If you weren’t already convinced about the effectiveness of kettlebell training, check out 10 reasons you should be training with Kettlebells from RKC master Michael A. Krivka, Sr.
Micheal explains that he is well into his second decade of training with Kettlebells and considers the kettlebell to be the best strength and conditioning tool around.
10 Reasons to train with kettlebells:
1. Efficiency
Kettlebells (in conjunction with a handful of high-tension body weight skills) can provide an intense full-body workout in an incredibly short period of time. With a workout of less than 30 minutes in length you drenched with sweat and gasping for air. Most “trainers” recommend that you perform lengthy cardio and resistance sessions for up to 6 to 8 hours a week. A week’s worth of kettlebell workouts equal only a fraction of that and you will get much better results.
2. Tension Management
Kettlebells require that you develop a high level of sensitivity in regards to grip strength and tension distribution and redistribution that readily carries over into all forms of athletics. Not only is it a factor in strength, but also in speed, flexibility, and endurance as well.
3. Mindfulness
Kettlebell training requires you to “be in the moment,” allowing you to develop a high-level of concentration, focus, intensity and body awareness.
4. Sensitivity
Kettlebells require you to constantly challenge your spatial awareness, hand-eye coordination, tension, balance and timing.
5. Raw Strength
Kettlebells develop thick, dense muscles that deliver when you need them. By forcing the muscle to support the KB you end up activating the deeper, harder-to-work, stabilizing and supporting muscles.
6. Unilateral Strength
Kettlebells require that you develop unilateral skills, coordination and strength.
7. Holistic
Kettlebells combine strength, flexibility, mobility and anaerobic training into one workout. No other tool will challenge you when it comes to developing attributes that you will be able to apply on the hardwood, the court or the battlefield. Kettlebell training specifically trains all of the physical traits required by the elite athlete and succeeds where other methods fail.
8. Mental Hardening
Kettlebell training develops a high level of mental toughness and an understanding of controlled aggression. Someone who is looking for a “light” or “toning” workout can find just that by using kettlebell techniques that will enhance their overall mobility and awareness, but for someone who is looking to get an edge on their opponents, the kettlebell is the key that opens the lock.
9. Movement
Kettlebells require you to learn how to move your body efficiently, strongly and with grace and power. Sitting in a machine or lying on a bench is not going to give you the athletic ability to do a single leg takedown or knock-out an opponent.
10. Complete System
Training with Kettlebells may be the perfect system for developing strength. Through a unique combination of design, utilization and loading the Kettlebell is “efficiently inefficient” in building strength – something that will serve anyone from a “Soccer Mom” to a US Navy SEAL.
To read the full blog, click here.
Michael A. Krivka, Sr., RKC Team Leader is a Washington, DC native who has been involved in Kettlebell training for over a decade and is currently an RKC Team Leader and member of the RKC Board of Advisors under Dragon Door (where he has been listed as one of the top reviewed RKC’s in the world for the last five years).
Also check out the RKC (Russian Kettlebell Challenge) blog.
Interested in kettlebell training? Stop by the SOL Performance Center or sign-up online for a private training or small group session today!
At SOL Performance Training, we are proud of the diverse talents and skills of our providers including trainers, physical therapists, ART and RKC specialties and massage practitioners.
