Build your strength with NYC's top Kettlebell classes

Burn fat, build lean muscle and strengthen your core with one of NYC's top Kettlebell classes this summer. The full-body workout engages multiple muscle groups, using the small, metal Kettlebell as a tool for building some serious strength. So get belling!

KettleX and KettleXStep
Created by three-time Kettlebell World Champion Lorna Kleidman, KettleX is intense and nonstop - yet still fun. Students work the left side of the body, then the right, with fluid movements, finishing with floor work. Classgoers use their weight of choice, and should expect effective adjustments from the instructor. KettleXStep is a high-intensity cardio and resistance workout using lighter Kettlebells and classic Step movements.
Fitness Cell Collective: 328 E. 61st St. (fourth fl.), 212-988-8578; $50/class (package deals available)

Kettlebell Kickboxing
In this female-only class, ladies of all fitness levels combine traditional Kettlebell training with kickboxing, using moves from practices like Brazilian JiuJitsu and Muay Thai. Created by martial arts instructor Dasha Libin Anderson, this workout uses her trademark female-body oriented moves to ensure women work their trouble spots. The class is done in timed intervals, and estimates an 800- to 1,000-calorie burn.
Anderson's Martial Arts Academy: 394 Broadway (third fl.), 212-766-6622; $25/class (package deals available, RSVP a must)

Kettlebell and TRX and Kettlebell Fusion
The Kettlebell class combines Kettlebell swings with familiar gym exercises using Kettlebells as weights (lunges, bicep curls, chest presses). The class is conducted in four rounds, repeating the series with the instructor adding movements for students at different fitness levels. Kettlebell TRX Fusion adds TRX suspension straps. Expect a small group setting - only four to five students per class.
Eastside Training: 960 Madison Ave., 212-510-7260; $35/class (package deals available)

Kettlebells at Club H Hoboken
Classes at this gym right across the Hudson uses the MG Kettlebell Training system created by instructor Matt Green, which takes basic Kettlebell movements and breaks them down. Class begins with a 10 minute warm-up, as the instructor assesses students to make sure they have the requisite movement skills to take the class. (If needed, a free one-on-one session is available.) Workouts vary, but are generally made up of two challenges that include numerous Kettlebell swings, squats and other movements. Prepare to sweat - classes burn up to 900 calories.
(Club H Fitness: 110 Sinatra Dr., Hoboken, N.J., 201-656-9989; $25 day rate (gym memberships available)

Kettlebell  Small Group Training
This 60-minute class mixes things up with Kettlebells and extreme cardio. Class begins with a five- to eight-minute warm-up of body-weight exercises (walking lunges, squats, push-ups). A new Kettlebell movement is introduced each week, and students spend about 10 minutes practicing. The hard part then comes with partner workouts, followed by sprints up and down the large studio with a Kettlebell exercise at each end. Class ends with a few runs up five flights of stairs. Expect to work hard and a bit of competitiveness.
(New York Sports Club: 86th and Lex, 212-860-8630; $22/class (gym memberships available), email instructor Eric Salvador at erockfit ness@yahoo.com to sign up for the eight-week program)