I Couldn't Believe What I Was Seeing When I Saw This Little Woman Lifting This Huge Metal Ball

I Couldn't Believe What I Was Seeing When I Saw This Little Woman Lifting This Huge Metal Ball

To be honest, I started laughing. I thought maybe I was witnessing a crazy person right in front of my eyes. I was taking a relaxing stroll in the park when I spotted her out of the corner of my eye. There she was, a slight woman of maybe 100 pounds or so and she was squatting down and bouncing up quickly and I saw there was a huge ball hanging from the end of her outstretched arms. To be quite honest, it looked as if she was mimicking the activities of a playful guerrilla I had seen recently at the zoo. My first gut reaction was to start laughing. Luckily, I was out of her earshot range. After I stood there for a minute or so, I saw her sweating and panting and realized that whatever she was doing, she was getting a pretty intense workout. Never one to be left out of the loop of a new or innovative workout method, I decided to venture a bit closer.

Once she put this contraption down, I had to find out what this "ball with the handle" thing was all about.

"Excuse me, but what the heck is that?"

"That's my kettlebell. You've never seen one?"

I have to admit that I had not seen one, but by now I was extremely intrigued. She let me grab the handle and pick it up and to my surprise this little woman was swinging around a 40 pound round piece of metal like it was nothing more than a paperweight. Her arms and shoulders were ripped and it didn't look as if she had an ounce of fat on her. Come to find out, this crazy looking exercise is actually hundreds of years old and originally came from Russia.

Russian kettlebells have been around for a long time but have only recently been introduced here in the US. My new friend told me all about their history and just how effective they can be at helping you get into shape and dramatically increase your strength. She showed me how to do the basic kettlebell swing with her 40 pound weight and I was blown away. I figured at 175 pounds that I could surely out work this tiny woman, but when I started swinging the kettlebell around I realized just how far off I was.

After just a few swings, my hamstrings were burning and I was all but out of breath. She helped correct my technique and I started swinging again and before long, maybe 15 swings or so, I was panting like a dog once again. At that point I had one thing and one thing only on my mind; I have to go out and buy a kettlebell immediately.

Thanks to the little woman lifting this huge metal ball in the park, I am now a bona fide kettlebell devotee and it is my turn to look like a crazed gorilla in the park as I swing my bell around, panting, attracting onlookers, and getting into the best shape of my life using a piece of equipment that's more than 300 years old.