Re: Kettlebell Preliminary Review

On Fri, 2 Jun 2006, Jason Earl wrote:

Tom Anderson <twic@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:

On Wed, 31 May 2006, Jason Earl wrote:

I am very excited about my cool new toy.

I know how they're different structurally, but i mean functionally; how is a lift with a kettlebell different to the same lift with a dumbbell? It seems to me they're both a handle with some weight attatched; i can't see how your arm could tell if that weight was in the form of some plates or a bowling ball.

There are some differences between a kettlebell and a dumbbell that make for some fairly important differences in how they are used. For example, I find that the wide handle and the off-center weight makes the kettlebell much harder to hold onto than a dumbbell. This is especially true of the movements like the clean or the kbell snatch that require you to flip the bell over your hand. Stopping the bell's angular momentum requires you to first relax and then squeeze the handle violently, especially when you are dropping the bell. My forearms could certainly feel the difference. The kbell is also more handy for some movements. Swings, for example, feel much more natural with a kbell, and the exposed handle makes it easy to switch hands without stopping. For similar reasons an under the leg passes with a dumbbell would probably not work well.

Okay, that makes sense. I can certainly see that your forearm would have a different, and more challenging, job to do with a kettlebell than a dumbell, and of changing hands is going to much easier (ie possible) too. I'm not entirely convinced that there's going to be a difference in the effect on muscles further up the chain, though; maybe what it is is that the differences in the way you manipulate it mean you do a different set of exercises (i've never heard of a dumbbell windmill, for instance), and that's what really matters. Or maybe it's all in the mind.

Anyway, i'm off to do some boring old-fashioned dumbbell lifts ...

tom

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