Critics of Kettlebell training simply dismiss it as a passing fad without a true understanding of the historical record and the shared history of Kettlebell training and athletic development. Kettlebell training can be a safe and effective training modality to enhances ones training experience. Used properly, Kettlebells can help accelerate fat loss, develop muscular strength, endurance and cardiorespiratory fitness.
- Kettlebell Training amplifies your power output; Since classic Kettlebell lifts such as the Snatch and the Clean cannot be performed slowly, they develop a special quality known as power-endurance, or your ability to produce movements over an extended period of time. This differs from strength-endurance. Strength- endurance is your ability to produce force over an extended period of time. Power-endurance is your ability to sustain fast muscular contractions over an extended period of time. While both strength-endurance and power-endurance are essential qualities to possess, power-endurance is usually what determines who the winner is in sport. Power-endurance training is also an excellent way to train for fat loss and conditioning.
- Kettlebell Training teaches your body how to contend with a constantly changing center of gravity; By design, the Kettlebell’s center of gravity lays 6- 8 inches outside of your grip; this replicates the forces that you’ll encounter in sport and activities in daily living. This feature of the Kettlebell will help improve this aspect of sports performance.
- Kettlebell Training builds powerful forearms and a strong grip; Kettlebells possess a thicker handle than their barbell and dumbbell counterparts taxing your grip and developing greater forearm strength. As our society continues to move away from manual labor our grip strength continues to decrease as well. Kettlebell training will help reverse this trend. The design of the Kettlebell also adds another unique component to your grip training. Since the Kettlebell’s center of gravity is usually in motion your grip training becomes a combination of dynamic and static muscular contractions in an attempt to control that fluctuating center of mass.
- Kettlebell Training improves your cardio-respiratory fitness; Since many Kettlebell exercises take place with your arms in an overhead position the muscles responsible for assisting the breathing process are engaged in muscular activity, not allowing them to assist in the respiratory process. This forces the muscles most responsible for breathing to play an even larger role in cardiovascular fitness.
- Kettlebell Training eliminates the need for a large training facility; The fitness industry is undergoing a change in thought and design…”Small is the new big…” Smaller, more focused fitness and training studios increase in numbers daily and are more focus on functional fitness compare to larger, less personal gyms. Kettlebells among other functional tools are utilized, taking up less floor space and yet deliver better results than larger facilities with sectorized strength equipment.