Kettlebells: What Are They and How Can They Help You?

WASHINGTON — Walking into the gym can be a confusing moment. Today, we’ll clear up at least one mystery. What are those big, iron spheres with handles? The answer; kettlebells. They’re free weights that challenge your balance and stability differently than machines or even dumbbells.

Why are they good for you and how should you use them? Let’s take a look.

A Brief History of Kettlebells

Kettlebells are made of cast iron and are shaped like balls, cannonballs or teapots, with handles, typically ranging from one to 100 pounds. 

Unlike dumbbells with a straight bar and evenly sized weights on each side, kettlebells require greater control and mastery, as the center of gravity constantly changes. When you hold a kettlebell handle with one hand and perform advanced moves, like kettlebell swings, the center changes throughout the motion.

Kettlebells may have originated in Russia 350 years ago. Some theories suggest it may even date back to Ancient Greece. In Russian, kettlebells are called girya and were used as counterweights for weighing goods in markets. 

Later, strongmen began throwing them around for exercise. In 1885, Dr. Vladislav Krayevsky, the “forefather of the modern fitness gym,” started weightlifting in Russia, with kettlebells as the primary weight.

Kettlebells became popular in the United States after 1998, when Pavel Tsatsouline, a former Soviet Union Special Forces physical training instructor, introduced them and created Strong First: the school of strength.

Nowadays, you can find kettlebells in most gyms, and they are useful for all fitness levels and goals.

The Benefits of Kettlebells

Kettlebells are a common tool in resistance training to help improve strength, power, and endurance. 

• Engages Your Core: Holding a kettlebell in any position requires engaging and stabilizing your abdominal muscles and core. Learning to move your limbs while keeping your core solid increases core strength, stops excess spinal movements, and may help prevent injury.

• Improves Balance: Extra core engagement during kettlebell work also challenges your balance. Balance is an important fitness skill for gym-goers, athletes, and older adults to help maintain independence and avoid falls.

• Prepares You for Lifting Tasks: Kettlebells are great for functional exercises like deadlifts, squats, and farmer’s carry. It can feel like holding a heavy bag or suitcase with its handle, and it helps prepare for everyday lifting tasks.

• Increases Endurance: Although they are a type of weight used for resistance training, kettlebells can also increase cardiovascular endurance in advanced, high-intensity exercises, like the kettlebell swing.

• Improves Sports Performance: Many athletes train with kettlebells to improve their strength and power, which carries over to performance in their sport.

• Works Multiple Muscle Groups: Using a kettlebell in a workout of any difficulty level will work multiple muscle groups in your body simultaneously. When you perform a lower body exercise like a squat, holding a kettlebell (of any weight) also works your upper body and core. This type of exercise expends more energy in a shorter period, great for when you have limited time at the gym.

Try These Kettlebell Exercises

Here are some basic exercises, and how to add kettlebells to them. These are short definitions and not meant to be full instructions for safely performing them.

• Squat: Hold a kettlebell at your chest with one hand on either side of the handle for a goblet squat.

• Deadlift:
  • Place a kettlebell between your feet for a standard kettlebell deadlift.
  • Place one kettlebell outside each foot and pick them up with both hands for a suitcase deadlift.
  • Hold a kettlebell in one hand and stand on one foot for a single-leg deadlift.

• Lunge: Hold a kettlebell in each hand and perform forward, side, or reverse lunges.

• Step-Up: Hold a kettlebell in each hand and perform step-up to a step or box.

• Overhead Press: Hold a kettlebell in one hand, or one in each hand, and press them vertically overhead.

• Chest Press: Lie on your back and press one or two kettlebells away from your chest (horizontal push).

• Row: You can choose many positions to perform a single-arm row (horizontal pull) with a kettlebell.

• Farmer’s Carry: Hold a kettlebell in each hand. Stand tall and engage your core. Walk in a straight line and try not to move your spine or torso. 

• Turkish Getup: This is a complicated movement involving getting up from the floor and back down while holding a kettlebell in one hand.

• Halo: Hold a kettlebell in your hands and rotate it around your head by moving through your shoulders.

• Kettlebell Swing: You can perform these with two hands on the handle, or one hand for single-arm swings.

Strong As Iron

Once used as market accessories in 1700s Russia, kettlebells now have a solid position in your local gym. Training with kettlebells can improve strength, power, balance, stability and endurance. They’re great for beginners to advanced athletes, and work well in functional exercises to prepare you to carry your suitcases on your next trip. 

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