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And Endurance (And How to Get Started)” How Russian Kettlebells Build Strength, Muscle and Endurance (And How to Get Started) How can a cannonball with a handle transform your strength and fitness? That's a weird question but if you're like most people, you don't know what a kettlebell is yet. A kettlebell is a traditional Russian cast iron weight which looks like a cannonball with a handle. It is becoming more popular these days as a exercise tool and is being used by bodybuilders, boxers, martial artists, and everyday people. But why use a kettlebell for strength, muscle and endurance? It's really all in the exercise, the movements that you make as you work out with the kettlebell. For example, one exercise is the snatch in which you jerk the kettlebell with your arms and wrist, bringing it up above your shoulders and holding it there for a few seconds. Rather than isolating your muscles like in weightlifting, kettlebell exercises integrate your lower body, your upper body, shoulders, wrist, arms and your hands into one motion. So most of the exercises involving a kettlebell forces multiple muscle groups to work together. In addition, the focus is based on the core and your back muscles, which helps overall fitness and strengthens your back muscles which helps if you have back problems. How to Choose a Kettlebell So you want to get started but where do you go get a kettlebell? A kettlebell isn't something you'll find in a lot of equipment stores, so I recommend you look online to buy them. These things are heavy so the shipping will probably cost a little extra. If you can, try looking on eBay and craigslist to see if anybody is selling them for a good deal. But what's important is what weight you should start out with. For men, I recommend starting with the 36 lb bell. For women, I recommend starting at 20 lbs. However, if you already have many years of weightlifting under your belt, you may want to start out at a higher weight at 40-50lbs (for men) or 30-40lbs for women. Exercising with a Kettlebell Now let's go into a few of the exercises you can do with the kettlebell and how they benefit you. The first is the single arm kettlebell jerk in which you stand should width apart and rest the kettlebell on you shoulders. Bend your knees like a squat and bring the kettlebell above head level. Then return to the original position. Repeat this exercise with each arm. This exercise will work out your shoulders, arms, glutes and thighs. Another sample exercise is one of the most well-known, the kettlebell swing. Hold the kettlebell between your legs in a squatted position then swing back in-between your legs and then swing it up forward up to your chest level. Like the previous exercise mentioned, it will work out multiple parts of your body at once with the focus on your grip, shoulders and hips. These are two examples of simple exercises that you can do with the kettlebell which work out your whole body. There are many varieties of exercises and routines that focus on different aspects of your training whether it be for strength, cardio, building mass or endurance. For more kettlebell training tips and info please go visit the link below: http://www.linkgoeshere.com |