Everywhere you look in the United States, whether it’s the local gym or the newsstand, you’ll see the strength of a “bodybuilding” mentality that has permeated our society for decades. Until September 2003 I had been a victim of that kind of thinking and I didn’t know any better until I came across the man known simply as ‘Pavel’. Russian master of sports Pavel Tsatsouline has taken America by storm with his simple yet effective training methods that have been widely used in Eastern Bloc countries for years. This explains why so few people are open to the methods of the ‘Party’ (which includes Pavel’s students). Most Americans are too selfish to think that any other country would have the answers to OUR LIFESTYLE. Kettlebells are THE ANSWER to America’s health problems!
Have you ever had a friend strain their back tying their shoe or picking up a box or child? Every one of us has experienced it ourselves or vicariously through a friend or family member. Could you have “trained” yourself to prevent that particular injury? I don’t necessarily have the answer to that specific question, but as a general rule, I have found it to be true with learners in the kettlebell world, including friends, clients, colleagues, and myself as well.
The problem is that we LIVE in a three dimensional world, but most traditional fitness methods have everyone training in ONE plane of motion. We transfer groceries from the store to the car, from the counter to the cabinets, all while bending, twisting and tilting and doing it unconsciously. We pick up and hold our children usually on our dominant side. We mow and rake the lawn, dig the hole for the new tree, move furniture, and do thousands of other daily activities that we never really “trained” for. If that’s the case, then why would we stick a bunch of people on some machines that have a predetermined range of motion and have them perform pointless exercises in ONE plane of motion? Our society has been wrongly programmed through all means to go after the ever elusive BODY IMAGE instead of FUNCTION. Society has led us on an ongoing mission to achieve the “perfect look” vs. “functional development”. Let me define the difference between the two.
The “perfect look” is the magazine model who has the perfect genetics, the perfect tan, the perfect hair, the perfect eyes, etc…, etc… Now for plastic surgery, airbrushing and a THOUSAND dollars . That’s what the average American strives to become in the name of massive marketing (or propaganda) dollars, right? When will Americans realize that every time we try to achieve the “perfect look” we contradict “functional development,” which is the essential building block needed to perform daily tasks?
The ideal development would be to combine strength, cardiovascular and mobility/flexibility in such a way that we could MOVE in daily life with ease. A kind of ‘condensed workout’ with a ‘dynamic feel’ that translates into PURE movement. Add mental focus, remove weak links and past injuries that hinder our movement, become more enduring in the process, and you’ve found exercise the way it was intended.
Kettlebells defy almost every “rule” of traditional “fitness” culture where the focus is training the MUSCLE. Common rules in traditional weight training include:
1) Do not use more weight, your form will suffer.
2) Never squat below parallel at the knee joint.
3) Wear a weight belt to protect your back.
4) Wear high boots or shoes to stabilize your ankles. (They go great with green sweatpants.)
5) Never drop the weights.
6) Always look in the mirror to see the correct form. (Or to flex the biceps.)
7) Divide your body into muscle groups to achieve the “perfect look.”
8) Always perform ‘beach muscle exercises’ such as bicep curls as much as possible.
Anyone who has spent even a couple of days in the gym can attest to these unspoken rules of the fitness world.
By contrast, kettlebells teach MOVEMENT of the body by default. Let’s examine the rules of the world of kettlebells.
1) The more weight you use, the better your form will be. Kettlebells force your body to adapt to the most efficient form of movement to correctly perform the exercise.
2) With kettlebell front squats, you are encouraged to squat ‘from butt to ankle’, thus developing a full range of motion.
3) Ditching the weight belt will force your body into proper compression breathing and tension techniques that will dramatically strengthen your core naturally.
4) When working with kettlebells, you’ll want to ‘feel’ the ground for maximum effect. Proper footwear includes flat-soled shoes (ie indoor soccer shoes, Converse Chuck Taylors, etc.) or just bare feet.
5) The ideal place to train kettlebells is outdoors on some type of surface you don’t mind damaging (grass, sand, and dirt work well) because you are encouraged to drop them or forced to drop them (enter in the first hand-to-hand juggling exercise session). That way, you don’t have to apologize to your spouse for leaving a kettlebell-sized footprint on your living room floor or the concrete in your garage.
6) Kettlebells rarely require the use of mirrors during a workout. The main reason is that you will be more concerned with the “feel” of the movement than how “lively” it is.
7) Kettlebell exercises are rarely performed for a compartmentalized body part. Rather, they exploit movements that require multiple muscle groups and also multiple energy systems to work simultaneously, and therefore dominate as the exercise of choice.
As you can see, kettlebells successfully flout traditional American fitness culture, but let’s explore them one step further.
Kettlebells also use your brain, a challenge for some of you, for a couple of reasons. One reason is that you’re throwing an unbalanced weight through the air, which demands your full attention at all times. The second reason is that the weight is moving through different planes of motion simultaneously, which requires your WHOLE body to control communication and awareness. Let me give you a contrasting example. In the common bench press, you are using a few muscles: the chest, shoulders, and triceps are the main ones. I know there are others for those of you who have been rightly influenced by ‘the Party’, but bear with me. Now let’s take the kettlebell snatch. Name a muscle that has not been affected by this movement. You probably can’t. If you can, you haven’t tried kettlebells.
Your body must be CONNECTED from head to toe to prevent the weight from falling on your head and also control a weight powered by a pendulum swinging dynamically through the air. This is not only reprogramming the muscles but also the nervous system. Our nerves are responsible for our body’s balance, consciousness, and the coordination functioning of our muscles. A good analogy would be fish in water vs. outside. A fish blends in with the water, its natural environment, and rises and falls with the current and its environment. If we catch the fish and bring it to land, it wobbles mindlessly until it dies. Translate that to humans and movement. If you study young children between the ages of 1 ½ to three years, they are not afraid of falling. However, quite early in life, children are constantly programmed to “Take care, don’t fall” and “Be careful.” Our bodies want to mold and adapt to our environment. The American way is to avoid hurting ourselves in what ‘they’ think is protection when it is the exact opposite of training your body to handle the bumps and bruises of ‘life’. Look at the geriatric population and tell me if they move like the two-year-old. They do it in the Eastern world because they have discovered that BREATHING AND MOVEMENT prolong life. The large collection of body parts muscle bodybuilding training type shortens life.
Kettlebells are not the definitive answer to exercise. However, they tackle more than any other single exercise tool on the market and won’t become the traditional American rack for two reasons. One of the reasons is that they are too close to the ground and you don’t want your coat on the ground. And the second reason is that they are ADDICTIVE! Once you pick one and understand the principles, it will be hard to finish your workouts. Go ahead and buy one. You won’t be disappointed.
Now it’s your turn to experience the kettlebell revolution!
