New Year’s resolutions come and go — many people may already have drawn up their get fit formula for 2011.

It could involve lots of running and cycling and, in many cases, expensive gym membership with direct debits being signed for ambitious training programmes which, the chances are, will never see the light of day, leaving a rather nasty post-festive financial hangover.

When it comes to training, surely it would be better to do something that you can pay for on the day and take or leave it as you want?

The Kettlebell Studio may have the answer. It involves sessions employing, as the name suggests, kettlebells. These are weights varying in size from 1.5 to 40 kilograms.

But rather than using them for traditional weight training, Mark Johnson has developed a scientific range of exercises designed to boost stamina, strength and fitness with just a couple of half-hour sessions a week.

Mr Johnson, 55, first came across kettlebells when working at the Esporta health club in north Oxford. But when he started doing some research, he found their history stretched back to the time of the ancient Greeks.

“They were used by elite Spartan warriors and they also showed up in Roman times being used to train gladiators. Now we have come full circle to use them today,” he explained.

Based in Summertown, Oxford, the Kettlebell Studio is the first of its type in the UK.

Participants do not even pick up a kettlebell at first, as Mr Johnson, who has worked in the fitness industry for more than 30 years, examines their allignment, movement and posture to assess their needs.

Then, when they start using the kettlebells, the idea is that the whole body is involved, rather than just specific areas such as the arms or legs.

Often, this involves a swinging motion making use of the natural g-forces on the body. Each individual is fitted with a heart monitor and views their progress on a large wall-mounted screen, adapting their routine accordingly.

The results of the exercises are then stored and can be e-mailed to them so that progress can be monitored on a week-to-week basis and the level of training can then be stepped up to the next part of the programme accordingly.

“You don’t get big muscles doing this— it tones the body giving you great strength,” said Mr Johnson. He claims no two sessions are the same.

Mr Johnson said: “I have been training people using kettlebells for four years and they are still learning new exercises.

“That is why we are an alternative to health clubs. We are not interested in fitness but wellness, helping people feel better.

“When I am taking sessions I am talking to people about heart rate and what is happening to their bodies. If I educate people, it helps them make better informed choices about how to stay well.

“We deal with people who have tried yoga and pilates but they have not worked for them, but then find kettlebells are effective.”

Mr Johnson also rents out the kettlebells which allows clients to carry on exercising at home, and he also gives them ‘homework’ to help their development.

He admits that out of about 220 exercises using kettlebells, he has developed around 60 per cent of them, while also being influenced by the likes of the Gray Institute in the United States, which specialises in applying science to fitness.

Significantly, 90 per cent of his clients are women, perhaps because of the emphasis on strength, rather than muscle bulk, and the ability to feel rather than see results after just a few sessions.

His clients range from the age of 11 to 78 and, signifiantly, number 11 doctors and five physiotherapists, adding weight to the value of the programmes.

“People are busy but by taking just an hour out of their week they can feel huge benefits.”

Groups involve just six people and they are charged £100 for 12 sessions. Individual sessions with Mr Johnson can be arranged for £25 an hour.

As a business model, Mr Johnson has already taken on two franchisees and, as well as the Summertown base, other facilities such as the Bourton Mill health club in High Street, Oxford, are also being used for specific programmes including PowerBell Pump, an intensive half-hour session promising to deliver the value of a 90-minute gym workout.

Mr Johnson hopes to roll the business out across the UK eventually as a genuine alternative to expensive gyms and sports clubs, which can lighten the wallet more than the body, and ultimately would like to combine it with raw food restaurants and health shops. But he admits he is still learning.

“I don’t know enough about this yet,” he admitted.

“There is so much more to learn — I am just scratching the surface at the moment.”

Contact: Mark Johnson, 07973 671445.

Web: www.kettlebellstudio.co.uk www.powerbellpump.co.uk