Skip to main content

The Kettlebell Bible - Book Review

The Kettlebell Bible

I mentioned a few months ago that I had bough some Kettlebells from Stan Pike at Intense Fitness. They are well made and I am enjoying training with them. It was refreshing to be able to buy them from Stan as well, stopping off at his house on a trip down south, and have this great bear of a man explain a little bit of technique to me in his garage gym. If anyone in the UK (especially Scotland or northern England) is thinking of getting some kettlebells - or indeed any other toys - then check out Stan.

Normally in the world of the interweb, kettlebells are associated with a certain Russian and to be fair - wherever you stand on Dragondoor's marketing - Pavel has been responsible for reintroducing this tool to the West in the last 10 years or so. And Pavel's books and DVDs are good - especially at teaching basic technique in detail, with lots of hints and cues to get you going. "Enter the Kettlebell" is an excellent and elegantly simple manual.

Stan's Kettlebell Bible - co-authored with Rob Beauchamp (a former Royal Marine Commando) - is a very different proposition but an excellent addition to any training library. At 235 pages this is an encyclopaedia of programme design, sports science and exercise technique. There is no condescension or mock tsarist argot, just dense information clearly explained and illustrated. It is rare to read the sort of material that is presented here on exercise physiology, warm-ups and stretching - essential to understand, but rarely discussed in this detail.

Not a book to skim through, this Bible will repay repeated study and I would recommend it to anyone. Don't expect an easy read - you will be challenged, but it is worth the effort. You can order it here (I do not get anything for this recommendation by the way)

Local readers may be interested in this upcoming kettlebell contest sponsored by Intense Fitness:

U.K.K.A. BORDER KETTLEBELL COMPETITION Sunday 11th May 2008.

Competition Lifts.

One Handed KB Swings
One Handed KB Snatch
One Hand Hammer Throwing
One Handed Standing KB Throw
The Farmer's Walk.
The Crucifix Strength Challenge
Single Arm Swing-Lock Out and Hold
The Ultimate Centurion Circuit.
Additional Features and Challenges
1. Traditional Archery
2. Horse Shoe Quoits
3. Throwing the Welly
4. Junior Tug O' War for Children
5. Blacksmiths Grip Challenge.
6. Middlebie Pebble Grip Challenge.

Trophy’s will be presented.


Here is a video of last year's event:

Labels:

Comments

Phillip said…
Just received my copy today. Going through it and will drop a line. Initial reaction is that it is different from Pavel and from the GS thinking.

BTW - Noticed that they recommend eating right away after workout - but the book is two years ago, so they were probably following the sound advice of the day.
April 14, 2008 at 4:24 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dry January

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I was taking part in "Dry January".  I didn't make a big song and dance about it, but I decided to go for a calendar month or so with no alcohol.  A few people have asked me about my experience, so here are a few points. Why take a break from drinking? Alcohol is an interesting topic.  As a drug it is widely accepted in society, central to so much of our socialising and leisure.  There seem to be lots of health benefits - so we are told - yet there are also a lot of problems in terms of health, relationships and lifestyle that come from drinking. Over a few years I'd begun to become aware and then concerned that I was drinking too much and too regularly.  I am in a busy and stressful job and sometimes a glass of wine after work to relax is really helpful.  But over time, one glass became two.  Two glasses became ....I might as well finish the bottle.  A habit got established....and was starting to get too e...
7 comments
Read more

So where have I been?

You will have noticed that this blog has been quiet for a while....  There are a few reasons for that, reasons that I thought I'd list here: WORK -  my day job has been incredibly busy and stressful this year. Working 10-14 hour days the last thing on my mind when I got home was putting something on here.  FACEBOOK/TWITTER - I suppose I've been using other channels to do some of what I used to do here. Quick fire posts pointing to interesting studies or news etc tend to get posted to Twitter (@chrishighcock) or to the Facebook Hillfit group http://www.facebook.com/groups/263083947097000/  REASSESSMENT - I've found myself less comfortable with some of the positions I've taken in the past. Sometimes I'm embarrassed by some of the things I've promoted. I'm not Paleo or low carb. I think Tabata and intervals are misunderstood and misapplied. I cannot really claim to be HIT.   I find myselfunable  honestly to post things on here and pretend that I am some sort o...
12 comments
Read more

Taking up space for a brief update

I've a couple of posts in draft that I will get up soon -  an update / reflection on Dry January and some thoughts on the scheduling benefits of short workouts if your life is busy.  Before that though, I am pointing to something else. However, I wanted to highlight something that is coming this weekend that I've been involved in.   Amber Rogers (Gokaleo and author of Taking Up Space ) has been pulling together a bundle of books from various authors with a common theme, one that I've been pushing here recently.   Keep it simple, avoid the hype, be patient, be consistent and flee the gurus.   I've talked before about how we get obsessed with pushing for more and more, when enough is OK.  I've given my view that so much of the health and fitness internet world is more like a gnostic religion than something that will benefit your life. There are other voices out there saying similar things and I'll be pointing to a bundle of books later this week ...
1 comment
Read more