Hi friends! Happy Friday and Happy New Years’ Eve! What are you up to this weekend?? Any fun plans for tonight? We’re meeting up with some friends for a family party (kids + adults) and spending the rest of the weekend cleaning up Christmas (wah) and getting ready to go back to school/life etc.
I feel like I’ve been completely lazy all week this week… and it’s been pretty glorious. Our house is a disaster, we’ve been sleeping in every single day, and I’ve been living the pajama life. The past month was extra busy and it felt good to enjoy some quiet, calm, and some non-productive times after all of the craziness. I feel rested and ready to get back into it next week!
It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves party! This is where I share some of my favorite finds from the week and around the web. I love hearing about your faves, too, so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below.
A fun highlight from the week: we met up with some friends at Charro del Rey for steak and seafood. Madre watched the kiddos and we got to catch up with Annie – one of my best friends since kindergarten – her beautiful sis and husband, and Natalie and her husband. We haven’t been to Charro del Rey in forever and all of the food was amazing.
Random/house:
New Perfect Pot! I ordered this during their Black Friday promo because I have and love the Always Pan. We’ve had the pan for over a year and it still looks beautiful and has maintained its nonstick quality.
You know you’re at a special point in your life where you’re excited about a pot, but here we are. 😉
A goodie package from my friends at HigherDOSE! They sent a copper body brush, tongue scraper, and water bottle. Everything they make is amazing, so I’m pumped about these. (I already have a body brush so I’m going to gift this one to a Favorite Things winner)
HUGE Beautycounter holiday gift set sale! Check it out here and get some incredible bundles and last-chance products for up to 65% off. I recommend the Beyond Gloss minis, Clean Dreams set, Mini Must-haves, and bath oil trio!
I was kind of skeptical about Amazon fashion because I’ve had some purchases with less-than-awesome quality over the years, but it seems like they’ve stepped it up. This sweater set is SO cute and only $35. Ordering one to wear with booties.
My go-to gym jacket is on sale at Nordstrom. (I wear mine to train clients because it looks fitness professional-ish.)
This moto jacket came in a recent Trunk Club and is on sale for $89.
Check out Sakara. I LOVE this meal delivery service and plan out my deliveries for busy weeks or when I know I’ll want something to look forward to. I had a shipment this past week and it felt like such a gift to each fresh and vibrant food I didn’t have to cook. Check it out here and use the code XOGINAH for 20% off.
Today we are going to teach you everything you’ve ever wanted to know about body fat percentage but were too afraid to ask.
We’ve been helping thousands of people get their body fat percentage to their desired level through our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program, and I’m pumped to share with you our strategies in this guide.
Plus, lots of cute animal videos as rewards for reading each section.
Fair warning: lots of half-naked people of all different shapes and sizes in this guide!
In this Body Fat Measurement Ultimate Guide, we’ll cover:
If you have been struggling with your weight (and having too high of a body fat percentage) for a while, I know how frustrating that can be.
It’s why we built our popular 1-on-1 Online Coaching program, so this time things can be different. Your NF Coach will help you track the right metrics (like body fat percentage) and set the right goals.
What is body fat percentage?
In its simplest form: body fat is the amount of fat in your body, compared to everything else:
your organs
muscles
bones
tendons
water
any demons currently possessing you
and so on
Both men and women carry different amounts of body fat percentage due to…you know…being different.
A super ripped male bodybuilder who is minimizing body fat percentage could have a percentage down as low as 3-4%, while a super ripped female bodybuilder who is minimizing body fat percentage would only get as low as 8-9%.
A male athlete could be in fantastic shape and have 10% body fat, while a women at a comparable level of athleticism and appearance might be at 18-20% body fat.
To take the comparison to the other end of the spectrum, an overweight male at 30% will look vastly different than an overweight woman at 30%.
Feel free to take a break with this video of a lion cub hanging out with a puppy and a rabbit.
What are some examples of body fat percentage?
Below, you’ll see images of what people look like with different amounts of body fat.
Men:
Women:
A quick note: your body fat percentage is just the amount of body fat you have.
It has nothing to do with the amount of muscle mass you have, which means you can have two people with the same amount of body fat percentage that look WAY different from each other.
Are you surprised about what you thought and what the actual percentages look like?
