The Mistake Everyone Makes with Kettlebells

I've been training with kettlebells for awhile.

Not exclusively.

But they've been used as a regular piece of training equipment in my programs since 2018.

I think a big mistake most people (both kettlebell aficionados and critics) make is lumping kettlebells into exclusively kettlebell-y exercises. 

I think the real benefit of kettlebells is they work as well as anything for conventional exercises (basic exercises like you might use with dumbbells or barbells), but, they're also able to be used unconventionally (those kettlebell-y exercises).

This means they're useful for basic movement patterns, like horizontal and vertical pressing, horizontal pulling (pullup variations are always going to be best for vertical pull pattern), basic strength and muscle building hinges, and squats (including single leg squat and lunge variations).

Yet they have the added benefit of ballistic exercises (explosive movements). Especially those of the cyclical, moderate to high repetition variation (kettlebell swings, cleans, snatches, clean & jerk, etc).

The barbell is great for low rep explosive movements (power clean, clean, snatch, power snatch, clean & jerk). But the kettlebell can also be used for those same variations with 1 or 2 bells while being in a league of their own when it comes to the aforementioned cyclical, repetitious ballistic moves.

Because of this usefulness for both basic, conventional exercise patterns and freaky, weird, ballistic/explosive, unconventional patterns, the kettlebell is quite unique. 

A lone kettlebell seems to define "general fitness, health, and strength training." Our minds create this association involuntarily because it is truly such a versatile piece of equipment.

Adding more flames to this impromptu kettlebell hype bonfire: no tool is better suited for combining ballistic moves plus basic grind moves – or, said another way: unconventional, cyclical explosive swinging exercises plus conventional, compound gym exercises – as the kettlebell. 

The clean & press is the ultimate expression of a kettlebell exercise. Many people think the swing is – and the kettlebell swing is a phenomenal exercise once you get the swing of it. But it's only 1 piece of the "benefits of the kettlebell" puzzle. The swing is a ballistic. Period.

The clean & press is a display of what makes the kettlebell so special.

It's a ballistic, unconventional hinge and pull pattern (the clean). Followed by a basic, conventional compound exercise (the press).

The 2, seemingly, contrasting movements and styles pair so beautifully together into a movement that:

1. Covers the biggest possible range of motion (from the ground to overhead, back to the ground).

2. Transition from lower body dominant move to upper body dominant move. Training the upper and lower body to work synergistically, gracefully, is a true testament of athleticism and movement capability.

3. It trains power (the clean).

4. It trains strength (full body, rigid tension while the shoulders and arms press the bell overhead, then control the bell back down to the shoulder).

5. Builds muscle while working a large portion of the body's muscles. Particularly in the shoulders, upper back area, and arms. But maybe a little bonus for the hips and legs. 

6. Can be a good endurance training method. 1 clean & press from start to finish takes about 5 seconds to complete.

7. On that note, the clean & press is a movement with very high time under tension, which has many benefits, one of which being the aforementioned muscle building properties of the exercise, but another, less discussed quality that time under tension builds is grit.

8. Trains coordination.

9. It's delightfully fun.

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Don't lump the kettlebell into one camp. It can fit in all the camps. If you have a kettlebell, don't be afraid to use it for basic, conventional gym exercises (even curls, tricep extensions, upright rows, lateral raises. But definitely presses, rows, single leg deadlifts, squats, split squats, lunges, and step ups).

But also use it for those special exercises that just don't seem well-suited for more conventional equipment (carries, cleans, swings, snatches, half snatches, push press, dead stop clean & lunges, kettlebell clean squats, clean & press, clean & push press, clean & jerks, windmills, haloes, slingshots, around the worlds, clean & squat, 1 hand swing, high pulls, single arm high pulls, clean & box step ups, and a host of other combo exercises).

Kettlebells pair great with just bodyweight exercises (basic calisthenics). This is a good strategy for at home trainees that want to train hard and efficiently, but without spending a lot of money or taking up a lot of space. It's also the preferred method of outdoor iron hoisters. 

But kettlebells also pair great with a fully stocked gym. 

I train with kettlebells, dumbbells, bodyweight, and even some cable pulley exercises. This combination of basic equipment has made up the majority of my training since 2018 (when my hip injuries forced me to reassess my, formerly, barbell-dominant biases).

There's no need to train exclusively with kettlebells (and bodyweight, because you can pair bodyweight training with any equipment, any place, any time – a major perk of learning to use your bodyweight for resistance training) unless that's all you have or enjoy. 

Kettlebells work great as a stand alone tool or as a supplemental tool. I encourage you to use them, properly, and to their full potential, one way or another.