A brief introduction to my kettlebell experiences.

I love Kettlebells, absolutely love them. I think there's probably no other fitness tool in the world as versatile or effective as a single kettlebell. Even just one small one could occupy a stronger than average man for literally years. The sheer number of exercise variations is staggering, it baffles the mind. There are so many variations and combinations and possibilities that one can get overwhelmed really fast. It definitely happened to me. I got "analysis paralysis" and ended up not coming anywhere near my true potential.

I started using the old K-bells about 2 years ago. I got my first one as a birthday present from my girlfriend. I was so excited I was like a kid at Christmas. I could hardly take my eyes off it for the first few days. Its no wonder, I had wanted one for more than 2 years before they were available to me and I had the money.

I started off good. Mostly swings and presses. A good foundation all around. I stuck with this for the first couple months and saw good improvements in my conditioning and muscle tone. But then I started getting greedy. I went ahead and ordered the next biggest bell (the 1.5 pood) and things took a little turn for the worst. I still did mostly swings and presses but I was rushing things way too much. I started getting elbow pain and lower back pain. Then my shoulders starting hurting. All the while I was having to take extra days off to recuperate so my progress was slow and to top it all off my training was entirely inconsistent. I was trying to get everything all at once. I wanted to be better conditioned, stronger, more explosive and agile, gain more muscle mass, have better flexibility and just feel better all around.

My approach wasn't working. Not only was it not working, I knew it wasn't working, and everywhere I looked everyone was talking about the very method I could use to get it to work. It was right in front of my face the whole time, I just needed to open my eyes to see it. Unfortunately I didn't open my eyes until just recently. I've finally stream-lined my training. I'm keeping it simple, keeping sight of one goal at a time, and cherishing my patience. Things are definitely looking up.