Happy Thursday! I can't tell you how many times I've met someone that has never tried using kettlebells the right way, but tells me how dangerous they think kettlebell training is. Some shared how they tried it once and it hurt their back. Or it looked way too scary and they're absolutely convinced that they'll hurt themselves. Others just tell me that they're not in their 20's or 30's anymore and they need to stick to more gentle exercises like yoga, barre and running.
I'm not a confrontational person at all. In fact, I despise arguing with people. I use to have slight panic attacks with mild shaking, increased heart palpitation and brain fog when my philosophy was being challenged. I think it's because I'm so passionate about teaching people the RIGHT way to use their body, many times without a kettlebell first, that I know adding some form of movement pattern training with the right amount of load, will do wonders for their body. Therefore, I become so emotional and frustrated that they won't try it and reap the life-changing benefits!
The fact that people have come to me with their body destroyed from life. Their bodies so weak that they couldn't pick up their own babies without hurting themselves or suffered from back spasms. Teaching people how to hinge properly, squat properly, plank properly (without a kettlebell in sight) gave them their confidence, strength, and body back. Some of these people ended up using extremely heavy loads and going on to even do pull-ups and beautiful push-ups with practice and dedication. Yes, women too!
My point is, you don't have to fear the kettlebell. You should be very fearful with the type of instruction you get. Do your research! If you're going to learn how to use your body using kettlebells, it's best to track down someone who specializes in all body types with this type of training. Always move SLOWLY and carefully with no load or a very light load at first. See how your body responds.
Last story... This past weekend we shot 2 DVD's! Yeah, not 1, but 2. The production team we hired feared the idea of even picking up a kettlebell. They had seen them in the gym and it looked entirely too dangerous when they saw people use them.
Then he spent the weekend filming our DVD's. The ladies, I had in my DVD range from 40's to early 50's. One has had 4 kids and one is a Chiropractor and now uses many of these exercises with her patients. The first one we filmed "Sexy Strong" dedicated to moving slowly and carefully using appropriate loads and focusing on pure beautiful strength with mobility. Designed for the beginner but strong enough for our most advanced students to improve and become better. Funny enough, my strongest students were in Sexy Strong, we all used kettlebells half as heavy as we normally use and with the slowed down the pace, extra instruction during the workouts, we were all surprisingly sore and activated! In a good way!
The second one "Luscious & Lean" dedicated to lighter loads incorporating balance, moving deep within each movement pattern, conditioning, and control.
So AFTER the weekend was over I asked the owner of the production company if he still feared the idea of kettlebell training. He said he didn't realize how much is dedicated to safety, form and moving with control! He is now a believer and is willing to put his fear aside to have a lesson! Yay!
Those who practice the right way, you know what I'm talking about. It's LIFE CHANGING! YOU KNOW IT AND I KNOW IT! It's about keeping it simple! It doesn't have to be fancy. You don't have to move quickly and lose control. It's about building a strong base so that you can be resilient, healthy, strong and the rest is up to you!
If you are just beginning and ready to take the journey it's important for you to start in the right place. My advice is to begin learning how to hinge at your hips, deadlift, squat and then finally once those feel awesome, you can look into learning how to swing a kettlebell. If you don't have access to an incredible instructor in person, I have created lessons that have helped thousands of people learn all over the world with simple programs to follow. You can find them in the
beginning video shopping guide here. My recommendation is to check out
Lauren's Playground and hang in the demonstrations or basics section for a few weeks. Or spend some time doing
The Kettlebell Body. Even if you're not a beginner it's important to go back to the fundamentals and make sure you haven't become lazy or too confident.
Let me know if you have any questions and don't forget to take advantage of our storewide holiday sale of up to 50% off!
