The Russian Kettlebell

Kettlebells are the #1 handheld gym for extreme fitness. Here’s how kettlebells have helped others.

• 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

As Pavel puts it, it is “the leader in the Russian kettlebell invasion”. You owe it to yourself to train with the advantage of Russian kettlebells.

What size kettlebell should I use?

Kettlebells come in a variety of weights in order to accommodate your level of training and fitness. On this page I have listed various kettlebells and what skill level they tend to pertain.

Kettlebell Weights

26lbs. – According to the official site, you’re out of shape if you have to use this low weight kettlebell. However, I think it is fair to say if you’re small or just starting out this is a good weight to start with so you can get acclimated to the unique feel of a kettlebell. More Information

35lbs. – This kettlebell could be called the average joe kettlebell. At this level you don’t suck, but you’re not quite a bad ass yet either. Keep at it though and you’ll move on to bigger ones though! More Information

44lbs. – You’re not too shabby at this level. You’re starting to set yourself apart from the rest. Focus and consistency will help you explode your training results. More Information

53lbs – Congratulations, you’re really something at this stage. You’re doing 53lbs. with one arm and holding it over your head in some exercises. Be proud. More Information

62lbs. – Why stop at 53lbs. when you can go to 62lbs? If you can make this jump you are really starting to show your experience with kettlebell lifting. More Information

70lbs. – The ladies love you. More Information

88lbs. – Your hardwork is really paying off at this stage. You are basically a badass at this stage. More Information

106lbs. – You remember those statues of Greek gods? Well, you should consider having a statue commissioned in your own image if you can do the 106lbs. kettlebell. More Information

Pavel Kettlebell FAQ

What is a ‘kettlebell’?

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.

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.

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: Enter The Kettlebell 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.

“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.