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Kettlebells
"Kettlebell
Training is the New Cardio"
What is a
'kettlebell?
A 'kettlebell'
or girya (Russ.) is a traditional Russian cast iron weight that looks like a
cannonball with a handle. As the 1986 Soviet Weightlifting Yearbook
put it, "It is hard to find a sport that has deeper roots in the history of
our people than kettlebell lifting." So popular were kettlebells in Tsarist
Russia that any strongman or weightlifter was referred to as a girevik,
or 'a kettlebell man.' "Not a single sport develops our muscular strength
and bodies as well as kettlebell athletics," wrote Ludvig Chaplinskiy in
Russian magazine Hercules in 1913. In the Soviet times weightlifting
legends such as Vlasov, Zhabotinskiy, and Alexeyev, started their Olympic
careers with kettlebells. Yuri Vlasov who defeated the mighty Paul Anderson
once interrupted an interview he was giving to a Western journalist and
proceeded to press a pair of kettlebells. "A wonderful exercise," commented
the world champion lifter..."It is hard to find an exercise better suited
for developing strength and flexibility simultaneously." The Russian Special
Forces personnel owe much of their wiry strength, lethal agility, and
never-quitting stamina to kettlebells. Soldier, Be Strong!, the
official Soviet armed forces strength training manual pronounced kettlebell
drills to be "one of the most effective means of strength development"
representing a "new era in the development of the human strength-potential.
Who uses kettlebells in the United
States?
Hollywood's Hottest actors and actresses are using kettlebells to get into
the best shape of their lives for their demanding TV and movie roles. They
have to be in great shape and kettlebells are their 'secret' weapon.
The cast of the movie "300 " used kettlebells extensively to prepare
for their film work. Many actresses are hiring personnel trainers who use
kettlebells exclusively to get their A-list clients into phenomenal shape in a
matter of just a few short weeks.
Kettlebells deliver
extreme all around fitness
Voropayev (1983)
observed two groups of subjects over a period of a few years and tested them
with a standard battery of armed forces PT tests: pull-ups, a standing broad
jump, a 100m sprint, and a
1k run. The control group followed a typical
university physical education program that emphasized the above. The
experimental group just lifted kettlebells. In spite of the lack of practice
on the tested exercises, the kettlebell group showed better scores in every
one of them! Researchers at the Lesgaft Physical Culture Institute in
Leningrad (Vinogradov & Lukyanov, 1986) found a very high correlation
between the results posted in a kettlebell lifting competition and a great
range of dissimilar tests: strength, measured with the three power lifts and
grip strength; strength endurance, measured with pull-ups and parallel dips;
general endurance, determined by a 1000 meter run; and work capacity and
balance, measured with special tests! Shevtsova (1993) discovered that
kettlebell training lowers the heart rate and the blood pressure. Gomonov
(1998) concluded that "Exercises with kettlebells enable one to quickly
build strength, endurance, achieve a balanced development of all muscle
groups, fix particular deficiencies of build, and they also promote health."
Most methods that claim 'all around fitness' deliver no more than
compromises. Accept no compromises- choose the Russian kettlebell!
The kettlebell body
Russian kettlebells are not for Kens and Barbie's who want to look like 'a
collection of body parts.' Kettlebells
forge a doers' physique along the lines of antique
statues: broad shoulders with just a hint of pecs, back muscles standing out
in bold relief, wiry arms, rugged
forearms, a cut midsection, and strong
legs Russian kettlebells are not for Kens
and Barbie's who want to look like 'a collection of
body parts. Losing 1% of body fat a week for weeks
is not uncommon. If you are overweight, you will lean out. If you are
skinny, you will get built up. According to Voropayev (1997) who studied top
Russian gireviks, 21.2% increased their bodyweight since taking up
kettlebelling and 21.2% (the exact same percentage, not a typo), mostly
heavyweights, decreased it. The
Russian kettlebell is a powerful tool for fixing your body
comp, whichever way it needs
fixing.
Are kettlebells
dangerous?
Only 8.8% of top Russian gireviks, members of the Russian National Team and
regional teams, reported injuries in training or competition (Voropayev,
1997). A remarkably low number, isn't it? Note
that
these were not regular guys but elite athletes who push their bodies to the
edge. Which does not give you an excuse to lift kettlebells flippantly; any
type of strength training can be dangerous if you use bad judgment. As for
the age, at the 1995 Russian Championship the youngest contestant was 16,
the oldest 53! And we are talking elite competition here; the range is even
wider if you are training for yourself rather than for the gold.
What kettlebell size
is right for me?
Kettlebells
are offered in 9, 18, 26, 35, 53, 70, 88 and 106-pounds. Kettlebells were
designed to give you a
super
workout with just one or two fixed weights.
An average man should start with a
35-pounder. It does not sound like a lot but believe it; it feels a lot
heavier than it should! Most men will eventually progress to a 53-pounder,
the standard issue size in the
Russian military. Although available in most units, 70-pounders are used
only by a few advanced guys and in
elite competitions. 88 and 106-pounders are for mutants. An average woman
should start with an 18-pounder. A strong woman can go for a 26-pounder. A
few hard women will go beyond.
Where can I buy a
kettlebell and how do I learn how to use it?
Click on the link below to shop for a
kettlebell.
Kettlebell Cardio Express - 45 minutes of Intense Fat Burning
will be back September 2013.
Contact your local
certified kettlebell instructor for group training, workshops and personal
training:
Joe Pavel, Kettlebell Institute Level II
certified, (651) 246-7180 or e-mail
joe@pavelfitness.com.
"Grab Life By the 'Bells!"
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