Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Kathy Smith is a known fitness instructor with DVD's and videos dating back quite a few years. Like other popular fitness instructors, she has jumped on the kettlebell bandwagon and has put together a "beginner's" kit of 2 light bells, a dvd, wall chart and diet plan.
Here's what you get:
* One 3 lb. Soft Kettlebell
* One 5 lb. Soft Kettlebell
* 4 Workouts DVD: Upper Body, Buns & Thighs, Core, and Fat Burning
* A Nutrition Solution Guide
* A Kettlebell Solution Instructional Wall Chart
The kettlebells are made of what looks like polycarbonate and the handles are textured with a sort of crosshatching for better grip. "Soft" means it is rigid resin with a textured, rigid handle, not cast iron metal. They are not soft and rubbery at all. The inside is filled with sand but there is no shifting of contents. I have seen kettlebells on the market made of a sort of balloon filled with sand and a funny handle. These are truly kettlebell shaped but are lighter than the standard iron bells, and allow for a bigger handle. The issue with the mini-bells used by women is that the very small (under 5 pound) bells have very tiny grips because, well, cast iron is heavy stuff. This design allows for a full-sized bell without the issue of improper size. That's a good thing.
The workouts are total body even though they stress either upper, lower or core. Fat burning is more aerobic-based. You use a series of swings, presses mixed with squats for the upper body so it is always using all your muscles; tightening core as you press while doing a demi-squat and swinging the bell back for a tricep exercise, for example. The muscle groups are properly alternated, using a sort of full pyramid scheme (full movement, half movement, pulse, back to half, then full movement.) Once it seemed the upper body did not fully repeat the same sequence on both sides, so beware.
You can turn off the yap and just use the music for regular workouts.
The nutrition guide is good--eat what you want, but be aware of portion size and low, medium and high fat, low, medium and high fiber for carbs. Want more food? Eat lower fat, higher fiber. Sensible advice.
The DVD, however, really doesn't substitute for a good RKC or Registered Kettlebell Instructor. So if you intend to do heavier kettlebells than 3 and 5 (which though minimal will tire a beginner with high reps), you need to find a local instructor. Kathy Smith doesn't really go over good form, so if you think you are going to learn kettlebells fully from this DVD and go on to a One Pood cast iron, true Russian kettlebell and do Turkish Getups or fancy swings, you could get hurt. (One Pood is the Russian unit of a kettlebell, 16KG or about 36 lbs.) She does mention that the swing is done by snapping the hips (as in a deadlift) but her info is minimal on this DVD. I have not been able to find a critique by a RKC on the web of this workout; Jillian Michaels was roundly criticized by RKC folks on the web for her poor form in her version of kettlebell but I did not find similar arguments about Kathy Smith except that RKC instructors are generally recommending that if you are really thinking of incorporating these weights into your workout, then get in-person training and I think that ultimately is the best course of action.
At these light weights, I don't think you'd be likely to get hurt but this in no way substitutes for good form, so it's not a kettlebell solution, it's a nice workout with a lump of plastic and sand at the end of your hand. I found it somewhat challenging (I normally do a Joyce Vedral Speedy Non-Stop Fat Meltdown workout and this is far more challenging, probably due to the full pyramids and adding squats and kicks.)
I'd rate this for mid-beginners and I think it's an excellent value at the price with the caveats I mentioned. One very good thing; this takes up very little space. If you have enough room to swing a cat, plus a dvd player, you have enough room to do this exercise, and the two kettlebells can fit into a shoe box, well, a boot box, but you know what I mean. They are non-metallic, weigh 8 lbs total, so conceivably could go into luggage if you travel and this, along with a dvd player, could be a road warrior's fitness solution.
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Kathy Smith's Kettlebell SolutionThe Kathy Smith Kettlebell Solution is a full range -of-motion toning, stretching, strengthening, weight loss, wellness package for adults of any fitness level and any age. The system uses kettlebells. Kettlebell training is an old school exercise that is now emerging into the mainstream with personal trainers and gyms. Many celebrities cite kettlebell training as the exercise that changed their bodies by sculpting, toning, and burning fat. The Kathy Smith Kettlebell Solution is designed for kettlebell beginners, so the two soft kettlebells are light weight. They are sand filled with a soft outer shell that won't scratch floors like a cast iron kettle bell could. The grip and kettlebell shape, however, mimic the traditional kettlebell design with a large easy-to-grip handle for two handed work and a stable rounded base to accommodate pushups.
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