How to make a home-made Kettlebell

So you want to shed some pounds, develop those curves you haven't had since high school, and take back control of your health. Well if you were to meet me in person and ask if you were to do just one thing on a regular basis to get fit, what might that one thing be.

I would respond by saying Kettlebell swings! Why? Because it is a exercise size that puts all it's emphasis on your back side, also known as your Posterior Chain, which just so happens work work the area of our body we know longer think about because no one takes the time to try and turn around while looking in the mirror.

The kettlebell is amazing for conditioning your body both aerobically and anaerobically, fancy turns for saying cardiovascular and strength training, but more importantly it allows for functional movement that will recruit both your primary and secondary muscles during exercise.

To me that just means you will work those major muscles your so desperate to show off along with your small  stabilizer muscles that are made for controlling all your movements, like your rotator cuff in around your shoulder girdle.

Well I am familiar with Kettlebells through my time training at SECT Crossfit in Baltic CT. but by no means am I a Master trainer or super Kettlebell  advocate. But they are however, on my must master New Years resolution list. So, I did a little digging on home-made designs and store bought commercial Kettlebells. The store bought kettlebells are expensive and worth every penny there weight in gold but I am not sure what weight I need to start at for perfect form and a good challenge so I found a few home-made versions I liked the best but the one I decided on using was the one illustrated in The 4-Hour Body by Timothy Ferris.

Awesome read by the way, it is super informative and down right simple to implement. It literally takes all the guess work out of the equation. In Fact, I liked Tim's book so much I have decided to use it as my start to the new year plan. Feel free to be my guest and join me, it is going to be awesome!

This will be my chance to really start using the Kettlebell in my routines but also another opportunity to implement and understand exactly how Tim lives his own life, which is pretty cool I think.

I found a link to amazon if you would like to grab yourself a copy :) check it out here:
The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman

If your not into reading or maybe you have another routine you will be implementing for the New Year, no worries I am sure this book won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

However, if you still want to learn how to make a home made Kettlebell then check out how I made mine from Tim's Book below.

First I went to Home Depot on my way to the gym this morning to pick up the supplies. I decided to pick up enough supplies for three Kettlebells but for your home version you really only need one. The instructions called for

1 = 3/4" x 12" nipple which will make the shaft (I found that a 10" works a little bit better)
2 = 3/4" x 4"   nipples which will be the handles (I got 6" ones oops :) I will def make the switch to 4")
1 = 3/4" "T"    Fitting that connect the shaft to the handles
1 = 3/4"          Floor Flange
1 = 3/4"          Spring Clamp (I bought the ones at the store but they are flimsy so I will upgrade soon)

All together it cost me a total of $55.96 for the supplies that will make 3 universal Kettlebells that I can easily get 75 lbs on. To compare the savings I Googled some prices and found a 45lb premium Kettlebell going for $72 which seemed like a median price for them. So, that means I saved $17 total and got not only universal Kettlebells that I can interchange the weight from 0-75+ lbs but I was able to make three of them total. Now thats what I call a worthy investment.

So lets put this Baby together, shall we. I used Pictures because it is really that simple :)

Step one:

Step two:

Step three:

Like I told you, I made three Kettlebells total a 55 lb, 45 lb and 30 lbs respectfully. This is a picture of the three I made for under $56.

If I went online to Amazon.com or went to the store to by these Kettlebells I would have seen similar prices as the ones below.

55 lb Kettlebell = $58 (lowest price on Amazon)

45 lb Kettlebell = $45 (lowest price on Amazon)

30 lb Kettlebell = $30 (lowest price on Amazon)

That means if I were to have bought these from a store it would have cost me a total of $130, and that is using the cheapest prices I could find on Amazon. So by taking 10 minutes out of my drive I saved a total of $74, not bad for ten minutes huh. With that much savings I could have made 6 Ketlebells and still put $18 in my gas tank. I consider this the most economical decision. The only downside to these vs. regular Kettlebells is the fact that one arm swings are out, but as far as I am concerned I have to master the 2 arm swing first anyway and by the time that happens I can promise you I will find a way to make a handle that will do the job.

Enjoy the homemade advice, get the store and make yourself a kettlebell :)

And if you just finished your latest read then I urge you to take the time to buy and read The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman by Tim Ferris. Its for your own Health.