Should You Be Ringing in the New Year with Kettlebells?

Kettlebells this, kettlebells that. What's the big deal with these bells? Everywhere I look I see another blog post about them.

Kettlebells have been used by Russian "strongmen" and Olympians for the past 300 years, but only rose in popularity as a mainstream fitness trend in the past 5 years or so.

Enthusiasts claim the cowbell shaped weight burns more calories and targets more muscle groups than traditional free weights, giving you a better workout in a shorter period of time.

But this is not without risks.

I spoke with celebrity trainer Patrick Murphy who told me that kettlebell exercises can often be dangerous for novice athletes.


"Many people have difficulty maintaining proper form and posture while performing kettlebell exercises," says Murphy. "Of course, many people out there can perform them correctly but when fatigue sets in, even the best struggle maintaining good form and posture."

And as you might guess: poor alignment + heavy weight = injuries.

"I never hesitate to let the novice know that there are many exercises where the risk outweighs the rewards," says Murphy. "There are many exercises that cause postural and alignment distortions, but the majority of people don't get this fact because they go by exercises that look cool or feel good."

Some medical problems the misuse of kettlebells causes are scapular protraction, elevated shoulders, postural imbalances, and rotator cuff stress...yikes!

That's why Murphy keeps kettlebells to a minimum with his clients.

"Kettlebells should be a very small part in any fitness program since there are so many safer, more effective functional exercises to perform," says Murphy. "They should not be your main fitness tool."

I tried kettlebells out for the first time at my gym recently and though I really enjoyed the burn I felt, I can see how easy it is to lose proper form when you're tired and carelessly swinging around a ten pound weight.


If you would like to try them though, here are some simple "Murphy Fitness Rules" to follow:

• Use light resistance (for women 4 to 8 lbs will suffice)


• Draw in your abs and activate your glutes


• Slightly depress and retract your shoulder blades


• Make sure your head is not jutting forward


• Keep your knees and feet aligned (2nd and 3rd toes aligned with knees)


• Keep a neutral spine

Also, stick to basic exercises.

Here's a beginners training video for women by Aussie Kettlebells showing six simple kettlebell moves, including my favorite (a great thigh blaster) the kettlebell swing:

So if you're dying to try this trend go out and get yourself a Kettlebell, just make sure to be safe.

They start at about $30 at Target.