Kettlebells – The Latest Craze in Strength Training

If you haven’t yet heard of kettlebells in relation to strength training, you may have been a bit out of touch with what is happening in fitness training recently. Kettlebell training as a way to lose weight and gain strength has literally exploded over the past few years.

Kettlebells are essentially iron balls with handles, and they have been used in Russia for over 100 years to train athletes, military personnel, police, and students of the martial arts. The key to the success people have with kettlebells is due the types of ballistic exercises that they enable. Ballistic exercises are fast moving and work through the combination of a high number of reps and the integration of multiple muscle groups. This recruiting of muscle groups working together to complete the rep, is the reason for the success of this type of training. This allows the average person to work their entire body in a shorter amount of time than through traditional strength training, and you gain the benefits of a cardiovascular workout as well.

Some of the same exercise that have been traditionally performed with dumbbells are more effective when using kettlebells because of the way kettlebells are made. The weight of the kettlebell is not centered, which makes you work much harder to do the moves properly. In addition to giving you a more thorough, effective strength training exercise, kettlebell training also trains your body to produce sudden decelerations, essential in many sports as well as in daily activities. Kettlebell training also helps keep your back and shoulders healthy and allows you to build strength and lose weight without sacrificing flexibility.

Kettlebells come in different weights ranging from 5 to 100 lbs.

Check out the kettlebells and instructional booklet at the HealthStyles Exercise Equipment store nearest you.

Kettlebell Videos

Basic Kettlebell Circuit Video

Kettlebell Exercises for Women Video

Weight Loss Kettlebell Workout Video