Up until recent years, Kettlebells couldn’t be found outside of the sweaty confines of a typical “musclehead” gym. Today, Kettlebells can be found in every color of the rainbow at nearly every fitness facility in Chicago. With a broad and manageable spectrum of weights starting as low as five pounds, more and more people, particularly women, are finding a great way to shape their bodies through these iron-clad weights.

A “Whole Body” Workout

Kettlebell exercises are performed by gripping the handle (with one or two hands) and forcefully swinging the object in different ways. The type of swinging motion combined with the additional weight of the Kettlebell puts your body through an intense workout in a short period of time. Traditional strength-training typically uses one muscle or muscle group. Kettlebells, however, engage muscles throughout the body, making it a “whole body workout” that can be customized for men and women of any fitness level.

Personal trainer and certified Kettlebell Instructor at Chicago’s Lakeview Athletic Club, Aaron Guy, regularly incorporates Kettlebells into his clients’ workouts. “There are several key factors that forge Kettlebells ahead of the competition when it comes to exercise equipment,” says Guy. “Kettlebells get all of the muscles in the body working – especially the legs. Any time that we incorporate more muscle fibers and larger muscle groups into an exercise, we burn more calories.”

Boost Metabolism

Guy’s roster of clients isn’t just men. He has a strong following of women who enjoy using Kettlebells in their workouts. One area of the body that women seem to focus on most is burning fat or increasing their metabolism. Guy says Kettlebells are a tremendous benefit for a person’s metabolism, both during and long after the workout is over. “Kettebells build lean body tissue. By increasing your lean body mass, you increase your resting metabolic rate. This means that after you finish your Kettlebell workout, you keep burning calories all day long. You burn calories while you sit at your desk at work, while you eat and even while you sleep.”

Functional to Life

Many strength-training exercises done with machines work muscles in a way that aren’t typically used in a normal way throughout the day; these “non-functional” movements can cause problems as muscles do not develop in a way that is consistent with daily movements. Guy says that Kettlebells work the body in a way that helps with everyday encounters. Kettlebells work the body in a way that is consistent with everyday movements. “They provide you with no artificial sense of stabilization. Plain and simple – they train your body the way that it moves outside of the gym. Kettlebells also force you to work each side of your body independently, which prevents muscular dominance where your weaker muscles have to catch up to your stronger ones.”

Fun and Fast

“Kettlebells are fun!” says Guy. You can get an intense full-body Kettlebell workout in less than 30 minutes and still have time to enjoy the rest of your day. Kettlebells definitely provide an incredible workout in a short period of time, but they also leave you scratching your head if you were to simply pick one up for the first time. Chicago Athletic Clubs have a team of personal trainers who offer small group Kettlebell training or individual personal training.

If you’re looking for resources for a home workout, take a look online. Popular Kettlebell DVDs include The Kettlebell Goddess Workout and From Russia with Tough Love, which give the basics when it comes to Kettlebell use.