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

Perfect Pull Ups

Perfect Pull Ups By Karl O’Sullivan

If you look at any fitness website, magazine or quick tip, the pull up and chin up are always at the top of the list of best gym exercises. It’s a staple to any programme, amongst the best body weight exercises and easily adapted for all levels. A lot of people however avoid taking to the pull up bar believing that pull ups are too difficult or just unachievable for them, yet there are simple ways to build the strength needed to perform those perfect pulls. A controlled pull up uses so many muscles and if you can achieve 2 to 3 reps then that’s great, work in sets of 2 to 3 reps and your body will quickly adapt to the challenge and your rep range will increase to 6, then 8 and not long after you’ll be performing sets of 10. If you struggle with that single rep don’t despair, the perfect pull up is still attainable, simply start by building the foundation strength need by focusing on the eccentric movement (the lowering phase of the exercise). Have a trainer lift your body for the upwards portion of the movement and then unassisted lower your body as slowly as you can and repeat this process, keeping the movement at all times smooth and controlled, limiting any swinging to a minimum.
Even if you don’t have a trainer you can simply jump up grasp the bar and then slowly lower yourself, jumping up each time to achieve the lifting phase of the movement.
You’ll be surprised at how quickly your body will adapt and how quickly your strength will develop.

Training within the fitness industry has gone through many changes, one in particular is the focus on functional and sports specific training, pull ups fall into this category building fully functional and transferable strength, after all being able to curl a heavy weight is rather pointless if you can’t lift and control your own body weight. Once you become comfortable with pull ups and chin ups you can start exploring all the variations, increasing weight by use of a weight belt or weighted jacket, overhand grip, under hand grip, side to side pulls and L shape pulls.

So come into the gym and spend some time at the bar!