The Benefits of Kettlebell Training
By Marina Tishaninova
Anyone who’s been even remotely in touch with the fitness world for the past few years has heard people raving about kettlebells. From professional athletes to those brand new to weightlifting, everyone seems to be incorporating them into their workouts. Dr. Vladislav Krayevsky, considered the "father of kettlebells" in sports medicine, took up training at the age of forty-one, and twenty years later he was said to look fresher and healthier than at forty. Over a century later, kettlebell training is booming.
So what are the benefits of using kettlebells in your workout routine, and why should you consider using them?
Training with kettlebells is a results-driven, efficient, and economic workout modality, promoting fat loss and muscle gain. Especially effective for the development of back muscles, kettlebell training reliably reduced lower back pain- an issue so many of us deal with. And last but definitely not least, using kettlebells reduces your overall training time.
Kettlebells are fantastic for at-home workouts because they don’t take up much space at all (as opposed to those thousand pound, cumbersome machines at the gym). They're a portable tool, relatively easy to carry around and use anywhere you go. Just a couple of kettlebells can substitute the whole gym, allowing you to save time and money. As highly accomplished power athlete and coach Dan John famously said, “With this kettlebell in my bedroom I can prepare myself for the Nationals.”
Before you start kettlebell training, you should know how to properly pick up the bell reducing the possibility of injury. If you have never used a kettlebell before, do not use explosive movements that require momentum. Instead, start by practicing hinging at your hips without the kettlebell, and then move on to adding a kettlebell.
It is vital to learn the form first and feel the kettlebell’s flow. Let’s look at a fundamental kettlebell exercise: the kettlebell swing. This exercise is a very explosive movement that requires power, speed, and balance. Above all, good form and technique are fundamental.
The kettlebell swing is a brilliant way to get a full body workout at home. It targets the muscles of the core and lower body, including glutes and hamstrings, as well as the upper body muscles, including shoulders and lats.
Before performing the kettlebell swing, practice the technique known in kettlebell training as hiking. Hiking means starting from a hinged position and using the momentum to “hike” the bell- aka using the power of the swing- to bring it up to shoulder or eye level, then actively bringing the bell back through the legs on the backswing. This adds load to the posterior chain (as opposed to using the upper body), and teaches the body to brace for the load and maintain tension.
Once you get the flow, you can use a lightweight kettlebell to start.
Kettlebell Swing Form Tips:
Stand about 6-8 inches behind the kettlebell. Hinge at the hips and bend knees until you can reach the handle.
Back is neutral, neck is slightly extended or neutral. Heels, toes, and balls of the feet are planted and knees track over toes.
Grasp the kettlebell handle. With shoulders packed (pressed together and down your back), swing the weight backwards between your legs, arms straight.
As the weight begins to swing forward, stand tall, still grasping the bell. Extend knees fully, "popping" the hips to full extension and spine straight. Keep elbows soft, allowing the bell to swing up to chest or eye level.
Body forms a straight line on the top of the swing, abs and glutes visibly contract.
As the bell descends, shift your weight back into your heels while hinging at the hips and loading your hamstrings and glutes.
Receive the weight of the kettlebell, allowing it to ride back between your legs.
As the bell swings forward, drive through your heels and hips to repeat.
Match the biomechanical aspect of movement and your breathing by exhaling on the upswing and inhaling on the backswing.
Try doing 3 – 5 sets of 10 reps.
Looking to burn fat? The American Council on Exercise (ACE) found that performing kettlebell swings can burn 20.2 calories per minute, which they consider “off the charts” and equivalent to running a 6-minute mile. Of course, there are many, many exercises to do with a kettlebell, and the enormous versatility of use can provide increased calorie burn, making kettlebells a particularly great choice to incorporate into high intensity interval training.
Kettlebell training also torches calories by building dense muscle mass, which increases metabolism. Kettlebells require constant engagement of the core muscles, so improved core strength is an obvious outcome. Performed properly, kettlebells work stabilization muscle fibers both statically and dynamically, and prevent muscle imbalance by working your muscles evenly. So expect improved spinal stability and back strength with this modality as well.
Reduce overall training time with kettlebells. Training this way fires up multiple muscle groups at once with ballistic movement. Ballistic movement is defined as "muscle contractions that exhibit maximum velocities and accelerations over a very short period of time," which helps the body to move as one functional unit. Involving maximum reps done for time, an exercise like the kettlebell swing allows you to work on cardiovascular training, muscular endurance, and strength at the same time. That means ballistic movements, achieved through kettlebell training, allow you to build muscle, lose fat, and improve strength without having to spend hours in the gym.
Meet the Author
Born and raised in Russia, Marina received her bachelor’s degree in International Relations. She moved to the United States in 2011 and started her second bachelor’s degree in Corporate Business. After graduation, she realized that she wanted to become a fitness professional because she has always been active, with a focus in gymnastics and dancing.
Marina is an avid learner and is certified in many training styles including kettlebells, yoga, and corrective exercise. Her fitness interests include dancing, boxing, yoga, and kettlebell flow training. Because of Marina’s wealth of knowledge and interests, a personal training session with her will be sure to keep the client excited while working toward their fitness goals.
“I get excited at the prospect of helping my clients stay motivated to achieve both their long-term and short-term fitness goals. It is a rewarding feeling to help people and I love inspiring them to make positive changes in their lives.”
Marina considers herself a compassionate coach, so her clients feel comfortable opening up. “I am dedicated to my clients’ needs, encouraging, and adaptive.”
Have a question for Marina? Email her at marina@pongopower.com!
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