According to Gray Cook, personal trainer and founder of Functional Movement Systems in Danville, Va., kettlebell training has become popular in the mid-2000s because of its unique approach to develop strength, power and balance. You should do heavy kettlebell training only if you have mastered the basic techniques of lifting and have developed optimal range of motion and stability.
Function
According to Cook, heavy kettlebell training teaches you how to transfer energy from your lower body to your upper body. This is called a leg drive, where you push against the ground with your hips and legs to generate force. Because your lower body is stronger than your upper body, you use the leg drive to help you lift a weight with your upper body. This prevents injury to your shoulder.
In traditional free weights, such as dumbbells and barbells, the center of gravity is balanced at your grip. However, the kettlebell's center of gravity is between six to eight inches below your grip, making it harder to control and hold. Its characteristics allow you to train momentum and curvilinear movements that you cannot train with most free weights. Momentum is the tendency for a moving object to continue to move in the same direction, even when the force applied to it is reduced. This is used in almost all sports—for example, a golf swing and the long jump.
Benefits
According to Brett Jones, who is a certified kettlebell instructor in Pittsburgh, Penn., if you want to gain strength and power without building too many muscles, heavy kettlebell training is a good choice. It does not isolate muscle groups; instead, you use your entire body to do all kettlebell exercises. You can take kettlebells anywhere to train, such as a park, beach or office gym. Because you use more than one muscle group to train, you burn more calories than just training one muscle group alone.
Considerations
You might find one side of your body is stronger than the other. According to Cook, use one kettlebell to work both sides of your body at a 2:1 ratio. For every set you do on the stronger side, do two sets on the weaker side. Continue to do this until your sides are balanced.
If you are training for strength and power, do four to six reps for three to five sets. If you are training for endurance and speed, do each exercise for 30 seconds for three to four sets. Increase the time by five to 10 seconds in each set.
Sample Exercise
The two-hand kettlebell swing is the basic exercise to master when you train with heavy kettlebells. It teaches the leg drive, momentum control and posture.
Hold a 35- to 50-pound kettlebell with both hands with your knuckles facing forward. Stand with your legs shoulder width apart with your toes pointing forward. Bend your knees slightly, and bend forward at your hips. Push against the ground, and push your hips forward, swinging the kettlebell in front of you until your arms are parallel to the ground. Relax your shoulders while maintaining a strong grip on the weight. Keep your spine in neutral position throughout the exercise. Do 10 to 15 swings for three sets.
Expert Insight
Pavel Tsatsouline, who is the founder Russian Kettlebell Training Certification in the United States, suggests that you rest often between three to five sets of heavy kettlebell training. The resting time should be between one to five minutes, depending on the training intensity. If you rest too long, you would not get the muscle-gain benefits. If you rest too short, you will get tired easily and need to use lighter weights. The key is to find an average resting time that allows you to perform the next set at the same intensity and without fatigue.
References
- "PTontheNet": An Introduction to Kettlebell Training; Brett Jones; May 2005
- "Athletic Body in Balance"; Gray Cook; 2003
- "Functional Movement Systems"; Maintain the Squat—Train the Deadlift; Gray Cook; 2007
- "PTontheNet": Building Muscles With Kettlebells; Pavel Tsatsouline; July 2007
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