Kettlebells help athletes strengthen core and improve flexibility

They look like cannonballs, but work like a charm.

Kettlebells, those squatty steel or cast iron weights topped with a loop-shaped handle, are popping up in gyms all over Austin. Experts say the old-school weightlifting tools, developed in Russia in the 1700s, can boost cardiovascular fitness, increase flexibility and build strength without adding bulk.

“There’s not a reason not to swing,” says Chris Hartwell, head of the Kettlebell Underground program at RedBlack Gym on Burnet Road, an offshoot of CrossFit Central.

Hartwell is leading a mid-day kettlebell class on a chilly January day. Eminem blasts in the background and a brisk breeze flows through the open-air gym. A dog lolls in the sunshine out front, as two women grunt and push weighted metal sleds up and down the sidewalk.

Inside, metal clangs and sweat flies. I try not to quiver as I sidle into class.

By Pam LeBlanc
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