Kettling your way towards a better body

As you start to work out how to shed those festive pounds why not try the latest celebrity craze – kettlebells.

Lugging around heavy kettlebells may have been the favoured exercise of Russian farmers hundreds of years ago, but now fitness-mad celebrities like Geri Halliwell are turning their attention to them.

And an East Yorkshire fitness instructor is using the Russian kettlebell to get people back in shape.

Neil Thompson has devised Kettle-Sculpt, a fitness programme using kettlebells and combining his 28 years experience of strength conditioning to give people the shapes they dream about.

Neil set up Red Kite fitness in South Cave a few years ago after taking redundancy from British Aerospace. But his lifelong interest in fitness means that he has tried just about everything.

“Most people, who try to lose weight especially by dieting and aerobic exercise, lose a mixture of body fat and lean muscle tissue,” explains Neil.

“They are so preoccupied with repeatedly getting on and off their bathroom scales and hoping for a weight reduction, they do not realise what they are actually losing is a mixture of fat and lean tissue. Lean muscle should never be lost and must be maintained and even increased if possible.”

Neil says many women shy away from using weights in their fitness programmes because they fear it will make them bulky.

“Many women believe the misconception that weight training will make them ‘muscular’ It simply cannot happen as women do not have the testosterone levels that will help muscle growth. All women should train with weights and I don’t mean doing biceps curls with 2lb shiny chrome dumbells.”

Neil says that unless we maintain our lean muscle tissue, we all start to lose half a pound of muscle each year from our mid 20s.

“This means that by the time most women are 40 years old, they will have lost 7-10lbs of muscle. It is muscle that shapes and tones. Most women will admit that they looked better at 20 than at 40+ but this is due to having more muscle when younger.

“Regular weight-training will create a small amount of muscle again and this is vital to help re-shape your figure.”

A kettlebell workout can also use up a phenomenal number of calories – a well- conditioned person can burn up to 1,500 calories an hour. That compares with roughly 600 running on a treadmill and 300 for Geri Halliwell’s previous favourite exercise, yoga.

“People seem to think that doing low intensity, repetitious work outs are the best way of getting fit. But it is not about the quantity it is about the quality. If you lift weights then it will do all the other stuff for you such as cardio vascular.” Neil tells his private clients and people who visit his classes in South Cave and Goole that it isn’t about losing weight it is about changing shape.

“People around the world are gradually waking up to the idea that strength conditioning is the way to go.”

Neil is one of the few fitness instructors who actually runs mobile kettlebell training,

“I must be mad,” he admits. “It means that I have to lug sometimes kettlebells weighing 550kgs into my car, drive to the venue and then lift them out again. But it is important.

“Kettle-Sculpt is really dynamic.

“It is hard work but that is the only sure-fire way of changing your shape.

“You have to push your body, if you are getting stronger then you are getting fitter and your shape will change.

“But throw away the scales. Muscle does weigh more. To me it isn’t about weight, it is about shape.”

Many of the people who attend Neil’s small classes are women in their mid 40s who want to try to get their shape back.

“I don’t do any running or sit ups in my classes. If you are lifting weights properly that’s all you need.”