Kettlercise at Nailsworth Strength and Fitness with Louise Norden

Louise with one of the many 6kg Kettle Bells

Kettlercise at Nailsworth Strength and Fitness with Louise Norden
Evan Burgess tried out Kettlercise in Nailsworth.

I have known about the value of kettle bells for about 10 years now. They are a very old invention commonplace in strong man shows. They had a slightly different design in the past, with an empty space that allowed different amounts of weight to be chambered. Today they are expertly forged into a single unit with a soft outer layer over the metal core. Stylish and fun, they are cheap but work best when you know what to do with them! Kettlercise is one way to get the most out of these amazing tools.

Kettlercise sessions appeal to all body types and ages, because it really doesn’t matter how strong you are to take advantage of the kettle bell. Louise’s session at Nailsworth Strength and Fitness is fun and challenging. The itinerary includes 50 minutes of intense kettle work. It is preceded by a warm up and ended with a cool down.

Essentially every minute of the work period has a different exercise. This is demonstrated by Louise, and involves complex and simple movements. However, the simple movements can have subtleties to them such as hip alignment and head position.

A cheap and excellent way to home exercise, but
first find out how in class!

Good form is encouraged, but this does get a bit harder beyond the half way point. When I was presented with a 6kg kettle bell, I though there must be some mistake. However, like a rifle in basic training I was not going to put this thing down for the entirety of the session. Even though I could have done a lot more weight with the Russian and American swings, the 6kg became heavy and off balancing with lunges and shoulder presses.

Could you look this good?

The moves were good and forced work in multiple plains of motion. Small muscles didn’t escape and my ankles and toes even had to put some work in. Balance is a big part of the lesson, and this will not only be great for people wishing to tone up but also for those who just want more coordination.

This type of exercise is great for people who do other sports that might use a dominant side like boxing or football. For example the shoulder press is split between left and right equally. Some of the core stability exercises will translate to pretty much anything. Doing a sit up with a kettle bell is fun and the Russian twists are good for hip movement. I was quite tired after this session, but I didn’t feel many aches and pains from it in the days after.

If you want to try out Kettlercise there is an array of times that might suit you. Visit http://www.nailsworthstrengthandfitness.co.uk/for more details. You can also book sessions through the MindBody app on your smart phone.