The Iron Supplement (It’s all about kettlebells)

4/21/08 Posted in Kettlebell Crazy  |  0 Comments

by Gary Riggs

Kettlebells are finding their way into the mainstream of American fitness. No doubt you’ve seen them featured in “Healthy & Fit Magazine” over the past year, as well as various other publications. And if you didn’t blink, you may have seen Sylvester Stallone snatch a kettlebell over his head, in “Rocky Balboa”. And now, Lansing, kettlebells can be found at select local gyms, or a sporting goods store, near you!

“So what is a kettlebell, and why should I get one?” you may be asking.

A kettlebell is typically described as a cast-iron ball with a suitcase handle on top. It’s been around for at least a couple hundred years–most popularly in Russia. But in the days before the plate-loaded barbell became popular over here, from the 1920’s onward, the kettlebell was a staple in most American and western European gyms, too. Its survival may owe itself to 70-plus years of Soviet isolation from the rest of the world, during which time the kettlebell seems to have become the preferred fitness tool of Russian military and proletarian fitness enthusiasts alike.

“So popular were kettlebells in Tsarist Russia that any strong man or weightlifter was referred to as a ‘girevik’, or ‘a kettlebell man’,” writes “Evil Russian” Pavel Tsatsouline, who re-introduced the kettlebell to the West, in 2002. In his modern classic, “The Russian Kettlebell Challenge”, Pavel cites numerous benefits of this versatile iron weight–for both muscular strength and cardiovascular fitness:

“Girevoy sport delivers unparalleled cardio benefits. That is one reason kettlebells are very popular with the Russian Navy; there is nowhere to run aboard a man-of-war but who needs to if there is a kettlebell around?…High rep C&J’s and snatches with K-bells kick the fighting man’s system into warp drive….” (I can personally vouch for this: after returning from DALMAC just after Labor Day, my schedule precluded any further riding. Throughout the fall and winter months, I maintained my normal weight with mostly swings and snatches. Finally, on the first nice day in April, I was out on my bike again and logged 40 miles–it was as if I’d never been away!) For the same reason, the kettlebell has been adopted by U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan and Iraq, where jogging through the streets of Baghdad or Kabul just doesn’t seem like a good idea.

It’s also become popular with woman trainees, who want to burn fat and build muscle tone without bulking up. And for the deconditioned client in general, who just wants to get into shape without learning all the rocket science of isolating muscle groups, intimidating and confusing machinery, the kettlebell is simplicity itself.

Take the swing for instance, a deceptively simple drill that forms the basis of nearly every exercise in the KB repertoire: using the momentum of your body, it almost seems to carry you through the movement. Yet you’ll have worked your hips, inner thighs, glutes, hamstrings, back and shoulders, in addition to getting a good cardio workout–all without the “dishonor of aerobics”.

Of course, you could perform the same drill with a dumbbell. But the kettlebell handle is 9-10 inches above the floor, and easier to grip. And its weight displacement gives it a whole ‘nother dynamic (Bill Pullum used to load one end of his DBs with slightly more weight to replicate this effect, but now you don’t have to!).

So where can you get a kettlebell of your very own?

Kettlebells are now locally available (Hallelujah!) from MC Sports and Dicks Sporting Goods. They’re manufactured by Go Fit, and come included with an introductory DVD by Iron Core maiden, Sarah Lurie. Weights range from between 10-25 pounds in five pound increments–the recommended starting weight for the average woman is 20 pounds. Dick’s offers a 35-pounder for the average male trainee. But if you’re a little more advanced, and can bench over 200 pounds, you may be ready for the 45-pounder (Iron Core makes one; ask at Dick’s if they can order it).

If you’re still not sure, and would like to road test a kettlebell, Justin Grinnell would be happy to oblige. His Boot Camp at the Michigan Athletic Club incorporates KBs into its routine. Give him a call at 364-8888.