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  |  Get Fit  |  Strengthening and Toning  |  Kettlebells: the key to a killer body?
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Kettlebells: the key to a killer body?

Working out 'strongman style' probably isn't top of your exercise schedule, but maybe it should be. Kirstin Watson put the kettlebell workout to the test

I've wanted to try working out with a kettlebell since watching weight-loss TV show The Biggest Loser. On the show, trainer Angie Dowds uses kettlebells to whip her reluctant and overweight team members into shape. There are no two ways about it, kettlebells look fierce. And they are!

But I'm thinking if pint-sized kettlebell fans Jo-Lo, Geri Halliwell and Penelope Cruz can handle it, then so can I.

So when I was invited to a training session run by BJ Rule and Tommy Matthews, founders of personal training company Optimal Life Fitness, I jumped at the chance. Firstly though, I wanted to know why the Hollywood elite are suddenly getting so excited about kettlebells.

kettlebellOriginating from Russia, the kettlebell has been the training tool of choice for strongmen the world over for hundreds of years. It's essentially a big ball of black steel with a handle on it - the lightest kettle is also available in pink for us ladies - and can be used to do any exercise that you would normally do with a dumbbell or barbell.

The kettlebell fell out of fashion about 50 years ago but it's now back with a vengeance. And it's a good thing too. Through regular sessions, exercisers will improve strength, power, speed, endurance, posture and flexibility. An accomplished kettlebell user can burn as many calories in ten minutes as you would running for 45 minutes on a treadmill. That's me sold.

Our workout, on a sunny evening in Hyde Park, started with a gentle warm-up of high knee jogs, bottom kicks and lunges. So far so good. Then it was time for the real deal.



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