If so, don’t worry about it – most people have no idea what their body fat percentage is, and will often over or underestimate it pretty dramatically.
We’ll get into what’s a good number to AIM for, and how to measure it next.
We work with both men and women in our Online Coaching Program, and help them reach a level of body fat that they’re happy with.
More importantly? We do it sustainably, and without making you only eat chicken and broccoli.
You have unlocked this video of a baby sea otter trying to sleep on mom:
What should my body fat percentage be?
Here is the “generally accepted” (yeah, I don’t like this term either) chart for women and men when it comes to body fat percentage:
Women
Men
Essential fat
10-12%
2-4%
Athletes
14-20%
6-13%
Fitness
21-24%
14-17%
Acceptable
25-31%
18-25%
Obese
32% plus
26% plus
In what I’m sure is news to nobody, body fat is essential to survival – fat protects your internal organs, provides you with necessary energy stores in times of peril, and more.
“Essential fat” means the minimal amount of fat required for survival – Anything less than this amount would mostly likely result in organ failure, but even approaching this amount of body fat is dangerous.
It’s for this reason that bodybuilders, who can minimize their body fat to the “essential fat” level only do so when prepping for a show – during the rest of the year they maintain a higher body fat percentage so that they can stay healthy and function properly.
If you are looking to have that “ripped” or “toned” look, you’ll want your body fat percentage to hover in the “athletes” section.
If you’re just looking to get healthy and look in the mirror with pride, aim for the Fitness range.
Once you get into the upper ends of “acceptable” and “obese,” a decrease in body fat percentage would benefit your health.
Now, I’m going to GUESS you’re reading this article because you’re interested in reducing your body fat percentage.
For starters, you need to determine what’s an optimal goal for you:
If you are trying to look like Ryan Reynolds or Jessica Beil in Blade III, good luck! You’ll need to aim for a body fat percentage of 6-8% (men) or 13-15% (women). Note: your athletic/strength gaining performance will most likely suffer at this percentage, and can be really really challenging to maintain. Your call.
If you are interested in getting that coveted six pack, drop your body fat down to the 8-11% range for men and 15-17% range for women.
If you are an athlete and interested in optimal athletic performance, aim for a body fat percentage around 15% (men) or 20% (women). NF team member Staci trains much better at 20% body fat than at 15% body fat.
If you are just interested in looking pretty good and feeling pretty good, anything less than 18% for men and anywhere in the 20-23% range for women should get you the “hey, lookin pretty good!” response from your friends.
Ladies: if you are concerned about menstruation or fertility, it has been said not to drop below 15% body fat. Studies are conflicted on this, your results may vary, but I thought it was worth mentioning!
Want a step-by-step plan to follow that will help you lower your body fat percentage safely and permanently? Great!
You’ve unlocked the “cute baby pigmy goat jumping around” video:
How do I calculate or Measure my body fat percentage?
This question I get asked above ALLLLLL others.
There are seven main methods that you can use, each with varying levels of accuracy and cost:
1) Take a Look – This might be my favorite method, although it requires a trained eye and isn’t exact. By having an accurate progression of pictures from week to week and comparing a picture of yourself, you can determine somewhat closely what your body fat percentage is.
Make sure to note the difference in the two men, both at 10% body fat further down the page.
2) Body Fat Calipers – Pick up a set of calipers for $5. Pull the fat away from your muscles, pinch them with the caliper, take the measurements, and look at a chart to figure out your body fat percentage. Some recommend using one test site, some multiple.
In my experience, I have found that these calipers tend to slightly underestimate body fat percentage (mine tell me that i’m 9 or 10% when I’m really 12%, and Staci’s say she’s 17% when she’s more like 20%), but are surprisingly accurate considering how cheap they are.
However, the accuracy isn’t as important as the fact that you pinch and measure the same area, under the same conditions, from week to week. By doing so, you can track overall trends in how the measurement changes to make sure you’re on the right path.
3) The measurement method – By taking measurements (like the US Navy measurement or the YMCA measurement), you can calculate your body fat percentage. I have found, as have others, that this method isn’t incredibly accurate as it can very easily overestimate your body fat.
Considering it only takes a few points of data, this is not surprising.
