Archive for April, 2008
Top 6 Reasons to Workout With Kettlebells
Why Use Kettlebells?
1.Kettlebell lifts require use of muscles throughout your body to work together – When you train using muscles groups throughout your body to work together, you train your body to work as one unit. With full body exercises, you gain explosiveness, power, coordination, balance, control, agility, flexibility, and rhythm. This is especially important if you are an athlete or want to be in great overall shape. Isolated muscle lifts such as the bicep curl or leg extension won’t provide this, they simply improve strength. Look at modern body builders. They solely perform isolation lifts in order to increase muscle size. Because they train for muscle size only, most body builders are less athletic, fast, flexible, etc.
2.The odd shape of kettlebells along with the large handle builds forearm and grip strength – The thick handle and low hanging weight really works your forearm as you squeeze your grip to keep the kettlebell in your hand. With almost every lift you build forearm strength and endurance. Using kettlebells opposed to dumbbells, you stimulate many more stabilizer muscles in your joints in order to keep the weight under control. For a great example, see the kettlebell bottoms-up press video below. This is a great shoulder and forearm exercise that you simply cannot do with dumbbells. The odd shape makes kettlebell lifts harder over dumbbell lifts.
3.Kettlebell lifting provides a great cardio workout building muscle endurance – People who lift using muscle isolation exercises need to supplement their routines with a cardiovascular program. This is especially important for athletes, those looking to lose weight, and those who want to look good. This means you have to go for a jog on the treadmill or perform some other cardio routine you dread. With ballistic kettlebell exercises like the snatch, clean, press, and swing, an additional cardio program is unnecessary. Increase repetitions and work at a steady pace when kettlebell lifting for a strength and conditioning program in one. Another advantage with kettlebell workouts are the variety of lifts you can perform ensures your kettlebell cardio routine never gets old.
4.Versatility – Kettlebells, in my opinion, are the best bang for the buck piece of workout equipment you can own. Their are 100s of challenging kettlebell exercises to perform and you can easily add levels of difficulty performing the same lifts using the same weight kettlebell. For example, if you have worked up to a level that you can easily press your kettlebell overhead in a standard military press style you can modify the exercise to make it harder. Instead try by performing a bottoms-up kettlebell press, a waiter’s press, or a kettlebell clean and press. You can even learn to juggle kettlebells which really increases your coordination and body rhythm.
5.Kettlebells eliminate weaknesses in muscle groups throughout your body – Most people that lift weights have a favorite muscle group like biceps, triceps, or chest that they tend to workout the most. This leads to muscles groups in your body that are seldom used during lifting. With full body kettlebell exercises, you tend to workout your major muscle groups more often because muscles throughout your body are engaged during exercise. Kettlebell exercises require the use of muscles throughout your body allowing you to pinpoint your weak areas. By mastering specific lifts you will improve strength in those weak muscle groups and stabilizer muscles while increasing muscular endurance. Once the weak parts of your body are strengthened, the lift becomes easier. To increase the difficulty of each lift, perform a harder variation of the exercise, move up in kettlebell weight, or use two kettlebells (one in each hand).
6.Portability – I hate working out in the same environment all the time, especially indoors. There is nothing more boring to me than staring at a wall while exercising. With kettlebells, you can workout almost anywhere. For a change of pace, take them to the beach, the local park, your backyard, your driveway, or anywhere you have room outside. You can even take them to your work for a little workout on your break. I prefer to workout outside with the fresh air to keep me motivated opposed to some smelly gym or cramped indoor space.
Take your lifting routine up a notch with kettlebells. For athletes, kettlebells should be considered the workout of choice. No other piece of workout equipment will increase your athleticism like kettlebells. As with any workout routine, stretch properly, take care of your hands to prevent torn callouses, eat a balanced diet, and get plenty of sleep to fully benefit from each workout and reduce downtime due to injury.