Kettlebells are known as Girya in Russian, and the athletes that lift them are called Gireviks. Girevoy sport is a traditional Russian weight lifting sport, where maximal repetitions rather than maximal weight determines who is the champion.
In Russia, where Girevoy sports comes from the standard weight for measuring grain was a pood, the equivalent of 16kg. This weight measure set the competition weight for Girevoy sport that we know today.
Through 1870 to 1880, Doctor V. Kraevsky from St Petersburg gathered all sort of information about physical culture and the development of sports through his travels across Europe. His goal was to improve health and well being for the masses through physical culture. He introduced exercises with kettlebells and barbells to the Russian athletic circles in 1885 by opening the first weight training facility in Russia.
By the early 1900’s, circus performer, physical culturists and strong men from around the world trained with kettlebells. While kettlebells slowly disappeared in the West in the second half of the century, they began to flourish in the former Soviet Union. Everyone from common people, to the military, to Olympic athletes trained with kettlebells.
It didn’t take too long for the Russian military and government to realize the potential benefits of the humble kettlebell and spread their use across the nation. In 1981, an official Commission enforced mandatory kettlebell training for the masses, relying on kettlebells as an effective and yet simple tool to increase productivity and decrease health care costs.
During Soviet times, Girevoy sport spread rapidly in rural areas, in factories, among students, and in the army and navy.
In 1948, the “first” Kettlebell competition was attended by 200,000 people. From then on, kettlebells went from being used for general physical conditioning to a sport of its own. The needs for specific sport specialization lead to the modern competition kettlebell making its appearance in the 60’s. Those bells are hollow and made of steel, and have the advantage of coming in one standard size, regardless of the weight.