4) Body fat scales and monitors– An electrical current is sent through your body and uses “biometrical impedance analysis.” I don’t really like this method, as I find the number that it spits out can be horribly inaccurate.
Because they send an electrical current through your body, the amount of water you are carrying can drastically adjust this number too.
5) The Bod Pod – The method calculates your body fat percentage by using air displacement to measure your body mass, volume, and density. This is also pretty darn accurate, but also pretty darn expensive at usually around $75 per session. Find a bod pod location by putting in your location in the right hand column.
6) Water displacement – Although very accurate (within 1-3% percent), it’s expensive, tedious, and a huge pain in the butt. If anybody has any experience with a water displacement test, please share your story in the comments.
7) DEXA Scanning– This is considered the most accurate method, as it actually takes a full dual X-ray of your body composition and gives you numbers. You can get this done at a health facility, and involves you lying on an X-Ray table for about 10 minutes. It’s typically expensive, anywhere from $50-150 per session depending on where you are located.
VERY IMPORTANT: If you are going to start testing your body fat percentage, do whatever you can to test yourself under the same conditions each and every time.
For example: every Monday morning, on an empty stomach, while drinking a single glass of water. This way, even if you’re not getting the correct body fat percentage (due to user error), you’ll at least get a consistent incorrect body fat percentage and can calculate how much you lost or if you are progressing in the right way.
“Steve, just tell me the best method!”
If you have the money, and you have a Bod Pod center close to you, then I’d say this would be the best combination of practicality and accuracy.
If you don’t have the money, then I would go with a simple body fat caliper, along with the “take a look” method of taking weekly photos. Take a photo of yourself each week and compare the photos week to week to see if you can notice more definition in your muscles (which happens when you start to reduce your body fat percentage!).
Here’s the thing with body fat percentage: although it’s fun to know and fun to see it getting lower as you get leaner, methods to track it can often be inaccurate.
Take multiple tests with your preferred methods and understand that even then it might be off by 1-3% in either direction. So, track overall TRENDS and go off how you look, and that will get you 95% of the way there.
It comes down to this:Look in the mirror, and compare your progress photos: do you like how you look and are you moving in the right direction? Awesome.
DON’T like what you see?
Let us help!
Our Online Coaching Program is changing people’s lives every day. We help folks like you make better food choices, follow the right workout program for your goals and keep you accountable!
Another section, another reward.
You’ve unlocked the “baby otter attacks a stuffed animal walrus” video:
What’s the best way to lower body fat percentage?
Alrighty! Let’s say you’re interested in dropping your body fat percentage, like my childhood friend Saint above.
Staci (follow her full success story) also followed the principles of Nerd Fitness to get her results and significantly reduce her body fat percentage:
I’m sliiiiiightly biased, but both Saint and Staci, along with 35,000+ other students, reduced their body fat percentage by following the methods we teach all clients in our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program.
Not only that, but Staci is now one of our Lead Coaches!
As you’ll read below, the biggest piece of the puzzle to getting to a low body fat percentage is having the right nutritional strategy of consistent caloric restriction, the right mental attitude, a supportive network of people to help you, and a plan to follow.
We know how tough it can be to change your diet. If you’re not sure what to eat, or you’re sick of trying a diet only to give up a few weeks later, I got you covered.
It’s something I’m really proud of, and I know it’s helped a lot of people: our 10-level Nerd Fitness Diet Cheat Sheet. Pick the level you’re comfortable with, stick with it for at least 2 weeks, and then level up when ready and follow the next level! Simple.
Grab your cheat sheet free, along with 4 other free guides, when you sign up in the box below – I’m confident it can help you reduce your body fat percentage permanently.
Download our free weight loss guide
THE NERD FITNESS DIET: 10 Levels to Change Your Life
Follow our 10-level nutrition system at your own pace
What you need to know about weight loss and healthy eating
3 Simple rules we follow every day to stay on target
I can’t teach you everything in a quick article, though I can absolutely give you some overall tips and tricks below to get you started.
Here are the Nerd Fitness methods we recommend to all coaching clients get down to a lower body fat percentage.
Note: these are JUST suggestions, your results may vary!
If you only want to drop a few percentage points (to a healthier weight), you can start with the advice at the top, and work your way down towards the bottom as you get lower and lower – the closer you get to single digits (dudes) or low double digits (ladies), the more strict you need to be with your diet and training.
