Popularized by the Olympic champion weightlifters of the Soviet Union, Russian kettlebells are a highly effective and wonderfully inexpensive tool for fitness almost anyone can use.
Kettlebells, which are weights attached to a handle, making the weight look something like a kettle, have come back into style. Athletic trainers often classify them as "functional" exercise equipment, as the kind of weight (something with a handle) you might pick up outside the gym. Fitness fans recognize them as inexpensive and useful additions to any home gym. In fact, it's possible to use Russian kettlebells as your only home gym equipment with considerable success.
Soviet-era weightlifters who won far more than their share of Olympic gold medals recognized the importance of Russian kettlebells in their weekly workouts. A generation of scientific research, however, reveals some of the reasons why using kettlebells is such a great way to build muscle.
- Increased aerobic capacity. American scientists recruited 17 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I collegiate soccer (football) players to participate in a two-week study in they either did their usual circuit weight training (going from machine to machine in the gym) or a 20-minute snatch and release routine with kettlebells. At the end of just two weeks, the women who had done the kettlebell routine had 6 percent greater respiratory capacity, that is, they could breathe in 6 percent more oxygen during exercise. The women who had continued their usual weight training routine had no changes in respiratory capacity. Russian sports medicine researchers have looked at this phenomenon more closely, and have concluded that the increase in aerobic capacity occurs as the body strives to keep the same concentration of oxygen in the lungs, even though each snatch of a kettlebell requires a relatively large amount of energy.
- Cardiovascular fitness. Most of us think of "weight lifting" and "cardio" as two different activities. Kinesiologists at Southeastern Louisiana University in the USA, however, have found that 30 minutes of a kettlebell routine (three 10-minutes sessions with a 3-minute break between them) is just as useful for cardiovascular training as 30 minutes on a treadmill at walking speed on a 4 percent grade. You can get your cardio and your strength training at the same time with kettlebells.
- Muscle building. Yet another group of American sports researchers found that protein bars after workouts actually helped build muscle in a group of athletes who did a routine that included kettlebells (Crossfit), but not in athletes who did not.
- Testosterone. Using kettlebells causes an immediate increase in testosterone levels (about 15 percent above normal), even without injections of testosterone. The effect occurs in the first 30 minutes after an exercise session, when muscles are at their most sensitive to testosterone.
- Back pain. Kettlebell training strengthens lower back muscles, making them more resilient when the back experiences sudden strain or stress. This reduces the frequency of lower back pain both in and away from the gym.
There actually are some things that you can't accomplish with kettlebell training. It's not something you do to get six-pack abs. It's not something you do to lose body fat (take a look at those Soviet-era power lifters). However, it's profoundly useful in your exercise routine for all the reasons mentioned above.
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.
- Falatic JA, Plato PA, Holder C, Finch D, Han K, Cisar CJ. Effects of Kettlebell Training on Aerobic Capacity. J Strength Cond Res. 2015 Jul
- 29(7):1943-7. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000000845. PMID: 26102260.
- Photo courtesy of Gone Lone Wolf via Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/goneloanwolf/4172212623
- Photo courtesy of US Army Central via Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/usarmycentral/13949522605
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