“Russian Special Forces Strength & Conditioning Secret is out!”
What
is a ‘kettlebell’?
A ‘kettlebell’
or girya (Russ.) is a traditional
Russian cast iron weight that looks like a cannonball with a handle. As the 1986 Soviet Weightlifting Yearbook put it, “It is hard to find a sport that has
deeper roots in the history of our people than kettlebell lifting.” So popular
were kettlebells in Tsarist Russia that any strongman or weightlifter was
referred to as a girevik, or ‘a kettlebell
man.’ “Not a single sport develops our muscular strength and bodies as well as
kettlebell athletics,” wrote Ludvig Chaplinskiy in Russian magazine Hercules in 1913. 
In the Soviet times weightlifting legends such
as Vlasov, Zhabotinskiy, and Alexeyev, started their Olympic careers with
kettlebells. Yuri Vlasov who defeated mighty Paul Anderson once interrupted an
interview he was giving to a Western journalist and proceeded to press a pair
of kettlebells. “A wonderful exercise,” commented the world champion lifter. “.
. . It is hard to find an exercise better suited for developing strength and
flexibility simultaneously.” 
The Russian Special Forces personnel owe much
of their wiry strength, lethal agility, and never-quitting stamina to
kettlebells. Soldier, Be Strong!, the
official Soviet armed forces strength training manual pronounced kettlebell
drills to be “one of the most effective means
of strength development” representing “a new era in the development of
human strength-potential.”
In the Soviet times weightlifting legends such
as Vlasov, Zhabotinskiy, and Alexeyev, started their Olympic careers with
kettlebells. Yuri Vlasov who defeated mighty Paul Anderson once interrupted an
interview he was giving to a Western journalist and proceeded to press a pair
of kettlebells. “A wonderful exercise,” commented the world champion lifter. “.
. . It is hard to find an exercise better suited for developing strength and
flexibility simultaneously.” The Russian Special Forces personnel owe much
of their wiry strength, lethal agility, and never-quitting stamina to
kettlebells. Soldier, Be Strong!, the
official Soviet armed forces strength training manual pronounced kettlebell
drills to be “one of the most effective means
of strength development” representing “a new era in the development of
human strength-potential.”Who
uses kettlebells in the United States?
The
extreme kettlebell workout would have remained the exclusive domain of Russian
spec ops, had former Spetsnaz instructor
Pavel not immigrated to the U.S. The
elite of the U.S. military and law enforcement instantly recognized the power
of the Russian kettlebell, ruggedly simple and deadly effective as an AK-47.
You can find Pavel’s certified kettlebell instructors in outfits such as the Force
Recon Marines, the FBI Hostage Rescue Team, and the Secret
Service Counter Assault Team. Once the Russian kettlebell became a hit among
those whose life depends on their strength and conditioning, it took off among
hard people from all walks of life: martial artists, athletes, and regular
tough guys. There is no stopping the Russian kettlebell invasion. Men’s Journal called
it ‘a
workout with balls.’ Rolling
Stone pronounced Pavel ‘The
Hot Trainer of the Year’ and
his Russian kettlebell ‘The Hot Weight of the Year.’ “Resistance
is futile. You will be assimilated.”
Once the Russian kettlebell became a hit among
those whose life depends on their strength and conditioning, it took off among
hard people from all walks of life: martial artists, athletes, and regular
tough guys. There is no stopping the Russian kettlebell invasion. Men’s Journal called
it ‘a
workout with balls.’ Rolling
Stone pronounced Pavel ‘The
Hot Trainer of the Year’ and
his Russian kettlebell ‘The Hot Weight of the Year.’ “Resistance
is futile. You will be assimilated.”Kettlebells
deliver xtreme all around fitness
Voropayev (1983) observed two groups of subjects over a
period of a few years and tested them with a standard battery of armed forces
PT tests: pullups, a standing broad jump, a 100m sprint, and a 1k run. The
control group followed a typical university physical education program that
emphasized the above. The experimental group just lifted kettlebells. In spite of the lack of practice on the tested
exercises, the kettlebell group showed better scores in every one of them! 
Researchers at the Lesgaft Physical Culture
Institute in Leningrad (Vinogradov & Lukyanov, 1986) found a very high
correlation between the results posted in a kettlebell lifting competition and
a great range of dissimilar tests: strength, measured with the three powerlifts
and grip strength; strength endurance, measured with pullups and parallel bar
dips; general endurance, determined by a 1000 meter run; and work capacity and
balance, measured with special tests! Shevtsova (1993) discovered that kettlebell
training lowers the heart rate and the blood pressure. 
