My Latest Fitness Obsession: Kettlebells!

I'm sure you are all aware of the importance of strength training for overall fitness, but it's also extremely important to keep up a solid strength training routine while focusing on endurance events (like the marathon!) as well! Strength training can reduce your risk of injury, repair muscular imbalances caused by running, and improve running efficiency. All good stuff.

The key is to train in a functional way - multi-joint movements that require you to stabilize your core while you lift. While I definitely love the "traditional" gym style methods of lifting (think about isolated moves like bicep curls and leg extensions), it's time to move toward a more functional way of training. I'm finding that the absolute ULTIMATE in functional fitness is kettlebell training! This funky thing on the left here is a kettlebell - my husband calls mine a cannonball with a handle, which pretty much sums it up! They come in a variety of sizes (I have a set of 3 - 15#, 18# and 26#). You work out with them in very active ways - a key move in kettlebell training is the swing, where you hold onto the handle with both hands, and force the bell to swing up to shoulder height by quickly and powerfully snapping your hips as you come up to a standing position from a squat. Sounds easy, right? But when you perform the move with a heavy bell repeatedly - look out! It's an awesome, highly efficient workout.

I've been doing plenty of fairly heavy duty weight training over the years, but kettlebell training has taken me back to a beginner level again! It takes balance, coordination (yes, you probably SHOULD be fearing for my safety given my lack of coordination!) and overall strength. It's also just a HECK of a lot of fun. Seriously, what's not fun about swinging a cannonball around?

Luckily, there are a some workout DVD's out there that are amazing, so I can easily do this at home. I started with the "Kettlebell Goddess Workout"which in addition to having a cool name (with workouts included titled "Nike," "Athena," and "Callipygos" - how fun is that???). I'm now working my way through the Art of Strength series, which is a fairly serious step up in intensity.

I have a personal training session with an instructor in two weeks. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes, and if I come home with the 35# bell I'm just DYING to get next!

Let's see if this can help get me to the starting line in Boston fast, and injury free!