So I got a 25-pound kettlebell in the mail the other day.
Heaviest package – pound-for-pound – I’ve ever received.
I’m not sure how much postage was required for the hefty parcel, but it had the Sun’s receptionist a tad concerned and plenty curious.
“It’s not ticking,” I assured her as I clean-and-jerked it off the counter.
“I think it’s a kettlebell. Sorta like a dumbbell.”
The folks at GoFit sent me my very own Iron Core Kettlebell, complete with an exercise booklet and DVD featuring leading kettlebell expert Sarah Lurie.
Cool.
Of course, everyone knows kettlebells – which resemble a bowling ball with a handle – aren’t a new invention. Most North Americans may be unfamiliar with them, but they’ve been in use for more than 100 years – most notably by Russian athletes and 19th-century strongmen such as Canadian Louis Cyr.
Over the past several years, the cast iron weights have enjoyed a revival of sorts in North America, with celebrities like Lance Armstrong and Penelope Cruz jumping on the kettlebell bandwagon.
Even Sylvester Stallone used them for a training sequence in his movie Rocky Balboa.
Kettlebell proponents that I’ve talked to say it’s the ultimate fitness tool, providing total-body movements that combine explosive strength, speed and agility.
They tell me that they use kettlebells to more efficiently and more intensely work their muscular and cardiovascular systems.
I like kettlebells for two reasons: They’re fun and easy.
Fun? Yup, they definitely put the fun in functional training. Kettlebells are a nice change from my bodybuilding-style workouts.
Easy? You betcha. I can go to the basement, grab my shiny new kettlebell and eke out a variety of exercises that will have me sweating in no time.
GoFit advertises its kettlebells as a “fat burning solution,” which they definitely are if used correctly. Kettlebell experts explain that the movements tend to work several large muscle groups at the same time.
That’s opposed to traditional bodybuilding exercises — also known as isolation movements — that often target only one muscle group at a time and therefore don’t offer any real cardio benefits.
Indeed, the strongmen of yesteryear weren’t dumbbells.
For more info, visit GoFit.net.
