Getting Started with Russian Kettlebell Training

Kettlebell training originated in Tsarist times, about 1740. These wonderfully useful weights were cast to weigh multiples of a pood, which would be about 16 kilos or 35 pounds. However, it's easy to find smaller kettlebells if that is where you need to start. Some of them weigh less than a single kilo, only about a pound.

 

Safer than dumbbells. A Russian kettlebell resembles two cannonballs with a slippery hand grip connecting them. The center of gravity, no matter how you hold the kettlebell, is in the "ball" of the kettlebell. It will fall straight to the floor, away from your body, if you drop it. This is what gives kettlebells the advantage over dumbbells. The center of gravity in a dumbbell is always in your hand, and if you drop it, it can fall on your body.

 

A great way to burn calories. Kettlebell exercises involve all the muscles in your body, not just a few. The more muscles you use, the more calories you burn. A workout with a kettlebell uses as many muscles as shoveling snow, moving furniture, or climbing up on the roof to do repairs. Many of your muscles will start to burn sugar anaerobically, producing a "burn," using sugar at approximately 34 times the rate that they do at rest. This burns "sugar calories" preferentially to "fat calories," so kettlebells are especially for diabetics who do exercise as part of their blood sugar control.

 

No need for back strain. When you pick up a kettlebell, the preferred technique is to use all the muscles in your body, not just the muscles in your back. If you just can't help yourself and you tend to snatch the kettlebell of the bench by focusing on your back muscles, start with a lower weight until you master the technique. Back strain and back pain are relieved by good technique, while back pain and back strain are a constant risk with dumbbells.

 

Beneficial while you are learning new exercises. The benefits of kettlebells to your body as a whole (increased testosterone and growth hormone levels, better blood glucose control, calorie burning) are realized no matter how you use the weights in your exercise routine. However, muscle power gains differ with your routine. The best approach is to master one exercise with kettlebells, and then to master more. You can find DVDs and YouTube videos that show you how to do hundreds of different exercises with your Russian kettlebells.

 

Is there anyone who should not use kettlebells? Generally speaking, if you have a recent lower back or rotator cuff injury, you should use only very light weight (about a kilo/two pounds or even less), under the supervision of a trainer. 

 

Even tiny weights should be avoided while the injury is still acute, causing inflammation, redness, soreness, and pain. If you don't have strong abdominal and lower back muscles, start with smaller weights, not the one-pood (35 pounds/16 kilos) recommended as a beginning weight for men, or the half-pood (17 pounds/8 kilos) recommended for women. Russian kettlebells are almost certain to do you good. There's no need to rush to master them.