King KETTLEBELL

There seems to be a fitness phenomenon happening. A tool so simple, yet so effective at developing strength, strength-endurance (work capacity and overall conditioning), flexibility, joint stability and even FAT-loss. Is this another late-night TV special, “Call now and we’ll double your order!” bull-poop?

No it’s not. This is the real deal.

I’ve discussed RESISTANCE CARDIO before…e.g. sled dragging…well, kettlebell training is the KING for resistance cardio. The muscles are working hard to develop force quickly while the heart is madly pumping to sustain the high work capacity required to perform these ballistic kettlebell exercises e.g. clean and jerks, jerks, snatches and swings. Combination exercises can be performed too e.g. double kettlebell clean to front squat to push press or double kettlebell burpee to front squat to sots press. A dumbbell doesn’t stand a chance…

In the words of Pavel Tsatsouline, ENTER THE KETTLEBELL!

Let me start by saying that I don't have my RKC (Russian Kettlebell Challenge). I'm also not certified with the American Kettlebell Club or the IKFF. I'm going to share with you my experience with kettlebells in the past year and my ambitions on getting certified with one of the highly regarded associations above. (If any of you have recommendations or comments on which school of thought to get certified with, please share.)

If you guys have me on Facebook, you probably already know that I incorporate kettlebell training into my strength and conditioning program. I have trained with a Level II RKC coach here in Vancouver, Jim Talo out of Human Motion and also with RKC assistant instructor Tricia Dong. Tricia is the owner of Code 5 Fitness here in Vancouver, a personal training business tailored for police officers and firefighters. I had invested in several kettlebell DVDs and several Pro Grade kettlebells prior to seeing Jim and my recommendation is to get coached in kettlebells ONE-ON-ONE.

A DVD cannot tell you corrections while you're going through the exercises. A DVD doesn't replace a good coach.

A LITTLE HISTORY

Alright, I said above there seems to be a phenomenon happening...well, kettlebells have been around since rural Russia (originally used as a counter-balance for weighing grain and livestock), so that phenomenon is just the use of kettlebells spreading around North America and the rest of the world. The exact origin of kettlebells is unknown; however, the word ‘kettlebell’ was first seen in a Russian dictionary in 1704. Pavel introduced kettlebell training to the West in 2001.

The Russians started doing exercises and tricks (juggling) with these counter-balances when they were bored and overtime, the Russian military saw the training potential these kettlebells had and started implementing it in their training. The lifting of kettlebells evolved into a sport known as Girevoy Sport and become Russian’s national sport, with the athletes (girevik = kettlebell lifter) clean and jerking, jerking and snatching the kettlebells for 10 minutes straight! Valery Fedorenko (founder of the World Kettlebell Club) is a world champion in Girevoy sport, which has been termed the ‘soft style’ of kettlebell lifting. Strength endurance and efficiency provide the foundation for these girevik’s to be able to perform high repetitions of these ballistic exercises over the 10-minute time frame. The goal is to perform as many repetitions as possible in 10-minutes.

The other style of kettlebell lifting has been termed ‘hard style.’ This type of training is associated with Pavel and the RKC. I found a great quote describing this style:

RKC is a "hard style" of kettlebell training born in the spec ops of the Soviet Union. In the 1970s select units adopted a karate-based style of hand-to-hand combat. The hard style of kettlebell training evolved in the 1980s to support the hard style of fighting. As in martial arts, the kettlebell hard style chooses "power production over power conservation." (Randy Hauer, RKC TL, RKC manual) – quoted directly from (http://www.dragondoor.com/articler/mode3/572/?c=pbp-203&utm_nooverride=1)

WHAT IS A KETTLEBELL?

A kettlebell looks like a cannon ball or small bowling ball with a handle, usually made from iron or steel. The weight is offset which constantly challenges the wrist, forearm, shoulder joint (if the bell is overhead) and trunk to balance and stabilize the bell unlike a dumbbell where the weight is centered on the fist.

Kettlebells were originally weighed in "poods." For example 1 pood equals 16 kg. Here are the approximate conversions from poods to kg:

• 0.5 pood = 8 kg - average female/good beginner weight for females
• 0.75 pood = 12 kg
• 1 pood = 16 kg - average male/good beginner weight for males
• 1.5 pood = 24 kg - common weight used in Russian military and weight used for 5 minute snatch test in the RKC
• 2 pood = 32 kg - advanced male/weight used for Girevoy Sport

Kettlebells go up in weight every 4 kg, so 8kg, 12kg, 16kg, 20kg, 24kg, 28kg, 32kg and so on. Heavier kettlebells can be made, but the traditional max weight is 48kg. Relative to power lifters or strongmen training, this is rather light. So if your goal were to lift heavy stuff for max reps, you would want a barbell, but if your goal were to lift somewhat heavy weights over a long period of time, you would want to use kettlebells.

Don't be confused with the commercialization of kettlebells. Because of all the benefits from kettlebell training, there have been many copycats and training DVDs out on the market.

Commercialization

THIS IS NOT KETTLEBELL TRAINING - http://tinyurl.com/28j4eaf.

There are two different types of kettlebells on the market, Pro Grade kettlebells and classic kettlebells. Pro Grade bells are uniform in size despite the weight. This is great because as you progress and use heavier bells, you don’t have to adapt your technique as you would when using classic bells. Classic bells go from really small (4kg) to really large (over 48kg). The handle size also changes. The Pro Grade bells are internationally the same size (should be!) so it’s easier to compare to the world’s best. Lastly, the Pro Grade bells have a slightly smaller narrower handle than the classic kettlebells, which reduces fatigue on long endurance sets. Some people like using classic kettlebells because they work just as well as the Pro Grade bells. A good advantage of the classic bells is that when you perform double kettlebell exercises (holding a kettlebell in each hand), your stance doesn’t have to be as wide as when using Pro Grade bells for doubles. Some people will find that they can develop more power with this narrower stance.

RESOURCES

Here is a list of websites for kettlebell training:

http://www.dragondoor.com/

http://irontamerdavidwhitley.com/

http://www.fullkontact.com/

http://www.ikff.net/

http://www.shihan.com/home.php

http://www.mikemahler.com/

http://www.artofstrength.com/

http://www.americankettlebellclub.com/

http://worldkettlebellclub.com/

http://www.torontokettlebellclub.com/index.php

http://icechamber.com/

http://www.kettlebells.com.au/

Buying kettlebells:

http://www.agatsu.com/store/cart.php?m=product_list&c=3 (Canadian store; Pro Grade Kettlebells)

http://www.canadiankettlebells.com/ (local, but not Pro Grade)

If I am missing any sites, please send me a message.

I'll leave you with a few videos.

Thanks for reading and watching,

Jon-Erik Kawamoto