Level 3 kettlebell instructor course
Elevate your personal training career with this essential kettlebell instructor course
Become a leading kettlebell coach and take your personal training career to new heights with our online kettlebell instructor course.
eLearning with tutor support
YMCA endorsed
Study at your own pace
Strengthen your knowledge and skills with this online and on-demand kettlebell instructor training course. Designed by industry experts with decades of experience, you can rest assured you'll get the knowledge and skills you need.
Our Level 3 Award in Instructing Kettlebells is a highly flexible online kettlebell instructor course that has been specifically designed for fitness instructors and personal trainers looking to increase their knowledge, understanding and practical skills with kettlebell training.
Used for centuries by Russian strongmen, kettlebell training is now a staple of the fitness industry and kettlebells are found in almost all gyms, health clubs, personal training studios, and strength and conditioning facilities, including functional training environments like CrossFit for example.
In order to remain credible and relevant, today’s fitness professional must understand how to safely design and deliver kettlebell training sessions to their clients. Instructors also need to be able to perform a core range of kettlebell training exercises themselves with optimum technique. This is precisely why this course has been developed.
Our industry-leading kettlebell instructor course has been designed by esteemed strength training experts with decades of applied experience in personal training and strength and conditioning. Kettlebell exercises are widely used in both of these fields to increase whole-body strength, core stability, aerobic fitness, and a host of other health and performance benefits.
This is a self-paced online kettlebell course that focuses on how to teach safe and effective kettlebell exercises to clients of varying abilities. The course combines eLearning with theory and practical videos, to create an engaging online learning experience. Content is broken up into bite sized chunks with plenty of learning checks along the way, to keep it as interactive as possible.
There are no formal entry-requirements to complete this kettlebell instructor course because this is a continuing professional development (CPD) programme. However, we do recommend that you at least hold a Level 2 Certificate in Fitness Instruction because without this, you won't be able to teach kettlebell training to others.
This programme is endorsed by YMCA Awards as a CPD activity and is the ideal add-on to any regulated fitness instructor or personal training qualification. The YMCA Awards recognition ensures that students that complete this course will have their achievements recognised around the world.
This kettlebell course has been endorsed by YMCA Awards rather than CIMSPA. However, CIMSPA members will be able to claim 5 CPD points for completing this programme with CIMPSA.
We are committed to your future success in the fitness profession which is why throughout your kettlebell instructor training journey, you'll have access to an unlimited level of support from one of our friendly and experienced Learning Support Tutors.
Our support tutors are truly remarkable and if you need them, they will be with you every step of the way.
You can contact the team with questions and queries about the course via:
Kettlebell exercises can be employed to develop cardiovascular fitness and effective weight management. Kettlebell programmes can be easily integrated into a standard circuit-style session, or used in an interval manner with other aerobic modes of exercise. Building the right programme can increase the metabolic demand of a client through the use of both deep and superficial musculature. This course will provide you an in-depth understanding of kettlebell training and how to deploy this knowledge for your clients.
The origins of the kettlebell
Cultural significance
Rise in global popularity
The sport of Girevoy
Physical and mental benefits
Functional benefits
Performance benefits
Health, fitness and wellbeing benefits
Musculoskeletal benefits
Multiplanar benefits
Strength and power principles
Mechanical properties of explosive strength
Stretch shortening cycle
Power mechanisms
Plyometric training
Biomechanical considerations
Kinetic chain theory
Myofascial slings
Classification of kettlebell exercises
Grip variations
Selecting appropriate weights
Different types of kettlebells
Preparing for kettlebell training
Environmental considerations
Risks associated with kettlebell training
Risk reduction strategies
Safety and dismounting techniques
Training methods and approaches
Sequencing exercises
Selecting load
Appropriate session structure
Ladder and HIIT protocols
Warming up and cooling-down
Static and dynamic stretching
Deadlift variations (sumo, RDL)
Squat variations (front, split, lunge)
Swings
Figure 8's
High pulls
Clean, jerk, snatch
Pressing
Windmill
Turkish-get-up
Join the many thousands of our graduates that are now employed by some of the world's leading health, fitness and wellbeing brands. A world of opportunity awaits you when you're qualified.
