Written by: Liana Raymond

Having a baby is a wonderful experience for any woman even if it usually leaves unpleasant tracks on the woman’s body. And I say “usually” because there are women out there who don’t get fat during pregnancy. But if you are amongst those women who endured six months of extra weight, it’s quite natural to want to normalize your weight and regain your pre-pregnancy shape as soon as possible. But it’s not going to be easy.

Invented by the Russians way back in the 18th century, kettlebells have a handle that is attached to a bulbous weight and like dumbbells you can get them in a range of differing weights. They worked their way through the military forces in Russia and then the US forces in the far more recent 20th century. Kettlebells have only been fairly recently introduced to public gyms who have now made us all aware of this training technique.

How do Kettlebells work?

Before you get too excited and think you can get away with doing less exercise, I should explain what I mean.

Have you been in the gym recently and seen someone going at their exercise like a wasp in a jam jar, with so much passion and ferocity that you worry not only for their physical health, but also for their mental health? Maybe you are that person and you feel the only way you will truly get your results is by going this fast. Well take a break and find out why training at a slower rate is better for you.

Lactose is a sugar found only in dairy products: it’s in the milk of all mammals including human milk. Lactose makes up less than 8% of milk depending on its source. As lactose is a sugar our bodies use lactose for energy.

The science

Lactose is made up of galactose and glucose and when our body digests lactose it breaks it back down into, surprise surprise, glucose and galactose which can be absorbed and used as energy by your body’s muscles, brain and other organs.

What is lactose intolerance?

When I am out and about and the topic of conversation turns to me and what I do for a living, I am tempted to make something up and reveal my hidden identity as a secret agent (in your dreams – Beeble). Why? Because when people find out I am a personal trainer the first question is nearly always “what can I do to lose these bits?” or “what can I do to lose weight quickly?” In the early days I used to give a long explanation about how it takes hard work and how every individual is a different case and I couldn’t possibly tell without spending some time training them. As I blabbered on about the body’s energy systems I noticed their attention start to waver and you could almost hear their brains switching off (probably because you’re so boring – Beeble).