There is no end to the wellness benefits of kettlebell training, especially if you want to improve your fitness in an effective and affordable way. A kettlebell is an all-around tool that can actually do the job of almost any fancy piece of exercise equipment, and the dynamic nature of the kettlebell will give your wellbeing everything it needs – providing an all-in-one workout of a lifetime that combines both strength and cardio aspects.
For those of you who’ve never seen it, the kettle bell has a unique shape. The bulk of the weight is massed into a dense ball, and it also has a handle for easy lifting. Thus, the kettlebell is somewhat different from a dumbbell, allowing your body to perform a multitude of ballistic and grind exercises in a natural, fluid motion. True, you can use a dumbbell in place of a kettlebell for a number of typical kettlebell exercises, but doing a snatch or a swing becomes noticeably more cumbersome when you do this. Since it doesn’t have a handle, the dumbbell doesn’t become an extension of your arm like the kettlebell does. With a kettlebell, you can use a loose grip so that you provide more momentum and give the kettlebell a wider swing. With dumbbells, on the other hand, you force your arms into more use than necessary because the bulk of the weight is on the sides and not massed into a ball.
Moreover, the handle of the kettlebell means that you can easily pass it back and forth between your hands, which enables you to keep your exercise set going for longer periods. This provides you with an even more intense cardio session. The ball has an offset weight, which means more muscles are forced to stabilise. This allows your body to take each exercise through a longer range of motion, which will improve your flexibility as well as the strength of your deeper stabilizing muscles. Still, the benefits of a kettlebell workout don’t end there. With a kettlebell in your hand, you routine can provide you with:
• Increased endurance
• Rapid fat loss
• Muscular strength without the added bulk
• Increased core stability
• Saving the money you would have spent on a gym membership
• A stronger back
• Rehabilitated shoulders
• Flexibility
• Mental toughness
• Decreased musculoskeletal pain
• Twice the results in half the time you would spend at the gym
• It’s a full-body and very balanced workout
• A fun way to workout, which increases motivation
• A very strong and firm rear
• A transportable device that can be used almost everywhere.
• A social activity that can be shared in a group setting
• A way to target every single muscle group in your entire body
The benefits of the kettlebell workout have long been studied, and so you can be safe in the knowledge that – providing you’re using it right – you are doing an effective routine for your wellness. Researchers from American Council on Exercise undertook one such study, which showed the effectiveness of kettlebell training for burning calories. According to the researchers, participants who did kettlebell snatches for intervals of 15 seconds of work and 15 seconds of rest burned the equivalent amount of calories as they would if running at a six-minute-mile pace. I wouldn’t be able to run that fast, would you? For the study, the subjects were required to perform about six snatches every 15 seconds of work for 20 minutes, which led to an average calorie burn of 20.2 calories per minute! And that’s without adding on the after-burn effect that intense interval training has on your metabolism.