolutionary training method revolves around kettlebells. You may find it hard to believe, but with disciple and regular kettlebell training, you can end up yielding better results than all those countless hours that you’ve spent in the gym.
Kettlebells are made of cast iron and are cannon-ball shaped with a handle on top. They combine strength as well as cardio training, making them doubly efficient and value for your time and moolah. It improves your muscle and litheness while cutting down that stubborn fat and toning your body.
This modality won favour in Europe with Olympians and soldiers alike. Even pop culture icons such as Jennifer Lopez and Lance Armstrong are believed to have benefitted from kettlebells which is grabbing attention in the West. The kettlebell is extremely challenging for novices as well as hardened bodybuilders. This is an extreme fitness tool that pushes you to the limit and tests your physical strength. Kettlebells are universally beneficial for both men and women.
Kettlebells are available in weights starting from 4 kg and can go up to 48 kg; women can train up 12 kg for better results. Yes, women should definitely not shy away from this quick fat-burning technique. It’s a complete body workout that aims and sculpts the muscles in your entire body. And the portability is another added bonus. Once you perfect the technique, you can work out in the comfort of your own home. It’s great for professionals who don’t have time to hit the gym regularly or for people who are just never comfortable working out with strangers at the gym.
Kettlebell training uses various methods including ‘swings’ which can be using both hands or from hand to hand, ‘dead-lifts’, ‘windmills’ and so on. Burn tons of calories, target those obstinate ‘love-handles’ and stomach fat, and get into that favourite pair of jeans that has been hanging in your closet gathering dust. And if you suffer from lower back pain, kettlebells are the best method to rid you of that annoying pain that impedes your agility.
Now, a word of caution. Do learn kettlebell training from certified instructors and definitely not from videos available on the Internet. While it’s a unique yet effective method, if necessary precautions and the correct techniques are not followed, you may end up seriously injuring yourself.
A good physical regime should challenge you at all points and yet leave you feeling energised and invigorated. Kettlebells provide just that. Even though they are heavy and cumbersome, the results are encouraging to say the least. Once you get into the thick of things, fat-burning and muscle-toning will never be so much of fun. And that chiseled body that you see on-screen and dream of having one day, will be that much closer for you to achieve.
The writer is a fitness consultant at Kolkata-based Karma Fitness Studio and owner of Awefitness