Kettlebells: Simple and Sinister

 In previous entries  two of the most functional exercises out there: the swing and the Turkish Get Up (TGU) were covered. After using the homemade kettlebell for a few weeks you might find yourself wanting to upgrade to the real deal. While looking into kettlebells training programs you will come across a guy by the name of Pavel Tsatsouline (common spelling). Pavel is a former trainer for Soviet special forces who now trains military and LEOs here in the America. Pavel is credited with popularizing the kettlebell in the West. He also helped create the Russian Kettlebell Challenge (RKC), known as the first kettlebell certification in the USA. (In response to the current crisis in Ukraine, a friend suggested calling them Liberty Bells in protest).

Pavel training the TEK, Hungary's elite counter terrorism unit

 Today, Pavel is the creator of an organization called StrongFirst, a community of kettlebell enthusiasts with a focus on strength development. Pavel's latest book is Kettlebell: Simple and Sinister. The book is a great introduction to KB training. Pavel builds an entire program and swings and TGUs with a brief warm up. Also, instead of buying a whole rack of KBs you really only need to buy two: a 35# and a 50# (Pavel dislikes poundage, preferring kgs or poods, a Russian weight but meh).

Here's a sample of what the program would look like:

Warm up:
Goblet Squats
Bridges
Halos

Main set:
Swings-Shoot for 100 total reps. If you are just starting do 10 sets of 10 reps. As your strength/conditioning improves you can do 5 sets of 20 etc. Perform each rep with as much explosion as possible.

TGU's- 5 reps per side. No more. Perform slowly and deliberately

And......that's it. Pavel says you will be tempted to add more exercises but resist the temptation. If it's too easy then get yourself a bigger KB. Workouts should be done in about 20-30 minutes. Pavel is interested in the minimal effective dose, remember adding more reps is not always better, focus on explosion on the swings and slow/control on the get ups . The book is well written and is an exceptionally easy read, it only takes a day. At only $10 for the Kindle version it is a bargain having one of the world's best giving you pointers.