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January 9, 2006
If Charles Atlas was Russian he could have told a different story
Sergey Mishin was a heavy, slow, decidedly non-athletic kid. He picked up his first kettlebell, a 53-pounder, at seventeen and was dismayed when he could not lift it with either arm. Undeterred by his weakness, Mishin found a plumbing pipe, hammered its middle flat so it would hold the kettlebell handle in place, and started jerking the kettlebell with two hands, like a barbell. The year was 1975. Two years later Mishin could press a 70-pounder that he had found abandoned in a park after a festival, the Railroad Worker Day, 30 times with each arm.
Mishin kept kettlebelling in the army and when he was back he bragged to a friend that he would make a ‘Master of Sports’, a national ranking, in the first kettlebell lifting competition he entered. And he did!
Sergey lost over 100 pounds, became fast, wiry. And went on become the #1 kettlebell lifter in the world –170 jerks with a pair of 70lb. kettlebells in 10min! –and Russia’s sport legend. The president of Russia awarded Mishin a medal, “For Accomplishments for the Benefit of the Motherland” (II degree). In Russia kettlebells are a matter of national pride and a symbol of strength.
Russian kettlebell power to you!
Posted by james at January 9, 2006 6:40 AM