Kettlebells have recently become a thing in the fitness industry. So much so that you can pretty much buy a kettlebell anywhere. Heck, we were at TJ Max the other day and they had kettlebells for sale. Of course, they were mini 5lb bells, but you can still get some work done with that.
I digress…
Ironically, though, kettlebells have been around much longer than just about any piece of fitness equipment you see on regular basis. They were used by circus strongmen in the late 19thcentury, and later by strength athletes in Russia. A treadmill, on the other hand, wasn’t widely known or used until the mid-to-late 1960s.
What brought about this shift from iron weights to clunky treadmills in beyond the scope of this article (but will definitely be covered in another post soon). The important thing here is that kettlebells are back with a vengeance, and you should jump on the wagon to take a ride. Here’s why…
Kettlebells are (relatively) Inexpensive
If you’re like most of America, you probably have a treadmill or elliptical or recumbent bike sitting in your basement or “workout room” being used as a clothes hanger. For all of you well-intentioned souls who bought one of these pieces of equipment, you’re likely nodding your head in disgust.
And for those of you who fit into this crowd, part of the reason you’re likely disgruntled about the situation is because of the amount of money you spent on the treadmill or elliptical or bike. A quality consumer treadmill can be pricey. Some costing easily in excess of a couple thousand dollars. Bikes and ellipticals can be less expensive because they don’t require quite as much electronics. However, you’re still going to pay a minimum of $300 or so on one of the pieces.
When it comes to price, it’s hard to beat a kettlebell. If you search real good, you can find a kettlebell for about $1.00 per pound. If you want something a little fancier, you’re going to paycloser to $2.00 per pound. But even if you go with the fancy option, a 25lb bell will cost you $50. But who needs fancy, anyway. It’s a piece of metal! So just go for the cheap one and save yourself even more cash.
I know what you’re thinking, “But Jerry, won’t I have to buy a bunch of different size kettlebells?!”
Well, yes and no. You see, kettlebells are not like dumbbells where you buy a set of 5s and a set of 10s and a set of 15s and so on. Most people can get away with buying a single bell to utilize for a number of different exercises.
For our members, we recommend that women start with a 12kg (26lbs) bell and men start with a 16kg (35lbs) bell. This will be plenty to get you going.
Kettlebells are Versatile
If we go back to our price comparison, it wouldn’t be so bad to pay good money for a treadmill if you were able to use it in a multitude of ways. But you can’t. You can walk or run on a treadmill. You can elliptical on and elliptical. And you can pedal on a bike. There is literally zero versatility outside of what the equipment was built for.
A kettlebell, on the other hand, can be used in many different ways:
- You can squat with it
- You can deadlift with it
- You can row with it
- You can carry with it
- You can press with it
And this is just a short list of potential exercises you can perform. If you want a full body workout, the kettlebell is going to be your best bang for your proverbial buck.
Kettlebells are Compact
When I talk to members about getting home equipment to use for supplemental workouts, many of them mention the room exercise equipment takes up. This is an important concern. The space in our homes is limited, so it makes sense choose wisely when it comes to taking up precious space.
Luckily, there’s the kettlebell! Completely counter to that coat-rack of a treadmill you have downstairs, a kettlebell takes up very little foot space. As a matter of fact, it would take up less square footage than a DVD box laying on the ground.
Even you bought the biggest kettlebell possible (Probably about 200lbs) it would still only take up about 2 square feet of space.
Don’t hesitate to find yourself a couple of bells and start to put them into your regular workout routine. You don’t need to be a kettlebell expert to get an exceptional workout in!
