Kettlebell Exercises and Their Place in Modern Weightlifting Sports [1928]

In many county towns, located far not only from provincial centers but also from railway stations, there are no training barbells available. They are often absent in military sports clubs as well. For villages and rural areas, acquiring or producing a barbell is impossible due to material and technical constraints. Meanwhile, lifting heavy kettlebells is one of the most favored athletic activities in remote provinces and, for that very reason, can serve as a powerful advocate for the ideas of physical culture and sports among large groups of young people.

Moreover, kettlebell training has additional advantages: its techniques are easier to learn and internalize compared to many other sports; it also allows for ongoing competition with one another. Since a training barbell is still unavailable in distant provinces, especially in villages, it can be successfully replaced by kettlebells. They exist even in the most out-of-the-way small towns, in any village, and large numbers. You can find as many standard (one-pood or 16 kg) and heavier two-pood (32 kg) kettlebells as you like, and even “triplets” (48 kg), which have long since disappeared from big cities. Now, with the transition to the decimal weight system, kettlebells are particularly abundant in the provinces.

Historically, kettlebells once held a very prominent place in weightlifting sports. When the “First Athletes’ Club,” under the guidance of Dr. Kraevsky, appeared in Russia in 1885—thus giving birth to weightlifting as a sport—there were fewer than ten training barbells in the entire country. There were quite a few globe barbells, but these were mostly used by circus professionals. Most of the first amateur strongmen in the provinces trained with kettlebells. As weightlifting progressed, every major athletic club acquired training barbells, but kettlebells continued to be widely used:

For training before attempting record-setting barbell lifts;
For special kettlebell competitions in various events.

As a training tool, kettlebells were considered indispensable. Exercises with separate weights (kettlebells) are much more challenging than exercises with a barbell of the same load and require greater strength. Moreover, lifting separate weights teaches you to maintain balance and to work both arms equally. For this reason, after training with kettlebells, barbell lifting felt especially easy. As for kettlebell competitions, they were even more interesting because, in terms of both the number and variety of movements, kettlebell lifting far surpasses barbell lifting.

Today, as sports rapidly gain mass popularity, kettlebell exercises can be widely introduced in various clubs—factory clubs, Red Army clubs, and rural clubs. Kettlebell training in Red Army clubs is also valuable from a practical standpoint since a whole range of kettlebell exercises develop the muscle groups involved in various types of military tasks, such as carrying ammunition and military supplies.

Ivan Vladimirovich Lebedev (“Uncle Vanya”)., Exercises with Heavy Kettlebells, 1928
Image: Members of Dr. Vladislav Frantsevich Kraevsky’s Athletic Club, 1897.