Your KETTLEBELL Headquarters!


If you are finally coming to the realization that in order to take your game to another level you should be using weights that improve your athletic performance and not just pump your muscles up, then you are read to buy kettlebells.  Thousands of people have been re-discovering these timeless methods after they lay dormant for centuries.  Professional trainers everywhere have been touting kettlebells as the answer to sport specific training when the old machines just aren’t cutting it.  This is because kettlebells are the key to building flexibility, power, strength, endurance, agility, explosiveness and burning fat.  It’s obviously a no-brainer for most athletes.  If this sounds like you then it’s time to ask yourself not if you should buy kettlebells, but how to go about doing it.

We Have Affordable Options!

The first thing most people look for when buying something is obviously price.  Anyone that tells you different is either rich or lying; therefore, I expect most of you will be checking out kettlebell prices.  The truth of the matter is that you can probably get some pretty good kettlebells at mid-range prices.  You don’t need the kettlebell sets that cost hundreds of dollars, but you don’t want to go with the ultra-cheap brands either.  You will pay in the end for trying to go with bargain prices because the weights won’t be sanded properly, they won’t be balanced correctly, and they might not even weigh what they are supposed to.  I recommend Dragon Door Kettlebells as they offer a broad selection and have a great reputation within the industry.  They are what I use personally, and I will vouch for their quality and value-per-dollar.


Checkout Our Site For Details

I abhor spending money on useless workout equipment and that is why I found it absolutely essential to buy kettlebells for my workout routine.  For the price of one of those largely useless workout contraptions you probably already own, you can purchase a full set of kettlebells and still have money left over.  Don’t buy into the useless hype that you have to spend a ton of money in order to get in shape.  Kettlebells were invented by Russian men who had to make something out of nothing.  They are ‘battle tested’ and have withstood the test of time.

Look For Expert Help With Kettlebell DVDs

The next thing you want to look for when you buy kettlebells is probably a good kettlebell instructional dvd.  The reason for this is that to get the full benefits from using kettlebells you need to be using proper technique or else you could get frustrated with not seeing results, or even worse you could hurt yourself.

Only The Highest Quality Kettlebells

Some tell things to look for when you go out to buy kettlebells are the quality of the paint or finish.  Is it going to rub off when you train in less-than-ideal conditions?  This can lead to rough spots on the kettlebell that can make it uncomfortable to use.  Also, look for a smooth handle, and make sure you are comfortable with the grip.  It doesn’t do any good to buy kettlebells and then never use them because you aren’t comfortable with them.  Finally, when you buy kettlebells make sure that the weight is evenly distributed.  Cheaper brands will not check the iron they use to manufacture the kettlebell and it might be a different density all the way through.

 

 

kettle bell

kettle bells

The kettle bell is changing the way true athletes workout.  There will always be a market for people who want to, “Lose pounds fast,” and are consequently suckers for the commercials you see on TV.  The good old BowFlex commercials are my favourite.  Apparently if you’re a grandma, you can look like you’re 20 again just by committing, “20 minutes a day, 3 days a week.”  It’s so ridiculous.  I’m not going to insult your intelligence and tell you that the kettle bell is this perfect workout device that will magically make you look like models that spend all day working out and have personal chefs to optimize their nutrient intake.  I’m sorry, but that device simply does not exist no matter people would try to have you believe.

The kettle bell will deliver explosive results!

Instead what the kettle bell will do (when combined with your hard work of course) is give you quicker and more explosive results than any other exercise contraption you have ever seen.  Working out with a kettle bell is like doing your hour of cardiovascular activity, your hour of strength training, and then some of your sport-specific stuff, all-in-one.  It improves the muscles you will actually use in your sport instead of just to walk around the beach with and it burns more calories by boosting your heart rate and metabolism.

