Kettlebell Training
Thursday, May 7th, 2009
Increase your strength, power, & balance! Train with kettlebells.
Winter’s over! It’s time to shed those extra pounds again! Time to start that diet again, maybe hit the gym & do the same routine you you did last spring again, or you could run 5 miles & ice your knees when you get home again, all the while wondering what you’re doing wrong, why it’s taking so long to lose the weight. What if you could meet your weight loss goals, cut your workout time in half & still get the benefit of a cardiovascular workout as well as a challenging strength building (stationary) circuit routine would you do it?
Try Kettlebell training! What are kettlebells you ask? A kettlebell is a traditional Russian cast iron weight it looks like a canonball with a handle attached to it. You may have seen them in your gym & wondered how to use them, or just what are they used for. Let me tell you this first, kettlebell training IS NOT WEIGHT LIFTING which is kind of an oxymoron since you’re swinging & pushing a very heavy iron ball around, however it is very unlike barbells & weight machines; because it does not have evenly distributed weight on 2 ends. The weight is centered making it much harder to manipulate than evenly distributed weight, combine that with unusual & sometimes even awkward movement (if done properly) it causes you to use multiple muscle groups at once, thereby increasing total body strength. When you use machines or perform bicep curls with a bar you are merely isolating muscle groups, don’t get me wrong big biceps are great, but what good are they on a daily basis unless you’re a professional athlete or a person in law enforcement.
Kettlebells are basically new again in the United States, but they have a long history throughout the world. It is speculated that Greek athletes & gladiators used kettlebells for strength training thousands of years ago, in ancient China; Shaolin Temple Monks used rectangular shaped granite Padlocks to increase strength. These Padlocks looked like small stone toolboxes that allowed the athlete added control for more straight armed movement though they also performed swings, & snatches. Padlocks are also known as Chinese kettlebells. Early in the 20th century, bodybuilders & strongmen from many nations trained with kettlebells, though it thrived & continues to even today in Europe, it was lost in America during the 1950’s that is why Russian & Eastern European weight lifters in the 1960’s & 1970’s always seemed to do better in weight lifting competitions than Americans.
Today kettlebells are used to train military personnel, all over the world. They are used to train government & private security agencies, police forces, & many types of combat sport athletes MMA for example. As you might have guessed these professions all require explosive speed & power; the common theme here.. YOU DO NOT WANT TO LOOSE!
Do you want to increase your strength, power, & balance? Want to learn kettlebells? Marcus Brent of Chicago Training Core can train you to use kettlebells the proper way. Remember KETTLEBELLS ARE NOT WEIGHTS! You can however find many weight lifting exercises online using kettlebells, many of which are better suited for dumbbells. Don’t take chances with your health watching a video either, they cannot tell you about the nuances of each technique that are crucial to the correct execution of the movement, & they cannot point out to you PERSONALLY what YOU may be doing wrong, & without proper supervision you can really hurt yourself with kettlebells, I know I’ve been there.
Jumpstart your training today! Call Chicago Training Core