Kettle bells – or “Cannon Balls with Handles” – has its origins in 18th century Russia. Strength and fitness training with kettle bells was a well-kept secret amongst Russian special forces for years, but on the fall of the iron curtain kettle bells spread rapidly throughout the west. Training places maximum emphasis on explosive action and stamina, and trains all the major muscle groups and vital supporting muscles.

There are also competitions for kettle bells exponents. The various forms are called Kettle bell Sport (originally called Girevoy Sport in Russia) and Kettle bell Marathon, where lifting sessions are of 10, 30 or 60 minutes respectively. The majority use the bells for general strength training, but they are also popular with the Defence Forces special combat troops and with the Police and Fire Brigades. In Russia they are often called “The Russian Home Gym”, which is an excellent description. If you have 1-2 kettle bells of the correct weight for you, you can train your whole body very effectively!