Save time with the kettle bell

The way the kettle bell incorporates all of this in an ultra-efficient, time-saving model is to use explosive elements into a kind of weight lifting circuit.  For those of you that aren’t overly familiar with circuit training, it is basically the idea of picking a few different exercises that will target different parts of your body and then doing them as a set together over and over.  What this does is allow certain muscles to recover while others put in work.  It is efficient because it takes away all the downtime in a workout and keeps your heart rate up.  Because your heart rate is up all the way through your workout with the kettle bell instead of dipping while you rest constantly, you get a much better overall calorie burn.  This solves a lot of the problems with traditional ideas about weight lifting.

Use the kettle bell to build athleticism

Most kettle bell gurus will tell you that their thoughts on weightlifting for athletes in explosive sports are completely different from the average.  For years, it didn’t matter what the sport was, it was ‘well-known’ that the only way to really get stronger was to pump out set after set on a bench press or with a curl bar.  It’s actually incredible to think that we all did this for years and no stopped to ask an obvious question, “When in my sport do I ever lie down and push straight up from my chest, or get to stand perfectly balanced while I work by biceps in isolation?”  When you think about it, it makes no sense!  Athletics are built around dynamic movements that often leave you off-balance.  Usually when you have to move something, or push, it is not a perfectly balanced weight, but rather shifting.  This is the premise that the kettle bell is based on.  The weight of the kettle bell is not the most advantageous to lifting high numbers, but instead is built to train your body for actual competition.  The kettle bell builds functional, lean muscle for athletes of all sorts.  Buy your own kettle bell today and get started down a patch that could change your athletic life!

 

The Kettlebell

Your Kettlebell Set

The kettlebell is perfect for your home gym.  They are small, compact, and very east to move around.  They also come in a bevy of new colours with vinyl paint on them.  This takes the place of the earlier models that were mostly rough-non-sanded scarp iron.  The vinyl gives them a shiny and clean appearance that looks good in anyone’s home.

The Kettlebell Will Make Your Life Easier!

The most important reason why I have the kettlebell in my home gym, and why I would definitely recommend them for yours is the straight forward fact that they can replace so much.  Think about your current rack of weights.  You need so many different kinds of barbells, and special bars for curling, bench-pressing our military pressing.  Just the racks alone for all these different kinds of equipment take up valuable space inside of your home and are just plain annoying.  Also, am the only guy that thinks trying to get your finger nails underneath weight plates is a pain the ass?  I have pretty good grip strength, but I can’t stand having perspiration running down my body trying to pick up a 45 pound plate off of the floor.  Make your life simpler.  The kettlebell naturally sits with the convenient handle sticking up out of the weighted center for you to grab.  A kettlebell set will not consist of many weights and will not take up nearly as much room, I guarantee you.

Replace Those Old Machines With The Kettlebell

Now that you have thought about all your bulky weights, think again about all that cardio equipment you have collecting dust in your little spare room and/or basement!  I would call all of that useless, but in fact most people find a very valid use for it in the form of hanging laundry.  I must admit this is one advantage those machines have over the kettlebell, they are much better to hang clothes on!  Kettlebell workouts are based in intensity and few breaks.  As you are strengthening your muscles you are also picking up your heart rate to great cardiovascular levels for an extended period of time.  This is great for jacking your metabolic through the roof and getting benefits like weight loss and toning.  Just think about what you could do with all that space your treadmill and bike take up!

Even the BowFlex Can’t Compare With The Kettlebell

Some people say that they already have a universal gym which gives all the benefits of kettlebells including space efficiency.  I will grant you that the fancy Bowflex or Universal Gym machine that you have might not taking up nearly as much space as all the free weights they replaced, but the sacrifice you make there is in your workouts.  You see these “one-size-fits-all” machines are terribly inefficient when it actually comes time to workout.  They are built to isolate muscles and guarantee that you spend a lot of time in your basement.  The kettlebell is the exact opposite.  They are built to workout your entire body at once.  The benefits you will see form this are huge.  First and foremost you will see increased athletic performance in whatever arena your sport is.  The reason for this is because the kettlebell uses dynamic movements that train your muscles to work together for maximum affect and explosive ability.

