From Russia with Tough Love: Kettlebell Workout for a Femme Fatale [Paperback]

Kettlebells are a great way to work out at home, they take up minimal space, making a good doorstop. Don't kid yourself, in order to work out well you must sweat and groan, and done properly a kettlebell workout will do just that. I really think you need the dvd to see the moves done properly and would recommend that you get that - if you only get one thing, the dvd rather than the book. You will also need a kettlebell of course. They are not cheap. Unless you are already very strong and fit you will need to start with a small one, 8kg would be very challenging for most women. I use a 12 kg and can get a very tough workout out of it. And I lift weights (big ones) on a regular basis and am pretty strong and fit.

This and it's compatriot for male kettlebell enthusiasts (Enter the Kettlebell) are great books for learning the techniques required for the various must do lifts. While it is not as good as viewing the real thing (for this Pavel also has matching DVD's) the teaching points are clear and explicit with clear pictures demonstrating how to perform and how not to perform while also giving advice as to how to strengthen weak points in your technique. As a certified Kettlebell Instructor in the UK I use these books as a point of reference and recommend them also to my clients if they are really committed to improving their performance/fat burning potential or whatever their goal is. The writing style is also very easy to read with some good background into the benefits of kettlebell training and some ideas for program design.

This book is good for those who are in the intermediate stages of weight training/body sculting. I would not suggest this is ideal for beginners as kettlebells need to be handled with great care plus you should be able to lift 8kg (dumb-bell or kettlebell) over head with ease. So if you can do the latter, read on!
The book gives very clear instructions and great photos of the stances you should be in according the stage of the lifts. For example, it clearly shows you the beginning stances for the swing, mid-point and the finish. I particulary like the 'how not to do,' photos and Pavels reasons why and you really need a gym or a place with ample mirror viewing to see that you are in correct positions. Better still an enthusiastic friend to guide you!
He also decribes very well how your joints should feel and again very apt instructions to the placement of limbs and why its important to eliminate (where possible) injury.
There are intermitent advertising pages and cringe-worthy email feeds of folk expressing their joy for Pavel. This is quite irritating as you are reading how to do an exercise, turn the page not to continue reading but to find these email feeds. They don't contain any tips or obvious simularities that you may encounter so why bother print this stuff?
The actual instructions were very easy to read, short and succinct sentences which is great when you are recalling these during the practise stages. His instructions are to the point and very well matched to the photographs which again I found great. For example, the end stage of the swing he describes the 'snap' feeling and how the action should imitate an explosion in the hips.
Parvel gives a good definition of the kettlebell history and how you can progress through his series of published materials. I have viewed one other early publicaton which I felt was aimed at men hence I plumbed for this book instead.
Finally, I should have said at the beginning of this review this is ideal for women sculting their bodies. For example, if you want tight hips, bums and thighs, no saggy triceps and flat tums then kettlebell training Pavel style is superb!
Good luck, great book, lost one star for those annoying advertising pages as its not an ideal to take along to the gym and work alongside.