HELL'S BELLS

LONG BEFORE CROSSFIT BECAME THE ULTIMATE TEST OF ATHLETICISM, THERE WAS KETTLEBELL SPORT: A BRUTAL, COMPETITIVE FORM OF FULL-BODY TRAINING. HERE, JOINING THE ELITE IS AS MUCH ABOUT MENTAL MASTERY AS PHYSICAL STAMINA. GET TO GRIPS WITH THE KETTLEBELL WORLD CUP

- LUKE BENEDICTUS

James Ross has a Masters degree in the kettlebell snatch. That’s not just a figure of speech: he has written a dissertation on the subject and is now immersed in a Ph.D. on the kettlebell swing. Aged 35, Ross is the founder of the Richmond Gym, a functional fitness space in Melbourne, Australia. He also happens to be an amateur kettlebell world champion; his powerful build and the calluses on his palms attest to countless hours spent wielding the bells. The man is obsessed.

So, when it comes to kettlebells, Ross is a difficult man to impress – but today, he’s twitching with excitement. The final stage of the International Union of Kettlebell Lifting (IUKL) World Cup is set to be held at his gym, and he’ll be hosting the best grouping of kettlebell athletes on the planet: the Russians. “These guys are incredible,” Ross says. “They are the elite.”

They’re intimidatingly tough, too. To give you some idea of the condition these competitors are in, Ross suggests attempting the following challenge: pick up two 16kg kettlebells and see how many times you can press them over your head without stopping. “These guys could probably do close to 300 reps,” he says.

Ross’s zeal for kettlebells was born of his respect for their transformative power. Growing up, he immersed himself in Australian football and athletics and started lifting weights at the age of 15. In other words, he was fit. Then, he was introduced to kettlebell sport, which involves performing as many reps of the snatch (one bell) or jerk (two bells) as you can in 10 minutes. The intensity of the workouts left him gasping. “You do five minutes of that and you’re just cooked.”