 

Your Kettlebell Routine

Kettlebell Set

Many people out there are intimidated when they see someone doing a kettlebell routine.  The first thing that pops into their heads is that these people look so different than the usual workout scenes that play out in front of them everyday.  Gone are all the bulky machines that are used to isolate muscles, gone is the old standby bench press and curl bar.  In their place is a few weird looking bowling ball-type of things with a thick handle sticking out of them.  The person working out isn’t grunting and grinding out set after set with long breaks in between.  They are going full bore, sweating and breathing heavily.  They also have the lean muscled look of an athlete and not the bulk of a bodybuilder.

Your First Kettlebell Routine Experience

This is the typical reaction from most people the first time they see a full kettlebell routine done in person.  It is pretty neat to see if you are used to the slow-paced workouts that we have been raised on here in Canada.  A kettlebell routine relies on continuous motion and face paced sets.  Often it will require switching hands and/or grips, or working multiple types of lifts in a circuit so that the workout never stops except for the odd 30 second water break.  The method behind this madness is to keep people’s heart rates up as high as possible for as long as possible while at the same time building muscle.

A Kettlebell Routine is So Efficient!

To get their calorie burn or “cardio” in most people turn to long distance jogging on a treadmill or get on a stationary bike for a half hour.  These are fine if you have several hours of time to kill in a day.  If you’re like me, then you want a quick and efficient workout that will give you all the benefits in the shortest possible time.  Recent studies have shown that wind sprints and other forms of interval training are much better at keeping your metabolic rate and consequently burning calories, than long distance running is.  This is the principle that a kettlebell routine is built on.  The theory that through working out multiple different kinds of muscle groups all at once, athletes can get a cardio/fat burning workout mixed in with the strength training they had to do anyway!

Another reason why people doing a kettlebell routine usually get a second look is that the lift do not look at all like those done with free weights and dumbbells.  The reason for this is that trainers and “gurus” in the Western world have been teaching us to isolate our muscles and workout them out one at a time for years.  This might eventually lead to the huge, muscle-bound bodies you see bodybuilders trying to build, but it will definitely not help the majority of athletes out there.  Most kettlebell routines look weird because nothing is stabilized and many swinging motions are required.  This often runs directly contrary to what people have been taught about weights.  My old gym teacher used to say, “Go in and out slowly whenever you are lifting weights to make your muscles really work.  Don’t jerk anything or you run the risk of pulling a muscle.”  Of course in the heat of a competitive athletic contest you don’t move your muscles slowly in and out.  You try to get them to explode as quickly as possible!

A Kettlebell Routine Has Several Advantages Over Your Current Routine

When you really stop to think about it, I’m not quite sure how we ever got into the mindset that grinding out, long, slow, sets on weight apparatus’ that are perfectly balanced was a smart idea.  I mean when in sports or in life do you lift things that are perfectly balanced?  I know that in MMA and wrestling the resistance you are dealing with is always changing.  The fluid and dynamic scenarios are much more similar to a kettlebell routine than the old school way of seeing how much you can bench press.  I love the fact that with a kettlebell routine I can get in and out of the gym in 45 minutes and get an absolutely complete workout in.  I don’t have to stand there waiting while my isolated muscles recover slowly (the only downside to this is that I don’t get to talk to as many ladies at the gym, because I’m not there as long)!  Instead I simply follow the kettlebell dvd guides that recommend a bunch of different ways to continue working out in circuit training-like manner.  This gives your muscles the recovery time they need while still keeping your heart rate up.  It also allows you to fly through repetitions and get out of the gym and on with your life.

 

16kg kettlebells and 24kg kettlebells

16 and 24kg kettlebells

16kg kettlebells and 24kg kettlebells

Anyone who has gotten serious about training with kettlebells should have a kettlebell set that includes 16kg kettlebells and 24kg kettlebells.  These weights should be at the core of any workout routine you put together.  They are the perfect weight for the average person to build both strength and endurance during their workout.

