Answer: A method of strength training that provides incredible muscle definition, is applicable to lots of sports and requires the user to look quite silly.

Question: What are Kettlebells?

Step aside, traditional isotonic weight training. There’s a new game in town! Propulsion, gravity, core and a lot of excess movement, at least when compared with the strength training of yore — those are just some of the components of kettlebell fitness, a cannonball-looking weight with a large handle.

“Mobility, stability and strength … the three most important things,” says Melissa Swarbrick, owner of Fix and Flex, Inc. in Southern Pines, of the power of kettlebell fitness training. “Kettlebells build functional strength. Most weight machines isolate specific muscles and do nothing for the core or balance. Kettlebell training is primarily compound movements for the whole body [and can] help strengthen the ligaments and tendons too. This will cut down on injuries. Joint stability combined with muscle strength and mobility is the secret to any athlete staying healthy.”

Kettlebell training got its start in Russia. Its movements are compound, meaning they use lots of muscles at a time rather than just isolating just one. The movements can also use propulsion. For instance, standing up from a lying down position while pushing your arms to the ceiling while holding a kettlebell … with a jump!

‘Great Workout’

Typically, just one kettlebell is used, not two as with traditional dumbbell exercises. Also, differing from dumbbells, the user holds the handle with the weight hanging below the hands, so more stability and control must be acquired.

With weights ranging from very light to very heavy, there is something appropriate for beginners to advanced.

“We incorporate kettlebells into workouts for people of all ages,” Swarbrick says. “[They are] a great workout for any athlete because they require proper form at all times and utilize both the core and the entire body all at once.”

Kettlebells can be very challenging, and they can also be very effective for both athletes and general fitness improvements. Using so many muscles and so much movement gets the heart rate up so kettlebells become cardiovascular as well. This combination of benefits makes kettlebells great for muscle definition.

Because it is such a unique training modality, it is always recommended to learn from a professional rather than attempting to learn the movements on your own.

“There are some exercises to avoid or modify when you have orthopedic limitations,” says Randy Ballard, Lifestyle Enhancement Center Coordinator at the FirstHealth Center for Health and Fitness in Pinehurst. “Schedule an appointment with a certified exercise professional to discuss which exercises you should avoid, and how you should modify others to ensure a safe, effective exercise program.”

Helps Athletes

Athletes use kettlebells to help improve their sport, even recreational athletes.

“The acceleration and deceleration involved in swinging the kettlebell will make you more resilient to everything you do in other sports,” Swarbrick says. “The connective tissue in the body becomes stronger, the muscles get stronger, your posture improves, your joints feel better and you have more endurance.”

Adds Randy Rhodes, co-owner of East Coast CrossFit in Southern Pines, “As far as athletes … you will find everyone from football players to MMA fighters [using kettlebells]. Lance Armstrong … is the epitome of an endurance athlete and he is crazy for kettlebells.”

Golfers also find the utility of kettlebell training. As a matter of fact, Swarbrink and her team were first introduced to kettlebells through Titleist Performance Institute and their golf fitness programs.

“Many amateur golfers have trouble maintaining their posture throughout their golf swing and/or a round of golf,” she says. “Their shoulders round forward, their lower back gets tired and they try to compensate with other muscles. Kettlebell exercises promote good posture and strengthen the core, which makes keeping posture easier over time.

“Also, rotational exercises (such as golf) require good core strength, stability in the lower body and mobility all over.  All of the kettlebell exercises work the complete core. Your lower body benefits from the stability of holding yourself in place and upper body is made more mobile through the extensive range of motion of the kettlebell moves. Power is developed through the ‘ballistic’ motion of swinging the bell.”

Kettlebells can also translate into team sports such as football and soccer because these sports use explosive movements, much like kettlebell training.

“Playing football and training with kettlebells are a perfect mix. Kettlebell exercises can be a major training tool to help produce the explosive movements that are so important in football,” says Chris Garbark, exercise physiologist at FirstHealth Center for Health and Fitness.

Variety of Benefits

So if kettlebells work for so many sports, is the training the same for each? Not necessarily, says Jeff Moody II, performance enhancement specialist at FirstHealth. The difference is how they are implemented. Duration, recovery time, and the planes of training on which you would focus will vary with each sport.

However, the benefits gained by kettlebells will not vary across each sport.

Consider, for instance, reactive strength, which is the body’s ability to switch from an eccentric contraction to a concentric contraction quickly and efficiently. If you are a runner, kettlebells can help your body work in unison to vary speed quickly, if you are a golfer, kettlebells can help you power through the swing and quickly slow back down, and if you play team sports, kettlebells can help you speed up, slow down and quickly change directions.

Kettlebells can even help with quick reaction times of daily life. Lifting kids, unloading groceries, raking leaves — all of these movements require a unique combination of movements, and kettlebells can help one achieve the strength to do them safely.

“The more variety [in a program], the better chance of not getting injured, since all muscles are activated and strengthened,” says Swarbrick. “Machines only isolate one muscle at a time. Life doesn’t work that way. It takes a lot of muscles to go about daily living, sports, etc. Using kettlebells (along with a sound fitness and nutrition program) is a great way to get strong, flexible and more powerful.”

Kettlebells are a great training alternative to traditional weights. Athletes, fitness enthusiasts and even those new to fitness can find unique and challenging benefits with proper instruction and safety cues. Another benefit of kettlebells may even be mental fitness.

“Kettlebell training requires concentration and focus,” Swarbrick says. “Distance runners, golfers and other athletes depend on their mental toughness to get through challenging races and competitions. Kettlebells are the same way.”

Adds Rhodes, “Our favorite thing about kettlebells use is its versatility and the fact that once you get to using them they are downright fun!  I know that sounds crazy but, I challenge you to try a kettlebell workout and see if you don't agree.”