The kettlebell, an iron cast ball with a handle, is an ancient exercise tool used by elite Russian athletes, old-style strong men and the military. Kettlebell training trains your entire body and effectively increases your strength and endurance in addition to power, speed, coordination and flexibility. Swings, the basic movements, are easy to learn, and you will quickly increase your athleticism and proceed to advanced movements, such as cleans, jerks, snatches, overhead squats, windmills and Turkish get-ups.
Safety
Kettlebell training is a safe and effective form of improving your strength and endurance simultaneously. It is crucial that you learn correct form of the basic swings from a trained kettlebell professional. Perform the basic swings for a couple of weeks and gradually increase the weight. When you have a good muscle memory of the movement, safely proceed onto the advanced moves and focus on a correct technique to achieve maximum benefits.
Advanced Training for Athletes
Athletes performing explosive sports such as basketball, volleyball, tennis, martial arts, hockey, soccer, Olympic lifting and football will benefit from kettlebell training for the functional strength and explosive power. Endurance athletes such as runners, swimmers, cyclists, triathlon athletes or non-competitive fitness enthusiasts will also find kettlebell training useful for the increased power and endurance. Additional body composition benefits with an increased lean muscle mass and decreased fat tissue will help any athlete.
Age and Gender
Both men and women at any age will benefit from advanced kettlebell training. For the aging athlete, the kettlebells strengthen the muscles and tendons, increase mobility of the joints, and with improved flexibility, the body will become more functional. Similar to any weight-bearing exercise, the kettlebell training improves bone density. At any age, it is crucial to start with the basic swing to build strength and skills gradually before proceeding to the advanced movements.
Advanced Movements
After mastering the basic swing with one or two hands and a possible addition of flips, you can proceed on cleans, snatches, front squats, overhead squats, windmills and Turkish get-ups. To improve the flexibility of your hips that you need for overhead squats, perform full range squats holding a light stick over your head or perform a shoulder press in a deep squat position, pressing the kettlebell with one arm or two arms with a kettlebell in each.
Right Kettlebell Weight
During the basic kettlebell training, you have developed an adequate strength and endurance by increasing the weight gradually. When you start doing advanced moves, you should decrease the weight of your kettlebells until you master the movement and develop a correct muscle memory. Focus on your form and increase the number of repetitions as high as 20 or more. To maximize the training intensity, decrease the resting time between the exercises, or do not rest at all. When the advanced move gets easy, then increase the weight.
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