Russian Kettlebell: The Key to Quick Fitness in Tiverton?

If you're logging hour after hour on the treadmill and in the weight room at the gym, Tiverton trainer Joanne Moniz advises you to quit.

No, she's not suggesting you give up fitness in favor of some less productive activity. Instead, she's asking you to consider Russian kettlebell, an ancient form of exercise that's become a hot fitness trend in the United States as Americans continue to look for the most efficient way to get in shape, fast.

Moniz says she used to train her clients on traditional equipment, but that most typically didn't have the time to devote to a full comprehensive workout. Then she discovered kettlebell.

The ancient tool was used by the Russians for centuries to train their elite special forces, but over time it's been adopted by other groups, like the U.S. military, as a fitness regimen. Now it's becoming a popular class at many community gyms.

Members at the have been working out with the Russian kettlebell for more than a year, Moniz said, but she recently started teaching the class at the new ABC Studio at .

"Just swinging a kettlebell for 30 seconds can feel like a 100 meter sprint," she said.

The workout requires using a weighted kettlebell for a series of moves that tone the muscles while working the heart rate, all without much hustle required, or a lot of time. Most exercises are performed without moving the feet, Moniz said, so the impact load on the joints is minimum. The off set center of gravity quickly strengthens joints and increases muscle tone, while sculpting the body.

"It's just what the doctor ordered," she said. "It's the answer to everything."

She notes that clients typically feel different within the first week, start to look a little different by the second week, and by the third, have everyone asking what they're doing.

"I've lost 10 to 13 pounds," said Bob Brooks, of Little Compton. "I'm more fit than when I started."

Cathy Redding, of Little Compton, said she has been doing the kettlebell workout for about a year and it helps with her endurance.

"Joanne is really good at making sure you're doing it the right way," she said. "This, I really love. It's the first time I've really been happy working out."

Tiverton-Little Compton Patch Editor Matt Sanderson visited Moniz's class at Four Corners Fitness recently for his chance to see just how much kettlebell makes you sweat.