The Russian Kettlebell – An extreme handheld gym

  • Develops all purpose strength – to easily handle the toughness and most unexpected demand
  • Amps resilience – to repel the hardest hits
  • Maximises staying power – because the last round decides all
  • Blends strength with flexibility – because strength that fails to reach is impotent
  • Hacks the fat off – without the dishonour of dieting and aerobics
  • Forges a fighters physique – the form follows function
  • Makes strong anywhere, anytime- an extreme hand held gym

 

 

What is a “kettlebell”?

A kettlebell or girya (in Russia) is a traditional Russian cast iron weight that looks like a cannonball with a handle. The ultimate tool for extreme all round fitness.

The Kettlebell goes way back, it first appeared in a Russian dictionary in 1704 (Cherkikh, 1994). So popular were kettlebell’s in Tsarist Russia that any strongman or weightlifter was reffered to as a girivek or “a kettlebell man”.

“Not a single sport develops our mucular strength and bodies as well as kettlebell athletics” reported Russian magazine Hercules in 1913.

Why train with kettlebells?

Because they deliver extreme all round fitness. And no other single tool does it better. Here is a short list of hardware the Russian kettlebell replaces ; barbell’s, dumbell’s, belts for weighted pull ups and dips, thick bars, lever bars, medicine balls, grip devices and cardio equipment.

What makes the kettlebell unique?

The shape and compact size of a kettlebell allow one to safely accelerate it on the way down in exercises like swings and snatches. There is a growing body of research that such “virtual force” is exceptionally effective, efficient and safe at improving many components of fitness ; dynamic strength, many types of endurance and body composition both muscle building and fat loss.

Obviously you can not swing a barbell between your legs and a dumbbell encourages a stiff shoulder raise if one tries to swing it. The kettlebell’s offset “live” weight amplifies the feedback and forces you to swing it ballistically using your hips while relaxing the arms, the way an athlete is supposed to move. This and the fact that less weight can be used to generate the same amount of “virtual force” through acceleration (you effectively have a “longer arm” with poor leverage”) greatly increase the quality of the virtual force.

Another unique benefit of the kettlebell’s offset center of gravity is the special manner in which the shoulder is loaded in overhead lifts. This promotes mobility and stability, which set up a foundation for extraordinary upper body strength and resilience.

From the practical standpoint, because the unique nature of the kettlebell lifts allow one to get a powerful training effect with a relatively light weight you can replace your whole gym with a couple of kettlebells. Master RKC instructor Brett Jones, one of the lightest men to have bent the famous red nail and a 260kg/573 pound deadlifter has quipped; “Lock me in a room with a 16kg kettlebell and I will come out stronger”.

Russian scientists give the kettlebell two thumbs up

In the 20th century, soviet science validated what Russian hard men had known for centuries; Kettlebell lifting is one of the best tools for all round physical development.

Voropayev (1983) observed two groups of college students over a period of a few years. To gauge their performance, he used a standard battery of the armed forces physical training (PT) tests; pull ups, a standing broad jump, a 100 meter sprint and a 1k run. The control group followed the typical university PT program, which was military oriented and emphasized the above exercises. The experimental group just lifted kettlebells. In spite of the lack of practice on the tested drills, the kettlebell group showed better scores in every one of them!

Vinogradov & Lukyanov (1986) found a very high correlation between the results posted in a kettlebell lifting competition and in a great range of dissimilar tests; strength, measured with the three powerlifts and grip strength; strength endurance, measured with pull ups and parallel bar dips; general endurance, determined by a 1k run; and work capacity and balance, measured with special tests.

Kettlebells are great for strength. The official Soviet armed forces strength training manual approved by the ministry of defense (Burkov & Nikityuk, 1985) declared kettlebell training to be “one of the most effective means of strength development,” representing “a new era in the development of human strength potential”.

Who trains with kettlebells?

Hard comrades of all persuasions.

Soviet weightlifting legends such as Vlasov, Zhabotinskiy and Alexeyev started their Olympic careers with old fashioned kettlebell’s. Yuri Vlasov once interrupted an interview he was giving to a Western journalist and proceeded to press a pair of kettlebell’s. “A wonderful exercise” commented the world champion. “…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, explosive agility, and never quitting stamina to kettlebell’s. The elite of the US military and law enforcement instantly recognised the power of the Russian kettlebell, ruggedly simple and deadly effective as an AK-47. You can find Pavel’s certified RKC instructors on the Secret Service Counter Assault Team, among US Navy SEALS and Force Recon Marines.

Once the Russian kettlebell became a hit among those whose life depends on their strength and conditioning, it took off among the hard people from all walks of life; martial artists, athletes and regular hard comrades.

Kettlebell training is extreme but not elitist. Dr Krayevskiey, the father of kettlebell training, took up training at the age of forty one and twenty years later he was said to look fresher and healthier than at forty.