The David Boles Bells Blog.
Ring Them Boles Bells!

Ring them bells
from the sanctuaries
’Cross the valleys
and streams
— Bob Dylan

Pressing Kettlebells Over the Age of 50!

Crush 2025: A Kettlebell-Fueled New Year of Fitness, Nutrition, and Purpose
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Crush 2025: A Kettlebell-Fueled New Year of Fitness, Nutrition, and Purpose

As the clock ticks down to 2025, it’s natural to start reflecting on the year gone by and dreaming about the one ahead. The New Year is a time for fresh starts and bold intentions, and resolutions can be transformative when approached with purpose and clarity. Instead of vague aspirations that fade by February, setting realistic, meaningful goals paired with a clear plan can turn 2025 into a year of strength, health, and confidence.

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Staying Energized in a Long-Term Kettlebell Journey
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Staying Energized in a Long-Term Kettlebell Journey

If you’ve been slinging steel for any length of time, you know full well that keeping your Kettlebell workouts interesting and staying motivated over the long term can sometimes feel like a challenge. Just like anything, once the novelty wears off, it’s easy to hit that wall of repetition. But here’s the thing about Kettlebells—they are one of the most versatile, dynamic, and effective tools you can use, and there are endless ways to reinvigorate your routine!

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Why Strength Training with Kettlebells is Key to Active Aging and Lasting Fitness
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Why Strength Training with Kettlebells is Key to Active Aging and Lasting Fitness

As we age, our bodies go through inevitable changes: muscle mass begins to decrease, bone density declines, and our metabolism slows down. These natural shifts can make us feel less energetic and more prone to injuries. While many people have historically turned to cardio to stay fit and maintain a healthy weight, strength training has emerged as a more critical component when it comes to aging actively and gracefully. It offers long-term benefits that go beyond what cardiovascular exercise alone can provide.

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Understanding High Heart Rate: Causes and Concerns
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Understanding High Heart Rate: Causes and Concerns

A high heart rate, medically known as tachycardia, can be alarming and may be caused by various factors. It typically refers to a resting heart rate over 100 beats per minute. It's crucial to understand the causes and potential health concerns associated with high heart rates before engaging in any exercise regimen, including kettlebell workouts.

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Kettlebell Chronicles: Mastering the Art of Swing and Strength in 2024
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Kettlebell Chronicles: Mastering the Art of Swing and Strength in 2024

Our time-honored champion, the Kettlebell Turkish Get-Up, continues its reign, challenging every fiber of our being with its rigorous demand for core and shoulder stability. The Kettlebell Swing, a foundational pillar of kettlebell doctrine, remains an unrivaled method for engaging the posterior chain whilst forcing cardiovascular prowess into our trends of training.

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Bells Build Massive Biceps
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Bells Build Massive Biceps

Hello again, my Kettlebell friend! We always want to look and feel our best — that’s why we do what we do everyday with slinging our rounded iron! Yes, creating massive biceps is a common goal for many fitness enthusiasts — not that there’s anything wrong with that!

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Kettlebells Swing From Russian Markets to Global Gyms
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Kettlebells Swing From Russian Markets to Global Gyms

The Kettlebell's story begins in Russia. Originally called 'girya' (plural 'giri'), they were first mentioned in a Russian dictionary in 1704. These weights, resembling a cannonball with a handle, were initially used as counterweights in markets to measure goods. However, their potential for physical training was soon recognized. Farmers and strongmen began to use them for displays of strength and endurance, laying the foundation for their later use in fitness and sport.

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Make Your Own Kettlebell
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Make Your Own Kettlebell

Sometimes, you want to work out with your Kettlebells, but you aren’t home, or near a gym. You might be travelling or staying with a friend, and now get that itch to swing a Bell! What to do?

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Master Your Blood Sugar: Daily Kettlebell Workouts for Optimal A1C Management
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Master Your Blood Sugar: Daily Kettlebell Workouts for Optimal A1C Management

Kettlebell exercises, often involving high-intensity interval training (HIIT), have been shown to enhance the body’s ability to utilize glucose. This is primarily due to increased muscle activity, which demands more glucose as a fuel source. A study published in the "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research" indicated that participants engaging in HIIT workouts, similar in intensity to kettlebell exercises, experienced improved blood sugar levels.

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Manage A1C with Kettlebells
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Manage A1C with Kettlebells

Hello, my delightful BolesBells.com Kettlebell friend! You're here because you probably already know, exercise is a vital part of a healthy lifestyle. But did you know it can also have a direct impact on your A1C levels if you're dealing with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes?

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Hydro Homies Unite!
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Hydro Homies Unite!

Hydro Homies Unite! Yes, water is the way of the world. We often don’t value the swallow that follows us from birth to the grave. Some folks never drink water! They don’t like the taste — because, they feel, water has no taste. We’re here to turn that idea around — water is life! Our bodies are pretty much just a big puddle of water. We are 60% wet stuff!

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Begin Swinging Again at 50!
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Begin Swinging Again at 50!

As we age, we may find ourselves becoming weak, and brittle, from inactivity, and the contretemps of getting older. Using the new Claude.ai LLM, I asked it to create a simple, but workable, introduction to Kettlebells for the over 50 crowd like us. Here are the wonderful results!

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Vitamin D Pinnacles and Pitfalls
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Vitamin D Pinnacles and Pitfalls

Vitamin D is known to modulate the immune system, enhancing innate immunity by promoting the production of antimicrobial peptides. It also modulates adaptive immunity by inhibiting the production of proinflammatory cytokines. This immune-balancing act may help the body to respond more effectively to infections, including the SARS-CoV-2 virus, responsible for COVID-19

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Post Surgery Kettlebell Workout
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Post Surgery Kettlebell Workout

Recovering from surgery can be a cruel experience. You are ready to start lifting again, but you don’t want to reinjure yourself. Here’s a carefully crafted “Post Surgery Kettlebell Workout” to ease you back into your Bells routine. Remember, it's crucial to get clearance from your doctor or physical therapist before starting any new exercise regimen, especially after surgery.

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Muscle Retention and Atrophy
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Muscle Retention and Atrophy

As we age into the wisdom of our bodies, it can be a challenge to always keep up with the exercise and weight routines. Sometimes we’re too tired to workout. Sometimes we are injured and cannot workout. Sometimes we back off just a bit to give our bodies a rest.

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How I Blew Out My Anus By Lifting, Bro
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How I Blew Out My Anus By Lifting, Bro

However, the next day, in the shower, while I was washing all my private parts — and if you are not washing your anus and testicles, and the bottom of your feet every time you shower, you’re not doing it right, you must always gently scrub and check for things that don’t belong or feel out of place — and I was lucky in that as I was washing my delicate bits I felt something really out of place anally and out of the ordinary rectally.

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