Customer Reviews

Kathy Smith's Kettlebell Solution

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

the workout is okay for beginnners.
what i loved was the feel of the kettle bells. the ones i originally bought are metal.
the kathy smith kettle bells are a little softer,and easier on the hands...especially of you have arthritis like me.

I don't care what other people say about this workout. Alls I know is that i love love love it! I think it's worth more money! In fact knowing what I know now, I would pay twice as much, but I only paid $29.95 for this entire package on the Dr. Mercola website. I just think it's fabulous instruction and an incredible workout. I did go and buy a little ten pound kettlebell (which was practically the same price as this whole package) just to add difficulty, but realized I'm not really ready for that yet. If you do all 4 parts you can get an amazing workout! But I love how they're broken up 20 minutes at a time. I did the leg workout with my older brother and he was laughing at the dance type warmup but he didn't say a word during the workout and afterwards said, "That was a great workout!"

UPDATE:
Let me first describe myself so you can compare..... I am 44 yr old woman and have been using free weights in workouts like THE FIRM since my 20's. I love the Firm, but at this age I guess it has felt tedious to me for 65 minutes. I had heard Kettle Bells are an incredible workout and when I saw this whole package on Dr. Mercola website for $29.95 I went for it. So someone else on here gave a review and said they didn't think this workout gave very good instruction and they recommended Sarah Lurie's Beginner workout so that you learn proper form. I decided to order that dvd also. I tried it today and I have to say it made me love KATHY SMITH's workout even more!! Sarah Lurie no doubt starts off by telling you how to do the different lifts, but I was surprised in the "warmup" that she started out having us use the bells already. And then the workout was so boring!! Reminds me of a body builder workout where you're using heavy heavy kettle bells (she doesn't tell you what size, but they definitely look like 15 or 20 lb bells) and then there is no music, you do ten lifts, put the kettle bell down and rest for a minute between lifts. I am soooooo glad I didn't buy that workout first! Kathy Smith's workout has fun and upbeat music and the workout are broken up in 20 minute increments for Arms, Legs, Cardio and Abs. Other people who say this is an easy workout--Did you do all 4 workouts in one day?? I can guarantee you it's not easy. And if it is, ADD a heavier kettle bell! The great thing about this workout is, it is a GREAT PRICE, a FUN WORKOUT and I had sweat rolling off me! :-) I also love how "soft and comfortable" these kettle bells are. I went to buy a heavier one and I wish I could find a comparable bell, but my 10 pound bell is hard, compact with a cold hard handle. Oh well. These kettle bells are fabulous! I have done 65 minute workout and walked seven miles, but I FEEL IT with THIS WORKOUT! AND it made me LOVE KETTLE BELLS and have a renewed excitement and JOY to workout!!

First off, this is not a real kettlebell workout. If you've ever done Art of Strength you will be stunned and in disblief. Kathy's form is absolutely horrific and it appears she makes up exercises as she goes in a very sloppy kind of way. She neither demonstrates nor explains proper technique. Her form is actually worse than Jillian Michaels' if that's possible. I was painful to watch and I had to look away from the TV at times. Also, using a 3 lb "kettle" as she calls it is a complete waste of my time. I did this workout with a 12 lb for light and 20 lb kbell for heavier but still didn't think it was much of a workout. As a side note, agreeing with another reviewer, Sarah Lurie is the most boring kbell instructor ever and Kathy is more fun, but Sarah's skill level is superior. I would recommend instead anything by Anthony Diluglio, Amy Bento and Paul Katami which manage to create quality workouts with a high fun factor.
All that said, there is one exception: the ab section is excellent. I really like it and felt it in my abs using a heavy kettlebell. I will probably only use this section and as an add-on to other workouts.

I've used this several times now, and find it to be a great way for beginners to learn to use the kettlebell. The weights are small and easy to manage, so you won't tire in five minutes or injure yourself. There's only one cardio routine, hence only 4 stars instead of five. Had there been two cardio routines I'd have given it 5, but there are separate routines for core, upper and lower body.

Addendum:

Shortly after I first posted this, I swung the 5lb kettlebell into the "rack" position and cracked the head of my left radius. The bone healed in two months, unfortunately, the nature of the injury also injured most of the ligaments and they can take around year to heal. So even though I really like the kettlebell, and I really liked the routines for this one, I won't be using it anymore.

And I'd like to strongly caution those who do use to not let it swing against you, especially at the elbow.

was thinking about trying kettlebells for a long time. Decided to try this particular package deal. Very affordable/ I like that the kettlebells are not metal/ work out is somewhat intense but you can pick and chose the aspects you want in your workout.This was my first experience with kettlebells and I found this dvd pretty easy to follow. Would definitely recommend especially for newbies.

Kathy Smith did a great job with this DVD.(I love her!) The menu is broken down into 4 parts, warm-up, then 4 target zones of arms, hips/thighs, core and cardio. You can do the warm-up and then continue with however many target zones you like (meaning you don't have to do a warm-up before each target zone.)

The moves are basic and well explained, so nothing involving choreography where you may spend more time figuring out what the instructor is doing rather than working out. This means you can pop this into the DVD player in the wee hours of the morning like I do and start working out with minimal brain power ;).

They also include nutritional guide and a poster of kettlebell moves.

Kettlebells are FUN! I just love it, I really look forward to working out!! I am sure will eventually add more kettlebell dvds to my repertoire. But for right now these four workouts are challenging me and I am seeing results!

I ordered these kettlebells to use with the Jillian Michael's new "Workout With Weights" DVD, so I can't comment on the actual work out here on the Kathy Smith DVD. I can comment on the Kettlebells. The KBs are very good, maybe a little on the small size, but good for beginners. I am using the heavier of the KBs and not the lighter one, so I will have to upgrade soon. That said, the KBs are very comfortable to use.

This purchase came quickly. The dvd is good and the kettle bells are very comfortable to use.

I am happy with my choice. I think it is a very good workout for someone who has never used kettlebells before, and it does work up a sweat.