Master The Basics Of Kettlebells

From scratch, with an internationally certified teaching curriculum, and with a live virtual exam at the end.

School of Bells is for you if want to learn to use kettlebells at your own pace, in your own space. If you want someone you trust to teach you, with confidence that you’re doing it safely, with powerfully effective techniques broken down as simply as possible, and with access to your teacher so that you have feedback on your individual progress.

Key Points

What actually IS School Of Bells?

  • Professionally structured in such a way as to take you from absolute beginner, and give you everything you need to be able to use kettlebells.

  • All lessons delivered online, at your own pace, utilising detailed video content, PDF and written practice sessions

  • Personal monthly feedback via private WhatsApp video submission

  • Exclusive, live, 1-1 exam session at the end with your instructor to consolidate your learning

Who is School Of Bells aimed at?

This course will take you step by step through the skills, drills and movements you need to be able to use kettlebells in place of an entire gym for the rest of your life. You'll be set up to go forth and use kettlebells safely and effectively, whether that is on your own, in a group, following training programmes, or eventually to be able to teach others. Think of this course as your superhero origin story. 

 Whether you’re a total beginner, have been teaching yourself, or have used them in gym classes, and you have felt that pull of potential that proper kettlebell training delivers yet can’t quite make “click” on your own, this course will teach you what you’re missing; what you can’t learn on your own.

And proper kettlebell training, the kind that means you can replace your entire gym, simply can’t be learned on your own. You need somebody, an elder, if you will (careful, I’m talking figuratively here!) to bring it to life for you, in a way you understand, so that you can translate that into what you do with your body. 

Kettlebell training is a skill. 

Let’s talk about skills for a moment…




There are some skills that are innate, like singing or growing curly hair, and some skills that need to be handed along, like a gift, to our fellow humans and the next generation. 

Like your grandma teaching you to bake her rice pudding in just the right way so that it tastes like a hug in front of a Disney film on a rainy Sunday afternoon feels

Kettlebell training has a recipe and is a skill much like this; the kettlebell itself doesn’t magically do things to your body. It’s the way you train your body to use the kettlebell, the methods and techniques that you combine using repetitions and frequency, that have the powerful impact on your body that you’ve read about.

It takes time to learn. It takes practice. It takes an understanding of what you are supposed to be doing – down to the angle of your wrist and positioning of your feet.

Honestly, some of you might turn off here and think “this sounds too much like hard work, pass me a dumbbell instead”. The rest of you though, you that are still reading, will be thinking “something that you can get really deep with, something this nuanced, detailed, finely-tuned, must be something quite special”.

You’re right. And you’re exactly the right sort of person to earn this skill.

The barrier to entry, despite me bigging up how much effort it is to master, is low. Really low. You need a body, a (good, heavy enough) kettlebell and just enough curiosity to get started. 

The kettlebell will do the rest. 

Well that, and as we discussed above, an elder to teach you. So let me introduce myself.

Instructor

Shell G

Kettlebell Geek

I'm Shell Gilkes (pronounce it with a J sound) Through a background of finding movement as a way to control how my body looked as a teenager, via a very bumpy journey consisting of yoga, running, swimming, kettlebells and handbalancing, and three babies, I come to you with an innate and years' long learnt understanding of the way bodies move, how movement and health combine, of teaching movement literacy and of understanding the unique ways in which women in particular experience life through their bodies. I'm co-leader of the UK branch of the first international kettlebell teaching school, RKC, established in the early 2000s and with that, I re-establish my teaching skills every year by helping to teach other teachers. I'm laid-back, but easily excited. I'm untidy, but don't like mess. I love heat, but hate being sweaty. I love working out, but hate being out of breath. It's with this dichotomy of human-ness that I bring you a raw, unfiltered and empathetic learning experience that I hope will change the way you approach fitness and your body.

Contents Page

What will you learn?

