I'm a high intermediate exerciser who works out daily, but I'm new to kettlebells. I practiced some basic kettlebell moves with a dumbbell for awhile, but this was the first workout that I used with my new 8 kg (18 lb) kettlebell that I purchased on Amazon.

This DVD features RKC kettlebell instructor Sarah Lurie. It includes a short (1.5 minutes) introduction by Sarah, a 5.5 minute instructional segment (Foundation) in which Sarah breaks down some, but not all, of the kettlebell moves found in the workout, and then a 46 minute workout (Circuit).

For the actual workout, Sarah is instructing live with two background exercisers, Robert and Sammy. The workout begins with a 3.5 minute warm-up which includes halos, around-the-world (both hi and lo), and windmills. (Note: NONE of these exercises are covered in the tutorial.)

The Circuit is conducted in three rounds of individual exercises, with a 30 second break between exercises and a 1-2 minute break between rounds. Prior to each exercise, graphics appear on screen breaking down the move in detail and offering form tips; a countdown clock also keeps track of the breaks.

The exercises in the rounds are basics the same, with some slight variations as noted below.

Round 1:
*2 arm swing (20)
*cleans (8)
*1-arm press (8)
*front squat (5)
*renegade lunge (10)
*single leg deadlift (8)
*good mornings (12; Sarah calls this "active rest)
*1-arm rows (10)

Round 2:
*2 arm swings (20)
*cleans (8)
*2 arm swings (10)
*1-arm press (8)
*front squat (5)
*renegade lunge (10)
*single leg deadlift (8) plus 2-arm swings (10)
*1-arm swings (10)
*good mornings (12; Sarah calls this "active rest)
*1-arm rows (10)

Round 3 (combines exercises together):
*1-arm press (8) plus alternate swings (10)
*front squat (10) plus renegade lunge (10)
*single leg deadlifts (8) plus 1-arm rows (10)

Abs:
*rolling situp: with kettlebell between calves, perform sort of a half rollback with rotation
*crunches: with kettlebell between feet, roll back and up with bent knees

There is no cool-down or stretch.

For the most part, I felt that this was a pretty good kettlebell workout for a beginner, as it covered basic exercises and felt fairly doable--plus, I was appreciative of those rest times! However, I don't think that Sarah's breakdowns of the moves provided quite enough information, and I didn't like the fact that she only included SOME of the exercises in her tutorial rather than all of them. Furthermore, during the workout itself, her pace is a bit too quick for a beginner; although I'm an experienced exerciser, I struggled to keep up with her at times. So, I think those brand new to kettlebells might want to supplement their training with online tutorials or other sources in addition to this DVD, but I would still recommend it.

Instructor Comments:
I thought Sarah was fine overall. However, it would have been helpful if she had mirror cued--with being new to kettlebells, it was kind of tricky trying to learn from her when I had to reverse her movements. Also, there were a few times that I noticed her lips were out of sync with the audio. Finally, she makes some obviously scripted comments to her background exercisers at times; these just seemed a bit silly to me.

Beth C (aka toaster)