Why Train with Kettlebells?

 

 

I’ve been a fitness coach for nineteen years now, and I’ve had the opportunity to get several certifications on a series of subjects throughout my career—from evolutionary health, to violence prevention. However, fitness and strength training have become the fundamentals of my work, to either teach or practice myself. This has led me to test out several training systems, always looking for the safest, most efficient, and sustainable one.

Previously, my own workout was focused on body weight, such as classic calisthenics (I’ve never been a fan of going to the gym or doing traditional weight training, and even less so of anything resembling CrossFit.) The most efficient solution I could find was working out on my own, whether at home or at a park, and do some basic moves, such as pushups, pullups, and squats. These kinds of exercises have stood the test of time, and with some patience and practice one can master them in a relatively short time. I was satisfied with my results, with what I was seeing in my body composition and physical abilities, so I kept training the same way for many years.

Still, one other option remained in the back of my mind: kettlebell training. In each of those other certifications—no matter their nature—there was always at least one attendee or trainer who recommended working out with kettlebells. I kept refusing, arguing that I already had a fully functional training program and didn’t need to try anything else.

 

Furthermore, working as an editorial evaluator for two global publishing houses, I frequently found the same expert advice in books: kettlebell training worked as a kind of magic potion to solve every physical problem with a minimal investment of time and space. It seemed too good to be true… Until I decided to give it a shot.

I studied every top expert on the subject (I found the highest quality information in the Dragon Door books, unaware that years later I would end up getting a certification from them,) I got my first kettlebell, and my life changed forever. As much as I refused to accept it, kettlebell training was far superior to any other workout I had done or taught before, including those I had certifications for. Soon after, I exclusively focused my training on kettlebells and was astonished with the results.

When I felt confident enough, I introduced kettlebell training to my clients. Those same results I had witnessed proved to be even more impressive with them, since there was always some base training they could do with kettlebells (especially swings) to immediately build up their strength and stamina regardless of their age or fitness level. This initial discovery became the norm, and has remained such for years now.

The way kettlebell training addresses strength, cardio, and movement simultaneously, in very short periods of time, is unparalleled. The impact on your body composition, your functional strength, and fitness level in general defy logic and even seem impossible to those still skeptic (as I once was.) However, believe me when I say it is all true: everything fad trainings promise, the kettlebell delivers… as it has done for the last three-hundred years.

 

In summary, kettlebell training has much to offer, whether you are a high-performance athlete, someone who just needs to develop strength and endurance, an employee with the kind of work that demands physical effort, or a person who sits almost the entire day. The closest thing we have to an ultimate solution for every physical problem today is most definitely the kettlebell. Try it. See it for yourself. It will surely change your life, as it did mine

Javier Garcia Bravo, RKC is hosting the first ever RKC Workshop in Mexico, led by Dan John. Register now!