Justin Edberg of Duluth works out with a kettlebell at the Superior Kettlebell Gym in Duluth. Clint Austin / caustin@duluthnews.com
Article from the Duluth News Tribune by Peter Passi:
Minnesota is playing a central role in promoting the latest rage in American fitness — kettlebell training — and it’s anything but new. In fact, the activity can be traced back more than 300 years to humble agrarian origins.
Kettlebells are weights Russians originally used to weigh crops such as grain or potatoes on agricultural scales. These cast-iron weights are usually shaped like a cannonball with a handle affixed to it, and they come in 16.4-kilogram (36.1-pound) increments called poods.
Those who frequently handled these weights — called girya in Russian — often developed impressive muscles. So much so, that the word for a strongman in imperial Russia came to be girevik, meaning “kettlebell man.”
“It’s not just another passing fad,” said Adam Dailey, who opened the Superior Kettlebell Gym in Duluth a few months ago.
Dailey is one of four Twin Ports trainers to recently become certified Russian kettlebell instructors under the tutelage of Pavel Tsatsouline and Dragon Door Publications Inc., a St. Paul-based company that has been one of the primary promoters of the sport. Tsatsouline has helped certify more than 1,000 kettlebell instructors in the past eight years.
Chris Fournie, a certified kettlebell instructor who owns and operates Progressive Martial Arts and Fitness in Hermantown, introduced kettlebell training to the Northland in 2005. He described Minnesota as a hotbed for the sport, due primarily to Tsatsouline’s influence, and referred to Dragon Door as “the mother ship of kettlebells.”
A kettlebell competitor and champion himself, Tsatsouline trained countless athletes and special forces in his native Russia. Upon his immigration to the States, Tsatsouline introduced kettlebells to Americans in 2001. Although he now lives in California, Tsatsouline originally settled in Minnesota and married Julie Antonson, a native of Duluth.
“I think I honestly was more sure kettlebells would succeed here than Pavel,” said John Du Cane, owner and CEO of Dragon Door. Initially, Du Cane suspected kettlebell training would catch on with a select audience such as elite athletes, law enforcement officials and military service people.
“I really didn’t expect it to take off on the level that it has,” Du Cane said, noting that kettlebells appealed to a much broader market segment than he had anticipated.
But Du Cane said the dramatic results people achieved through training with kettlebells quickly turned the fitness regimen into a sensation.
“Kettlebells combine endurance, flexibility and weight training all in one activity,” said Dawn Karlon, a certified kettlebell trainer and owner of Lifestyle Pilates and Conditioning in Superior.
Dailey said kettlebell training can be beneficial to people from all walks of life and of all different levels.
“As a 39-year-old mother, I wondered if I could handle kettlebell training,” said Molly Solberg of Duluth. But she gave it a shot when Dailey opened his gym and said she has been impressed with the results. Solberg credits stretching and kettlebell exercises for helping her resolve neck pain issues. She also has noticed other benefits of the strenuous workouts.
“It improves your posture and how you move. I also think it’s amazing how much energy I now have,” she said.
Fournie has a herniated disk in his spine, but since taking up kettlebell training, his back condition has improved dramatically.
“I’m 51 years old and I’ve had lots of injuries, but I can do things now that I never expected to be able to do in my life — things that I couldn’t do when I was young,” he said.
“I call kettlebells the fountain of youth,” quipped Fournie.
Kettlebells have proven surprisingly popular with women. Du Cane said that while about 80 percent of the nation’s certified kettlebell instructors are men, about 70 percent of students are women. He said kettlebell training effectively tones and strengthens muscles in the thigh, abdomen and buttocks. It also produces a desirable body shape that’s different than other types of weight-lifting.
“You’re using weights, but they won’t bulk you up. Instead, people training with kettlebells tend to develop a lean and rangy body type that’s strong but very proportional.”
Kathy Sieh of Duluth has been taking kettlebell classes at Progressive Martial Arts & Fitness for about a year and said they deliver the best workout she has ever experienced.
“I’m 48 years old, and I feel great,” she said. “It has really defined my muscles. I’m able to eat more, and I have more energy. I feel spunky.”
Kettlebells also have attracted the attention of elite athletes, such as cyclist Lance Armstrong, who incorporates them into his training.
Zach Walters, a professional boxer from Duluth, also works out with kettlebells. He said that since beginning to train with Dailey, his strength and stamina have improved but not his physical size.
“I feel like it has densified me. There are muscles for show and muscles for go. These are all muscles for go,” Walters said, thumping his torso.
Dailey said kettlebells work entire muscle sets, including stabilizing muscles required to maintain balance and control. A vast variety of exercises can be performed with deceptively simple kettlebells to effectively target particular body parts and improve overall physical conditioning.
“It’s hard to sell people on kettlebells right away, because they don’t believe a little iron ball can do so much,” he said. “But you develop a tremendous passion for them when you realize what they can do for you.”
