Kettlebell Exercises

Kettlebell Exercises

I really don't like going to the gym. It's such a pain! Think about it..

• It takes time to go down there and back. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I spent hours sitting in traffic while wanting to relax after a grueling workout!
• There's always a long queue to get a drink of water. Horrible!
• I don't know what the gyms are like in your area, but near me, they all smell horrible. Eurgh.
• The cost! Why are they so expensive?! And have you ever tried quitting a gym? Definately painful.
• It's just no fun running on a treadmill, as I think you'd agree.

After a particularly frustrating trip to the gym, I sat down in front of the computer. "There has to be a better way.."

Looking around the internet, I found the usual tools - barbells, dumbells, treadmills - but I wanted something different. Something that screamed innovation.

Funnily enough, I found it in an age old Russian training tool - the kettlebell.

The kettlebell is a lump of iron with a handle on it. They're odd looking little things! Because of their unique shape and weight distribution, it is possible to carry out specialised kettlebell exercises that increase flexibility and balance while boosting strength and conditioning too.

Following the advice of a number of experienced kettlebell instructors, I bought the book "Enter the Kettlebell!" by Pavel Tsatsouline. The book explains how a kettlebell athlete (or 'girivek' in the native Russian tongue) can train with the kettlebell and perform kettlebell exercises through pictures and step-by-step instructions.

"Brilliant! Exactly what I need!", I thought. Now, I just needed to decide how heavy a kettlebell I was going to buy.

Unlike dumbells, kettlebells increase their weight in huge jumps rather than tiny incremental steps, meaning it is crucial that you buy the right weight. Pavel recommends men start with a 16kg kettlebell with experienced athletes using a 20kg or even if a 24kg kettlebell while women should start with an 8kg kettlebell or a 12kg if they have training experience.

I made my choice; a 16kg. It's important to take your ego out of decisions such as this and to make a conservative choice. When I picked up the kettlebell initially, it seemed light. "I've made the wrong choice!", I thought.

Then I started working out with it.

The sheer intensity of the workout, despite lasting less than twenty five minutes, shocked me! I'd never sweated so much before in my life, my arms were aching and my heart was pumping so hard that I could barely hear anything else. 16kg was definately the right choice.

I slept like a baby that night.

The next morning I awoke to find new parts of my body aching. Muscles that I didn't even know I had were being worked and I felt great! "Maybe there is something to these kettlebells..", I said to myself.

Six months on, I've lost a ton of fat, I can run further than I ever have been able to and I am stronger than I ever have been. All without going to the gym. To say my kettlebell experiment has been a resounding success would be a huge understatement!

Over the last few months, I've successfully converted a number of my friends to the kettlebell. None have been disappointed yet.

The time of the gym is over, my friends. The age of the kettlebell is here!