In today’s society it seems like there are way too many health and fitness options. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but for most people it can cause confusion and frustration. For instance, let’s say that you decide on a health and fitness goal and begin searching the Internet to find out what you can do. Instead of having a choice of only a few ways to reach your health and fitness goals, you find hundreds of ideas to choose from. Not only that, but many of these ideas contradict each other. Not being educated on health and fitness can make it a tough task to choose the right approach. It is like trying to chase and catch 100 rabbits at the same time. You will not catch any and at the same time you will become frustrated. Why not narrow in on one method that seems right and focus in on it? Why not go with the most simplest, oldest and interesting method you can find? What if this method includes every single feature of health and fitness that is commonly shared between all the health and fitness ideas out there? Features such as increased strength, increased fat loss, increased cardio, increased endurance, increased core strength, increased power production, increased flexibility, increased skill level, increased understanding of your own body and increased fun all at the same time! And the best part would be; you do not have to go to a gym, you do not need much equipment and you can do it outside anywhere with a group of friends. Well, there is such a way.

It is called Kettlebell Training. It is a method used for over 300 years, first invented in Russia. Just the fact that it was invented in Russia makes it hardcore and legitimate. It was used by the Russian Forces to condition themselves to higher levels than ever imagined. Recently though, the idea of training with Kettlebells came to North America though a Russian, named Pavel Tsatsouline who revolutionized the fitness industry in the United States. After that, a fellow by the name of Shawn Mozen, whom I had the chance to study under, made Kettlebells popular in Canada. Now, Kettlebell Training is not only a training method, but also a recognized sport. There are world and national championships all around the world. Many people are discovering this simple, fun and effective method of training and it is again changing the fitness industry.

So why Kettlebells? Here are my top 5 reasons why Kettlebells are the best fitness tool on Earth.

1) For one reason, it has been shown that training with Kettlebells can burn more calories then any other training method in the same time frame. To be exact, people have been burning over 1,200 calories per hour using Kettlebells. Why is that? Kettlebell training utilizes full body and natural movements that incorporates every single muscle in the body into every single exercise. More muscle engagement and increased heart rate means more calories burned. Increased work means increased metabolism and increased metabolism means insane fat burning!

2) Kettlebell Training increases real world strength and flexibility to new levels while making the body very efficient at movement. Due to the fact that using Kettlebells requires specific technique and increased range of motion, learning to use Kettlebells causes the person to become very good and efficient at movement. This includes increased flexibility and increased functional or real world strength. For example, real world strength would be considered picking up your kids from the ground properly on one side of your body, walking up a number of steps, bending down properly and picking up the mail with the other hand, kicking your heavy front door open, walking to the living room and lunging down properly to put your kids down gently. Other real world functional strength examples would be becoming very efficient and powerful at sport movements. These examples are above the scope of this article. Kettlebell Training improves such real world strength to high levels.

3) Kettlebell Training will improve functional core strength to decrease injury and improve performance. If you ever wanted a strong abdominal area or a six-pack, then picking up a Kettlebell and doing some exercises with it will get you there faster than doing ten thousand crunches per day. Being able to keep the mid section tight and stable while doing Kettlebell exercises requires great technique and strength. Improved mid section strength as well as over all body strength will prevent injury and help a bad back become a good back. You do not have to worry though; training with Kettlebells does not require you to have a strong core from the beginning. Progressive training will get you there in no time.

4) Kettlebell Training is one of the most exciting and fun ways to increase cardio to new levels. One of the most boring exercises I can think of is jogging on a treadmill. Unfortunately, this is what most people do. No wonder most people quit trying to get fit. How can anyone make cardio fun? Yes, you guessed it, Kettlebell Training! Due to the fact that training with Kettlebells makes you use your full body, every single muscle in the body is used with every exercise and movement. This causes your muscles to require a ton of oxygen, which further causes your lungs to have to increase the demand of oxygen to the blood. Your cardio capacity goes though the roof. At the same time, you are learning fun and skillful whole body movements with a group of your friends.

5) Kettlebell Training teaches the individual body movement and training philosophy. Traditional weight training and cardio training are very limited in real world movement and strength. They are very one-dimensional and are not utilized in sports or in the real world. When learning and incorporating Kettlebell Training, the individual learns and appreciates, through their own training and understanding, how much they can do with their bodies. For example, learning to connect the lower section of the body, such as the power production of the hips, through a stiff and connected core to the shoulders and into the Kettlebell teaches the individual the importance of having efficient body movement. It teaches the individual how to use the body very ergonomically.

Kettlebell training has to be truly experienced in order to understand the enormous effects and benefits it has. For one reason, it is a very cost effective and time saving method of training, which in today’s busy society is a huge benefit. Anyone, from any fitness background can do the training and progress very fast. I even use Kettlebells with my rehabilitation clients. People who have had back and shoulder surgery. Obviously, I use different techniques for such clients. I even use Kettlebell training with professional and world-class athletes to increase their capabilities. There is a wide range of the uses for Kettlebells and it is a very exciting method of training. It is up to you to choose which rabbit you decide to chase and catch.

– Simon Bialecki