The #1 Handheld Gym For Extreme Fitness
Accelerates the development of all-purpose strength—to easily handle the toughest and most
unexpected demands
Boosts your physical resilience—to repel the hardest hits
Builds your staying power—because the last round decides all
Ensures the correct blend of strength with flexibility—because strength that fails to reach is
impotent
Hacks your fat off—without the dishonor of dieting and aerobics
Forges a fighter's physique—so form matches function
Gives you independence—world's #1 portable gym makes you as strong as you want anywhere,
anytime
A 'kettlebell' or girya (Russ.) is a traditional Russian cast iron weight that looks like a
cannonball with a handle. The ultimate tool for extreme all-round fitness.
The kettlebell goes way back, it first appeared in a Russian dictionary in 1704
(Cherkikh, 1994). So popular were kettlebells in Tsarist Russia that any strongman or
weightlifter was referred to as a girevik, or 'a kettlebell man'.
"Not a single sport develops our muscular strength and bodies as well as kettlebell
athletics," reported Russian magazine Hercules in 1913.
Why train with kettlebells?
Because they deliver extreme all-round fitness. And no single other tool does it better.
Here is a short list of hardware the Russian kettlebell replaces: barbells, dumbbells,
belts for weighted pullups and dips, thick bars, lever bars, medicine balls, grip devices,
and cardio equipment. Here is why the kettlebell dominates other exercise equipment
Vinogradov & Lukyanov (1986) found a very high correlation between the results
posted in a kettlebell lifting competition and a great range of dissimilar tests: strength,
measured with the three powerlifts and grip strength; strength endurance, measured
with pullups and parallel bar dips; general endurance, determined by a 1000 meter
run; work capacity and balance, measured with special tests.
Voropayev (1983) tested two groups of subjects in pullups, a standing broad jump, a
100m sprint, and a 1k run. He put the control group on a program that emphasized the
above tests; the experimental group lifted kettlebells. In spite of the lack of practice on
the tested exercises, the kettlebell group scored better in every one of them! This is
what we call "the what the hell effect".
Kettlebells melt fat without the dishonor of dieting or aerobics. If you are overweight,
you will lean out. If you are skinny, you will get built up. According to Voropayev (1997)
who studied top Russian gireviks, 21.2% increased their bodyweight since taking up
kettlebelling and 21.2% (the exact same percentage, not a typo), mostly heavyweights,
decreased it. The Russian kettlebell is a powerful tool for fixing your body comp,
whichever way it needs fixing.
Kettlebells forge doers' physiques along the lines of antique statues: broad shoulders
with just a hint of pecs, back muscles standing out in bold relief, wiry arms, rugged
forearms, a cut-up midsection, and strong legs without a hint of squatter's chafing.
Liberating and aggressive as medieval swordplay, kettlebell training is highly addictive.
What other piece of exercise equipment can boast that its owners name it? Paint it?
Get tattoos of it? Our Russian kettlebell is the Harley-Davidson of strength hardware.
Who trains with kettlebells?
Hard comrades of all persuasions.
Soviet weightlifting legends such as Vlasov, Zhabotinskiy, and Alexeyev started their
Olympic careers with old-fashioned kettlebells. Yuri Vlasov once interrupted an
interview he was giving to a Western journalist and proceeded to press a pair of
kettlebells. "A wonderful exercise," commented the world champion. "…It is hard to find
an exercise better suited for developing strength and flexibility simultaneously."
The Russian Special Forces personnel owe much of their wiry strength, explosive
agility, and never-quitting stamina to kettlebells. Soldier, Be Strong!, the official Soviet
armed forces strength training manual pronounced kettlebell drills to be "one of the
most effective means of strength development" representing "a new era in the
development of human strength-potential".
The elite of the US military and law enforcement instantly recognized the power of the
Russian kettlebell, ruggedly simple and deadly effective as an AK-47. You can find
Pavel's certified RKC instructors among Force Recon Marines, Department of Energy
nuclear security teams, the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team, the Secret Service Counter
Assault Team, etc.
Once the Russian kettlebell became a hit among those whose life depends on their
strength and conditioning, it took off among hard people from all walks of life: martial
artists, athletes, regular hard comrades.
Am I kettlebell material?
Kettlebell training is extreme but not elitist. At the 1995 Russian Championship the
youngest contestant was 16, the oldest 53! And we are talking elite competition here;
the range is even wider if you are training for yourself rather than for the gold. Dr.
Krayevskiy, the father of the kettlebell sport, took up training at the age of forty-one
and twenty years later he was said to look fresher and healthier than at forty.
Only 8.8% of top Russian gireviks, members of the Russian National Team and
regional teams, reported injuries in training or competition (Voropayev, 1997). A
remarkably low number, especially if you consider that these are elite athletes who
push their bodies over the edge. Many hard men with high mileage have overcome
debilitating injuries with kettlebell training (get your doctor's approval). Acrobat
Valentin Dikul fell and broke his back at seventeen. Today, in his mid-sixties, he
juggles 180-pound balls and breaks powerlifting records!
How do I learn to use the kettlebell?
From Pavel's books and videos: The Russian Kettlebell Challenge or From Russia with
Tough Love for comrades ladies. From an RKC certified instructor; find one in your
area. Kettlebell technique can be learned in one or two sessions and one can start
intense training during the second and even first week (Dvorkin, 2001).
What is the right kettlebell size for me?
Kettlebells come in 'poods'. A pood is an old Russian measure of weight, which equals
16kg, or roughly 35 lbs. An average man should start with a 35-pounder. It does not
sound like a lot but believe it; it feels a lot heavier than it should! Most men will
eventually progress to a 53-pounder, the standard issue size in the Russian military.
Although available in most units, 70-pounders are used only by a few advanced guys
and in elite competitions. 88-pounders are for mutants.
An average woman should start with an 18-pounder. A strong woman can go for a 26-
pounder. Some women will advance to a 35-pounder. A few hard women will go
beyond.
traditional Russian
Kettlebells NOW!
traditional Russian
Kettlebells NOW!
36 lb kettlebell, One Russian Kettlebell Challenge book,
plus One Russian Kettlebell Challenge DVD.
This is what Archangel Fitness first started with!
"Kettlebells are like weightlifting times ten."
"Kettlebells are like weightlifting times ten," stated Olympic Silver Medalist in Greco-Roman Wrestling Dennis
Koslowski, D.C., RKC. "…If I could've met Pavel in the early '80s, I might've won two gold medals. I'm serious."
Archangel Fitness has NOT personally tested the adjustable versions. The cast iron versions just
appealed to us more. Still, these are worth a look.
