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Thursday, October 12, 2006
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No ordinary bell Jon Engum to host kettlebell workshop Sports Writer Jon Engum had searched high and low, near and far, for new and improved ways to stretch his body. After 24 years of traveling the country Engum found the exact kind of stretching he wanted and something else.
"I had been into stretching since I was 10," Engum said. "I went to as many flexibility classes and gurus as I could, no mater how hokey. Then I ran into Pavel Tsatsouline. Within 30 minutes Pavel had me doing full splits, which I'd never done.
"Then he asked me if I'd done kettlebelling."
That first meeting with Tsatsouline and consequence introduction to kettlebelling changed Engum's training. After just a short time working with kettlebells Engum was hooked.
Kettlebelling is a strength training regimen invented in Russia and used by its special forces as well as Olympic athletes. A kettlebell is a cast iron weight that looks like a cannon ball with a handle and is used numerous ways to strengthen the body. Kettlebells come in nine, 18, 26, 35, 53, 70 and 88 pound weights.
Engum, who has studied tae kwon do for 28 years, runs Engum's Academy of Tae Kwon Do since 1991. He will be conducting a kettlebell workshop this Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. at his taekwondo gym on Washington Street. The workshop will focus on safe usage and technique of the kettlebell.
"Kettlebelling demands focus," said Engum. "If the kind of exercise you like is getting on a treadmill and daydreaming, kettlebelling isn't for you because you're holding a big metal ball over your head.
"The basic movements are pretty simple. Just doing the two-handed swing is 99 percent better than most exercise programs because it's using your core, your legs, your lungs. The swing is where it's at. Then everything builds off the swing."
Engum had to practice with a kettlebell for a year before he could even take the exam to become an instructor. Part of the exam was doing a snatch, where he took the kettlebell from between his legs and lifted it above his head 74 times with each arm without stopping.
"Getting certified was very rigorous," Engum said.
Russian kettlebell workshop
What it is: Kettlebelling is a total body strength training program using cast iron weights that look like cannonballs with handles.
When: Saturday, Oct. 14
Where: Engum's Academy of Tae Kwon Do, 712 Washington Street, Brainerd
For more information: Call 828-7063 or register at www.extremetraining.net
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Once he was certified, Engum traveled around doing workshops with Tsatsouline.
The two put on an instructor course in St. Paul that had attracted 270 participants. Last year he did a two-month body reconstruction project with interested people. One female participant lost 35 pounds during the two months.
"Most people that go through a kettlebell seminar like that report a 10-20 percent gain in strength," Engum said. "We'll take a man that's pressing a 53-pound kettlebell and by the end of the course he's pressing a 73-pounder. It really melts the fat off you and if you need to put some muscle on, it does that too."
Unlike conventional weight lifting where a person goes to a gym and works their legs one day and chest another day, kettlebelling works the entire body in just 15 minutes.
"Kettlebelling is very time efficient, you don't need 45 minutes in the gym to get results," said Engum. "There are no moving parts, the kettlebell is small, it's transportable, and it's a full body exercise and you get it all at once.
"A person can have a kettlebell at work and on a coffee break, pick it up and get a workout in."
Right now, Engum doesn't see a future without a kettlebell in his hand.
"Pavel's father still lifts kettlebells and he's 89," Engum said. "I'm in the best shape of my life so I'll continue to do this as long as I can."
TROY GUNDERSON can be reached at troy.gunderson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5865.
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