Kettlebells were invented in Russia and have been in use there for a long time, especially for strongman sporting events and exhibitions. They also used it in regular weightlifting for sports performance and it has been referred to as the Russian version of the dumbbell. Sometime in the last century, when American fitness trainers saw the benefits these gave to the eastern European athletes, they adopted it as well. However, it was only at the turn of the millennium when kettlebell training was introduced to the mainstream of western fitness systems.

Kettlebell training can develop your speed and power more than ordinary weightlifting for sports using conventional dumbbells and barbells. In fact, you could imagine kettlebells as enhanced dumbbells. A dumbbell’s center of gravity is constant relative to the handle when used in workouts. By contrast, that of a kettlebell is at a position several inches from the hand and offset relative to the handle, this causes a longer lever for certain exercises and also challenges stability and balance requiring more of the body to be involved. Nowadays, if you go to any gym, you will see men and women using kettlebells. People like trying new things and have discovered that these are great for circuit training, fat burning and muscle sculpting. With regards to specific sports, martial artists, wrestlers and rugby and football players are the ones who have really taken to kettlebell training because of the emphasis on strength, conditioning and grip.

Important Aspects of Kettlebell Workouts
1) Speed and power
Athletes, even just recreational ones, are always looking for something that can provide an advantage for them. Usually, this involves increasing speed and power and this is done by using exercises designed to develop fast twitch fibers in the muscles. There are two ways to isolate developing the fast-twitch fibers over the slow-twitch type. You can lift weights repeatedly such that the slow-twitch fibers are fatigued and only the fast-twitch ones are acting, or you can do the movement rapidly so that only the fast-twitch fibers are engaged. Kettlebell ballistic exercises and weightlifting for sports use the latter.

2) Circuit Training
This involves the performance of 5 to 10 exercises consecutively. This promotes cardiovascular fitness and stamina. Lighter weights are typically used in order to get more repetitions done. This is a mainstay of many kettlebell training programs and could be combined with weightlifting for sports programs for a good strength base to prevent injury.

3) Whole body workout
Many kettlebell exercises use more of the entire body with each movement, thus training it to move with coordination and fluidity. This enhances sports performance and helps to improve general health as compound movements are less likely to lead to injury compared to isolation exercises.

4) Martial arts
Martial artists need to gain strength but remain lean, flexible and quick. Kettlebell movements involve sufficient torque to enhance core strength while developing flexibility, coordination and strength in the limbs. MMA player also benefit from the benefits of superior grip for grappling.

5) Football and Rugby
Kettlebell exercises can be used to complement regular weightlifting for sports, and this is what football and rugby players have found out to be of great benefit in improving their ability to maneuver and grapple on the field.


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