Comments on: Jillian Michaels Is Bad For Kettlebells

By: Alex

Alex — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:12:06 +0000

I bet the cat in the video Sandy posted has better form with a bell than Jillian.I watched her “swing”,”clean”,and “press” and just imagined the horror such awful form would unleash on someone if they actually used an appropriate sized bell.She actually allowed the bell to bend her wrist back during her press,which is just asking to be hurt.Her idea of a rack was to hold the bell out away from her body in some awkward pose, separating her shoulder from the rest of her body and putting it in a prime position for injury.She may have improved her form since then,but still,there’s no excuse for advertising such abysmal form as the proper way to use bells,especially to such a large and eager audience.

Anyway,posts like this are great to inform people interested in KB’s about the proper form and how to get the most out of this great tool.Sadly,there are no RKC certified instructors in my area,so I’m forced to study books by the likes of Pavel and Jeff Martone as well as watch videos like the one you posted.I’m sure my form leaves a lot to be desired,but I’m slowly working on it and making some nice progress.I figure reading and watching experts is better than real life training from someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing

By: Sandy Sommer RKC

Sandy Sommer RKC — Mon, 30 May 2011 00:06:25 +0000

Yoga and kettlebell workouts seem to complement each other Chan!

Good luck!

By: Chandra

Chandra — Sun, 29 May 2011 23:50:10 +0000

I agree with you completely. Ms Michaels is, I’m sure, a talented personal trainer, but she does seem to jump on every “hot” bandwagon that happens by and that badly. I am appalled by her take on “yoga” so I can understand how you feel about her poorly executed take on your specialty. I promise I will find a properly certified kettlebell trainer before I ever attempt to swing one myself!

By: abbye

abbye — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 20:38:27 +0000

Dear Ginny:
She may state that it’s NOT an arm raise, but she clearly does execute an arm raise in the video. If the bell was an extension of her forceful hip snap it would float accordingly but it doesn’t. She clearly uses her arms to raise the bell, not her hips.

By: Sandy Sommer RKC

Sandy Sommer RKC — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 22:24:49 +0000

Hi Ginny,

I thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. Jillian does in fact “talk” about hips but talking and doing aren’t the same. The fact is that her form is abysmal at best and egregious at worst. Her colleague Bob and she continue to try to capitalize off a tool they deem as “hot” and do all her followers a grave injustice. On a personal note, I’ve trained quite a few of her followers and when I first meet with them their ability is even more degraded than JMs. It’s really a shame.

Train with purpose,

Sandy Sommer RKC

By: Ginny

Ginny — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 18:12:03 +0000

Now hold on just a minute – I bought the kettlebell workout from jillian michaels and ALL she talks about is hips – It’s all about hinging at the hips – she clearly states that it is NOT an arm raise – I am a former dancer and very aware of my body and noticed that all the momentum came from the hips. Not sure what video you guys are talking about, but her new video seems pretty good???

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 21:08:29 +0000

If not mentioned already, it looks like the JM Kettlebell videos have been pulled from youtube. It hurt the back just to watch that one video. Thanks for this blog Sandy, it is very informative.

By: Sandy Sommer RKC

Sandy Sommer RKC — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 01:40:53 +0000

Dear Sebastian,

Not a shocker frankly. I’m sorry that happened.

Train with purpose,

Sandy Sommer RKC

By: Sebastian

Sebastian — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 01:35:17 +0000

My mom did the Jillian Michaels Kettle-bell once with a two pound weight and completely threw out her shoulder for a week and she’s had to go to the doctor and it still isn’t better!

By: Sandy Sommer RKC

Sandy Sommer RKC — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 12:43:35 +0000

Angel,

Thanks for stopping by. Jillian really may explain the need to use hip snap but never executes it. Thus no one sees it done correctly who buys her product. She has had tons of offers to fix it and actually learn how to use the kettlebell safely and effectively and she continues to ignore those who are willing and able to help her. It’s really arrogant on her part and dangerous to those who chose to follow her lead and advice.
It’s a shame really.

Train with purpose,

Sandy Sommer RKC