There’s a hot new trend in the fat loss industry called the kettleball or kettlebell.
Advocates say that the kettlebell – which looks like a cannonball with a handle on top – gives fat-burning results from quick, short, intense workouts and takes the place of virtually all other forms of exercise.
Does the kettlebell sound too good to be true?
Let’s take a closer look.
Claim #1: The kettlebell replaces all other equipment to burn fat.
Traditionally, most people use cardiovascular machines such as bikes, treadmills, and ellipticals to burn calories in order to burn fat (lose weight). These pieces of equipment can cost upwards of thousands of dollars and take up a lot of space.
Not only that, you’re usually limited to one or two exercises on these pieces of home gym equipment.
The kettlebell, by contrast, takes up virtually no space whatsoever. And you only need a very small area – about 4 feet by 6 feet, to workout in, which coincidentally, is about the same floor area of your treadmill.
With a kettlebell, your not limited to one or two exercises for weight loss, like with most pieces of home gym equipment. In fact, there are many kettlebell exercises that will help you lose fat and lose weight without the boring monotony that comes with walking on a treadmill for hour after hour.
Not only that, kettlebell workouts are shorter than most traditional weight loss workouts. You can perform kettlebell workouts for weight loss in as little as 10 minutes a day! Try doing that on the elliptical.
Claim #2: The kettlebell actually burns fat.
This is a ridiculous claim!
The kettlebell is just an inert object – a cannonball with a handle on top of it.
Of course, picking it up and using it is something altogether different!
Because kettlebell exercises like the kettlebell swing, the kettlebell snatch, and the turkish get up use so many muscles, it’s actually possible to burn fat at a faster rate than with traditional pieces of home gym equipment.
Here’s why -
Your muscles are your fat burning machinery. When you work them, especially against resistance, and heavy resistance, like a kettlebell, you burn more calories than with traditional home gym equipment in the same period of time.
And that’s one of the keys to burning more fat – using more muscles at one time – and therefore losing more weight.
Claim #3: Kettlebells allow you to do shorter, more intense workouts, and burn more fat.
Let’s get back to your muscles for a minute. Because your muscles are your fat-burning machinery, if you perform an exercise that uses all your muscles at once, you burn more energy in a shorter period of time.
Here comes the good part – the more intensely your exercise all your muscles at one time, the shorter you can work out. So harder equals shorter.
Kettlebell workouts can be really short because kettlebell exercises let you work out really hard and they use all your muscles at one time. (This is only possible through resistance training not traditional cardio – like most pieces of home gym equipment.)
So, you can burn a ton of calories with your kettlebell in a very short period of time.
But just in case you think this sounds too good to be true, science has actually PROVEN that shorter workouts are better for fat loss.
Check this study out -
Schuenke MD, Mikat RP, McBride JM.
Effect of an acute period of resistance exercise on excess post-exercise oxygen consumption: implications for body mass management.
Eur J Appl Physiol. 2002 Mar;86(5):411-7. Epub 2002 Jan 29.
In it, researcher found that 30 minutes of resistance training – which is actually what kettlebell exercises are – can increase your metabolism (or the amount of calories your body burns) by 20% over a 38 hour period after your workouts.
Cool huh?
Yeah, I think so too.
How To Get Started Burning Fat And Losing Weight With Kettlebells
So now you’re pretty convinced that kettlebells with help burn fat and start losing weight again. Here’s what you need to do next -
1. Buy a kettlebell.
Don’t buy a cheap one. Buy one that will last forever, like these.
2. Get some instruction on how to use a kettlebell from a certified kettlebell instructor. An RKC is the best. Find one in your area by going here.
3. Get on a simple kettlebell workout program that will help you start burning fat almost immediately. Here’s one. Follow it.
So now you’re ready to actually start burning fat with a kettlebell – go out and experience this new fat loss trend yourself!
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