Reasons to lift Kettlebells

Kettlebells .. The blissfully simple but highly effective cannonball with a handle on it that started to pop up in gyms in the late ’90’s have helped to revolutionise the way we approach training, and far from being a passing fad their use a training tool has continued to grow and diversify. Every gym of any note is equipped with them, most fitness magazines you open show images and articles on them, so here is a reminder …If you need one, as to why you should be including Kettlebells into your fitness routine.

Versatility- Benefits of Kettlebells are so diverse that no matter what your goals are there will be a place for their use in most routines. Armed with the right knowledge on how to use it, one item will allow you to train in many different ways that would have previously required a roomful of kit. They are cheap and portable, just make sure you get proper tuition and gain a thorough understanding of what you are doing and you will have a mode of training for life that can be adapted to fit your training needs to perfection from high performance sports conditioning to rehabilitation.

Power production- Traditional strength training consists of slow muscular contractions, many KB exercises require fast force production thereby making you more powerful which in many cases is a far more useful athletic trait to be investing your gym time on. Reps numbers tend to be high so to be more specific its power endurance that you are developing, which is your ability to sustain fast muscular contractions over an extended time period, and this is one of the most significant factors separating winners and losers in many sports.

Cardiovascular conditioning- Because so much muscle tissue is working, and the exercises are done with speed your cardiovascular system is impacted. With the right exercises and rep numbers max HR’s can be reached, so you can get superfit whilst simultaneously doing your strength training…Hows that for time efficiency?!

Linked Strength- Many KB exercises require lower and upper body to be working together to achieve the lift, this is as your body is designed to work rather than as separate entities. Do a heavy BB curl and see how much your body is telling you to use your lower back/legs/shoulders to help the lift which in traditional strength training is incorrect. In KB’s calling on all your muscle tissue to complete the rep is correct so you are working with your bodies intuition not against it.

Core & Shoulder stability- The very definition of core stability is to hold the spine in neutral alignment and resist movement despite forces being placed on it. The swing for me is one of the most effective stabilisers out there. You've got a weight traveling at speed trying to pull you out of shape and you are resisting against that, progressively overload that and bingo you WILL achieve greater core stability.

A moving kettlebell will also drag your shoulder joint around and by forcefully resisting that and keeping the joint packed and intact you will be developing all of the stabilisers that surround what can be a very unstable area. We require so much movement from our shoulders to function optimally, but we also need to strongly stabilise the joint when required to prevent injury and emit strength optimally. Kettlebell training can provide that.

Joint mobility- Depending on the exercises selected KB’s can be used to improve range of motion around joints, and the length of the tissue surrounding it. In most cases this stretching is done under load which is now commonly accepted as the best way to improve mobility because strengthening stretched tissue means your central nervous system will trust you to go there and will more readily allow you to move to that range. In effect you are strengthening the flexibility you are creating as you go along, bulletproofing those increased ranges on the way.

As a sport- Ever meandered through your training knowing you have to do it, but lacking true purpose to it all. Many people don't know this but KB lifting is an actual sport, complete with National teams, championships, records, online competitions etc. Add a massive dose of motivation and drive to your training by taking up KB sport. If you are into Kettlebells already and want to know what the next step is, then this is a natural progression. You will learn a totally new method of lifting where efficiency rather than exertion is the key, the essence being complete the rep in the easiest, least stressful way and you are able to lift heavier KB’s for longer. Adopting sport style techniques will open the door to sets where you will be truly amazed by what you can do.