Musings by Melissa

I recently received a Kettlebell.  I was very excited about receiving it since I had gained quite a bit of weight while I was waiting for my ankle to heal after my ankle surgery and because I had heard positive things about it.

I was surprised when I opened the package to find that the Kettlebell was much smaller than I anticipated.  I received the five-pound Kettlebell, and I guess I thought it would be bigger.   My hands aren’t big, and I had a bit of difficulty sometimes slipping them into the handle part quickly.  Perhaps the ten-pound Kettlebell would have been better for me.

Anyway, I started the exercises, and I was pleased with how they went.  I liked the fact that each exercise was over in seconds and then on to the next exercise.  Then the whole group of exercises would repeat.  This was beneficial because if I had difficulty with an exercise, I knew it’d be over in a matter of seconds, and then I’d get to do an exercise that was easier for me.

I was a bit disillusioned with the fact that it took a bit longer than anticipated.  I remember hearing that the workouts were only 20 minutes!  But in reality, yes, the workout is only 20 minutes long, but add about 20 minutes for warm-up and cool-down.  I thought this was slightly deceptive.  Not a huge deal, but it just made me feel like I had been lied to.

I continued faithfully with the Kettlebell until I got to the point in the exercise where it was more than my bum ankle could handle.  That was a tad discouraging because I had hoped to stick with it.  But when I had to sit out for more of the exercises than I could do, I knew it was time to shelve the Kettlebell until my ankle was stronger.

One of the bonus things is that my kids enjoyed doing the Kettlebell with me.  We only have the one bell, so we had to take turns.  Even Justin would make a Kettlebell for himself out of k’nex so he could join in!

And now, winter is upon us, and it’s COLD in our family room!  Too cold to go do a workout, but once it warms up down there, I’m sure I’ll grab the Kettlebell and start swinging it around again.  I knew it was working my muscles because I could feel it the day after my workouts.  I’m excited to try it again and see how much better my ankle does now that it’s been a couple months.

Is this the best piece of exercise equipment on the market?  Well, I’m not the best person to gauge that, but I think most exercise equipment is beneficial if you have the perseverence to stick with it.

Alicia with Kettlebell