Total fitness through kettlebell training
BY PERRY GIL S. MALLARI REPORTER

Sylvester Stallone featured it in his last Rocky film. The kettlebell, a training tool that looks like a cannonball with a handle, has now caught the attention of the fitness world.

The kettlebell originated in Russia where it is called girya. Historical record shows that kettlebells were originally used as counter weights in Russian markets. Country folks eventually began tossing them around discovering its value as an exercise and a competitive sport. The popularity of this pastime eventually led to Tsarist Russia declaring the girya as the conditioning tool for the masses. The Russian magazine Hercules published a report in 1913 declaring, “Not a single sport develops our muscular strength and bodies as well as kettlebell athletics.” Kettlebell today is a staple in the fitness program of Russian athletes and soldiers.

While also employing weight as a resistance, the use of kettlebells differs distinctly from dumbbells and barbells. Kettlebells are used in ballistic swinging movements during workout, which demands synergy of the whole anatomy to maintain stability. Unlike in weight training where certain muscles are isolated during workouts, kettlebell exercises require full body integration and core stabilization.

Tommy Blom, a Swedish expert on kettlebell and an instructor of Russian Kettlebell Challenge, told The Manila Times that the advantage of kettlebell training is that it gives a full-body workout. “It will basically make you stronger, and it treats the body as one unit instead of dividing the body,” he explains. Blom also attested that besides increasing strength and endurance, kettlebell training makes an athlete’s recuperation time to get shorter and shorter. “It’s good for your joints and your shoulders and will lead to overall better fitness,” he adds.

A kettlebell trained body while looking toned and conditioned is not bulky like those of weightlifters, which makes this fitness program very suitable for women. A kettlebell workout improves both muscular and cardiovascular performance in a single workout. Another advantage of kettlebell as an exercise program is its portability. It’s like carrying a portable gym as it can be kept neatly in the trunk of a car.

Scientific research has proven the superiority of kettlebell exercises over other fitness programs. Paul Check, a globally recognized expert on corrective and high performance kinesiology declared that kettlebell training programs are superior when examined in relation with biomotor richness. “Biomotor” connotes “life movement,” pertaining to biomotor abilities that are necessary for functional human movement. Biomotor abilities are affected by factors such as strength, endurance, speed, coordination and flexibility.