The Russian kettlebell replaces all equipment!

The Russian kettlebell replaces all this equipment!

* Barbells * Dumbells * Belts for weighted pullups and dips * Thick bars * Lever bars * Medicine balls * Grip devices * Cardio equipment

Barbells.—Inventive gireviks don't need a ton of weight to provide progressive resistance. We have yet to meet a man who can press an 88-pound kettlebell bottom up. We know 600-pound squatters who cannot duplicate Steve Maxwell's Hack squats with the same kettlebell. On the lower end of the strength spectrum one can do basic deadlifts and squats with the same bell.

Dumbells.—The kettlebell can do anything a dumbbell can do at least as well and usually better. For example, the KB provides unsurpassed military press range of motion: it does not restrict your shoulder on the bottom and it stretches it on the top.

Belts for weighted pullups and dips.—Hang a kettlebell on your foot, Russian spec ops style, and off you go.

Thick bars.—Lifting two kettlebells with one hand is a lot more extreme than a thick barbell.

Lever bars.—Lay your KB on the floor and tilt it with your wrist strength or do Russian hammer curls.

Medicine balls.—Thanks to its handle, the kettlebell can be thrown more ways than a medicine ball, save for bouncing it off your six-pack.

Grip devices.—Soap up your hand and swing your kettlebell away. Not for sissies or beginners!

Cardio equipment.—We don't need no stinkin' treadmills! Every endurance stud who has given our kettlebells a try has reported that their conditioning benefits are untouchable.

Amazingly, the Russian kettlebell will make you good at many things you have not practiced. Gireviks' report on our Strength Forum that they run faster, bend sixty-penny nails, bench or deadlift heavier, etc. -just from lifting kettlebells. The only time they see the barbell, a nail, or running shoes is during the test!

It's like this old joke. A man asks his doctor after a surgery on his hand, "Doc, will I be able to play piano?" -"Absolutely!" The man is perplexed, "It's funny, I could never play it before!"

The amazing Russian kettlebell "what the hell effect" notwithstanding, if you want to excel at a certain exercise, be it the deadlift or a heavy-duty gripper, you should practice it specifically in addition to your kettlebell training. To use a martial arts analogy, you will never be able to express all your strength in a punch if you do not work with a heavy bag.