16kg kettlebells and 24kg kettlebells Are Perfect For Training MMA

In my mixed martial arts (MMA) gym we use the 16kg kettlebells mainly for high repetition work where we are working improving our stamina over a long period of time.  One exercise in particular we like to do several times a week is sets of kettlebell snatches.  One of the reasons why these are so effective for athletes of all stripes is that you merely switch hands after each set.  This makes sure that your heart stays nice and high and you get the full benefit of the workout.  For guys who do MMA it is great at simulating the prolonged aerobic effort that you will need to throw a variety of kicks and punches.  It also builds up your hips, core, and shoulders and prepares them for the abuse they will take while grappling against the cage or on the ground.

The 24kg kettlebells we use mainly for short bursts to improve whole body strength.  For some of the lighter fighters they also use these kettlebells for two handed exercises such as cleans.  They are perfect for simulating explosive wrestling sequences like throws, trips, double and single-leg takedowns and sprawls.

Build Bursts of Explosion with 16kg kettlebells and 24kg kettlebells

The burst of full-body strength you need to succeed in these grappling situations can be improved drastically working with 16kg kettlebells and 24kg kettlebells.  Think about how when you stuff a takedown, work for that single-leg, try that judo throw, or try to lock in that kimura, how you use your whole body to try to achieve the goal.  I mean that is basically what the whole Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu thing is all about right?  So then why do we consider lifting weights using a bench press or a curl bar good strength training?  Why do the vast majority of people continue to put their body through machine-based workout for hour after hour working on each muscle group individually?  Why would you train your body to work together, but build strength one muscle at a time?  It doesn’t make any sense.

When you work with kettlebells (specifically the 16kg kettlebells and 24kg kettlebells) you are training your whole body to react at once to accomplish a goal.  When you lift a kettlebell the majority of our routines start with your calves and thighs, transfer the energy through the length of your core up into your chest and shoulders, and finally out through triceps and forearms.  I right away noticed the difference in the power I was able to generate on my roundhouse kicks and punches as well as during my grappling.

16kg kettlebells and 24kg kettlebells are perfect for all sports!

I also seen the results translate into the other sports I play recreationally.  Training with 16kg kettlebells and 24kg kettlebells helps me keep my balance and finish strong when I drive the lane in basketball.  It also helps me explode off of the line in football and finish my body checks hard in hockey.

I honestly think that the benefits you get form working out with 16kg kettlebells and 24kg kettlebells are transferable to any sport.  So make sure that you purchase at least the 16kg kettlebells and 24kg kettlebells for your home workout gym today!

 

Kettlebells For Sale

Cheap kettlebell for sale

Cheap Kettlebells for Sale

Even though I was raised ‘pumping iron’ my prediction is that you are going to see a lot more ads in gym everywhere saying, “kettlebells for sale.”  The simple reason that I think we will see a rise in the usage of kettlebells is because they work.  As I stated before, I was raised on a steady diet of gruelling sets on machines, bench presses, curl bars and dumbbells and told that cardiovascular training was not part of getting stronger.  After a week of training with kettlebells I knew that what I had been taught didn’t amount to a whole lot.

Kettlebells for Sale

It all started when I was passing by a speciality workout shop one day.  Usually I hate shops like that.  They are often stocked with about a thousand overpriced supplements that do nothing for you, but drop your wallet down a few sizes.  A new sign was up that said, “kettlebells for sale.” I had seen them recently shown on some Spike TV/UFC programming with George St. Pierre and Brock Lesnar.  It looked pretty effective for them (are you going to argue with those guys?) so my curiosity was piqued and I went inside to check it out.

Kettlebells for Sale Changed My Life

It turns out that, that, “kettlebells for sale” sign changed my workout routine completely.  As you are probably able to tell by this website I am now a huge advocate for kettlebell training in general.  I have found that it is a more efficient way of building speed, agility, strength and coordination out there.  Most of all, kettlebells are guaranteed to build overall explosiveness.  This is because it trains your body to generate force from your centre of gravity (core) outwards.  Using this method you generate far more force than you would using the traditional ideas that advocated developing one muscle at a time.

