Kettlebells are the fitness hit of the coronavirus pandemic

They’re the perfect training tool for this restricted year — but they’re selling out fast

Kettlebells enage several muscle groups simultaneously with and the momentum means your core muscles have to work to keep you steady as the weight moves.

Kettlebells, the exercise weights once described as “a cannonball crossed with a handbag” by The New York Times, are proving to be this restricted year’s essential fitness accessory. But if you haven’t already got yours, it may be too late. What GQ magazine declared “The Great Kettlebell Shortage of 2020” in April has escalated.

They are now sold out almost everywhere. In Amazon search rankings the term “kettlebells” recently soared by 2500 places, while the British retailer John Lewis reports sales increasing by 292 per cent during the first week of this month.

What is it about kettlebells that’s causing such a clamour? According to many experts, it is the simplest bit of kit you can find to fast-track fat burning and body firming simultaneously. It’s a multitasking piece of equipment that’s relatively inexpensive and takes up little space. “They really do allow for a great low-impact, high-intensity workout that engages the entire body, especially the glutes and core,” says personal Zana Morris. “And results in terms of calorie burning and muscle building can be amazing in quite a short time.”

Although they can be used like conventional dumbbells, the addition of the handle to the cast-iron or vinyl weight allows you to lift and swing a kettlebell in any direction. Several muscle groups are engaged simultaneously and the momentum means your core muscles have to work to keep you steady as the weight moves.

“The shape of a kettlebell is significant in that most of the weight is positioned below the handle,” says Dr Richard Blagrove, a lecturer in physiology at Loughborough University. “This makes them much more effective than other equipment for explosive, swinging-type exercises that are known to increase muscle lengthening and boost strength development.”

Other scientists have also documented their benefits. Dr Jason Lake, a researcher in strength and conditioning at the University of Chichester, published a trial in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research in which he looked at the effects of one of the most popular moves, the kettlebell swing, on the strength levels of a group of fitness novices.

“We showed that beginners could significantly improve both their lower-body strength and power after five weeks,” Lake says. “On average, they showed about 10 per cent increases for strength and 20 per cent for power.”

the key to kettlebell swing is a flat back. Hinge at your hips and swing the kettlebell back through your legs

A common mistake is to lean backwards as you swing up — not great for your back.

It’s not just that muscles get stronger with regular use — balance, flexibility and even aerobic capacity and endurance have been shown to improve. One eight-week study conducted at Wisconsin University demonstrated how a twice-weekly, hour-long kettlebell class produced a 70 per cent boost in abdominal core strength, and also a marked increase in the aerobic capacity of participants.

“If you are performing exercises in quick succession with a kettlebell and engaging the large muscle groups of the body, you will really increase your heart rate,” Morris says. “You can get an all-round workout if you use them circuit-style.”

Kettlebells typically range from 2-20kg and Morris suggests starting with a weight of 6-8kg (women) or 12-14kg (men) if you have little or no experience of resistance training.

“If you are a woman who has been weight training for a while, I’d suggest 10-12kg as a starting point,” Morris says. “For men, they can progress to 16-18kg.”

If you’re already super-strong, a downside is that kettlebells heavier than 30kg can be hard to find. Blagrove says: “For this reason, athletes and well-trained people tend to use kettlebells as an accessory to other weights.”

For most of us, though, standard weights (up to 30kg) are more than sufficient to bring about results. “As with any exercise, starting with a relatively light weight, developing good technique and progressing to more complex movements and gradually adding more weight over time is important,” Blagrove says.

Back strain can be an issue in beginners attempting the kettlebell swing, although done correctly the exercise will strengthen the back — so make sure you perfect the technique before you do it with the weight.

If you have managed to get hold of a kettlebell, where should you start? These are the exercises our experts recommend.

Goblet squats works the glutes, hamstrings and quadriceps, as well as all the smaller, surrounding, stabilising muscles.

WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR KETTLEBELLS

Kettlebell swing

An all-over toning exercise that engages glutes, calf, core, shoulder, back and quadriceps muscles.

How to do it

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart holding the bell in front of you with your arms outstretched and parallel to the ground. With a slight bend in your knees and a flat back, hinge at your hips and swing the kettlebell back through your legs. Use that momentum to swing the kettlebell out in front of your body, driving your hips forward and your arms up to shoulder height, with legs straight. This is one rep. A common mistake is to lean backwards as you swing up — not great for your back. To avoid this, anchor your heels and squeeze your abs and buttocks at the top of the swing. Make sure you push from the lower body and don’t rely on the shoulders to propel the swing.

Goblet squat

This works the glutes, hamstrings and quadriceps, as well as all the smaller, surrounding, stabilising muscles. Great for fat burning.

How to do it

Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, toes pointing slightly outwards, and hold the kettlebell at chest height. Keeping your head level, bend your knees to lower into a squat. At the bottom of the squat, push the knees out slightly. Then, pushing your heels into the floor, drive yourself back up to the start position. This is one rep. Perform each of these exercises for 30 seconds (roughly 12 reps; take your time). Take a 60-second rest, then repeat the circuit 3-5 times. Perform 2-3 times a week.

The Times