Kettlebell Training is …
Kettlebell Training tutorial showcasing how to complete the Kettlebell Combo
Kettlebell Training Is…
My entire life, I have felt a yearning to move, run, leap, and reach. If it was high, I wanted to climb it. If it was downhill, I wanted to go faster. I could feel my body come alive as my heart rate increased. From my earliest moments I can remember searching — seeking out a feeling, an experience.
Fast forward. As an adult, but still a young man, I found kettlebells. This was 2007, nearly 20 years ago. I saw an exercise that inspired me. It lit a fire in me. Filled with intrigue, I wanted to know everything about this exercise, the system, the kettlebell.
To be fair, I was nothing if not easily excitable, but at the time I had become a little bored with the gym. You've been there. Push this, pull that. Go heavier, do it again and again and again till you want to die.
Play It Safe
I got to a point where machines offered no thrill. You safely sit down in a nice secure seat and push as hard as you can. Stand up, go to another seat, sit down, get comfortable, and pull as hard as you can. It takes 33+ minutes to start to feel like you're getting somewhere. Meanwhile you get to zone out, or close your eyes and focus on one muscle at a time — when the body has over 600 muscles designed to work as one system. But yeah, we've got all day. Let's hit them one at a time.
(And it's not just a feeling — whole-body integrated training has been shown to outperform isolated, one-muscle-at-a-time work for neuromuscular control and performance: Integrated vs. Isolated Training — J. Strength & Conditioning Research.)
I liked the results, but the workouts did nothing for my spirit. At my heart, I am a physical thrill seeker. The thrill of learning something new. Exploring a technique or trying something different so you can be present in the now. Moving dynamically, learning how to move with each new technique or exercise done for the first time. I longed for it after years of purely thinking about making a muscle bigger. Swole. Gains. More gains. Like never enough.
We might never be satisfied as humans. I don't believe we are wired to know satisfaction — I think that comes in the afterlife. For now I'm pretty sure that craving more is there to help us keep going. Keep exploring. To balance it, we have the present moment. Our ability to focus on what we are doing right now. The ultimate life hack. You want to live longer? How about living fuller, deeper.
Why am I separating muscle groups when the body works as a symphony of coordinated muscles?
I was introduced to this concept of being present through martial arts. Practicing martial arts teaches you about Eastern philosophies and practices: meditation, stillness, breathing techniques. These all point to a greater understanding of our place within these bodies, and by effect, a respect for how they work and operate. Over time I kept asking: why am I separating muscle groups when the body works as a symphony of coordinated muscles?
(That's not just a metaphor. Trained movers literally develop refined coordination between muscles that untrained people don't have — Intermuscular Coordination in the Power Clean, Sensors 2021.)
The crazy part is the upper reaches of human physical potential. The types of things accessible if we just move and use our bodies naturally, the way they are designed to move and be used. Reaching and grabbing to climb trees. Hanging from branches to gather honey or fruit. Walking miles to get water. Ducking and hiding to avoid being seen. Pouncing and sprinting to catch a meal. Carrying for miles to share with others. These natural movement patterns — total body movement — unite the body and open up the connective tissues, while isolated contractile movements over time make us stiff and tight. The body becomes guarded. Likely because we are building so much armor. Of course, with time, needs and priorities change, and we get to say "remember when."
These bodies are built to withstand treacherous weather, cross unforgiving oceans, and battle vicious animals to become not only the apex predator, but the dominant species on the planet. We've created a world so safe and comfortable that we can build massive muscles in designer gyms. Which is pretty awesome, I must say. We should enjoy it for as long as it lasts. But…
The kettlebell was the teacher and I was the student.
Some of us can feel a pull inside us. Maybe it's something primal, naturalistic, organic. I think of it as wanting to maintain traditional disciplines — teachings and practices that can be passed down. Learning the kettlebell, for me, felt like entering a new dojo. One where the kettlebell was the teacher and I was the student. Totally a metaphor, by the way. Lol. My first kettlebell instructor's name was Mike. Then there was Steve Maxwell, who gave me my first kettlebell certification. After that it was many long hours and reps of fine-tuning — pinpointing the right spot, the right timing, the right angle. I finally had something my spirit could use to express itself. I had found a system of exercise that also allowed me to practice being present.
I have spent, and am still spending, years learning martial arts to understand the vast benefits of becoming skilled in the various styles. The true student takes the lessons from the master, then goes home and practices. To me, that's what it's like learning martial arts and also using kettlebells for strength training — the systems complement each other. Add to that the intentional movement and recovery practices from our current body of knowledge about maintaining functional movement patterns. Freedom of movement. Full range of motion without pain. These are the things we take for granted, yet they are priceless the older we get.
Time. Time does not wait. So use it to experience life, and the body, fully.
This is Part 1. Next week: what 20 years with the bell actually taught me about getting strong.