Don’t forget to calculate your daily caloric needs first! If you are not strength training while eating a caloric deficit, you will most likely be losing muscle along with fat, which is not optimal but will help you lose body fat.
Do this consistently and you’ll start to lose body fat.
2. Lift heavy thingsand move frequently – When you strength train with heavy objects (or with intense bodyweight training), you get stronger and keep the muscle mass that you already have.
3. Incorporate sprints into your off days – When you run sprints, you create a similar afterburner effect with strength training, meaning extra calories burned after the completion of your workout.
4. Consume enough protein, experiment with lower carb or lower fat – Set your caloric intake to be low enough that your body must pull from fat stores to fuel itself, resulting in fat loss.
I’d recommend consuming enough protein to keep your muscles growing and rebuilding, while determining what’s best for your body to make up the rest of your calories each day: many people work better on a low carb diet.
5. Work out in a fasted state, consider intermittent fasting – Although advanced techniques to get to super low body fat percentages are beyond the scope of this article, here’s another tactic if you want to drop the last few percentage points:
Strength train in a fasted state, and don’t consume your first meal of the day until AFTER your workout.
Added bonus: by skipping a meal occasionally, you’re more likely than not to end up in a caloric deficit compared to when you were eating 6 meals per day.
I’ve been training in a fasted state for 5 years with zero issues on energy, but your results will vary.
6. Not losing weight? You’re eating too much! Get more accurate with your tracking. Consider a cheap food scale to make sure you’re actually eating the number of calories each day you think you’re eating.
Example: I eat 1 serving of oats each day. If you look at a container of oats, it says “1 serving = 1/2 cup, or 40 grams.” I then put half a cup of oats on a food scale, and it weighed 60 grams. This means that every day, I was eating 1.5 servings of oats, not 1 serving.
7. Hire a Coach! Doing all of this stuff alone is absolutely manageable, it just requires a lot of trial and error. If you are somebody that wants to work with a trainer, here’s how to find a good trainer!
Oh what’s that? You want a coach you can take with you everywhere, that will check your form AND help you with food and essentially do everything except the actual heavy lifting of weights?) Sure!
Along with the above, keep reading Nerd Fitness articles, join our community, and start to implement the philosophies here and you’ll be on the right track.
The important thing to remember: this is NOT an overnight process. The best thing you can do is start treating yourself like a science experiment.
Implement the suggestions above, track your bodyfat and see how it changes, and then course-correct and adjust based on results!
And another big thing to remember:
TEMPORARY CHANGES GET TEMPORARY RESULTS.
If you starve yourself to get shredded but then rebound aggressively by eating buckets of ice cream when you’re “done,” say goodbye to those abs!
Also, here’s a video of a wombat. Because, wombats:
Is BMI the same as body fat percentage?
When you go to a doctor, they will most likely ONLY calculate your Body Mass Index (BMI).
Body Mass Index looks at your height and your weigh; based off this ratio, it tells you whether you are underweight, normal, overweight, or obese.
Seems pretty straightforward right? Obviously, as your weight increases disproportionately compared to your height, you are more likely to be overweight.
Notice I just said “more likely.”
Here’s why: Your BMI isn’t directly correlated to your body fat percentage – it only factors in your height and weight. It will give you the same reading if you’re made of 180 pounds of pure muscle, or 180 pounds of pure Cheetos.
For example, if I was six feet tall and 185 pounds with a body fat percentage of 10%, I would be put in the same “overweight” category as a guy who was six feet tall, 185 pounds, and a body fat percentage of 25%.
If two women have the same amount of body fat, and one tends to carry more water weight or have bigger bones than the other, one woman could be considered “overweight” while the other might be “average.”
For example: LeBron James is considered borderline obese when measured on the BMI scale, at a height of 6’8″ and 250 pounds.
Of course, unless you look like LeBron James, or you can see your abs, disregarding BMI is missing the point.
I do believe BMI can be helpful if you are above 20% body fat (men) or 25% (women). Both your BMI and your body fat percentage would tell you that fat loss can be a worthwhile goal.
HOWEVER, as soon as you start to get serious about your body weight and training and drop down to flat stomach levels of body fat percentage, then BMI becomes less of an accurate indicator of health.
