When I made the decision to take up Russian Kettlebell training, I only had a vague idea of where to start so I thought I’d put this podcast together so that you’d be able to follow along with me in my journey. I’ve known about Russian Kettlebells for a few years now but did not see the advantage or where I could work them into my program. I’ve now been enlightened by Scott Bird’s Straight To The Bar website, videos and Kettlebell information.

I have now “seen the light” as it were and have been fully immersed in the advantages of kettlebell training.

What Are Kettlebells?

Scott wrote a nice introduction to kettlebells a few weeks ago entitled Buying Your First Kettlebell, so I wont to into much more detail about them, however I would like to point out some very basic facts just to prep you for the podcast.

Scott explains

Often referred to as a ‘cannonball with a handle’, a kettlebell is simply a solid chunk of cast iron, comprising a spherical weight with a flat bottom and a curved, thick handle on top. Although there are adjustable models made up of several parts, these have never felt quite right to me. Personally, I stick to the original.

Kettlebells were traditionally manufactured in various sizes, each of them based on the old Russian unit of measurement pood (approximately 16.38 kg/36.11 lb). Although the pood was abolished in the USSR in 1924, many kettlebells are still manufactured in multiples of 16kg. There are also lighter weights, if that sounds a bit daunting.

Like I said, I’ve known about Kettlebells, but never really saw the point. Now I’m over that and diving into them.

Getting Started With Kettlebells

I’m about to add Kettlebells into my weight training program, but my personal trainer warns, “when you do something Rob, you do it 200%”.She’s actually concerned for me. She’s worried that I will begin to fast, work it too hard and injure myself. I intend on being safe and becoming stronger and more fit by using them, not the opposite. As you know, what you focus on expands, so choose good thoughts.

I thought it would be nice to just walk you through the process that I went through myself as I learned more about them and how I’m going to add them to my training program. I model people. I find that it’s the best way to learn something in the shortest amount of time. I can skip past the trial and error part and go straight to results, so I put this kettlebell training podcast together with the hopes that you might follow along in the journey.

I will be starting my Kettlebell training very soon and will be blogging the entire journey. What I learn about them, how I use them, the exercises, the programs of reps and sets, using them for cardio and strength conditioning. There is a lot to learn and a lot to tell you about Kettlebell Training.