| Author |
Topic |
|
Vancouver, BC
Canada
324 Posts |
Posted - 12/17/2009 : 2:03 PM
|
While grazing on YouTube content last month, I came across this interesting "introduction to kettlebells" video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNaoELYlLfw
Intrigued, I did a little more reading on kettlebells: they were originally a used by the Russian army for training, but have been gaining popularity worldwide as they're an all-around excellent fitness tool. Lifting the bells is a helluva workout, giving you a big dose of cardio and strength training at the same time. There are a lot of claims on the internet about how kettlebells will give you better results than traditional weight training, and how the kettlebells have a much greater focus on functional fitness rather than just bulking up the "showy" muscles. Since I've been wanting to improve my upper body fitness for a while (before starting the class I could only do 6 push-ups in a row ... pretty bad), I thought I'd give it a try.
I signed up for weekly monday/wednesday/friday mornings 6:15 am (yawn!) training sessions, with Steve McMinn, a local RKC (Russian Kettlebell Certified) trainer (http://fit4real.ca/intro_workshop.html). This was a good idea, as Steve is an awesome trainer - easy-going but very attentive to detail, which is important when tossing heavy weights around as you need perfect form to prevent injuries when lifting the kettlebells. If you watch YouTube videos, you might think you can just go out and buy a couple bells and starting hefting them around (yeah, at least that's what I first thought), but that's probably just going to cause some serious back or shoulder injuries. Unlike weight training done improperly, which might just tear an arm mucles or tendon, improperly used kettlebells can cause spinal injuries, which are much more serious. Learning proper kettlebell form to prevent injuries usually takes a month or two of training. However, kettlebell training is about more than just learning kettlebell moves, it's a system for learning how to properly lift anything. The lifting moves you learn train your central nervous system into automatically using good form whenever you need to move something heavy. By repeating the moves until good form becomes automatic, and building up your core muscles, ideally you sould then be able to go through life needing to lift the occaissional heavy thing, and not have to worry about accruing debilitating lower back injuries.
I've only had three weeks of training so far, but the kettlebells do deliver results as promised! The minor stiffness I used to experience in my upper back is gone, muscle definition is accumulating on the upper body, and the whole body feels great. Posture is also greatly improved, even when going for a jog, the upper body is much more stable and firmly placed than my pre-kettlebell days - it feels great. The only downside is that an hour of kettlebell workout can leave you so bagged you don't have the energy to ski the next day. My hamstrings have been feeling especially punished. Although this is getting a lot better after the first couple weeks of acclimatization.
One more kettlebell video, an inspirational one showing Amber Dornfeld, Queen of the Kettlebells at work:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWAisyn3taE
And one more video with Steve Cotter, this time showing off the explosive power of kettlebell trained muscles, check out the second exercise, the "plyometric leap-frog push-ups":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6lm1RcwGdY
|
|
Nanaimo, BC
118 Posts |
Posted - 12/17/2009 : 4:09 PM
|
| I've played with them a couple times and loved them! I'm amazed they're still as unknown as they are. I saw a video of Fedor Emelianko training with them, I suspect that will increase public knowledge! |
|
|
 Fleece thong wearin, Buntzen Lurkin, mystic poet mountain man and international spokesman of the friends of the white squirrel society
Port Moody, B.C.
Canada
5904 Posts |
Posted - 12/17/2009 : 4:46 PM
|
My ex was a professional weight trainer and she would crap if she saw the first video.
First off from what he is doing that is putting a tremendous stress on your lower lumbar region.
Second , when he is throwing them up , that would be a fantastic way to blow out your rotator cuff muscles. Take it from me I have done both sides twice doing bench flies with dumbbells and it hurts like hell.
The key to strength and endurance is slow & controlled. Anyone can throw up a weight over his or her head. By slowing it down to a 10-second count, youll find you can reduce the weight by 15% and still get the same effect and it is a whole lot safer + easier on your joints.
To me it looks like just another gimmick and Im sure you could accomplish the same thing with a cheap set of dumbbells.
The end of the last video is impressive but the first part seems to me to be something that would put your knees at great risk.
|
|
|
Vancouver, BC
Canada
324 Posts |
Posted - 12/17/2009 : 7:03 PM
|
quote:
Originally posted by The Hiker
My ex was a professional weight trainer and she would crap if she saw the first video.
First off from what he is doing that is putting a tremendous stress on your lower lumbar region.
Second , when he is throwing them up , that would be a fantastic way to blow out your rotator cuff muscles.
The first part of the first video is demonstrating the kettlebell snatch, where you swing the bell from between the legs to above your head. It's a kettlebell staple, and is the king of moves with the kettlebells. Yes, it's a move where you can easily do serious damage, but with proper training it can be safely done. At three weeks training I still don't have enough expertise to do this move yet other than with a very light weight (you'll also notice a lot of the recent north america kettlebells-for-fitness movement using much lighter 5 and 10 lb weights for saftey). But in order to get to be russian kettlebell certified, you need to do that move 71 times with a 52 lb weight in under 5 minutes ... so a properly trained kettlebeller can do that move on a routine basis without injury. Steve Cotter is at the "competitive kettlebell" level though ... doing alternating snatches with 70 lb weights is not something you should try at home!
Most kettlebell moves are very dynamic in nature, but during training it is slowed right down. More complex moves are first learned via simpler moves. And the simpler moves teach you how to maintain form so that your body is able to deal with the weight at any point in the move (and at the advanced level having this good form is important so that your body is able to catch micro-rests while working the bell). In training, to prevent lower back injuries, you do a lot of moves such as the plank and burpee, where you build on lumbar strength, but even more important than relying on strength to prevent injury is a focus on never doing a move where your lower back is rounded. Having the ribs tight, back straight, and always bending at the hip and lifitng with the legs is the primary focus of every repetition until perfect form is locked in and becomes natural. Before snatching the bell overhead, you learn how to engage the lats and other larger upper body muscles so that the rotator cuff doesn't attempt to take any of the load. Kettlebell training is as much about training your muscles to grow stronger as it is about training your central nervous system to be able to instinctively move the body around in it's safest and most effective forms.
There is a debate as to which is safer, some hypothesize that doing slow, controlled moves over time leads to a greater frequency of injuries. Certainly with dynamic movements, much more training is needed before they can be safely done.
Of course, the russians, who invented the kettlebell, don't train exclusively with it. It's just another tool in their strength training. However, it's a great tool for improving core strength, as this article by a traditional body builder who learned the kettlebells talks about: http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/kettlebells_put_to_the_test
|
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
Kettlebells rock!
