The Empowering Kettlebell

“Intimidating, too heavy, for men only,” this is how I have heard women describe kettlebells, but none of these are appropriate. How do I describe kettlebell training?  Empowering.

How else can you describe performing a skill, like pressing a heavy weight over your head, that you never imagined possible? Sine I was 14 years old, I have always included strength training in my conditioning and I considered myself to be pretty strong. However, never would step into a gym and grab anything over 12-15 pounds and press it over my head. Yet, I can pick up two 16 kg (35 pound) kettlebells and press them over my head for multiple repetitions. I’m even working on pressing the 24 kg (53 pound) kettlebell!  Would I ever even pick up a 50 pound dumbbell and press it with one arm? Wouldn’t even think about it.

I am no exception and trust me, there are women in the kettlebell community much stronger than I. However, average women who have attended Rethink’s workshops (yes, some of them even grandmas) easily press the 18 pound kettlebell and are amazed. Again, these are women who have never worked with kettlebells and certainly would not pick up an 18 pound dumbbell and press it.

I am not going to get into the specifics of how and why it works, nor a discussion as to how the kettlebell truly works the entire body, not specific body parts. I know that training with kettlebells makes women (and men too) leaner, stronger, and feel more confident. Kettlebell training allows me to clear my head of all the stressors in life and just focus on controlling that weight. I know my entire body from my toes on the floor, to my abs, lungs, and back (not just the shoulder) is needed to press that weight. I’ve run marathons, triathalons, competed in team sports, lifted weights, etc., but nothing has been as rewarding or felt as empowering as training with kettlebells. As Pavel Tsatsouline famously says as the RKC Certifications, “We’re turning you into better men, even the women.”