Kettlebells are another highly versatile tool, we will be using a lot of during GMC sessions, for those that don’t know, a kettlebell is metal ball with a handle, if you can imagine that. They generally come in two forms, competition kettlebells, which are made of cast steel and are all the same physical size, no matter what they weigh, these as the name suggests are used in Kettlebell competitions.
Then you get Russian kettlebells, usually made of cast iron, these get larger in size as the weight goes up.
Kettlebells have been around for hundreds of years and for very good reason – they work.
Here are some of the reasons why –
- Improved conditioning and work capacity – Kettlebells are ideal for creating high intensity, complexes, moving through various exercises, without having to change or put weights down, so making you work harder. This will massively improve your work capacity.
- Posterior chain work – Using traditional kettlebell exercises, like swings and snatches, you will be learning how to fire up your posterior chain muscles, glutes, hamstrings, working them in a ballistic, powerful way, that can’t be replicated with a lot of other fitness tools.
- Working your body unilaterally – When using single kettlebells, your body is put under different stresses, from, say using a barbell, as the weight ids offset, it makes your body work harder to maintain balance, leading to a stronger midsection, better structural integrity, which will carry over to most sports and other training methods.
- Grip Strength – As most strength exercise, bench press, squat, shoulder press etc have weight pushing against you, grip strength is not really tested. While doing kettlebell swings and snatches, the kettlebell is pulling away from you, so grip strength is important and quickly gets improved. On saying this a lot of kettlebell exercise require you to grip the kettlebell with minimum effort, to allow it to move, without ripping your hands or banging it off your wrist.
- Portabilty – As kettlebells are small, you don’t need much room to use them. They are ideal for taken with you for outdoor sessions.
- Fun – Kettlebell training can be used very effectively for active recovery. One of the best methods for this is kettlebell juggling. Which we will cover at GMC. This is not only fun but, also helps improve technique at the same time