If I had an athletic shop of any kind I would have “kettlebells for sale” signs everywhere because they are applicable to any sport.  I myself found them while training and watching mixed martial arts.  I figure if anyone has motivation to figure out what makes you stronger, faster and more explosive, it’s guys who get hit in the face for a living.  Since then I have seen the same results applied to athletes in football, hockey, boxing, wrestlers and anyone else that wants to improve their explosiveness.

Don’t Miss Your ‘Kettlebells For Sale’ Sign

The best part is not only do kettlebells work, but they work in a hurry!  You can get your day back because your workouts now last 30-45 minutes instead of hours and hours spent doing set after set of dumbbells followed by hours doing repetitive mind-numbing cardiovascular activities.  Kettlebells allow you to get your strength training and condition in all at the same time.  If you are into the whole ‘Crossfit’ or circuit training crazes go ahead and ask your instructors about them.  I bet pretty soon they will be typing in ‘kettlebells for sale’ into their search engine.

Don’t be the athlete that gets left behind.  Do yourself a favour and step into the store for a couple minutes if you see the same, kettlebells for sale sign that I did.

 

Buy Kettlebells

 

Kettlebells

Buy Kettlebells Today

If you are finally coming to the realization that in order to take your game to another level you should be using weights that improve your athletic performance and not just pump your muscles up, then you are read to buy kettlebells.  Thousands of people have been re-discovering these timeless methods after they lay dormant for centuries.  Professional trainers everywhere have been touting kettlebells as the answer to sport specific training when the old machines just aren’t cutting it.  This is because kettlebells are the key to building flexibility, power, strength, endurance, agility, explosiveness and burning fat.  It’s obviously a no-brainer for most athletes.  If this sounds like you then it’s time to ask yourself not if you should buy kettlebells, but how to go about doing it.

Prices To Buy Kettlebells

The first thing most people look for when buying something is obviously price.  Anyone that tells you different is either rich or lying; therefore, I expect most of you will be checking out kettlebell prices.  The truth of the matter is that you can probably get some pretty good kettlebells at mid-range prices.  You don’t need the kettlebell sets that cost hundreds of dollars, but you don’t want to go with the ultra-cheap brands either.  You will pay in the end for trying to go with bargain prices because the weights won’t be sanded properly, they won’t be balanced correctly, and they might not even weigh what they are supposed to.  I recommend Dragon Door Kettlebells as they offer a broad selection and have a great reputation within the industry.  They are what I use personally, and I will vouch for their quality and value-per-dollar.

Quit Spending On Useless Equipment and Buy Kettlebells

I abhor spending money on useless workout equipment and that is why I found it absolutely essential to buy kettlebells for my workout routine.  For the price of one of those largely useless workout contraptions you probably already own, you can purchase a full set of kettlebells and still have money left over.  Don’t buy into the useless hype that you have to spend a ton of money in order to get in shape.  Kettlebells were invented by Russian men who had to make something out of nothing.  They are ‘battle tested’ and have withstood the test of time.

The next thing you want to look for when you buy kettlebells is probably a good kettlebell instructional dvd.  The reason for this is that to get the full benefits from using kettlebells you need to be using proper technique or else you could get frustrated with not seeing results, or even worse you could hurt yourself.

Tips To Buy Kettlebells

Some tell things to look for when you go out to buy kettlebells are the quality of the paint or finish.  Is it going to rub off when you train in less-than-ideal conditions?  This can lead to rough spots on the kettlebell that can make it uncomfortable to use.  Also, look for a smooth handle, and make sure you are comfortable with the grip.  It doesn’t do any good to buy kettlebells and then never use them because you aren’t comfortable with them.  Finally, when you buy kettlebells make sure that the weight is evenly distributed.  Cheaper brands will not check the iron they use to manufacture the kettlebell and it might be a different density all the way through.

 

 

Kettlebell Snatches

instructions for kettlebell snatches

Visual kettlebell snatches instructions

Kettlebell snatches have been out of favour for decades or even centuries now, but that does not diminish the raw effectiveness of this exercise.  For those of you that aren’t familiar with kettlebell training it revolves around explosive movements that are ideal for competitive athletes.  The reason that they are so effective for athletes is because kettlebells excel at building agility, strength, speed, flexibility, and recruiting new muscle groups.  The overall affect of working with kettlebells is a well-rounded athlete for any sport.  No matter what movements your specific form of competition requires from you I guarantee kettlebell snatches can help improve your game!