If you like our style here with cute animal videos and fun content, let us help you reach your body fat and BMI goals with our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program!
You’ve unlocked the final reward: “the hedgehog boat”:
What other questions do you have on body fat percentage?
And that concludes today’s lesson on body fat percentage, friend!
I do most of my work in coffee shops these days, so I hope you understand the amount of work and the ridiculous number of awkward Google searches that had to happen in order to bring this post together.
Now, I know this is one of those super complicated topics, so I’d love to help any other way than I can.
You’ll work with our certified NF instructors who will get to know you better than you know yourself, and program your nutrition and workouts for you.
If you are fired up and want to start reducing your body fat percentage in a healthy, sustainable way, consider trying our 10 Level Nerd Fitness Diet – we’ll send you a cheat sheet telling you exactly how to change your diet each week so you don’t get overwhelmed!
Grab your NF Diet sheet along with four guides to help you reduce your body fat percentage when you sign up in the box below:
Download our free weight loss guide
THE NERD FITNESS DIET: 10 Levels to Change Your Life
Follow our 10-level nutrition system at your own pace
What you need to know about weight loss and healthy eating
3 Simple rules we follow every day to stay on target
We’ve helped tens of thousands of people transform into real life superheroes.
Either way, continue to poke around Nerd Fitness – all of our content is focused on helping you get results in a fun, non-condescending, supportive, and (most importantly) effective way.
Also, if you’re willing to put in the time, you WILL get the results you’re after.
Okay, time to watch more cute animal videos 🙂
-Steve
PS: Admittedly this article took 10 hours longer than it needed to, because I kept getting lost in YouTube watching cute animal videos!
These are the types of programs that we create for our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Clients, and we’re getting amazing results for people.
And make sure you download our Kettlebell Worksheet! It’ll come in handy in just a moment.
Grab Your Beginner Kettlebell Routine Worksheet!
Complete this workout at home or gym with 1 kettlebell.
Avoid the common mistakes everybody makes when doing kettlebell exercises.
Build strength, burn fat, level up your life!
The 20 Minute Beginner Kettlebell Workout (with Video Demonstration)
Once you’ve watched the video above (featuring Matt Shortis, a lead trainer in our 1-on-1 Coaching Program) here’s a quick recap with repetitions for the workout here:
COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING CIRCUIT 3 TIMES:
8 Halos (each side)
10 Goblet Squats
8 Overhead Presses (each side)
15 Kettlebell Swings
8 Bent Over Rows (each side)
6 Front Rack Reverse Lunge (per side)
And because we like to have fun around here, we made a graphic where superheroes do the workout.
Here’s the Beginner Kettlebell Workout as an infographic:
Our Beginner Kettlebell Workout is what’s called a circuit (you can learn all about circuit training here). That’s just a fancy term for doing a workout like so:
1 set of exercise A, go immediately to
1 set of exercise B, go immediately to
1 set of exercise C, and so on…
Repeat from the top!
Your long-term goal should be to do 3 full circuits, back to back, for a complete workout.
4 if you’re on fire, like in NBA Jam.
If you can only go through it once or twice, that’s okay too!
And if you need to take a break at any time between sets or after a circuit, do it! You do you.
Prior to jumping into the kettlebell circuit, don’t forget to do some mobility warm-up (you can see our warm-up routine here):
Nothing too crazy, just something to “grease the groove” and get your body used to movement so you don’t pull any muscles once you start swinging the kettlebell.
In other words, preparing your muscles and joints to move some weight around!
A few minutes of running in place, air punches and kicks, some jumping jacks, and arm swings, should get your heart rate up and your muscles warmed for the Kettlebell Workout.
You can do all of the Beginner Kettlebell Workout with one single bell, from anywhere.
We’ll go over each more in our next section, so you can perfect your kettlebell technique.
Tip from Coach Matt: for the goblet squat, focus on depth.It’s more important to practice doing a full squat than to pump out reps. If you can’t make 10, don’t stress it. Do what you can.
#3) KETTLEBELL OVERHEAD PRESS
Grab the kettlebell with one hand, with the handle going down your palm (if the handle is too close to your fingers it’ll pull your wrist down).
