Kettleworx - Resistance

This DVD is part of the 5-DVD Kettleworx system, and is a “kettlebell lite” workout, in that it utilizes somewhat lighter bells and it fuses kettlebell movements with more traditional exercises. True to the title, Ryan moved somewhat slower through the moves in this workout and I was able to heavy up to about a 20# bell (as opposed to 10-15# for the other Kettleworx DVDs) and all of the exercises are strength oriented. Ryan did make sure to hit all the major muscle groups including back, chest, triceps, shoulders, legs, and glutes. I suppose there wasn’t anything specific for the biceps but they were worked indirectly through the other exercises.

The DVD is 26 minutes long and the menu allows you to choose between levels 1 and 6 (with level 1 presumably being the easiest). There is a lot of repeat footage, so each level really isn’t very unique. But it is nice to shake things up and have a little something different each time. While the production quality is high, there is no chaptering, and each exercise is it’s own video clip with a black “KettleWorx” screen flashing between each exercise, which are executed for 1 minute each. The music is okay but mostly forgettable, and the exercises are not particularly synchronized to the music. But that’s okay since the workout is done by time and not by rep.

There is a 3 minute warm up, a 10 minute circuit (repeated once), and a 3 minute cool down. Exercises included one arm swings, halo, plank hold on elbows, very deep squats with releve pulses, sumo squats, the “lawnmower” which was really just one arm bent row, one arm chest fly on the floor, punching with the kettlebell (controlled movement-I used a regular dumbbell for this), shoulder raise with squat, “back scratcher” which was a squat and French press combo. Actually I found the combination of moves very enjoyable and found myself doing both circuits (I usually will not repeat the exact same moves twice, and shorten it to a 16 minute workout). I thought Ryan did an even amount of work for the total body.

I prefer to use the Kettleworx DVDs as an add-on instead of a standalone (and this is no exception) but I feel this DVD is rounded out enough that it could be used alone for a quick total body strength workout. I used 10-15-20# bells and would consider this an intermediate workout. Not good for beginners because the background exercisers have bad form (very bad!), there are no modifiers, and Ryan doesn’t provide much in the way of form pointers. Overall grade A-.

Instructor Comments:
Ryan is an adequate instructor, I noticed that he does not mirror cue or give good form pointers, but he is very smiley and encouraging, and I find his goofiness endearing. Like the Barry’s Bootcamp series, I enjoy his creative names for exercises, keeps the mood light! He pronounces “out” as “oot” which I also find endearing. He’s certainly not the most talented instructor out there, but he does get an A for enthusiasm.

Emily B.