Today, women are very busy, from work and raising a family to shopping and everything else. There seems scarce time to squeeze it all in. Working out at the gym just doesn’t seem to cut it with your busy schedule so, whether you work from home or are a working mom, there is a way to get fit.

You don’t need a gym full of equipment to get a solid workout. Simply grab kettlebell and get a full-body workout!

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It seems everywhere you look that trainers and others are constantly taking one exercise, piece of equipment, etc. and making a fad out of it. Well, move over dumbbells because now there’s kettlebells.

In a real sense, there is nothing special about a kettlebell compared to a dumbbell, however, it is easier to grab and overall, this makes things easier in terms of working out with limited equipment. A kettlebell takes up almost no space and can be used by anyone to get a pretty good workout, even advanced bodybuilders.

So, instead of wandering from machine to bench in the gym, grab the bell and let’s get going at home.

You can do almost any exercise with a kettlebell that you can with a dumbbell or many weights for that matter. A great exercise to do with it for the legs is the Goblet squat, as well as other kinds of squats, lunges, raises, etc.

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It’s like Magic
The shape and handle location on the kettlebell make it ideal for certain explosive exercises like swings, snatches, and cleans, all of which originated in speed-strength training brought from Russia to the U.S. by Fred Hatfield and Dr. E.J. Kreis.

You can do just a couple of these exercises for an entire 20-minute workout. And, done in interval fashion, the workout is fantastic. As a matter of fact, the American Council on Exercise found that performing kettlebells in 15-second intervals (on then, off) burned about the same amount of calories as running a 6-minute mile!

By choosing the proper weight kettlebell to begin, you will have the advantage of being able to mix explosive movements with resistance/strength movements to ‘key’ all your energy systems, work your core, and build good foundational strength.

How much weight to choose is not difficult. Go to a sporting-goods store and test the weight for yourself. You need to choose a weight that you can move fluidly and can press about 4-5 times (singe-arm) above your head. If you can press the weight for 7-12 times or more, it is too light. As a rule of thumb, and it’s only a rule of thumb, an average weight load for women is about 5-10 pounds while that for men is 25-30 pounds. The amount is very individualistic and you may find that you can use more or even less weight than those listed. The load also assumes you can press the weight without shoulder or back restrictions due to past or current injuries. If you cannot do this, the kettlebell workouts in terms of presses should not be done.

So, what are you waiting for, give the kettlebell a try.

Following is a very simple workout:

Day 1:
Turkish Get Up – 3 sets, 4 reps per set

Day 2:
One-arm Kettlebell swing – 4 sets, 15 reps per set

Day 3:
Goblet Squat – 5 sets, 6 reps per set

Day 4:
Kettlebell Sumo Squat – 4 sets, 8 reps per set

Day 5:
One-arm Kettlebell row – 6 sets, 12 reps per set

This is just an example, you’ll want to add pushups, situps, crunches, and other exercises as well. Don’t worry about timing everything, just jump into it and keep your heart pumped. If you find yourself getting out of breath slow down and take a brief one-minute rest. Just keep it moving and have fun. Best of all, lots of these movements are full body so there’s great calorie burn.

Question: Do women obtain the same benefits from exercise as men?

Answer:

While many studies showing the positive effects of exercise have been done with men, studies that have included women indicate that women may benefit even more than men from being physically fit. Early indications show the reduced rates of death by heart disease are higher for women who are physically fit than for men. Thus, exercise for women is very beneficial and at least of the same value and benefit. Also, women that do not exercise are at double the risk of dying from heart disease than women who do exercise, just as women who smoke are at double risk of dying from heart disease than women who don’t smoke. While women may live longer than men, they don’t necessarily live better. Research studies also indicate that elderly women who have been physically inactive experience more disability in their daily function than women who have been active.

The majority of women in sport derive significant health and social benefits from a wide variety of intense exercises and being on a sports or athletic team. However, everyday thousands of women may be at risk of significant harm from their participation in sport. Girls and women who may consider themselves at peak health may, in fact, be in danger of severe injury, illness, and even death. The cause of this risk is the Female Athlete Triad.

First described in the early 1990’s, the female athlete triad refers to disordered eating, amenorrhea, and osteoporosis. No one currently knows how commonly the triad occurs, but there is concern that it may go largely unrecognized by female athletes, coaches, trainers, and health care professionals. The major concern is that in addition to affecting current performance, ones health could be severely affected in the long term.

The components of the Female Athlete Triad are:

1. Disordered eating – the precipitating event for the triad. Rather than restrict this description to a narrower focus of “eating disorders”, the term, “disordered eating” refers to a broader array of abnormal eating behavior. At the severe end of the spectrum are those athletes who fulfill the diagnostic criteria for anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. At the other end are those who may inadvertently be taking in fewer calories than they need. They may appear to be eating a healthy diet, which may be adequate for a sedentary individual, but for a female athlete is calorie restrictive. Regardless of how disordered eating develops it is thought that the mismatch between food intake and energy expenditure creates an “energy drain” on the endocrine system, which in turn leads to the second and third parts of the triad.

2. Amenorrhea – cessation of menstruation (periods) for 3 or more consecutive cycles. It is the result of inadequate estrogen production by the ovaries. Although some athletes may not be bothered by the absence of periods, such is an easily recognizable warning sign that something is not right. There are many causes of amenorrhea, including pregnancy thus, an athlete should seek qualified medical care. Once amenorrhea develops the athlete should not ignore it or attempt to minimize its significance.

