Last month I spent 2 days at the State Sports Centre weight lifting facility getting certified as a kettlebell instructor. What this means is that I am one of only a handful of fully certified and insured Kettlebell instructors in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney.
So what is the Kettlebell is why is it such an awesome tool for strength, fitness and my client’s focus – weight loss.
What:
A traditional kettlebell looks something like a cannonball with a thick handle.
They traditionally come in weight increments of 4kg or 1/4 pood. A pood is 16kg. The kettlebells were originally used to weigh grain in Russia, which is where the pood measurement and the handle comes from. One day someone decided this heavy ball would be good to lift and so kettlebell training was born.
Kettlebells have been in use for centuries in Russia and have been used in the past by western strongmen and athletes.
But…
As the body building gym mentality took over, kettlebells faded from popularity.
But, But…
A new breed of fitness enthusiasts have enjoyed the revival of Kettlebells which was initiated by an Ex-Russian Special Forces Trainer Pavel Tsatsouline.
This little bit of history sounds good, but what does it mean to us???
Well, My Focus;
With obesity at an all time high, some fitness professional have decided to shun all the fancy machines and the gyms that house them to take on a more fundamental and effective style of training, using whole body movements and simple fitness tools.
I read an article the other day by Don Stevenson of Octogen Fitness and he articulated the scenario perfectly. I quote exactly;
“Functionality is the guiding principle of all Kettlebell training.
Despite what the over-tanned pump’n'toned trainers at your local gym think, functional training is not doing one armed bicep curls with 3kg while standing on a wobble board.
Real functional training is about preparing the body for the demands of sport, work and day to day life. The reality is that in most real life situations you will be called upon to manipulate an unevenly weighted object in three dimensions.
Kettlebell training is supremely functional. The kettlebell itself is unevenly weightled and even the simple act of picking it up off the ground forces the body’s stabilizer muscles to kick in.”
So there you go, kettlebell exercises work the whole body, great for weight loss and great for the core.
So forget all the weird and wonderful machines at your local gym, the most effective tools are often the simplest.
Your in Fitness
Troy Shipsey
Randwick, Centennial Park Personal Trainer
