The benefits of working out with kettlebells

Kettlebells probably showed up in your gym within the last 2 or 3 years. However, they've been around for quite a long time. If you look up images for old time strongmen, you'll see many examples of kettlebells being used by strongmen like Sig Klein all the way back in the 1920's. Over the last decade, through people like Pavel Tsatsouline and Valery Fedorenko, kettlebells have exploded onto the American gym scene. While looking brute and primitive (neither of which is meant as in insult) kettlebells are not the exclusive domain of massive grunting World's Strongest Man competitors. All other physical factors considered (injuries or other pathological constraints) they are great for anybody, of any body size & type and any age.

One of the greatest benefits of a kettlebell workout is the total body conditioning kettlebell exercises give. Unlike gym machines, cable machines, barbells or dumbbells, there are almost no kettlebell exercises that are isolation movements. Take the most basic kettlebell exercise, the two handed swing. The primary force of the movement comes from the hips, as would happen in a jump. However, you're also holding a heavy bell, which adds in your back, arm and shoulder muscles. Also, since the lower body and upper body have to coordinate their activity in order to do a proper swing, the core is intrinsically involved. Every limb is involved and the torso is powerfully and actively engaged. The kettlebell swing really is a near perfect exercise.

The functional transferability of kettlebell exercises is another great benefit. In the real world, you will rarely be attempting to move or lift an object that is centered perfectly in line with your forearm the way a dumbbell or barbell generally is when lifting weights. What is much more likely is the object you're trying to move is away from your center of gravity and your attempt to move it will shift your center of gravity. Think about picking up a child. Not only can you not keep the weight of the kid directly in line with the bones of your arm, but kids wiggle around and continuously affect your center of gravity. The form of a kettlebell, a heavy weight with a displaced handle, puts the center of gravity of the bell away from your center of gravity. Even with a kettlebell directly overhead, the handle may be in line with your structure (arms/spine) but the majority of the mass is off center. When doing a swing, the mass of the bell is moving in a circular movement around your center of gravity and never in line with it. This requires your body to find stability with a changing center of gravity (your center + the kettlebells center).

While kettlebells are an excellent tool for your workouts, I highly recommend taking a few sessions with a certified kettlebell instructor. Safe lifting and swinging is of utmost importance. You want to benefit and improve your body, not damage it. Any sort of power lifting, which kettlebells fall under, has a risk of injury without proper form. For example, a kettlebell swing does not involve a squatting motion. I can't emphasize this enough. The root exercise of a kettlebell swing is a deadlift, not a squat. If your trainer doesn't understand this, find another trainer. Kettlebells aren't the same as dumbbells and if you meet a trainer who hasn't been specifically trained by a nationally known and reputable kettlebell certifying organization, you'd do well to find someone who has. I see too many trainers showing their clients kettlebell exercises with form that clearly shows to me they do not know what they are doing and if you're going to pay a professional, make sure they are a professional.

Once you get a few sessions under your belt and your trainer is happy with your form, feel more than free to find outside sources for additional kettlebell exercises. There are many great sources for kettlebell exercises, one of my favorites is listed below. But just like anything else that matters, start at the beginning. Swing Away!

http://www.kettlebell-athletics.com/