550 Kettlercise Challenge

During 2014 Kettlercise instructors Karl and Simon are participating in a team challenge. Once a month during a kettlercise class the class will be split into 2 teams. Starting at the same time each team (1 with Karl leading and 1 with Simon leading) will perform 10 different kettlebell exercises starting with 100 reps and reducing by 10 every time the exercise changes. For example 100 Squat to Press, 90 rotational Lunges, 80 Cleans etc. until we are down to 10. The first team to all finish all exercises and reps (550) wins. There will be a leader board over the year to see which team will prevail during 2014. This is a simple but great idea to boost class participation and get a buzz around the club with your members. Also it adds a friendly competitive edge for your members to push themselves and achieve better results. No matter what we say we all have a little competitive edge inside us all and a fun simple idea such as above might just bring it out and push us on to that next level of fitness.

Kettle bells: old kit, new tricks

New classes are on the way and one of those is Kettlercise, kettle bell training has been around for many years, believed to have been developed in Russia in the 1700s, but they are ever growing in popularity around the world, almost every new workout involves some element of kettle bells due to the great calorie burn and work load it puts on not just strength but also cardiovascular fitness. Kettle bells can be used for total body toning within classes using lighter bells as well as going heavy and being used to develop fearsome strength and muscle mass whilst maintaining low levels of body fat percentage. Kettle bells involve exercises to build strength and endurance, particularly in the lower back, legs, and shoulders, and increase grip strength. The basic movements, such as the swing, snatch, and the clean and jerk, engage the entire body at once, and translate to functional fitness for real world activities. It is also worth noting how well kettle bell training can be incorporated into circuit training along with other fundamental movements for a truly challenging gym session and because kettle bell training relies on continuous movement it makes for a very time efficient workout, as many trainers say ‘train smarter, not longer’

feel up for a challenge try this kettle bell routine and compare it to your usual routine, (using a kettle bell between 6-12kg aiming for 15 reps of each exercise)

kettle bell swing 15
high swing  15
snatch 15 (15 each arm)
press ups 15
hammer curl to shoulder press 15
weighted reach over toe touch 15

rest 2-3min
repeat 5 times

                                                         

workout by Karl O'Sullivan