Kettlebells have been around for over a century. They were especially popular with the Russian military. The 1986 Soviet Weightlifting Yearbook states that “it is difficult to find a sport that has deeper roots in the history of our people than kettlebell lifting.” In Czarist Russia, anyone who lifted weights was known as a girevik, or “Kettlebell Man.”
In 1913, Ludvig Chaplinsky wrote in the Russian magazine Hercules that “No sport develops our muscular strength and our bodies as well as athletics with kettlebells.” Russian special forces owe their increased strength, agility, and incredible stamina to kettlebells. His strength training manuals described kettlebell exercises as “one of the most effective means of developing strength.”
Kettlebells for weight loss
But can this implement, once used to build incredible levels of strength, muscle, stamina, and agility, also be used to lose weight? Well, if you are overweight, you will lose fat. And you are skinny, you will accumulate muscle. I know, it sounds too good to be true. But understand that kettlebells are an athletic form of training. This means that your body will literally adjust to whatever training and stress you put on it. A study by Voropayev (1997) found that 21.2% of top Russian gireviks increased their body weight since kettlebell training and a similar percentage lost fat. In essence, they developed very similar body structures:
- Broad shoulders with a hint of pecs
- think back muscles
- venous arms
- strong forearms
- cut mid sections
- Strong legs with a touch of calves
So you won’t look like a bodybuilder or fitness model with kettlebell training. But you will get leaner, bigger, stronger, and much, much more athletic. To get started, you need to learn some basic moves:
KB 1-arm push press
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, back straight, and chest out, holding a kettlebell against your body with your right hand.
- Keep your elbow tucked in close to your body. Keeping your abs tight, engage your quads and glutes as you bend your knees, push your hips down, then forcefully reverse, straightening your legs (forcefully as if you’re about to jump).
- This momentum should help push the kettlebell up and over your head. Be sure to push the kettlebell straight, or even slightly behind your head.
- Do not let the kettlebell pass in front of your body, or you will lose your balance and could injure yourself. Lower the kettlebell back to the starting position and repeat.
1-arm 2-point row
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Hold a kettlebell in your right hand, with your left hand folded behind your back.
- Contract your abs, push your hips back, bend your knees slightly, and lean forward. Keep your back straight. Start by squeezing your shoulder blades.
- Row the kettlebell in an arc-like motion toward your hips. Squeeze your shoulder blades at the top of the movement. Pause and release to slowly bring the kettlebell back to the bottom position.
- Repeat.
Setting up a routine
The best way to set up a kettlebell routine for weight loss is to do high-intensity circuit, superset, or interval training. Using the two exercises above, we can set up a good upper body superset workout. A superset is where you alternate between two exercises in a row with little to no rest between each set. Here’s a sample:
2 rounds of:
- 1-arm KB push press, 10 reps each side
- 1-arm 2-point row, 10 reps each side
- rest 60 seconds
Start with just 2 rounds and gradually build up to 5 rounds.
