Kettlebells, Kettlebells, Kettlebells

Kettlebells are becoming more and more popular which is great. They’ve been around for a long time, but have really had their resurgence in the west in the last decade.

Kettlebells are a fantastic tool. In fact I think they should have their place right alongside Barbells and Dumbbells in the world of fitness and strength. If you want to increase maximal strength and power – use a barbell, if you want to train for symmetry and unilateral balance- use dumbbells, but for strength endurance, power endurance and metabolic conditioning- Kettlebells are the way to go!

The thing that sets a Kettlebell apart from other implements is that the handle is outside of the mass of the bell. This does three things:

1. it creates a longer lever (when it is swinging)
2. it creates an axis where the hand meets the bell
3. it allows the hand to move throught the bell in positions like the rack and the overhead lockout

Because of the uniqe qualities of Kettlebells they tend to get unique results. There’s a lot of PR out there that talks about how you can burn more calories swinging a Kettlebell than doing virtually anything else. A couple of years ago my business partner and myself went up to York St John University and we got put throughtsome preliminary tests to finsd out just how hard swinging bells made you work.

The results were pretty interesting. Performing a 5minute Swing Test we found that our heart rates went up above 90% of maximum after the first minute and it maintained this up until the end of the 5minute test. This provides us with an insight as to how and why performing traditional Kettlebell exercises such as Swings and Snatches can use more energy therefore getting us fitter and helping us to burn fat faster. Anybody who does any track work or who trains with intervals will appreciate why this is special and unique. For example running and getting you heart rate above 90% means that you would need to rest after every minute or so with a minute of recovery in between- think 400m’s. We were able to maintain this for a total of 5mnutes- continuously!!

What should be obvious, but what obviously gets overlooked by most people using Kettlebells is that it isn’t the Kettlebell itself that burns energy, you can’t just rub it and hope you’ll get fitter! It’s what you actually do with the bell that gets the results.

I mentioned above that we were tested swinging for 5minutes, we were also tested Snatching for 6minutes with fairly similar results. We also perfomed varied intervals of work and rest ratios. Again these are the key exercises that will allow you to get the most out of Kettlebells. Other exercises that really utilise the unique qualities of the Kettlebell are  the Clean, the Jerk and the Long Cycle (the Clean and Jerk).

These exercises are also the Kettlebell Sport Competition exercises.

Kettlebell Sport is a test of both physical and mental strength endurance. In the traditional Biathlon competitions athletes Jerk for a maximum of ten minutes and then Snatch for a maximum of ten minutes, the person who lifts the most is victorious. Athletes can also compete in the Long Cycle, this is generally in the off season. In the west it’s a fledgling sport. Through the Trojans Lifting Club we have hosted 3 competitions in the last year with 35 people from all over the world competing in the most recent one.

Just a fortnight ago I attended a training camp with Gregor sobocan of the WKC in Slovenia and this has helped my progressions under the bells once again. It’s a journey!

My journey with bells has been a continuing learning process. I’ve learnt from some of the best Kettlebell lifters in the world and seen records been broken and smashed. I’ve also now taught over 1000 people just how to swing a Kettlebell and how they can teach others. The best thing is that I’m still learning. I learn every time I pick up and swing a Kettlebell. I learn the most when I’m teaching others, watching how different people move and respond to Kettlebells.

BJ Rules

http://www.trojansliftingclub.com