Kettlebells For Strength Training

Have you heard of kettlebells? These are the “things” that look like kettles, but weigh a lot more. Here at Granite Fitness, we had not mentioned them as much as other weight training equipment, as we focus on resistance bands more. Nevertheless we acknowledge that there are many tools you can use for strength training.

While resistance bands are undoubtedly advantageous in terms of cost, flexibility and portability, kettle bells are good for certain kinds of training, especially in fixed locations such as your home. We even have them at the Granite Fitness Online Store. In the interest of fairness, we have invited kettlebell enthusiast David Snape to guest-post an article on this topic. Here goes:

“Russian Kettlebells are amazing! These kettlebell workouts may be the answer to maintaining a home gym or having an expensive club membership. With Russian kettlebells you can develop superior gains over traditional workout methods and save lots of space in your home.

The man who teaches Russian Kettlebell training is Pavel Tsatsouline. He is a former Spetznaz trainer. For those who may not know, Spetznaz is the Russian equivalent of the CIA or Special Forces. As every high-risk agent would wish for, after studying some of Pavel’s books you can definitely find out how to have explosive instant power ready at all times.

But, not everyone is a spy; in fact very few of us are. So what benefits does kettlebell training have for the average woman or man? Kettlebell training can be a great way to lose weight, tone up the body, and stay in shape once you get it there with the added benefits mentioned above. And not only that, kettlebell workouts may be better for you than weights. In one of his books, Pavel mentions some of the fitness tests that were used to compare kettlebell training to traditional workouts.

The kettlebell trainers seemed to be in much better shape according to Pavel. And Pavel would know – You can see a picture of Pavel on his web site. The guy is well muscled and toned for someone that avoids weight training like the plague. Speaking of muscle and tone, check out the incredible Ab muscles that Pavel can show you how to develop. Pavel, being an expert in physical training combined with his unique experience and insight is fully qualified to show you all about physical fitness.

Whether you are female or male, Pavel can show you the way to fitness. He has also collected for our benefit, what he believes to be excellent advice in nutrition. Another thing I think that is interesting about Pavel and his work is that he brings his colourful and interesting Russian personality into play. For example, just think of the title of one of his books, Power to the People.

Me? I find that title humorous, but if I had to explain why I think it’s funny, I’m not sure that I could. It might be the underlying but subtle notion that liberation is in order for someone. Come to think of it, I guess liberation is in order. Pavel wants to show us a better way to fitness and free us from our need to spend an inordinate amount of time in the gym and spend it more wisely and effectively, so that we can have great physical fitness and time to enjoy it as well.

As you can see by glancing at his pictures, Pavel not only knows how to develop an amazing physique but he also knows how to keep himself flexible at the same time. Maybe now you can understand why I think this man has some answers to fitness that we might not be able to find anywhere else. As always, consult a primary care physician before embarking on any fitness regimen. This article is for information purposes only and is not to treat, prevent or diagnose any physical condition.”

So how did you find the article? Good, isn’t it? I have to admit that one of the reasons why I included this article here is because I have gotten one of Pavel’s books, and at the risk of being sneered at by some, it is a full-picture book. It is very informative, but with a sprinkling of his traditional, non-PC Russian humour too.

Would I use kettlebells? Yes, of course. I have access to them at the gym. Admittedly, I only use them for certain exercises, and only for positioning purposes, so I am not using them the right way. But I am open to using them in the proper way in future. As always, check out the range of weight training equipment in the Granite Fitness Online Store. Na Zdrovit!

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Also published on Medium.