Kettlebells for rugged health
Doctor Krayevskiy, the founder of the St. Petersburg Athletic Club, 'the father of Russian athletics', and 'Russian Lion' Hackenschmidt's coach, trained religiously with kettlebells. The doctor took up training at the age of forty-one and twenty years later he was said to look fresher and healthier than at forty.A study done in Siberia by Shevtsova (1993) revealed some interesting facts about the effects of kettlebell training on the heart. Seventy-five gireviks with three to five years of experience were studied. A long-term decrease in the heart rate and the blood pressure was recorded. The average resting HR was recorded at 56 beats per minute, the BP 110/70 in the summer and 114/74 in the winter. The heart rate took a dive not just at rest, but also during and after exercise. The time it took the heart to slow down back to normal also decreased. Some heart dynamics lead to the conclusion that experienced gireviks' systems also adapted to be better 'primed' and ready for upcoming action. Overall, the researchers registered "a normal adaptation of the cardio-vascular system to training stress" and "an increased functional capacity of the heart".
Repetitive ballistic loading of kettlebell drills appears to be highly beneficial to your joints and connective tissues -provided you do not overdo it and your doctor authorizes it. Countless Russians have successfully rehabilitated hopeless back injuries with kettlebells. The most inspiring story is that of Valentin Dikul. A circus acrobat, Valentin took a bad fall and broke his back when he was seventeen. Dikul said no to the wheel-chair and painstakingly rehabilitated himself, largely with the help of his trusted kettlebells. But he did not stop there. He proceeded to become a great circus strongman juggling 80kg kettlebells and a powerlifter with mind-boggling lifts at sixty-something years of age!
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