The Kettlebell

My brother recently asked me what a kettlebell was? I was amazed he hadn’t heard of one before but I described it as a weight with a handle. I guess some of the world’s best ideas are the simplest ones! We’ll be creating some more kettlebell posts on this website soon as the plan is to start uploading more photographs and videos.

Background

Although I’m not sure who invented the kettlebell, research suggests it was either someone in Russia, the military or both! Either way, I’m just glad someone invented them as I use kettlebells a lot in my fitness training. Kettlebells are used for power training that combine cardiovascular, strength and flexibility.

Unlike traditional dumbbells, the kettlebell’s center of mass is extended beyond the hand. This facilitates ballistic and swinging movements. Variants of the kettlebell include bags filled with sand or steel shot, water, or which take a variable number of plates. Kettlebells also allow for swing movements and release moves with added safety and added grip, wrist, arm and core strengthening due to the shifting fill material.

Exercise

Kettlebell exercises build endurance and strength, in particularly the lower back, shoulders and legs. The movements used in kettlebell exercise can be dangerous to those who have back or shoulder problems. However, if done properly they can also be very beneficial to health. They offer improved mobility, range of motion and increased strength.The basic movements, such as the swing, snatch, and the clean and jerk, engage the entire body at once and in a way that mimics real activities such as farm work or shoveling. Kettlebell exercises are in their nature holistic, therefore they work several muscles simultaneously and may be repeated continuously for several minutes or with short breaks.

Calories

I remember ages ago reading in a magazine that kettlebell training burnt off a ridiculous amount calories. Before I looked any further I decided to research it a bit more and I came across an article by ACE (The American Council on Exercise). These are a well respected fitness research and certifying body in the United States. Their study on the calorie burn of kettlebell training was simply astonishing!

Dr. John Porcari, leader of the study, said “So they were burning at least 20.2 calories per minute, which is off the charts. That’s equivalent to running a 6-minute mile pace. The only other thing I could find that burns that many calories is crosscountry skiing up hill at a fast pace.”

That’s 1200 calories per hour!

Benefits

I’ve already mentioned above about the amount of calories kettlebell training burns but what other benefits do they offer?

I do loads of training at home and kettlebells are perfect for this as they don’t take up much room. You can do so much with just a set of three or four kettlebells and costing half the price of some dumbbells. They’re also a great piece of exercise equipment for busy people, meaning they combine cardio and strength training together thus saving you time. I also found that my posture was much better after training with kettlebells.

Kettlebells are enjoyable, fun, versatile and easy to learn. I’ve included a banner below should you wish to look at some prices. Give the kettlebell a shot and let us know what you think.

Thanks,