I have mixed feelings about the Olympics. This time around, I’m really enjoying them, and they’re getting me really fired up to work out. I told someone this, and she just looked at me like I was from another planet, even though she does exercise and is in decent shape. It illustrates how difficult it is for most people to get motivated to exercise. After all, I’m not training for a competition, I won’t quickly earn big bucks by doing a personal best in Turkish get-ups with each hand, I won’t be on TV, and besides, training is hard work!
The local Syracuse newspaper occasionally has brief fitness articles. I was pleased to see one about kettlebells recently written by a certified trainer, but I was concerned about one part of the article and wrote a letter to the editor, and they published it in the online version of the paper! Here’s what I wrote:
Yes, I know, you hate exercise, it hurts, you’ve never done it anytime in your life, you’re tired of annoying people like me telling you that it’s important, and you have 12 other reasons for not doing it.
Let’s say you’re one of us who doesn’t make a gigantic salary. And let’s also say that your health insurance is either non-existent, or that you do have insurance, but it’s very expensive and covers less and less every day. Maybe over the years you’ve experienced some layoffs or personal problems, and this made it difficult for you to build up a huge retirement nest egg.
Later on, you realize that you’re nearing retirement age, but after crunching a few numbers, you are shocked to find that you can’t just stop working and chill out. Well, you can, but you’d have to stop eating and having shelter, or at least would have to have a major housing downgrade. Your pension is non-existent or small, and your social security benefits are inadequate.
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I was reading the BBC news the other day, and the findings of a recent survey were pretty depressing. Survey participants were asked if they would be willing to exercise if it were necessary to avoid an early death. 38% said yes. Death is apparently the preferred choice!
I suppose that death as an lifestyle activity choice is underrated. But I began to wonder why someone’s life would be worth so little that it wouldn’t be worth exercising for. Maybe many people are so despondent that they don’t value life at all, but that’s beyond the scope of this blog.
In other articles, I’ve mentioned how I train with and recommend kettlebells for fitness. I’ve also recommended Kettlestacks, which are used in conjunction with weight plates to make a highly cost-effective kettlebell. Though I use them all the time, there are some situations where traditional kettlebells may be indicated.
Kettlebell training can be addictive; it’s effective, fun, and very versatile; it’s possible to train for strength, cardiovascular fitness, muscular endurance, and just about anything else you can think of. For enthusiasts and very advanced trainees, here are some examples of possible needs for regular solid-metal kettlebells:
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