    1. Introduction: how does this course work?

    1. Why Do We Use Kettlebells?

    2. What are "The Big Six" kettlebell exercises?

    3. Kettlebell Buying Guide

    4. Kettlebell Weight Guide

    5. What If I Get Injured?

    1. Hinging - The First Basic Movement Of A Swing

    2. Where To Put Your Feet

    3. A Swing Is A Deadlift - Here's How To Deadlift

    4. More About Deadlifting

    5. Feeling What Muscles Work In A Deadlift

    6. Mud Drags Exercise

    7. Pendulum Swings Exercise

    8. A Swing Is Also A Plank - Here's How To Plank

    9. Power Swings Exercise

    10. How To Start And Finish Your Swings

    11. Kettlebell Swings

    12. When And How To Breathe

    13. The Timing Of The Movement

    14. Single Arm Swings

    15. Hand Change Swings

    16. Swing Workout - Practice Your Skills

    1. Cheat Cleans And Rack Position

    2. Rack Position Time Under Tension

    3. Dead Cleans And The Quality Of Your Movement

    4. The Scales Technique And Your Grip

    5. Swing Cleans And Power Swing Cleans

    6. Breathing Technique And The Arc Of The Bell

    7. Cleans Workout - Practice Your Skills

    1. Full Body Tension Talk-Through

    2. The Lockout Position

    3. The Path Of The Bell

    4. Push Presses

    5. Technical Tips - Game Changers

    6. Presses Workout - Practice Your Skills

    1. Hinge Into Squat Technique

    2. Prying Squat - Getting Deep And Stable

    3. Goblet Clean Into Goblet Squat Exercise

    4. Clean Into Rack Squat Exercise

    5. Squats Workout - Practice Your Skills

Key Details

  • £149.00
  • 60 lessons
  • 4 hours of video content

This it it, this is what you've been looking for.

As long as what you're looking for is the easiest way to learn to use kettlebells from the basics to a really high level, on a screen.

Enroll today

FAQ

  • I'm new to exercise, will this be right for me?

    Yes, it's aimed at beginners to kettlebells, which includes beginners to exercise. If you've never done any exercise before you'll likely need to spend some more time on the practice stages before your exam. But that's fine, more kettlebell training is never a bad thing ;-) Make sure you're cleared for exercise by your doctor if you have any health issues.

  • I'm NOT new to exercise and I've used kettlebells before, will this be too easy for me?

    No, it wasn't easy for me filming it! It's not meant to be a workout, remember, it's meant to be a learning course. Kettlebell training is as hard as you make it, and the instructions that I'm giving will take you to new depths of understanding and access more of your muscles, so it will feel more intense due to the level of concentration and body tension.

  • What equipment do I need?

    At least 2 kettlebells, ideally 8kg for upper body exercises and 12kg+ for lower body. There is a whole lesson inside the course which covers how to choose kettlebell weight and type, so you don't have to guess right now.

  • How do I use this course?

    It's a series of videos that you're meant to watch whilst copying my instructions. So, you need some space and time enough as if you were following a workout video. You can do a lesson at a time or do a few lessons one after the other. I'd recommend doing one of the Big Six each week, and spending time focusing on each one. After you've learnt one, keep practicing it alongside learning the next exercise to keep your skills and fitness levels increasing as you go.

  • How long does it take?

    I advise you to take 4-6 weeks to go through the course and assimilate what you learn in your own practice sessions (practice workouts are provided at the end of each chapter, and each chapter covers one of the Big Six) But it can take as long as you need it to.

  • How long do I have access for?

    You have access forever. This includes any updates I make to the videos.

  • Will there be any live sessions with you?

    You'll be added to a WhatsApp group (private, only I can post in it) to prompt you to send me video feedback each month, which you send to me personally (not the group), I give feedback to you personally and copy it to the group so that you benefit from the notes and videos I make for other people. You'll be able to book one live, 30 minute 1-1 session with me (via zoom, or in my gym in Coventry) at the end of your course to check that you've got everything right!

  • What will I be able to do at the end of this course?

    This course, and the curriculum I've created, was originally intended to allow people to start training in my online and in-person training group, Lifting Women. So it's designed to show you how to safely and as effectively as possible, begin your journey into kettlebell training. There definitely are more detailed courses out there that I'm involved in providing, but this is intended to be your entry level into doing whatever you want with kettlebells. Train on your own, in a gym, in a class, in an online training group, in MY online training group, with a personal trainer (check who they qualified with, you might know more than them after this course), you can come further down the road and explore RKC with me if you think you'd like to go fully deep with kettlebells. The kettlebell is your oyster. Or something.

  • Will I get a certificate?

    Yes! You will. Everybody loves a certificate, right? I'll email it to you upon passing of your exam.

Bonuses

What else is included?

  • 1-1 feedback session with Shell

    £49 value

    During your exam I'll give you on-the-spot feedback to tweak your technique. This is akin to a one-off personal training session with me and will probably include things I haven't been able to fit into the course, based on your unique experience of understanding the material.

  • Ongoing recommendations for improvement

    £99 value

    I'll direct you to the lessons and practice sessions that you need to go over to consolidate any areas that need more refinement. This is akin to me writing an individual programme for you for a month.

  • Saving on my flagship training programme, Lifting Women

    You save £49

    Normally you'd need a one-off induction session with me before starting Lifting Women (where you get all of your kettlebell workouts planned for you, 3x a week, each week PLUS classes), but you can hit the ground running and get straight into the good stuff after School of Bells.

Get started

Here's the link to sign up, see you on the other side of your first Turkish Get-Up!!

Enroll today