Press straight up with your fist driving the movement (your fist would be pointing up the entire time).
Reverse the movement and bring the kettlebell back down. Then repeat.
Tip from Coach Matt: when doing the overhead press, get tight.Tightening your muscles will engage your core, offering a fuller body workout.
#4) KETTLEBELL SWING
Get down into a bent-over, flat-back position and grab the kettlebell with both hands from the handle.
Swing the kettlebell behind you, then get ready to jump up.
Jump up (without leaving the ground) and swing the kettlebell up. You should be standing tall at the peak of the movement.
Reverse the movement and bring the kettlebell back down and behind you.
Repeat.
Tip from Coach Matt: during the kettlebell swing, focus on hinging your hips.The swing is like adeadlift movement, so you should feel it in your hamstring and glutes.
#5) BENT OVER ROW
Get down into a bent-over, flat-back position and grab the kettlebell with one arm.
Pick up the kettlebell by driving your elbow up into your rib cage.
Lower the kettlebell back down by reversing the movement.
Tip from Coach Matt: try to keep your back straight and stomach tight during the row.This will help engage your legs for stabilization as you pull the kettlebell towards your stomach.
#6) FRONT RACK REVERSE LUNGE
Grab the kettlebell with one hand and rest the weight between your arm and chest.
Step your leg back (the same side your kettlebell is on) and lower down until your shin is parallel-ish with the ground (or as low as you can).
Spring back up to your starting position.
Tip from Coach Matt: for the lunges, again keep your back straight.By keeping your shoulders back, you’ll get a fuller body workout when you come in and out of your lunge.
Boom! There you have it.
The 6 best kettlebell exercises for beginners.
If you want someone to review your form on any of these kettlebell movements, or you’re looking to level up your kettlebell game, our coaches can do just that!Our spiffy mobile app lets you send a video of your exercises directly to your coach, who will provide feedback so you can perfect your technique.
In case you’re still on the fence about grabbing a kettlebell, let’s dig into them a little bit more.[1]
What Type of Kettlebell Is Best? What Is the Best Kettlebell Weight for Me?
So you want to buy a kettlebell, eh?
They come in all sorts of materials, in all sorts of shapes, and in all sorts of sizes.
Which one you pick will come down to your personal preference, your budget, and your experience with kettlebells.
Let’s contemplate the following when picking the right kettlebell:
#1) Standard vs.Competition. A standard traditional kettlebell will be cast iron, and as the weight goes up, the dimensions go up.
For example, a 16kg (35 lb.) bell will be larger than a 6kg (15lb) bell. This isn’t true for competitive kettlebells.
No matter their weight, competitive kettlebells will have the same dimensions for bell shape, base, and handle width.
So the 16kg will look just like the 6kg. This can be helpful to make sure you are consistent with technique.
#2) Weight. In general, pick a weight that allows you to complete a workout with good form.
When in doubt, start with a lighter weight, as you can always increase the weight/size later. If you’re forcing me to pick one for you, knowing NOTHING about you, I’d say consider purchasing a 16kg if you’re a male or 8kg if you’re a female.
Now, this isn’t an exact science, and we are all unique snowflakes. If you think you’re stronger than average, go heavier. Not quite there? Go lighter.
#3) Ballistic vs. Grind. You’ll often hear the terms ballistic and grinding in kettlebell workout discussions, for fast and slow movements respectively.
Ballistic movements would be quick, like the kettlebell swing.
Grinding movements would be slow, like the overhead press. For ballistic movements, you might actually want a heavier kettlebell, to help with momentum.
For grinding movements, less weight might be in order to help with control.
For now, if you are just starting out, go ahead and stick to one kettlebell. Branch out as you advance in experience.
#4) Handle. This is where quality comes into play. You’ll be doing many, many repetitions with your kettlebell.
If the handle has rough edges, you’ll feel each and every one of the movements cut into your hand.
Not fun.
Quality matters when it comes to handles. So we’ll chat about ideal brands in a moment. I’ll end our discussion on handles by saying they are generally standardized at 35mm for thickness.
Use this as your baseline for differences when comparing bell grips.
Okay, let’s talk about kettlebell brands:
#1) Cap Barbell. This would be an ideal first kettlebell. Not too expensive and decent quality, Cap Barbell kettlebells can be found on Amazon or at any Walmart.