Kettlebell Snatches Build Strength

The basic idea of the kettlebell snatches is to build functional strength throughout your whole body my making all your muscle groups work as one.  It incorporates all the different aspects of strength in your body, right from your toes and calves, up through your calves and thighs, into your core and chest and finally out through your shoulders and arms.  The end result of kettlebell snatches is an individual that a lean, athletic looking individual that has packed a ton of power into his frame, yet stayed lithe enough to be agile and lightening fast.  This is obviously opposed to traditional weights which are used to try and pump up one specific muscle group at a time in order to develop a ‘beach body.’  Make no mistake, kettlebell snatches will make you look good, but their primary purpose will be to train your body to uncork at its maximum potential over and over again.

Add Kettlebell Snatches To Your Workout

The kettlebell workouts I recommend all revolve around simply switching hands or focuses, but never taking a break.  This gives your workout a cardiovascular element, and a calorie/fat burning component, as well as the aforementioned strength and conditioning benefit.

One aspect of reaching your athletic potential that kettlebell snatches really targets well (and most traditional workout routines ignore) is your core strength.  The explosion is all generated from your inner core muscles and the kettlebell provides the perfect off-balance resistance to make it semi-difficult to carry that explosive force through the rest of your body.  Ask any professional athlete or training guru and they will explain just how important core strength is today’s ultra-competitive athletic atmosphere.

Instructions for Kettlebell Snatches

A basic set of kettlebell snatches begins by getting a good grip on the handle (this grip strength will also improve over time as an added benefit).  You then lock your arm, squat down, and use your whole body to generate momentum and swing the weight up above your head.  As an added degree of difficulty you can bring the kettlebell down to shoulder level and then back up again to make it a truly full body exercise.  This is exactly the sort of momentum-specific situation that will often occur in most sports.  That is what makes kettlebell training so effective, and that is what makes kettlebell snatches such an ideal training exercise for people from so many different athletic backgrounds.  Begin including kettlebell snatches into your training routine today to see optimal results in a short time frame.

 

Training With Kettlebells

Buy Kettlebells To Enhance your Core Training

Kettlebells

Save on Kettlebells

In the last few decades athletes have realized that long runs, bulging biceps, and hundreds of squat sets while important, don’t mean anything if an athlete doesn’t have the core strength provided by kettlebells!  Core strength has become the new focus for competitors in a huge variety of sporting fields.  I have personally played football, basketball, rugby, marathoning, tri-athloning, wrestling, boxing and mixed martial arts.  I have friends in all sports and can say pretty conclusively that strength coming from your centre has become absolutely essential for all sports.

Whether you are exploding to hit a volleyball, score a goal, throw a left hook, shoot a double leg, or tackle somebody, you have to generate the force from your core outward.  If you have extremely strong legs, or shoulders, that’s great, but if your core cannot tie those muscle groups together you are in got a long day against the athletes of today. Read More…

Kettlebell DVDs

Training with Kettlebells and Kettlebell DVDs has literally changed the way I look at working out.  I used to be one of those stereotypical guys you see in the gym grinding out sets of reps on endless machines and barbell combinations.  After I was done those I would have to get in my half hour of cardio.  Between travelling to the gym, working out, and paying for gym fees, my gym routine was costing me like 4 man-hours a day at least 3-4 times a week!

Then I started wrestling while in university.  These grapplers who were much smaller than (to the tune of 50+ pounds) seemed to be able to do whatever they wanted to me.  Often this was because of superior technique, but they also had just as much (if not more) functional strength as I did, even though they had much less muscle mass.  This went against all the rules of weight lifting and building strength that I had been taught.  Whoever lifted the heaviest weights and had the biggest biceps was supposed to be the strongest.  Every guy ‘learned’ that from a young age.  Yet here were these guys (being coached by an Eastern European) that proved that adage wrong every day. Read More…