New Genre: Kettlebells
Learn about one of the most versatile tools in fitness and why we're dedicating a whole genre to it.
Big news! Due to popular demand, we are adding Kettlebell as its own workout genre so you have more ways to get fit in 2023.
Join our expert trainers Katie, Hollis, XTina, Armond, Lance, Lonnie, and Rachel as they guide you through fun, safe, and highly effective Kettlebell workouts. Even better, we’ve got two new class types for you to get your sweat on:
Skill Building: Improve technique and bolster your knowledge of common kettlebell skills. This class strikes a balance between instructional and sweaty as you build your confidence toward the “Training” workouts.
Training: Use the skills you’ve mastered in our Skill Building classes to improve performance, strength, endurance, power and more in this sweaty, fun, and technical kettlebell workout.
Or if you're just starting out, take our Kettlebell Skill Tutorial Collection and master the basics.
Q&A with lululemon Studio Trainer Katie Bergstrom
To celebrate the launch of our newest genre, we asked our resident Kettlebell Queen, Katie Bergstrom to answer some FAQs about her favorite workout tool.
What are the benefits of a kettlebell workout?
Kettlebells are unique because they offer overall fitness. Strength, endurance, cardiovascular health—you can get a lot of bang for your buck with this one tool. Here are some of the benefits:
- Portable: You only need a few different weight options to train your entire body. Plus, they don’t take up much space, which is ideal for anyone training at home or doesn’t have access to a full gym set up.
- Versatile: The beauty of kettlebell training is that it will train you through all three planes of motion. While traditional strength training keeps us in the sagittal plane (movements traveling fwd/back), Kettlebell training is MULTIPLANAR . This means you will be building strength from multiple angles, which is essential for real-world, functional strength, and sports.
- Increases Power: Kettlebell forces you to use all your muscles, resulting in an increase in power that can translate directly to athletic performance.
- Improves Coordination: Kettlebells are dynamic, which require you to be aware of your body and encourage a deeper mind to muscle connection.
- Improves Posture: Hips and Core: So much of kettlebell training requires strong and mobile hips and a strong core. These two areas not only can help improve posture, but encourage overall better movement in life
- Improves Grip Strength: The stronger your grip is, the stronger you are!
- It's an All In One Tool: It can be used for the four main aspects of fitness—strength, endurance, flexibility, and balance training. We can leverage kettlebell training to counteract a sedentary lifestyle, because it has a such a strong focus on working the posterior chain (upper back, lats, glutes, hamstrings)
How does it differ from traditional weights?
The weight of a kettlebell isn’t distributed evenly as it is with dumbbells and barbells. This creates the need to counterbalance and stabilize the body in every exercise. Additionally, their offset center of gravity makes it more challenging to control, which benefits core strength, balance, and coordination. Because of the kettlebells' unique shape, they can be used in a variety of ways through metabolic conditioning AND resistance work. Dumbbells will make you strong. Kettlebells will make you strong AND efficient. Their shape allows you to move around the weight, as if it’s one with the body.
Who is it for (beginner, advanced, etc.) and why?
The kind of training you choose is dependent on your goals, but kettlebells are for everyone! They are a tool that can make anyone fitter because of their ability to train, strength, and condition. The focus on hip and core strength translates to all movements in life and sport. Whether you want to feel stronger in your day to day—carrying your kids, groceries—or get faster and more efficient in running, you can train with kettlebells for both.
I love them for beginners because so much of the training mimics what we do in our daily lives. Simply holding a kettlebell in front of the chest for a Goblet March will teach a beginner how to stand taller and bring awareness to which muscles need to be engaged for better posture. The act of properly picking up and putting down a kettlebell or walking with one are simple ways to get a beginner more comfortable holding the weight. This also trains the necessary muscles and movement patterns needed for daily life.
Kettlebell training will help bring out the athlete inside you, even if you’ve never played a sport. To simply lift and swing them requires balance, coordination, core control, and hand-eye coordination. This forces you to work on training strength, power, agility, endurance, and speed all at the same time.
What should I expect from lululemon Studio’s Kettlebell classes?
You’ll see three types of classes in the new kettlebell genre: Tutorials, Skill Building and Training.
The tutorials are designed for Members to learn the most basic kettlebell skills. These aren’t workouts, but rather an opportunity to watch the trainer demo, discuss coaching points, and give the Member some time to practice. If you’re a first-timer, I highly suggest referring back to these tutorials as much as needed.
The Skill Building class builds on the tutorials (ranging from beginner to advanced skills) and strikes a balance between instructional and sweaty. We’ll focus on proper technique and get into the nuance of working through each skill with confidence.
The Training class is where we put it all into practice! These classes will utilize the kettlebell skills in a variety of ways for a fun and technical workout.
Ready to get started? Choose a class and start your Kettlebell training today.