Getting started in kettlebell training

[jqmaverick]

I'm seriously considering getting started in it.
So what does a beginner need?
I was told a 16kg kettlebell and "Enter the Kettlebell" by pavel.

Is this the best book on kettlebell training? Is it complete on it's own? (I've heard you have to buy "power to the people" to go with it.)

Is the one kettlebell enough? or will I end up having to buy several?

Thanks

[AZK]

start with 1, see if you like it, if you can borrow one from someone do that first, 2 is really great though, but first see if you like it, i learned a lot more from mike mahler than from pavel, check out his site.

[mmctrab]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm seriously considering getting started in it.
So what does a beginner need?
I was told a 16kg kettlebell and "Enter the Kettlebell" by pavel.

Is this the best book on kettlebell training? Is it complete on it's own? (I've heard you have to buy "power to the people" to go with it.)

Is the one kettlebell enough? or will I end up having to buy several?

Thanks

[/ QUOTE ]

It depends what your goals are. For the average guy, a 1 pood is fine for doing higher rep ballistics, and okay for doing the lower rep grinds. There are also more difficult drills where a 1 pood is certainly fine.

[Blarg]

There is a big kettlebell thread that was started in OOT a couple years back. Strongly recommend looking it up. I think something about Drink the Kool-Aid or however you spell it was in the title.

Enter the Kettlebell is fine, but get it at Amazon, where it is steeply discounted, not from Pavel's site. The RKC book has more variety. I also highly recommend Steve Cotter's DVD's. Check his website for some video samples of some of the cool and really tough stuff he does with them, like duck walks, dragon walks, towel swings, and doing multiple things at once! Really inspiring.

The 1 pood(35 pounds) KB is a must for learning tricky overhead manuevers like the windmill that you will find as you go through kettlebell materials of various sorts. It is also very good to have to learn things that are trickier than basic presses, like the clean and jerk, the swing, etc. You will benefit from using heavier weights with these latter exercises, but there is a knack to kettlebells(that is actually very fun to learn), and a light one at first will help you feel and learn it.

A man of virtually any strength level will quickly outgrow the 1 pood. The average guy gets along well with the 1 1/2 pood, the one that weighs about 53 pounds. This should last you a while.

One important note: dragondoor KB's aren't the only ones out there. They are nice, but very pricey. A smart way to buy from that source is to go to e-bay, where they have their own store. You can sometimes get them 1/3 to 1/2 off, which is pretty significant when it comes to stuff this pricey. I'd advise starting to watch the auctions daily for a week at least to see where the good prices are. There will always be some numb nuts who pays top dollar, but it doesn't have to be you.

[Neko]

JTB's oot thread:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showfl...part=1&vc=1

[Neko]

op, thanks for reminding me about these...I just ordered one and it should be here in a day or two. That oot thread has all the info you need. Pretty stoked to add these into my routine.

[Snafu'd]

https://www.lifeline-usa.com/product...;productid=129

Anybody have experience with the KB's I linked above? They are Lifeline KB's and are the ones Mike Mahler endorses on his website. Taking into account the shipping costs when comparing these to dragon door KB's, it looks like you can save a significant amount by ordering from Lifeline. Blarg, AZK, anyone else have experience with these? If so, what are your thoughts? Mahler says the only difference b/w Lifeline and Dragon Door KB's is that the Lifeline's handles are slightly larger that DD's and they also don't have the gloss finish - which Mahler says is an advantage b/c they are less likely to slip. Scroll down to the "Where do I get kettlebell's" Q for Mahler's opinion on the different KB's on the market.

[jqmaverick]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I've skimmed through the other thread and decided to get enter the kettlebell book and dvd along with a 16kg and 24kg kettlebell.

I understand the book and dvd are beginner routines. What is the next book/dvd to progress from here?

[Blarg]

Check out Steve Cotter's FullKOntact.com for his video samples. He has a two volume encyclopedia out, and also two others(I have them, they're great) with an emphasis on preparing the body for fighting/fighting sports with kettlebells.

For Pavel's stuff, I'd recommend reading The Naked Warrior for good stuff about proper tension techniques. But get it at Amazon, so it will be much much cheaper. The book isn't about kettlebells, just exercise principles.

[Neko]

So my kettlebell from Agatsu Canada arrived on Fri but I didn't get a change to do a real workout until yesterday. I spent $114CAD for a 16kg bell, an instructional DVD and it also came with an e-book that demonstrated a bunch of different excercises. Seemed like a decent deal and that price included courier service. Took 3 days from ordering to door-step (DVD hasn't arrived yet though) .

The kettlebell seems to be made as well as a hunk of iron can be, handle is smooth, and the finish is really nice.

Initial impressions:

1) holy [censored] I'm weak. I thought 32lbs was going to be to light, but I would say that it is actually the perfect wait for me to start out on. Any lighter and I wouldn't really feel like I was working, and with the next size up my form would really suffer.

2) The only time I ever lifted before was in HS gym class and I hated it. After using this kettlebell for one day I know that I will have no problem keeping this up 3-4 times a week.

3) My form probably sucks pretty bad. I watched a couple of videos on proper squat technique and I think I am squatting and swinging okay. I had my gf watch my squats/swings to make sure I was mainting some resemblance to proper form for those.

The things that I feel like I probably could be doing better is the, cleans and presses. The kettlebell is banging pretty hard into my forearm on cleans, I have tried adding a punching motion at the end of the clean to help, but I must be doing something wrong here.

On 1 handed presses, I don't really know what the proper path of motion should be. Like should the weight be starting from the 'clean' position every time, should my arm be rotating at all as I extend it etc etc. Does Enter The Kettlebell cover proper form?

4) not kettlebell related really, but I have no idea about how to best go about achieving my goals of getting stronger. What I did was:

10 two handed swings,
7 one handed presses on each hand (only cleaned the kb on the first one th)
10 goblet squats
30 around the body passes in each direction.

I repeated this 4 times and I don't feel to sore today, my legs definitley feel like they were worked yesterday but other than that not too bad, no lower back pain etc. I just guessed about how many reps to do for each excercise, cuz I really have no idea what I should be doing.

Does this look like an okay program to start out with if I do it every other day, with an hour of cycling on most other days? My goals are just to get stronger, particularly in my core since I sit at a computer all day/night.

5) Just in general, the workout was easy to get into and took a half hour or less. I don't thing I'll have trouble getting motivated to do it (for the first few weeks anyways) and I can tell already it's going to make a big difference (duh).

All in all I'm really happy I decided to try them out and am looking forward to improving my form and technique.