The assessments for this online kettlebell instructor course are completed remotely and submitted online when you feel ready. Throughout your online studies, you'll complete a short range of interactive, multiple-choice knowledge workbooks to demonstrate your technical understanding. Then, when you feel ready, you'll teach to camera (most students use a smart phone) 5 different kettlebell exercises, demonstrating you have the practical ability to perform and teach these exercises safely and effectively.
If you want more general information about how specific assessments are completed, take a look at the video below.
Kettlebell training is a highly functional and versatile mode of resistance training that affords a wide range of physical and functional benefits. If you're a fitness instructor or personal trainer considering taking this online kettlebell course, there are a number of reasons why you might want to do this and we've featured some of these below.
This kettlebell instructor course is designed for any qualified exercise professional (group exercise instructor, fitness instructor, personal trainer) and as such, on completion of the programme, you’d be eligible to work teach kettlebell training to individuals or groups, in a variety of health and fitness environments. This course is also suited to strength and conditioning coaches looking to incorporate kettlebell training into their conditioning programmes.
While this is a CPD course for personal trainers, the programme is designed to supplement the knowledge and skills developed on your core fitness qualifications. As such, it serves as the perfect add on for any exercise professionals wanting to develop their ability to use kettlebells within their training programmes.
Broadly speaking, kettlebell training is a multi-planar functional mode of exercise that can be used to deliver a wide-range of physical and functional benefits to those performing it. As such, it’s very well suited to athletic training, especially with strength and power athletes, although even endurance athletes can benefit from using kettlebells when the right exercises, loads and volumes are used (this is taught on the course).
It’s important to underline that many kettlebell exercises are quite demanding, both physically and technically, which is why it’s important to undertake proper training and not to perform them too intensively until the fundamentals have been mastered. Even with conditioned athletes, it’s essential to focus on movement quality and technique before increasing speed and load. Again, these principles are reinforced throughout this course to help you master the art and science of kettlebell training.
The short answer to this question is ‘yes’, although it does depend on the specific kettlebell exercises being taught and the starting point of the client.
Generally speaking, kettlebell training can be used to develop muscular fitness (strength and endurance, cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, and a host of motor skills. These exercises are quite demanding and as such, can be effective for weight management programmes also. It’s also worth mentioning that most kettlebell exercises are also excellent at developing core strength.
While the core kettlebell exercises are quite technical and require a bit of practice to master the techniques, there are many simple modifications that can be made to make them more inclusive, and suitable for less conditioned clients. Again, this is something that is taught throughout the course.
Kettlebell programmes can be easily integrated into a standard circuit-style session, or used in an interval manner with other types of resistance or aerobic modes of exercise.
In a nutshell, kettlebells are just another form of resistance and can be used in much the same way that barbells and dumbbells are. So, in this regard, they are as suitable for clients that are classified as special populations (pregnancy, older adults, children, low back pain) as any other form of resistance training.
That said, there are a number of cautions, considerations and contraindications related to each special population and many of the core kettlebell exercises (e.g. swings, snatch, cleans) might not always be appropriate. It really depends on the client, their condition, circumstances and abilities. While this course doesn’t really explore the individual needs of any specialist group, if you are thinking about working with such clients, you may also want to consider taking one of our exercise specialist courses.
This programme is designed for exercise professionals that want to learn the principles, fundamentals and practice of safe and effective kettlebell training. If you have been safely performing kettlebell exercises yourself for some time and you already use these techniques with your clients, then there is no formal requirement for you to complete a separate kettlebell instructor training course.
However, many employers prefer their staff to undertake regular CPD to ensure that what they are teaching aligns with industry standards and best practice. Additionally, if you are teaching these exercises to clients and you haven’t undertaken any formal training in this area, you might find that your public liability or indemnity insurance won’t cover you if a client injures themselves. For this reason, completing a course like this could literally pay for itself.
On completion of this kettlebell course there are a wide-range of progression opportunities available to you.
You might decide that you have a greater thirst for knowledge around the rehabilitation and therapeutic benefits of kettlebell training, in which case you may want to take a look at our sports massage courses.
Alternatively, you might decide that you really enjoy learning about the more functional and performance-centric benefits of kettlebells, in which case our strength and conditioning courses might be of interest to you.
If however you find that you enjoy learning more about the broader health benefits of exercise and fitness training, then you may be interested in discovering more about our health and wellbeing courses.
Our advise would always be to pursue the areas that you find most interesting and enjoyable. This way, you’re far more likely to be passionate about ongoing study and much more likely to make a difference in this area.
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