The Cap Barbell is the most highly reviewed and reasonably priced kettlebell we have encountered. Do you have any experience with one?
Let us know in the comments if you like it!
#2) Kettlebell Kings. You see Kettlebell Kings ranked as some of the best bells out there. Not a bad price for the quality.
Plus, they offer free shipping in the US, which is nice since you’re essentially mailing a cannonball.
#3) Dragon Door. Some call Dragon Door the gold standard of anything and everything “kettlebell.”
I wouldn’t disagree, but expect to pay for it.
#4) Onnit. Onnit rocks, and they offer good quality bells that are quite popular.
Check out Craigslist or a used sporting goods store like Play it Again Sports for a previously owned kettlebell from a person who no longer needs it.
A used kettlebell is still a kettlebell.
Crafty? Build your own!
Here’s a video on how to make a kettlebell:
If you make your own kettlebell (be careful – you don’t want it breaking mid-swing!), please email me. I would be so pumped!
And if you need help with ALL of this and just want somebody to tell you how to train, I got you covered too.
Can You Lose Weight with Kettlebells?
If you’re trying to lose weight, a kettlebell and the workout routine above would be a great part of the plan!
The other part of the plan should be your nutrition.
As we lay out in our Coaching Program and our massive guide on “Healthy Eating,” we believe that proper nutrition is 80-90% of the equation for weight loss.
No joke.
It’s by far the biggest factor for success.
So will you lose weight training with kettlebells?
Maybe!
If you fix your diet AND begin to incorporate our kettlebell routine a few times per week, you’ll will find yourself building muscle, losing fat, and getting stronger!
If your goal is weight loss, you have to eat less than you burn each day. This can be through eating less and burning more (from the kettlebell workout above)
Processed foods and junk food make it really tough to lose weight: They have lots of calories and carbs, low nutritional value, don’t fill you up, and cause you to overeat.
Liquid calories are sabotaging your efforts. Soda, juice, sports drinks: they’re all pretty much high-calorie sugar water with minimal nutritional value. Get your caffeine from black coffee or tea, fizzy-drink fix from sparkling water.
Not losing weight? Track your calories and work on consuming slightly less each day. We tackle this point in-depth in our article “Why can’t I lose weight?”
Eat more protein! Protein helps rebuild muscle, and can help you stay under your calorie limit because it’s satiating and filling. Here’s exactly how much protein you should be eating every day.
Those tips should get you started, but if you want more specific instruction and guidance, check out the NF Coaching Program – Your Coach will build a routine tailored to your individual needs and what equipment you have available:
DoWnload the Kettlebell Worksheet!
Like most things in life, the important aspect of any exercise regimen is starting it.
No matter what strength training program you choose, start TODAY.
You don’t need to get strong before you can play with a kettlebell. You can play with a kettlebell to get stronger!
Here’s that Beginner Kettlebell Workout one more time to recap:
Halos: 8 reps each side
Goblet Squats: 10 reps
Overhead Presses: 8 reps
Kettlebell Swings: 15 reps
Bent Over Rows: 8 reps each side
Front Rack Reverse Lunge: 6 reps each side
Here are the next two steps you can take with our community if you dig what we do!
1) Check out our 1-on-1 Online Coaching program. Our coaches can work with you to pick up a kettlebell for the first time or to learn more advanced moves.
Whether you are brand new to your fitness journey, or ready to take it to the next level, we have your back!
2) If you want an exact blueprint for growing strong, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).
We even have a fun kettlebell adventure that you can follow!
Try your free trial right here:
3) Join the Rebellion! Join our free community with a biweekly newsletter, and I’ll send you our Beginner Kettlebell Worksheet.
Simply sign up in the box below, and let us know what you think of it!
Grab Your Beginner Kettlebell Routine Worksheet!
Complete this workout at home or gym with 1 kettlebell.
Avoid the common mistakes everybody makes when doing kettlebell exercises.
Build strength, burn fat, level up your life!
I’d love to hear how this goes for you! Simply leave a comment below.
Hell, leave a comment if there’s anything else we can help you with too.
For the Rebellion!
-Steve
PS: If you are using Kettlebells to get started with Strength Training, make sure you read the other articles in our Strength Training series!
