Kettle Bells?

[Dave.cyco]

I know this is not quite bodyweight equipment, but they are very interesting nontheless, and I am seriously considering them. They seem to have great potential as a workout tool.

Can anyone share their kettle bell experiences with me?

[koltz]

I like doing militry presses with them they hit the delts well , I have a sh*t laod of them in my gym I also do shrugs with them :\

what I like about Kbs is doing any pressing with them also combines a lil bit of flies \ raise

[Moonduck]

I have one KB. And it's too light for me. I need the next size up (or a coupla sizes up, actually), but haven't gotten it yet because they're bloody expensive, especially considering the S&H costs.

I primarily do Turkish Get-ups, Military Press, and swings/cleans/snatches (depending on mood). KB's are a great tool for working out in a fashion that is different from your typical barbell/dumbbell routine. Good stuff, especially for shoulders and forearms.

The ballistic moves make for pretty good cardio too, IMO. Sprint-level exertion done in sets, not sustained, or at least not in how I handle them.

I just wish someone locally carried them in-stock.

[MasterFlex]

Let's a barbell a few dumbells and this will be a good BW forum. :wink:

[tyciol]

You can use kettlebells as bars to do pushups and planches and stuff on, the extra height is useful.

[glen81]

you can also turn the kettlebell upside down and do press ups on the bottom of the kettlebell(both hands close grip) whilst it balances on the handle adding a stability factor to the exercise. If the kettlebell is going to fall over you can bail to your knees to avoid it landng on your fingers

[hmunster0]

I bought kettlebell handles off e-bay. then you can ajust the weight. the only thing is you cant do snatches. Hurts!

[brutality is law]

I love kettlebells!!! I swear by them things. They give you an unreal workout opposed to dumbells, barbells. I love doing circuits with them works really good for full body workouts. Nothing but good things to say about them.

[Moonduck]

I got to play with the 53#, 77#, and 88# a few weeks back. I really want bigger KB's now.

[koltz]

You could just cast any shape out of iron and market it to xfit nuts nowdays...

Maybe ill make $$$ by selling heavy shovels like that episode of johnny bravo.

[Moonduck]

I just put plates on one end of my oly bar when I want heavy shovel work =)

[wattseaco]

I've got Pavel Tsatsouline's book "The Kettlebell Challange" in e-book format. It explains different kettlebell exercises. If you're interested,
e-mail me deserteagle86.6@juno.com

Damn I love free e-books, they have all the info minus the costs.

[Sepanto]

איפה אתה מתאמן שיש קטלבלים?

[Big Jew]

I love my Kettlebells!
I swear by their effectiveness.
They help create a hard and strong body.
Rather then a puffed and pumped body like standard weights.

Barbells and dumbells isolate muscle sections.
KB's integrate muscle all at once. the whole body gets used in a
Kettlebell work out.

[Sepanto]

right... no isolation excersize like a barbell clean and jerk...

[koltz]

איפה אתה מתאמן שיש קטלבלים?
בודי מאסטרס , ההגנה 19 בת ים

מחיר יותר גבוהה מהקאנטרי אבל לא מחייבים אותך ללכת לשנה ואם אתה לא הולך שבוא אתה מקבל החזר זמן + אתה מקבל מלא דברים חינמיים כמו חולצות

[Sepanto]

איפה אתה מתאמן שיש קטלבלים?
בודי מאסטרס , ההגנה 19 בת ים

מחיר יותר גבוהה מהקאנטרי אבל לא מחייבים אותך ללכת לשנה ואם אתה לא הולך שבוא אתה מקבל החזר זמן + אתה מקבל מלא דברים חינמיים כמו חולצות
באסה... אני לא מהמרכז (אני גר ליד חדרה)

[hara_12]

If you guys aren't going to post in english, why don't you just PM each other?

[inamo]

I bought kettlebell handles off e-bay. then you can ajust the weight. the only thing is you cant do snatches. Hurts!

I bought the same ones too, the reason why it hurts is probably an issue of technique not the hardware.

[Big Jew]

Here's something that really strikes me funny.Perhaps you've had similar experiences.

As a kettlebell user myself I've often come into conversation with
weightlifters who have a real disregard for kettlebells.
Its a strange cultural difference or something.

I much prefer the strength and body hardening from KB training.
Standard weights isolate and puff muscle mass. KB's integrate all your body muscles at once.

[Moonduck]

It doesn't really have anything to do with the implement. It has to do with the movements you use. KB movements tend to be compound because, well, that's ho wpeople train with them. You can easily use KB's in a manner that isolate individual muscle. Just take your KB and do concentration curls with them =P

And I still want heavier KB's.

