Enter the Kettlebell!: Strength Secret of the Soviet Supermen

by Pavel Tsatsouline

Book Overview

With Enter the Kettlebell Pavel delivers a significant upgrade to his original landmark work, The Russian Kettlebell Challenge. Drawing on five years of developing and leading the world's first and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0938045695
• Release Date: January 2010
• Publisher: Dragon Door Publications
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.1" x 0.6" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Excellent source for kettlebells

I got the DVD first and I found the book to be much more helpful. If you have limited funds, get the book over the DVD.

Good "Back to Basics" Tool for Kettlebells

I am not too familiar with the other items out there but kettlebells are unheard of mostly in Australia. I have seen a couple of other videos and looked up plenty of information on the internet and I have had great success with Kettlebells in general for weight loss. They are truly an amazing workout and I find easy to use and stay motivated with. I found this to be a good "Back to Basics" book. I was going through a stage of learning a lot of the exercises and I found this channelled and reminded me of the basics of good swings, cleans and presses, and how these basic exercises can give you an amazing workout on their own. It's a well put together book with plenty of photos and reminders about technique. I think it covers technique better than one of the other videos I have. It's probably a good book in conjunction with a video and some basic instruction as it is important to see the technique as well as read about it and be shown how to do things correctly. You could injure yourself if you are new to exercise and trying to throw one of these around. I have gone back to "learning" and working with my 16kg Kettlebell until I get a better grasp on it before switching up to me 24kg. Technique is very important and this book teachers good technique. The bit of history is also good to read about in how the kettlebells are produced and a bit of history on the strongmen of the former USSR. Great Book.

Another great book for kettlebell enthusiasts by Pavel

Kettlebells have certain advantages in training, namely, their ability to combine weight training with aerobics in the same workout. And you can still do most of the usual weight training stuff. Kettlebells also give so called "what the hell" effect: by doing only kettlebell training you accidentally discover that you are actually getting better in other, not related activities, such as weightlifting or running. Kettlebell training is generally safe and technically not difficult, if you take it step by step. In this book Pavel sets standards against which you can gauge your progress. Rite of Passage, performing 200 snatches in ten minutes is the landmark all kettlebellers are striving for. You won't understand why until you try. This book presents training principles for the long term. There is also a discussion safety and trauma. It is futile to try and convince skeptics that kettlebells are good. If you think of it, all sports are ultimately meaningless, and doing something more intensive than a brisk walk does not significantly add to your health. Why do we do snatches for numbers then? Same reason as trying to run one kilometer under three minutes or deadlift tripple the bodyweight, or trying to win a sparring: for fun and the sense of achievement. You can get a feel of kettlebell training on the forum on the publisher's site, [...]. The only way to understand kettlebells is to try them. And if you decide to do it - this is the book to have.

Great book

For a long time I have wanted to purchase Pavel's book on kettlebells, but honestly some of the reviews scared me away. I thought that I would purchase a 30 dollar book and have it end up being a commercial for other products, kettle bells etc., and figured that I could find out everything I wanted to know on the web. However, as part of my new years resolution, I wanted to start using kettlebells. I purchased a pair of kettlestacks, and decided to get Pavel's book, and honestly, I feel silly resisting for so long. Pavel's book is excellent. There are plenty of full color pictures to guide you along. His writing is punchy and entertaining. He does a great job of getting you excited about working out. However, the real selling point are his exercise descriptions. These are textbook examples of the way you should explain an exercise. Clear, detailed, never confusing, from reading his descriptions I really learned how to perform new movements. Is the book pricey, maybe. But I have scoured the web and read just about anything you can find on kettlebell exercises. This book has infomration in it that you cannot find anywhere else, good information, and information that is presented in an entertaining fashion, something rare in the exercise world. Some reviewers have knocked Pavel's book because it is about kettlebells, and they seem to feel that the bells are not worth the time or trouble. I have now tried kettlebells and Pavel's program and attest that these are the real deal. You cannot duplicate the kettlebell movements with dumbells. The offset weight forces your shoulder and core to stablize every movement and the results are phenomenal. All in all, I think this book was outstanding and recommend it to anyone interested in kettlebells, or exercise in general.

Real Review

Some people like to shake their fist from the sidelines and think they know it all because they read a lot. I am a personal trainer and have used kettlebells for a long time. This works. I have worked on everything from machines to Olympic weights, and find kettlebells more convenient and in some cases, the only product to do exercises you cannot do on machines or Olympic weights. The first reviewer is calling this a fad, but look at the history, this has been around for longer than Body by Jake. For some case history using my own personal history, I used the kettlebell exercise called the swing to help improve my endurance for running, just to try. And guess what, I improved my time for a two mile run without running. Also, the reviewer hints at swinging a kettlebell can be dangerous, but so is benching, squatting, rowing, and any other exercise, IF YOU DO IT WRONG. Plus I have found doing certain exercises, like the snatch and clean, are safer with a kettlebell than with a barbell. To answer the 'monetary' subject, how much money is your health worth to you. I had a lot of clients refuse training saying it costs a lot of money, then they spends thousands of dollars for a quick fix. In addition, the certification course for kettlebell training is the same for any personal trainer courses where we pay money to sponsors, NASM, ACE and others to keep informed in new classes and techniques to build our knowledge in health and fitness. Plus I bought three kettlebells totalling $300, but before I knew about KBs, I paid 100 for Olympic weights, 200 for a power rack, 50 for a good pair of adj dumbbells, 100 for an adj bench, and even more on numerous books and tapes on lifting correctly. So don't call KBs expensive. So before anyone takes the first reviewer into account, try it. Using the kettlebell and Pavel's principles has helped my clients and myself.