One Week of Kettle Bells

So after the aches of the tutorial died down I decided it was time to get on with it and start to attempt to do a the suggested kettle bell workout.

Well, the DVD has 3 workouts on it, a full body workout at about an hour. An express workout at about half an hour and then an 8 minute Abs programme. They suggest a timetable for beginners, intermediate and advanced with different workouts on different days and either one or two rest days.

Fortunately they do also say that the timetable is a guideline and you can adjust according to lifestyle and time. One week in and Iv'e managed 5 days out of 7 but the rest days were not the suggested ones or together. I've also managed to try all 3 workouts, usually I just have time for the express workout but have managed the full body workout once and also the 8 minutes of intense Abs exercises.

One week on and while I can tell I have been exercising it's more a warm glow with a slight stiffness in some muscles rather than the chronic pain you get after doing too much DIY or gardening in one day.

I have not instantly been transformed into a goddess or lost all the excess weight but I feel better in myself and enjoy the workouts. I still cannot keep up with the super-fit ladies in the DVD but I can keep up with them for longer now than I could a week ago.

One thing that is not covered in the DVD is how to follow the exercises when you have pets.

Hilda is convinced that I am going to throw the big orange ball for her and insists on standing or sitting close by ready for when I do let go of it. When it comes to the floor exercises she thinks I must be feeling tired (she's not far off the mark) and about to take a nap so brings me some toys to keep me company before lying down next to me.

Linus also joins in the floor exercises either sitting on my stomach or walking under bits of me when you do exercises that involve lifting bits of you off the floor.

So raising and lowering legs, hips or arms is not consistent, they go to different levels depending on which animal is wandering around or if you suddenly get another soft toy dumped on you by a well meaning dog. I am sure it's all part of the experience.

Adventures in exercises

I've tried various forms of exercise over the years and for the most part not enjoyed it at all.

Walking I enjoy but it doesn't really get the heart rate up for long enough especially when you keep stopping to admire the view.

Running is thoroughly misery making to me, gym equipment has a similar effect as well. I can swim but it's slow and things like aerobics classes are a good laugh for everyone else as I get left and right muddled (I don't anywhere else) and get out of sync with the rest of the class.

A few years ago at work they offered a taster class of kettle bell workout. It was 6 weeks and I thought I would give it a go. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was looking forward to them putting on full time classes. They did put on full time classes, but late in an evening when I could not make it.

So I decided to buy a kettle bell and a DVD and go it alone.

Bought them both but then had to put everything on hold as I re-injured my shoulder. Then as the shoulder was getting to the point where I thought it was just about healed my knees started to creak and pop and be very painful. Eventually I made it to the Dr's and he poked, prodded and diagnosed soft cartilage in both knees. So now I had exercises for the shoulder and also for the knees and the kettle bell was still getting more use as a doorstop than anything else.

But fast forward through injury and illness (other peoples not mine) and I dusted off the DVD and the bell and ran through the tutorial to remind myself of the exercises.

It wasn't as bad as it could have been but I did ache for a few days afterwards.