[Big Jew]

I train in MA. Last night I brought my 30lb kb to class. Did about an hour of solo step and bounce work from various fighting stances with the kb resting on the back of my neck. Any stops or breaks were supplemented with kb swing work. Felt great helluva sweat!

BTW hand to hand tosses make me happy!

[Moonduck]

I will say that there is a fun-factor in messing with KB's. I had a blast a few months back meeting with a KB group and tossing around the bigger bells. My poor 35# bell sits largely ignored in the corner because it just doesn't weigh enough. Swings and such are okay with it, but they're more fun with heavier stuff. The 53# KB is right about what I need on the strength-endurance moves, and the 70# and 88# bells are what I need for the low-rep stuff.

[koltz]

Kbs are just half a dumbell with a handle


nuff said


you want real functional training? how about inquiring moonduck about the infamous "shovel bell"

[Moonduck]

Y'know, I gotta do the shovel-bell again. That was some good stuff. We've been pushing so damned hard in-session that we've been slacking on the metabolic work. Gotta fix that.

[Big Jew]

Sumo deadlifts, Turkish get ups, and double under swings with a 70 pounder is awesome. With kbs u can utilize a loose and relaxed grip that feel smuch more safe, relaxed and loose. A big preference for me "Nuff said"

I saw this shot of mma HW champ Fedor Emelianko (Russia) surrounded by
his KB collection they were so huge. They looked his big black luggage bags all around him.


BTW what's a shovel bell?

[Moonduck]

It's an olympic barbell loaded on one end only (properly secured). You grip it with one hand in the center and the other just inside the unloaded collar. Then you use it with movements much like a shovel. Works the hell out of your core. Good stuff.

[Big Jew]

It's an olympic barbell loaded on one end only (properly secured). You grip it with one hand in the center and the other just inside the unloaded collar. Then you use it with movements much like a shovel. Works the hell out of your core. Good stuff.

Link?

[Moonduck]

Uh, no. It's just something that I heard about from my oly coach and tried. There may be a link out there somehwere, but the description pretty much summed it up.

[LSA]

This might fly in the face of the kettlebell cult but many people have had good results doing the kettlebell style exercises with dumbells. In the US you can get standard hex dumbells for 50 cents a pound. Ross Enamait's Infinite intensity has a section devoted to this type of training.

[Moonduck]

*shrug* I like, and use, kettlebells, but even I think the KB thing is a bit cultish. Then again, this site has some pretty serious BW Cult vibes at times. Whatever, says I, movement is movement, and I am perfectly happy to mix and match.

That said, I've used KB's for DB movements, and DB's for KB movements. At the end of the day, there are things I prefer to do with KB's, and things I prefer to do with DB's. An example would be cleans. KB's work VASTLY better for cleans. With DB's cleans, you've either got a hex in your chest, or you're holding them in an awkward fashion. I definitely prefer KB's for swings as well, as I don't relish the feeling of clipping my legs with the head of a hex DB. KB's are also better IMO for any movement that requires a hold in the overhead position (Turkish Get-ups, Waiter Carries, Windmills, Bent Presses, etc). The way the KB lays is simply more conducive to long term holds with less wrist strain. As I have some wrist issues, that's a plus.

The flip side of that is there are movements where'd I'd much rather have DB's. Virtually any pulling motion is better with DB's because there's less clearance issues, and same for curls. I prefer DB's for lying tricep work, and flat and incline pressing as well.

Cults are for followers. Train how you want to train, and leave the backbiting and trash-talking to people that are weaker than you.

[hara_12]

Snatch exercise:

I can do single arm snatchs all day long (25 or so anyway), but I tried alternating snatches (start with one OH and one down, snatch one up and bring the other down at the same time) at the prompting from a friend and I stopped at 3 reps. I was so tired tha I though I was going to drop them on my head.

Anyone else do them? Any tips to make them easier or are they just hard like that?

[Big Jew]

KB purests will tell you never go beyond head height, but I'm not pure about anything. Sounds like you may be off balance once you go high.
Try a more rooted stance so that you also feel it in your legs as you lift up.

[hara_12]

KB purists don't do snatches, OH presses, turkish get ups, or anything else over head?

Thanks for the advice. I will try it.

[Moonduck]

Erm, perhaps you meant on swings? I've seen arguments from people I would consider purists that one should never go past head height on swings, but other movements sorta require it, like Craig referred to.