I started out with this 10lb Danskin kettlebell from Wal-Mart. It was around $16. Very reasonable price for a good product.

After a few weeks of using the 10lb bell, I had ‘outgrown’ it. So I looked into buying a kettlebell that was adjustable, because that just made more sense to me. So of course, I went with Jillian Michael’s kettlebell.

It’s adjustable up to 20lbs. Which trust me, is about all you will need. You will get an awesome workout using 15-20lbs. JM’s bell is a little clunky and noisy, but I’ve gotten used to it. It’s a little bit harder to do snatches with because it’s heavy duty. Where as the Danskin one is rubber on the outside. But my arms have adjusted to the JM one.

Now, I started out doing Jillian Michael’s Shred it With Weights. I still alternate between the two workouts.

Pros:

1. They are both awesome workouts.

2. She mixes intervals in with the kettlebell that keeps your HR up.

3. She drives home good form and practices it.

4. 30 minutes!! What???

5. She has modifications if you are new to kettlebells or fitness in general.

I don’t have many cons except, it does get a bit boring. Boring maybe, but the intensity never really dies. If I find myself getting bored, I add a weight plate. Or I’ll do both workouts back-to-back. Overall a great kettlebell DVD and it really helped me build a strong core which is essential to running.

Now, to help with the ‘boring’ factor I decided to try Bob Harpers Kettlebell Cardio Shred dvd.

 I main reason I’m doing this review is I didn’t read any before purchasing it and now wish I had. Don’t get me wrong, it can still be a killer workout and in fact is. I had to remove a weight plate while doing it this morning. My gripe is his form along with the other trainer. There were a few times I thought she was going to hurt herself slinging the kettlebell around. There were a few moves that were just hard to keep correct form because of the sequence of moves. The windmill comes to mind. I really liked how he would build on moves. Like starting out with a basic squat, to adding the bell to make it front loaded, then adding the upright row at the end. Really gets your HR up there. But when there are so many moves that your form starts slacking, I have a problem with that. So I would say, unless you really know good form, stay away from this DVD. 

So there is my review, take it for what’s it worth. 🙂 Don’t let kettlebells scare you, they are amazing and torch calories. I absolutely love them!