But don't put your feet up – it's time to exercise

They originated in ancient Greece and were once the favoured exercise method of the Russian military, but now an army of high profile celebrities are leading the charge with kettlebells.

East Yorkshire-based Neil Thompson is one of only a handful of personal trainers in the region using kettlebells to help clients hone their physiques.

‘They have been huge in the US for a while now,’ he said. ‘But they’re still a relatively new concept here in Yorkshire.

‘They’re the secret weapon of many top celebrities, including Jennifer Lopez and Eva Longoria.

‘Female clients ask me how these stars get a perfectly toned, firm backside and the answer is simple – kettlebells.’

Neil, who has an exercise studio in the village of South Cave near Beverley, has always been passionate about health and fitness. He seized the opportunity to turn his hobby into a career when he was made redundant from British Aerospace at nearby Brough in 2009. After years of research into different types of exercise, he is now convinced that training with kettlebells is the most effective way for both men and women to transform their bodies.

With that in mind, he has developed his own Kettle-Sculpt exercise programme and holds regular classes in Goole, South Cave and Brough, as well as using the techniques in personal training sessions with clients.If you’ve been slogging away at the gym for years in a quest to create the body beautiful, look away now. Neil thinks it is often just a waste of time and good money.

‘So many people are preoccupied with losing weight but don’t realise that what they’re actually losing is a mixture of fat and lean muscle tissue,’ he explained. ‘As we get older, we naturally lose more muscle tissue and so, to get a toned body shape, we need to maintain that muscle by training with weights.

‘Contrary to popular belief, weight training won’t make women muscular; they simply don’t have the testosterone levels for that to happen.’Training with kettlebells can help to reduce body fat while building lean muscle, which is essential for creating a toned and conditioned body shape.

‘My Kettle-Sculpt classes have been created to use the same fat-loss and body-shaping principles favoured by the world’s most respected fitness trainers,’ said Neil.

‘It’s great to see people discovering the benefits for themselves now that word is starting to spread in this part of the world. But be warned, if you want to see results quickly, you have to work hard.’

The print version of this article appeared in the April 2012 issue of Yorkshire Life

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