Gomonov (1998) concluded that “Exercises with
kettlebells enable one to quickly build strength, endurance, achieve a balanced
development of all muscle groups, fix particular deficiencies of build, and
they also promote health.” Most methods that claim ‘all around fitness’ deliver
no more than compromises. Accept no
compromises – choose the Russian kettlebell!
Researchers at the Lesgaft Physical Culture
Institute in Leningrad (Vinogradov & Lukyanov, 1986) found a very high
correlation between the results posted in a kettlebell lifting competition and
a great range of dissimilar tests: strength, measured with the three powerlifts
and grip strength; strength endurance, measured with pullups and parallel bar
dips; general endurance, determined by a 1000 meter run; and work capacity and
balance, measured with special tests! Shevtsova (1993) discovered that kettlebell
training lowers the heart rate and the blood pressure. Gomonov (1998) concluded that “Exercises with
kettlebells enable one to quickly build strength, endurance, achieve a balanced
development of all muscle groups, fix particular deficiencies of build, and
they also promote health.” Most methods that claim ‘all around fitness’ deliver
no more than compromises. Accept no
compromises – choose the Russian kettlebell!
Get your kettlebell from 571-306-1187 or LEVERAGEYOURSTRENGTH.COM.
Power to you!
Power to you!
The
kettlebell body
Russian kettlebells are not for Kens and Barbies who want to
look like ‘a collection of body parts.’ K-bells forge doers’ physiques along
the lines of antique statues: broad shoulders with just a hint of pecs, back
muscles standing out in bold relief, wiry arms, rugged forearms, a cut
midsection, and strong legs without a hint of squat-induced chafing.
Kettlebells melt fat without the dishonor of dieting or aerobics; losing 1% of
bodyfat a week for weeks is not uncommon. If you are overweight, you will lean
out. If you are skinny, you will get built up.
According to Voropayev (1997) who studied top Russian gireviks, 21.2%
increased their bodyweight since taking up kettlebelling and 21.2% (the exact
same percentage, not a typo), mostly heavyweights, decreased it. The Russian kettlebell is a powerful tool for
fixing your body comp, whichever way it needs fixing.
Are
kettlebells dangerous? Am I too young or too old?
Only
8.8% of top Russian gireviks, members of the Russian National Team and regional
teams, reported injuries in training or competition (Voropayev, 1997). A
remarkably low number, isn’t it? Note that these were not regular guys but
elite athletes who push their bodies to the edge. Which does not give you an
excuse to lift kettlebells flippantly; any type
of strength training can be dangerous if you use bad judgment. As for the age, at the 1995 Russian
Championship the youngest contestant was 16, the oldest 53! And we are talking elite competition here;
the range is even wider if you are training for yourself rather than for the
gold.
What
kettlebell size is right for me?
leverageyourstrength.com offers 9, 18, 26, 35, 53, 70, and 88-pound kettlebells,
designed in Russia and made with pride in the USA. Kettlebells were designed to give you a super
workout with just one or two fixed weights.
An average man should start with a 35-pounder. It does not sound like a
lot but believe it; it feels a lot heavier than it should! Most men will
eventually progress to a 53-pounder, the standard issue size in the Russian
military. Although available in most units, 70-pounders are used only by few
advanced guys and in elite competitions. 88-pounders are for mutants. An
average woman should start with an 18-pounder. A strong woman can go for a
26-pounder. A few hard women will go beyond.
Where
can I buy a kettlebell and how do I learn how to use it?
Call 571-306-1187 or go to leverageyourstrength.com. Learn the drills from Pavel’s Russian Kettlebell Challenge: Xtreme Fitness for Hard Living Comrades book
and video. Women will prefer his other kettlebell program, From Russia with Tough Love: Pavel’s Kettlebell Workout for a Femme
Fatale.
Contact your local
certified kettlebell instructor for workshops and personal training:
YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION HERE: MICHAEL O'BRIEN, RKC,
YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION HERE: MICHAEL O'BRIEN, RKC,
PHONE: 571.306.1187
E-MAIL ADDRESS: mobriend@gmail.com
Power to you!
When we say ‘strength’ we mean
‘kettlebell.’
When
we say ‘kettlebell’ we mean ‘strength.’
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