I stumbled across this facinating paper a couple of years ago called “Promoting Healthy Ageing with Kettlebell Training: A Pragmatic Controlled Trial and Qualitative Study  by Neil Meigh

Since the paper is 360 pages long, I thought I’d write about what stood out for me when reading it. 

On the first page was a statement that I really agree with concerning older folks and  fragility.

“Strength training programs for older adults are often underdosed. Adults over 60 have a different risk profile, but older age is not synonymous with fragility”

I think this idea is an important one- the perception that we are fragile is a self fufilling notion. The way we see ourselves as we age is so important to how that process plays out. The less we move the less we want to move and it is a vicious cycle.

The study was inspired by a woman and her physiotherapist – someone who clearly didn’t believe in the myth of fragility.

“This project was inspired by a petite 67-year-old woman, who, in 2016, walked teary-eyed into a Gold Coast Physiotherapy clinic, worried that her prosthetic knees were about to crumble beneath her. Advised by her surgeon that the prostheses would last about ten years, that date was fast approaching. Shortly after that first encounter, she began using kettlebells under the instruction of the Physiotherapist, progressing to training three times a week and completing almost 200 classes. In mixed-sex group kettlebell classes, with an age-range spanning more than 40 years, that petite woman was the most regular and enthusiastic participant. Her change in physical function over 18 months was remarkable. She progressed from struggling to rise from the floor unaided, to deadlifting a 56 kg kettlebell, swinging 40 kg, perform one-arm rows with 24 kg, and hoisting an 8 kg kettlebell overhead performing snatches and Turkish get-ups. On her 68th birthday, she attained a programmed training load volume of 6,800 kg, in just 40-minutes. On two occasions, she described tripping and avoiding a fall at home, which she attributed to the increased physical capacity she had acquired from training with kettlebells.”

The other things this trial found were pretty amazing, including a real sense of community and therefore compliance with the program.

“This thesis reports several unanticipated discoveries: i) increases in muscle mass sufficient to reverse a diagnosis of sarcopenia, ii) increases in bone mass sufficient to advance osteoporosis to osteopenia, iii) improvements seemingly independent of “mastering” the kettlebell swing, and iv) an extraordinary enthusiasm among previously untrained individuals, to continue training, with one third of the participants independently still training together a year after the trial.”

Although this is only one study, it does confirm my own experience with kettlebells and with leading a group kettlebell class for the last few years.

Building up slowly with lighter weights and practicing the proper movments is key but it is important to remember – the human body is incredibly resilient and the only way to take care of it is to use it.