Kettlebell Simple & Sinister

"Stronger is not a how-to book. Yet in telling the stories of athletes, scientists, and doctors and the various ways these individuals pursue strength, the book offers a lot of useful information to people who are interested in getting stronger. As I talk about the book with people, I find that it really awakens a desire for more practical guidance. And so, for the fourth title, I chose what I consider to be the best book by one of the best strength coaches in the world. Tsatsouline, a former fitness instructor for the Soviet Special Forces, immigrated to the United States in the 1990s. He is largely responsible for popularizing the kettlebell, a piece of strength training equipment that basically looks like a round iron purse with a short strap that’s also made of iron. This book gives a simple, sophisticated, direct, and useful introduction to kettlebell training, which is an especially accessible type of strength training, especially for people who want to train at home. This whole book is built around a minimalist program of two moves, the kettlebell swing, and the get-up. The writing is witty and engaging, with serious concern for safety, conveying the fine points of proper exercise form with impeccable descriptions and lots of photos. Exercise is like learning a language. The movements are a vocabulary. Their frequency and repetitions are like intonation and grammar. Kettlebell training is one way of showing that resistance exercise can take many forms. It doesn’t have to be barbell squats. It doesn’t have to be pull ups. There are many ways to approach strength training. What catches on depends on many factors, but one of those factors is certainly political. When people feel powerless, training can help you reclaim some power in your life. That does not totally explain the popularity of strength training in czarist and Soviet Russia, or why kettlebells caught on here, but it’s probably part of the explanation. It’s incredible how much you can do to change your life, and even change the world, just by picking up a heavy piece of iron, moving it around, and setting it back down."