I saw Russian Kettlebells mentioned in a post, and I'm wondering what the opinions of those who have used it is? I've heard some good things about it, but nothing detailed... Does it add a lot of bulk or not? I'd like to stay away from gaining bulk, i'd rather gain as much muscle density as possible. Would you recommend them for someone who has done *very* little weight training?

"Winona Ryder? Going inside her." - MC Paul Barman

Oh yeah, for those who haven't seen it, the site is www.dragondoor.com/kettlebells

"Winona Ryder? Going inside her." - MC Paul Barman

They look like the things you see in theold movies with the guy with the bald guy with a rollie fingers mustache and wearing the lion skin outfit that had one shoulder strap.

From my, very limited experience, they're an excellent way to rip, and add strength. The cool thing about kettlebells is that they strengthen muscles in your body that you never knew existed, and thus the strength is a lot more applicable to fighting/grappling than is you were doing plain old lifting. They are not a good way to bulk, though.

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I remain, Hapko3

some dude in the general forum posted about his balls, er kettlebells i mean

it apparently works the stabilizer muscles very well

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Hard work, Patience, Dedication.
http://www.ebaynham.com/

They are supposed to excellent.
Dragondoor.com and cbass.com have some good information.

Since shipping to Australia costs a fortune for books (and is based on weight), it is probably not healthy for my bank account to order large iron balls and import them.

Hence, no personal experience.

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El Guapo says, ""You can buy muscles, but you can't buy COJONES!"
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I use them and am a firm believer that if you had to choose only one training device for weight training, it'd be a kettlebell hands down.

You can do all the traditional exercises with them, but there are some exercises that really only work properly with the KB. Swings, odd angled presses, get ups... Nasty when done with DBs, but religiously painful when done with KBs!

If you are in the market for something to pump up your workout, KBs are it. I'm looking forward to when they get more mainstream into the fitness market so the prices won't be so high. I have one 16kg KB, and while I am in pretty decent shape (active duty soldier, so I PT 4 days a week just for work, not counting my own training), that can still smoke a PT stud even though the weight is light (it is all in the intensity of the lift, not really the weight - Just ask Pavel!).

Gambarimasu.

FRAUD SCAM JOKE..................
never ceases to amaze me how any idea that comes from Bulgaria,Russia,or the former East Germany,
NO MATTER HOW STUPID,gets accepted as gospel truth by the National Strength Coaches Association and all of the 50,000,000 strength coaches and persoanl trainers in the USA.The credulity of people boggles the mind......but I do think kettlebells can be good martial arts weapons-imagine busting a would be mugger's noggin with a 25 pound kettlebell.

has anyone used a regular weight training program and tried kettlebells and found them to be superior? i have to admit that i am skeptical. considering how skeptical the people on bullshido usually are about mcdojos, i'm surprised that people aren't skeptical about something as fishy looking as this.

Jenfucius -
Yup, you can apply the majority of the exercises to dumbells with similar results.

It isn't as hard though because the dumbell is a lot more stable.

flashpoint111 -
Why do you believe the kettlebells are stupid ?
They are a variation of a dumbell, designed to be harder to control when swinging, hence working the muscles a little differently.

I don't think there is anything wrong with kb's per se,it's just all of the hype with his Pavel guy and all of his books,seminars,and certifications surrounding this man,that I object to.Kettlebells can be a decent training tool,but I hardly think they are magical like the hype guys say.

Fair enough.
Personally, I think Pavel markets himself well.
And their is substance behind his hype.
I've got a few of his ebooks and they are pretty good (I don't actually have his Kettlebell book)

Fair enough.
Personally, I think Pavel markets himself well.
And their is substance behind his hype.
I've got a few of his ebooks and they are pretty good (I don't actually have his Kettlebell book)

Pavel's ability to market himself and what he does is incredible... However, so is the training.

I have done traditional weights over the years with minimal dedication and minimal results (well, no ****, right?). I was never into lifting all that much, so I didn't care.

Over the years I've been in the Army, I've used regular weight training principles with nearly all the physical fitness training I have had (it is ingrained into Army PT training theory). Again, mixed results at best (just because it is Army doesn't mean it's the best).

I started KBs in January. Due to work requirements and scheduling conflicts (I work days, my wife works nights), I have had a hard time getting regular work outs in. The upside to KB training is that you don't need a lot of equipment. One KB is the bare minimum. I have DBs of the same weight as my KB, and lifting the KB feels at least twice as heavy. The results with only moderate exercise were flatly astounding as far as I was concerned. Perhaps it is just sticking to it. Perhaps it is due to the non-isolation principle Pavel uses. It could be a lot of things.

Finally, Pavel's training is NOT solely about the KB. It is only one (large) addition to the overall training principles. It is the principles that guide the training.

Gambarimasu.

as I mentioned in another post,one of the few martial artists i"ve read who seems to have a handle on the reality of strength training is Mr. Burton Richardson of Jun Fan /Jeet Kune do.Most martial artists,sadly,tend to jump on fads or to blindly follow the advice of bodybuilders,strength gurus,and/or exercise physiologists.Burt Richardson is one of the few voices of sanity in the martial arts community,as regards to strength training and many other matters.

ps----why,pray tell,is doing 120 reps in the kettlebell snatch better than doing 150 dumbbell cleans,120 dumbell swings,or 200 pushups.?If doing high reps of an explosive resistance move is so great for the metabolism,they why not do 300 quik pushups and 600 quik crunches,and save the money you would have spent on kettlebells?

Couple of reasons. Kettlebells are intentionally unbalanced, forces you to use lots of core muscles you never use otherwise, as well as your forearm and hand muscles. Kettlebells also provide a large variety of different exercises that you could never duplicate with a dumbbell or other conventional weight. Finally, KBs are kind of fun to play with, once you get the hang of them. Calisthetics can be kind of boring, in my opinion.

"Go cry about it Vargas. Aren't you late for your shift at McDonald's?"