As high-intensity workout programs are catching on nationwide, so are kettlebells, and Gainesville has welcomed them with swinging arms.
“Everyone comes in the gym asking if we have them,” said Sean Walsh, manager at Bailey’s Powerhouse Gym on West University Avenue. “They’re definitely in high demand.”
Walsh attributes the local popularity of the originally cast-iron weighted balls from 18th century Russia to the popularity of programs like CrossFit, which incorporate the equipment into workouts.
Some of the people coming in asking for the kettlebell don’t even know what it is, he said.
Joslyn Ahlgren, a lecturer in the UF Applied Physiology & Kinesiology department, said the growing popularity of kettlebells resembles other fitness trends. Once high-profile programs publicize a method, those pieces of equipment become more commonplace.
“Once you get it in the right hands, somebody will really get it going,” she said.
Adam Huff, a personal trainer in Newberry, said he thinks kettlebells are gaining traction because it’s a welcome variation.
“It’s something new and out of the ordinary,” he said. “Something different than just dumbbells.”
But Ahlgren said kettlebells are rapidly becoming everyday items.
“It used to be you would never see something like the kettlebell just hanging out on a shelf at the gym,” Ahlgren said. “Now, they are just as common as a dumbbell.”
A version of this story ran on page 8 on 9/13/2013 under the headline "Kettlebell trend swings into Gainesville gyms"
Health science sophomore Lindsey Meeks, 19, demonstrates a side plank using a kettlebell at the Southwest Recreation Center on Thursday. Using kettlebells has become a workout trend.
