Oh kettlebells. They look cute and simple, sitting there. But then you pick one up and start swinging it over your head. Or you lay down on the ground and put one in your hand and try to stand up while lifting it over your head. (Known as the Turkish Get-Up…because that’s how people in Turkey stand up?)
You don’t fuck around with kettlebells because kettlebells will simply kick your ass. I might have found out about these without CrossFit but I definitely wouldn’t be embracing them as much as I do without the help of CrossFit.
Kettlebells require the sort of presence of mind that doesn’t come along with many pieces of workout equipment. In the old daze of going to a big-box gym, I would look forward to zoning out on a treadmill or elliptical machine. If you zone out while swinging kettlebells, you’re likely to hit yourself in the head.
(Have I mentioned that I think about possibly hitting myself in the head every time I do a kettlebell workout? I’m not sure if anyone at Roots has ever actually hit themselves in the head, but I’m not going to be the first to win that honor.)
Also, kettlebells get all your muscles working together. Talk about functional fitness. You’re not just using your arms or your legs or your core. Nope. Kettlebells require you to move your entire body. That is the definition of full-body movement, friends.
Still not sold on kettlebells? What about increased grip strength, better hand-eye coordination and enhanced unilateral & spatial awareness skills? Or what about just swinging something heavy through the air because it’s fun?
Okay, fine. Here’s a video of hot Slovakian dudes (and regular-looking people) swinging their kettlebells and pulling sleds.
[Note to self: do CrossFit in Slovakia sometime.]