Everyone is Clamoring for Kettlebells!

By: Chris Volgraf

With the Olympics and Major League Baseball’s Spring Training in high gear, you can’t help notice kettlebell training is a common tool in these athletes’ programs!  Just like the latest piece of fashion worn by your favorite celebrity, fitness crazed people want to learn more about the latest trend in fitness - kettlebell training.

Kettlebells were developed by Russian strongmen in the early 1700’s to help build strength, balance, flexibility and endurance at a very quick rate.  The Kettlebell looks like a cannonball with a large handle on top. But don’t let its simple design fool you! You’ll quickly realize that kettlebell training is a total body challenge that few have ever experienced! The various swinging motions that can be performed give the user a fantastic cardio and strength training workout in as little as 20 min.  You can leave your 30 min on the treadmill and 30 min of resistance training workout behind once in a while for the kettlebell workout. You will undoubtedly see real results…quickly! So the logical question is - why isn’t everyone working out with kettlebells?  With such a wide variety of balance, flexibility, strength, power and endurance, you must have an above average level of fitness and it is recommended that you learn from a trained professional before even thinking of picking one up off the ground.

A typical kettlbell training routine can include a variety of swings, Olympic style lifts, squats, deadlifts, lunges, presses and pulls/rows. The user is able to move in all planes of motion assuring a challenge for a majority of the body’s musculature. The aforementioned exercises involve several muscle groups and are often done in an interval training fashion to provide a greater challenge to the cardiovascular system.  As recent research from the American Council on Exercise showed, kettlebells provide a shockingly high caloric burn in as little as 20 minutes (20.2 calories per minute to be exact) which would place you in the same company as cross country skiing uphill or running a 6 min mile pace!

As mentioned earlier in the article, it is in your best interest to receive some professional instruction when starting a kettlebell training program.  Please feel free to contact Princeton Longevity Center to learn more about individualized fitness plans that can include kettlebell as well as other forms of fitness training. .

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