A Brief History of the kettlebell
The inception of the kettlebell began in Russia some 300 years ago and is to this day steeped in the art of kettlebell training. In the olden days, a Russian strongman was referred to as a girevik or ‘kettlebell man’. In 1948 Russians commenced kettlebell sport (Girevoy sport) which pitched a man and a time clock against the maximal repetitions obtained in 3 types of lifts; the snatch (weight swung with one arm straight above head), the clean & jerk (2 bells swung to chest once , and then put overhead as many times as possible) and the one armed push press.
But far from being an exclusive way of training, kettlebells were popularised in the West thanks to the efforts of Pavel Tsatsouline. In 2001, Dragon Door spawned a new craze of kettlebells on American soil. Pavel’s instructor course, called ‘The Russian Kettlebell Challenge (RKC), became a means for the public to learn the art of kettlebell training.
Today, the kettlebell is becoming more and more an integral component to the health and fitness community. Although it is still at a level of ‘curiosity and intrigue’, the public are catching onto the wonderful benefits of kettlebell training.
Why the Kettlebell?
The unique design of the kettlebell results in a varied, exciting and holistic work-out that incorporates cardio, flexibility and strength simultaneously. This is achieved because the weight of the bell is ‘off centre’ from the handle. This means the kettlebell can be swung and flipped via momentum to perform the many high tempo exercises that make it such a dynamic fitness tool.
Apart from the dynamic nature of the kettlebell, it is also recognised as versatile because you can perform traditional based exercises such as those performed with a barbell and dumbbell.
Kettlebell exercises can be classified into the following:
Traditional based exercises which you commonly perform with dumbbells or barbells (some of which are covered in this course)
Dynamic based drills (introduced in the circuit classes) which are highly challenging, demanding but fun to perform (some are covered in this course)
Essential kettlebell exercises which are covered in this course
There is no such thing as boredom when it comes to using the kettlebell because of the enormous number of exercises which can be performed with a single kettlebell. Add an extra kettlebell and the intensity and possibilities grow further.
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