I started kettlebells this week.

I need something more than just walking every morning.  Dog Jazz still needs the walk and it’s good for me, too, but as I age I’ve thought I should be working with weights, stretching, or something more. I don’t know much about gyms and exercise classes…

Flabby upper arms…I’m getting those.

Husband, John, heard about kettelbells.  He watched a class down town, and we went for a sample session.

The owner, Raul, gave my husband, John, and me a whole hour class. Just the two of us. How to swing kettlebells.

They’re little balls (heavy cast iron balls) with a handle on top. “Keep your back straight and look up and ahead, not down.”

He explained we’d be in a class, but we’d do what was comfortable for us. The exercises would be varied, using different parts of the body each time.

The rooms were filled with all sorts of exercise equipment, free weights (I think they’re called), straps that hang from the ceiling, blue rolled mats, huge green balls, little balls, red foam rollers. Stuff I’d never seen before.

So this week I went to class. Wednesday, and Friday. Kettelbells are a main part, but there’s so much more. For 45 minutes John and I, and six women and two men circulated through different exercises focusing on arms, the core, legs, and endurance. Some of what “they” (the experienced ones) did I found pretty hard for me (sit ups: WOW!). Raul changed the exercise to an easier version for me.

We finished with kettlebell swinging, jumping jacks, basketball throws (pretend basketballs), jumping in the air for I don’t know how long. I was tired when it was finished, and my legs and arms were tired.

But it wasn’t something I couldn’t do, because Raul tailored exercises to my level and cautioned me to not overdo.

I’ll tell you the secret to finding an method system that will work for you: it’s the trainer. You want a trainer who tells you when you need to stop the exercise or when you’re doing it incorrectly. One who doesn’t push you to do too much.

Here’s a video so you can see kettlebells and how we’re supposed to swing them.  He he, This is not me.  Noone’s shooting a video of me swinging a little bell with handles… The guy has a great accent, though. 

Not, Raul, yet.  His videos are coming, and he’s cute, too!

I’ll see how I feel tomorrow morning! let you know.
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Table of Contents

  1. Healthy Beyond 50, the Secret? Exercise
  2. Healthy Living Beyond Fifty. You have to exercise
  3. Healthy Living Beyond Fifty: Exercise, Change It Up
  4. Healthy Living Beyond Fifty: Get a Coach!
  5. Healthy Living Beyond 50:Consider Yourself a "Man?"
  6. Healthy Beyond Fifty? Forget the Treadmill
  7. Are Kettlebells Hard on Your Back?
  8. Kettlebell Safety Comes First

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