I became very interested in being able to move heavy iron through space at the young age of 15 and quickly discovered my unique fascination with the human body. There is something in the iron that attracts young people. I think it’s the obsession to live up to his favorite superhero or at least attract the ladies a little more. Whatever it is, I caught the fever. Chest, Bis and Abs on Monday. Back, shoulders, Tris on Tuesday. Legacy Wednesday. Repeat the muscle lifts on the beach, what you see in the mirror, on Thursday and Friday. After all, that’s what ladies like, right?
And then it happened. My bag of bones began to decompose. My lower back throbbed. My shoulders ached all the time. My ankles became my Achilles literally and figuratively. He ran cross country and track and played basketball, but he had a hard time moving smoothly on any court or field. I kept lifting weights like I was on my death bed. The biggest, fastest, strongest mantra was the only thing on his mind. My stubborn determination built in me to ‘suck it up’ and keep going as most athletes are taught. The pain was to be considered as ‘mild discomfort’. Little did I know that treating my body as a collection of body parts would lead to my own pain and overuse injuries four years later while studying Exercise Science in college (the obsession ran so deep that I decided to pursue an education beyond Ironman and Planet Muscle).
Fast forward seven years.
I decided on a serious career as a personal trainer at a big gym. I quickly discovered this type of gym and the training it was supposed to be promoting was causing my clients to physically break down as much as my own training. After 18 months of insanity, I made a personal vendetta to find something that could make me my own and really deliver results for me and my loyal customers.
Perusing the magazine rack at the local bookstore, I took the latest shot of Muscle and Fiction. Flipping through the pages, I focused on a black-and-white ad promoting a simple weight-training program written by a Russian guy who claimed outrageous gains in strength. He even went so far as to title the program “Power to the People.” Such bold claims, as a young man thirsty for curiosities, I had to buy and try this simplified program. It worked. He took me to an online forum where this Russian guy had amassed an underground army of followers. He had invaded the US completely undercover and was building a militia without anyone in Ken and Barbie’s fitness community knowing about it, it was all according to his plan. The devotees of the forum swarmed like a swarm of bees on these “kettle-things”.
Cowbells, Kettle-balls, Kettle-what? That’s what I asked myself in the spring of 2003. Cast iron balls…with handles. kettlebells My hunger for the search for iron resurfaced. A little hunch and some serious life control that summer led me down a little off-road path that led me to my current state of reality. The masochist in me was relentlessly magnetized to these oversized bowling balls with handles. The sadist in me knew that others disgusted with their herd trainings would salivate over this newly rediscovered Russian secret weapon.
My classmates thought I had gotten into a virtual madhouse. I didn’t care. I became a rebel and immersed myself in this underground culture of physical training. A common bond grew between these wiry muscle seekers who actually had form AND function. What a concept! I had discovered the holy grail and soon realized that I was at the beginning of a revolution in the United States led by Pavel Tsatsouline known as ‘the Evil Russian’. Pavel’s kettlebell regimen quickly spread its tentacles throughout this underground community of strength enthusiasts.
I was mesmerized seeing the future in the crystal ball…or at least an iron ball covered in black epoxy paint! I was so mesmerized that I volunteered for 23 contact hours through a specialized kettlebell course with my new mentor “The Evil Russian”. Contact did not even begin to explain what was experienced that weekend. Upon reaching this certification, Pavel defined contact hours as ‘links’, to the point of taking him to the bathroom. Three days ago, in September 2003, it changed my physique, my mental toughness, and the trajectory of my life, all in one fell swoop.
Kettlebells were going to be the next big fitness trend. It’s not a three-month fad cheesy infomercial. Kettlebells and kettlebell training were way under the radar of the popular majority, as opposed to traditional training in hamster maze gyms, mainly because kettlebells require strength, attitude, and WORK attitude.
Who does kettlebells? Serious guys first who depend on physical fitness for their jobs like the FBI, Secret Service, CIA, and even some cops. Then hard-core trainers who cared about delivering maximum results in minimum time to their loyal clientele. The Russian kettlebell revolution gained momentum towards the end of 2007 and gained exposure in countless popular fitness magazines and big city newspapers. Now Family-CEOs (moms), the fastest growing kettlebell sect, are discovering that kettlebell conditioning is the most time-efficient cellulite steamer as they balance Junior soiling his diaper and Fido chewing shoes.
Why kettlebells vs machines, barbells or dumbbells? Machines are a waste of time and perpetuate the laziness of our overfed majority. Sit down to exercise? Who thought of that and when do you spend your life sitting? Bars. Good for one action: Gradually increase resistance to increase muscle mass in athletes who need additional muscle mass. And last time I checked, you can’t swing a barbell between your legs. Decent dumbbells. They have a completely different feel than kettlebells. Anyone who says you can perform dumbbell kettlebell moves and receive the same benefits hasn’t used kettlebells.
The kettlebells have a unique offset weight shape suspended from the handle that promotes fluid, momentum-based movements that combine strength, cardio, and flexibility all in the same training session with one tool. This Russian secret weapon has been praised as “the ultimate hand gym.”
Where do you learn the art of swinging with kettlebells? From a QUALIFIED kettlebell instructor. Russian Kettlebell Challenge (RKC) instructors must endure a mentally and physically strenuous 23-hour course before being released to teach unsuspecting victims. I am one of those instructors. I’m actually known as ‘THE Kettlebell Guy’ in Minnesota. And you are my next client. I invite you to be a contestant in my next beginner kettlebell class known as Gauntlet and discover for yourself how to chisel out the spare tire and steam your muffin tops through the power of kettlebells.
