When beginning a weight loss program, many people focus on diet and an aerobic exercise program. What they are missing is strength training. People tend to ignore strength training because they don’t want to build bulky muscles, but strength isn’t just about muscle size.
When you build muscles, you burn more calories faster, perform better at everyday and athletic activities, and reduce your chances of injuries.
If you want to reduce body fat, increase lean muscle mass and burn calories more efficiently, kettlebell strength training is a simple, time efficient, cost effective option.
Benefits of Kettlebell Strength Training
The top reason people begin strength training is to rev up their metabolism and lose weight. Since lean muscle burns more calories than fat, strength training will help take your weight loss program to the next level.
Kettlebells are a great option for strength training because they work for a variety of exercises and can be used almost anywhere, from the home to the gym, even outside.
They combine the benefits of aerobic training with strength training, allowing you to reduce the total amount of time spent working out.
Once you being training with kettlebells, not only will you lose weight and look better, but you’ll also start to feel better. Here are just a few of the additional benefits of kettlebell strength training:
- As you age, you naturally start to lose lean muscle mass. If you don’t take any action, the lost muscle will eventually be replaced by fat tissue. Strength training has been shown to slow and sometimes reverse this muscle loss.
- Strength training can boost your metabolism for up to 38 hours after you finish your workout. Plus, the more muscle you build, the more calories you’ll be burning when you don’t exercise.
- Strength training increases bone density, builds a stronger heart, reduces your resting blood pressure, and improves circulation.
- If you are watching your diet, strength training helps control blood sugar and improves cholesterol levels.
- Not only will you find you have more energy, less stress, and anxiety, but you should notice you’re happier in general.
- Research shows that strength training also improves cognitive function and concentration.
- It can prevent sleep apnea and insomnia.
- Some people notice improved posture leading to better balance.
Advantages of Kettlebells for Strength Training
There are many distinct advantages to using the kettlebells in your strength training program. Kettlebell routines allow you to get a cardio and strength workout done at the same time while being gentle on the body.
Many kettlebell exercises involve swinging the weights in different positions, quickly elevating your heart rate to the same level as a traditional cardio workout. Because you are lifting weights at the same time, you burn more calories than you would if you were just doing cardio.
The added bonus of a kettlebell routine is that one exercise flows into the next, similar to yoga. These fluid transitions are easier on the joints and pose less risk of injury than some forms of aerobic exercise and strength training.
The size and shape of kettlebells make them a versatile tool that can be incorporated into a variety of exercise programs from high-intensity interval training (HITT) to traditional cardio workouts. Be creative and use them to add variety to almost any workout routine.
Kettlebells are a great way to improve your functional strength. This develops the muscles we need to get through our daily activities like climbing stairs, bending down to pick something up, and even standing for extended periods of time. When you swing a kettlebell, you are building muscles and improving joint mobility, coordination, and balance.
Whether you’re a veteran user or new to kettlebells, a great resource is The Ultimate Kettlebell Challenge Workout. This is a complete program that will take you step by step through various exercises and then combine them into fun and effective workout programs.
This program was created by Forest Vance. Vance is a former pro athlete, Russian kettlebell expert, gym owner, boot camp instructor and personal trainer based out of Sacramento, CA. His program will help progress your kettlebell training by teaching you how to perform new exercises safely and effectively.
The program includes 41 kettlebell exercises, 33 kettlebell challenge workouts, and an eight-week training plan. It comes with videos and illustrated guides providing detailed instruction, coaching, cues, technique corrections, and drills.
If you’re looking to build strength and improve your overall fitness, kettlebell strength training is the way to go. It offers a simple effective workout in just as little as 20 minutes a day. When you starting working out with kettlebells, you’ll not only look good but you’ll feel good as you improve your overall health.
