What's the deal with Kettlebells - we got some more, here's why

Sara-Clare's kettlebell class Tuesday evenings is getting nice and full! Yay! Today she went out of her way yet again to get some more kettlebells into Urbanfitt. I love learning new things and thanks to her, I'm learning some great kettlebell technique and have incorporated some kettlebell training into my personal training sessions and group sessions.

What is a Kettlebell?

A kettlebell is a Russian type of hand weight that is shaped like a big cannonball with a handle. Often made out of pure cast iron, they are available in a wide range of weights and sizes. The lightest one weighs in at only 10 pounds, and they can increase in weight all the way up to 100 pound weights.

Kettlebells aren't a passing fad:

Kettlebells originated in Russia, and the first recorded mention of them was in 1704 within a Russian dictionary. The Russian word for Kettlebells is "girya," and the men who lifted these weights were called "gireviks." Kettlebells gained recognition as a superb weight loss tool when they were featured in the fitness magazine Hercules in 1913. In the recent history of the Kettlebell, they have become increasingly popular within the United States thanks to a man named Pavel Tsatsouline. Tsatsouline is a fitness author who used to be a trainer for not only the United States armed forces but the Soviet Union forces as well. Once the United States noticed that they could not endure as long as their Russian counterparts within competitions, they began incorporating the kettlebell into their training routines. In 1985 a committee for the sport of Kettlebell lifting was created, and the first National Championship for Kettlebells was help in Russia in 1985 with its own set of rules and standards. Today, the Kettlebell is being introduced into the fitness routines of the everyday person, as their benefits have proven them to be one of the most useful tools for overall conditioning.




Why use kettlebells?

As the long history of the Kettlebell proves, it has many benefits to offer those who use it on a regular basis. Kettlebells' are great for:

Efficient full body strengthening.
Maximizing shoulder flexibility health and mobility.
Caloric burning during and after a workout.
Improving body awareness due to the precision required for proper technique.
Teaching you how to move weight from your core/pelvis instead of muscling through movements.
Strengthening back muscles.

I could go on. As I experiment with my body, I will have more to share. With any fitness tool, it would be easy to get on the band wagon of "this is the only thing you need" type of dogmatic thinking. At Urbanfitt, we offer a variety of training techniques and incorporate a variety of training tools to create fitness alchemy.

Come try Sara-Clare's kettlebell class on Tuesdays. We won't be training in our undies like the dude in the pic. Promise. First sweat is on us! Register now. Sara-Clare also offers private training sessions. Call 416.964.3309 for more info.

Jane