3. Osteoporosis, the final part of the triad, is a consequence of inadequate estrogen. It is well documented that inadequate estrogen is not good for bones. In one of the original descriptions of the triad osteoporosis was termed, “premature bone loss or inadequate bone formation”. Although this is different from the World Health Organization’s more strict definition of osteoporosis, failure to build bone at a normal rate or losing bone density at a young age is not healthy. This can lead to short and/or long-term problems. In the immediate time horizon, poor bone formation spells trouble for an athlete in the form of stress fractures. Also, during young adult years, a woman reaches maximum bone mineral density and after age 30 can expect to lose an average of 0.5% of bone density per year. This rate that accelerates to 2% after menopause. Consequently, it is vital to maximize bone density when younger. There is concern that the female athlete triad poses significant risk of osteoporosis later in life.

While any one component of the Triad is harmful by itself, together they can cause a decrease in performance, medical and psychological harm, mental duress, and in severe cases, death. As a female athlete, coach, trainer, parent, administrator, or team physician, it is your responsibility to know about the Triad, how to recognize it, its causes, how to prevent it from occurring, and what to do if it occurs.

Causes of the Female Athlete Triad:

The causes of disordered eating can be very complex. External and internal pressures to be thin, i.e., body image, may cause the Triad to develop in an athlete. Unwittingly, coaches, fellow athletes, trainers, and many others may encourage athletes to be thin because they believe this will enhance performance or appearance. Nothing could do greater harm to an athlete who is susceptible to disordered eating.

The many pressures to win, both internal and external, also may be a cause of the Triad. Undue pressure or control can cause athletes to feel they lack self control over their lives and sports. Thus, to gain perceived control over some aspect of their lives, athletes may turn to excessive exercise and controlling food intake, usually in the form of restricting it to lower than required amounts.

The primary cause of the amenorrhea component of the Triad is an energy imbalance brought on when athletes fail to eat enough to replenish the energy they expend in training. This energy imbalance, which is due to both under eating and intense workouts, negatively affects the body’s regulatory systems, which leads to both amenorrhea and osteoporosis. Examples include:

• Although any athlete may suffer from the Triad, those who participate in sports that place a premium on appearance or thinness are especially susceptible, including the following: Sports where athletes wear skimpy or revealing clothing (swimming, track & field, volleyball, diving, cross-country skiing, track and field, cheer leading).
• Sports where a pre-pubescent body is emphasized (diving, gymnastics, figure skating).
• Sports in which performance is subjectively judged (dance, diving, gymnastics, figure skating, Pro Fitness, aerobics).
• Sports with weight categories (judo, wrestling, weightlifting, rowing, martial arts).
• Endurance sports (cycling, cross-country skiing, marathons).

The main group at risk of suffering symptoms of the female athlete triad are young and older teen athletes in these sports learning to cope with peer pressure, biological changes, fame due to thinness, i.e., spectator glorification, and focus on body image that occur during puberty.

The analysis was part of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Women’s Contraceptive and Reproductive Experiences Study.

“It is reassuring that breast cancer risk begins to return to normal six months after women stop combined dose estrogen-progestin therapy,” said Director of the NICHD. “Women, in consultation with their physicians, need to make the most informed decision possible.”

This was the first large clinical trial to assess the risks and benefits of continuous combined hormone therapy. In this form of therapy, women take a combination of the hormones estrogen and progestin. Essentially, the hormone estrogen relieves such symptoms of menopause as hot flashes, night sweats, sleeplessness, and vaginal dryness. When taken alone estrogen also increases a woman’s risk for cancer of the uterine lining, or endometrium. Combining estrogen with progestin virtually eliminates the risk of endometrial cancer.

During the study, women used continuous combined hormone therapy and researchers monitored their health. When it became clear that the women were developing breast cancer at higher than normal rates, the researchers ceased the study immediately. Because of this, researchers were unable to tell yet whether the women in the study face any increased risk of breast cancer now that they stopped taking the hormones.

In contrast, researchers for the NICHD study began by questioning women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer about their hormone use and other potential risk factors for breast cancer. These women were then compared to a similar group of women who had not developed breast cancer. The data suggests a positive association between continuous combined HRT and breast cancer risk among current, longer term users and that Progestin administered in an uninterrupted regimen may be a contributing factor.

A total of 3823 postmenopausal white and black women were analyzed for the study. In all, the medical histories of 1870 women who had developed breast cancer were compared to the histories of 1953 women who did not have breast cancer.

The researchers found that women on continuous combined therapy for 5 years or more were 1.5 times more likely to developing breast cancer than other women their age not on this form of therapy. The risk of breast cancer increased the longer the women used this form of therapy. However, six months after the women discontinued the combined therapy; their risk of breast cancer began to return to normal. This held true for women who took the hormones for 5 years or longer before stopping, as well as for women who took the hormones for only about 6 months. The NICHD study also included former users, and our data indicate that the increased risk associated with use of continuous combined hormone therapy began returning to normal about 6 months after the women stopped using them.

Estrogen alone may be prescribed to women whose uterus has been surgically removed, as these women no longer have a risk of endometrial cancer. The NICHD study did not find any additional risk of breast cancer in women who took estrogen alone. A recent study by the NCI found, however, that women taking estrogen alone may be at increased risk for cancer of the ovary.