Kettlebells are here and taking over, and with them, athletes all over the world are discovering new, exciting kettlebell exercises. Why should you care? Read on and find out!

I was talking to my friend Ian on the phone the other day. He’d fallen off the wagon recently when it came to working out and generally keeping in shape. He used to be a marathon runner, but somewhere along the line, running didn’t feel fun anymore. It was boring!

“I need more excitement in my life! Not less!”, he said.

It was at this point that I told him about a discovery I had made not too long ago – kettlebells.

“Are they fun?” he asked. “Hell yes!”, I replied.

Kettlebells are cannonballs with a handle and a flat surface at bottom. They’re funny looking little things.

Originally from Russia, the kettlebell was used by Russian athletes (or girevik’s, as they’re called in Russia) to create resistance and train with. What initially started off as a simple tool to increase a mans (or womans!) strength was found to be something more. Not only was strength increasing, so was endurance, agility and balance too. The effect of the kettlebell’s weight distribution combined with specialized kettlebell exercises yielded greater results than expected!

It wasn’t until recently that the scientists confirmed what girevik’s have known for a long time – kettlebell exercises are devastatingly effective. A recent study found that a ten minute kettlebell workout burned more calories than fourty five minutes spent on the treadmill. The large compound movements used in kettlebell exercises both increased muscle development and taxed the cardio-vascular system, leading to greatly increased athletic ability and fat loss.

All the while being fun to use!

Women who are new to fitness world would be best off starting with an 8kg kettlebell, with experienced female athletes starting with a 12kg or, if they’re brave enough, 16kg kettlebell. Men who are new to working out would be best off starting with a 16kg kettlebell, with more experienced athletes starting with a 20kg or even a 24kg kettlebell.

While this may not seem like a lot of weight, once you start throwing it around and start tackling those special kettlebell exercises, they’ll feel much, much heavier!

Kettlebell prices vary from site to site, as does the quality of the kettlebells. You might initially gawk at the price of a kettlebell compared to it’s dumbell counterpart, but it’s important to remember that a kettlebell is intended to be kept for life, not replaced within a matter of days. A 16kg kettlebell will be useful for a long, long time. As such, it’s important to get a high quality kettlebell that’ll take any and all punishment you throw at it, with a good guarentee to support it in case it does break.

I’ve bought kettlebells from ‘Art of Strength’ and ‘Dragon Door’ in the past. Their kettlebells are built to last and are very reasonably priced - highly recommended.

Side note - keep on reading if you want to find out about an awesome deal Dragon Door at the moment that’ll give you a kettlebell along with all the resources you’ll need to start training at a reduced price with a one year money back return policy. Interested? I thought you would be.

So, how do you use your kettlebell? A quick search on the internet will throw up instructions and videos for thousands of kettlebell exercises.. Where are you supposed to start?!

It is critical that kettlebell exercises are carried out properly firstly to ensure your safety and secondly to make your workouts as effective as possible.

This might sound daunting, but thankfully, a trainer by the name of Pavel Tsatouline, the man who introduced America to the kettlebell, has written an essential must have book that I feel any kettlebell enthusiast should have sitting on his or her shelf; “Enter the Kettlebell!: Strength Secret of the Soviet Supermen”.

Starting with the kettlebell swing, Pavel’s book provides a training plan that effectively builds up your skills, strength and conditioning. Over a short period of time your athletic skills will intensify as you learn how to incorporate advanced kettlebell exercises such as the clean and the snatch into your workouts. Click here for more info on the book!

The Enter The Kettlebell DVD is also a very useful resource. It’s the perfect companion to the ETK book with Pavel giving step-by-step instructions teaching the basics of kettlebell training while demonstrating the proper form to carry out the exercises effectively and safely. Click here for more info on the DVD!

Whether you’re a novice athlete, a trained boxer or an experienced BJJ grappler, kettlebells will improve your fitness and help you achieve your goals. Give them a go! You won’t regret it.

Oh..

Nearly forgot.

Dragondoor’s one year guarentee means that you can try out kettlebells risk free for a year. Not happy with your kettlebells? Send them back. Their starter packs are perfect for trying out kettlebells containing everything you need to get started including a kettlebell, a dvd and a book with instructions. Also, because you’re buying in a bundle too, you’ll save some cash as well. You’d be mad to miss this one, folks!

The mens starter kit can be found here and the womens starter kit can be found here.

Good luck!