In 2019, I sold my home to downsize and in the process eliminated all of my Olympic lifting bumpers and associated lifting equipment. My thoughts were that I'm always at the gym in any-case----- never expected that I would not be permitted to train in a gym for an entire year. We're still in lock down and no gyms are allowed to open in the area. So its now past the year mark and still going.
In April '20 out of desperation, I ordered sets of kettlebells. With a delivery day of Sept '20 ----- they only arrived in Feb '21. Talk about a long unexpected lead time. However after an entire year I'm back under iron....it feels great. I've been lifting all my life, but never with kettlebells since they where not apart of the gyms I trained in. I must say kettlebells are a welcome surprise and bit of a revelation to me:
Anyone else find these iron poods a revelation?
I've always been a fan of kettlebells. Have been using them since 2004. I have some Bulgarian bags that I need to dust off for sure!
Being going through a kettlebell phase lately. Love that I can just take them outside when it’s sunny. Currently on the Kettlebell Strong program by Geoff Neupert.
One of the things the pandemic did for me was to introduce me to KB training. You can use them for most dumbell workouts, but you can use them for much more than that. All of the ballistic motions that involve the hip hinge are fantastic. And even some light weight KBs can challenge you if you grab them a certain way.
Here's my kettlebell workout - it's a blowout if you only have 15 minutes... it takes only one kettlebell - I usually use a 45, have gone as high as a 60, but could imagine also going light:
Set tabata timer for 1 minute on, 30 seconds off.
Each round go constant motion for 1 minute:
I do a small routine that is similar to what's shown above:
Kettlebell long pulls
Kettlebell straight leg deadlift
Kettlebell alternating rows
Kettlebell Goblet Squats
Kettlebell Around the Worlds
Kettlebell shoulder raises (4 front, 4 side)
Kettlebell skull crushers
Kettlebell Russian Twists (20 per side)
Hip Thrusts
I'm lucky enough to have a weight room that has a medium end barbell set as well (have done Wendler 531 routines using it) but I keep coming back to the Kettlebells, especially if I get injured somehow (it happens).
I like this: THE BURDEN - Leather Kettlebell
Leather, fill it with what you want. Shipping times are a little off right now but not as bad as what you listed (Sept to Feb?? wow)
I'm actually more of a war club guy than kettlebell. I have bad shoulders and the war clubs are really helping in my recovery.
I'm much more of a starting strength type person in that the basic barbell lifts are all that's needed and everything else is improved by performing the tasks you want to be better at, ie do JJ to get better at doing JJ movements. That all being said kettlebells certainly have their place in countering creeping rigour mortis we age.
JRT6, post: 60506, member: 2970
I'm much more of a starting strength type person in that the basic barbell lifts are all that's needed and everything else is improved by performing the tasks you want to be better at, ie do JJ to get better at doing JJ movements. That all being said kettlebells certainly have their place in countering creeping rigour mortis we age.
skrumian, post: 60609, member: 31496
Can you substitute dumb bells to kettlebells? Dumb bells is all I have at home. And I dont personally see any big difference if you use DB with KB exercises. Need any good explanation to buy KB, I guess.
kineticsbjj, post: 60378, member: 33095
Being going through a kettlebell phase lately. Love that I can just take them outside when it’s sunny. Currently on the Kettlebell Strong program by Geoff Neupert.
I have just discovered how good Kettlebells are... why are Steel clubs also superior? Kettlebells just FEEL heavier because It forces pressure on my wrists in new ways. What is the deal with clubs?
skrumian, comment: 130, member: 31496
Hey men, I am shopping around KBs and didnt know there are hardstyle and competition type. which one do you recommend for long term use? I ddnt want to buy one and then eventually switch to another another one.
afulldeck, post: 61965, member: 954
If you are not going to do kettlebell competitions you can pick either style. They are similar price, but depending on where you are you one type may be more asses-sable in the market. The benefit of competition bells is they are exactly the same size so your form never needs to change with size changes. The benefit of the non-comp bells is the size changes and you need to adapt. I use non-competition bells because I'm simply interested in training to improve my bjj and judo adaption is part of the process :cool:
afulldeck, post: 60596, member: 954
Like I noted above, I had a gym in my house and love it before I sold. What I am surprise with is I've now got 917 lbs of kettle bells and they take almost no space and they are extremely versatile. My wife love it, and I don't think I'm missing much by ditching the barbell, cage, platform etc. But then again, I'm on the down slope with respects to strength and fighting the creeping rigour mortis constantly....
JRT6, post: 61973, member: 2970
I'm the opposite. I now live in a house so small I now just have a Rogue shorty half rack set up in my family room. And the older I get the less I do outside the basic lifts. My days of PR's are long gone. So I get under the bar, get it done in as short of a workout and as infrequently as possible, and use the rest of my time for recovery and other life's priorities.
skrumian, post: 61971, member: 31496
Pulled the trigger on this baby. Damn, 16kg feels heavy. Gonna practice squats and swings first. Can't do snatch nor turkish getup yet on this.
I think as a "rule of thumb", dumbbell workouts tend to focus more static range-of-motion exercises like rowing and pressing exercises. Kettlebells tend to be used more for dynamic exercises like swings (the first exercise most people learn), cleans, etc, which are good for power. On top of that, most kettlebell workouts tend to be more cardio-intensive too. In my opinion, this makes kettlebell workouts a pretty good S&C addition for a lot of combat sports, especially striking (which requires an active pace of high-powered movements similar to a kettlebell workout).
Kettlebell workouts are also usually seen as better for training functional strength in wrists and forearms, due to the requirement to adjust to the shifting weight. Learning how to repeatedly stabilize a heavy object while it is flying through the air takes a decent amount of dynamic coordination.
Also, kettlebells have very thick handles, which many people view as another reason why it suits functional grip strength training compared to the much-thinner dumbbell handle. Specifically in the context of wrestling and no-gi grappling, the circumference of a wrist is a lot closer to that of a kettlebell handle than it is to a dumbbell handle.
Of course, one is not better than the other, and in fact, a creative person can create a dynamic power-focused workout with dumbbells, or a workout focused on static strength and static stability with kettlebells too.
skrumian, post: 61971, member: 31496
Pulled the trigger on this baby. Damn, 16kg feels heavy. Gonna practice squats and swings first. Can't do snatch nor turkish getup yet on this.[ATTACH type="full" width="227px" alt="IMG_20210710_101051.jpg"]30306
skrumian, post: 61978, member: 31496
How do you safety go with snatches? Gradually be confident first with cleans and press? I can only do 3 reps of press and my form is not yet good. Lol.
Moving towards snatches should be done in a progressive method. And given the press reps, you probably need more base strength. However the progression to snatch is normally the following
Two arm swings
One arm swings
High pulls
clean and press
clean and press then squat
clean and press then squat followed by snatch drop
clean and jerk
clean and jerk, then squat followed by snatch drop
high pulls to punch up snatch (power snatch) then snatch drop
finally full snatch
This type of progression helps develop all muscle groups you will need to safely snatch