A lot of people ask me 'why should I use kettlebells?'.
First off; you don't have to.
You could use anything you want.
Most of the movements that are now considered de rigeur in kettlebell lifting (the windmill, the turkish get up or the side press) were all once performed with anything, including but not limited to, the kettlebell.
As Greg Glassman of Crossfit fame says 'the magic is in the movements'.
That being said, here's why I think you should use a kettlebell; the coaches. There are plenty of great coaches out their that don't teach kettlebells. Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that you have to do kettlebells to be good. What I am saying is this; the RKC certification is a pretty rigorous one, and focuses in more detail on a smaller number of skills than any other to which I have been exposed. There aren't many bad RKCs... they simply don't pass the course, which has a pretty high failure rate.
Now that I've got that off my chest... I will say this as well. You could perform most KB moves with a barbell or a dumbbell. The most compelling reason to use the KB at all is because it just works. The off-centered nature of the weight makes it ideal for movements featuring an overhead lockout component... the windmill, TGU and side press again, as well as others such as the snatch and jerk. They are also convenient; they are pretty sturdy, portable and indestructible. Compared to a complete set of dumbbells, or a nice barbell and bumpers, they are pretty affordable as well.
So much for philosophizing about the KBs themselves... what about the movements? Well, my interest is in sports performance, and most specifically grappling. I love Judo, Bjj, wrestling, sambo whatever. I also love training others with the same interest! To that end, my good friend Klint Radwani (Yamasaki jiu jitsu brown belt) and I have compiled a short video pointing out a few ways in which kettlebell lifting is perfectly suited to grapplers in the gi. Check it out!
First off; you don't have to.
You could use anything you want.
Most of the movements that are now considered de rigeur in kettlebell lifting (the windmill, the turkish get up or the side press) were all once performed with anything, including but not limited to, the kettlebell.
As Greg Glassman of Crossfit fame says 'the magic is in the movements'.
That being said, here's why I think you should use a kettlebell; the coaches. There are plenty of great coaches out their that don't teach kettlebells. Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that you have to do kettlebells to be good. What I am saying is this; the RKC certification is a pretty rigorous one, and focuses in more detail on a smaller number of skills than any other to which I have been exposed. There aren't many bad RKCs... they simply don't pass the course, which has a pretty high failure rate.
Now that I've got that off my chest... I will say this as well. You could perform most KB moves with a barbell or a dumbbell. The most compelling reason to use the KB at all is because it just works. The off-centered nature of the weight makes it ideal for movements featuring an overhead lockout component... the windmill, TGU and side press again, as well as others such as the snatch and jerk. They are also convenient; they are pretty sturdy, portable and indestructible. Compared to a complete set of dumbbells, or a nice barbell and bumpers, they are pretty affordable as well.
So much for philosophizing about the KBs themselves... what about the movements? Well, my interest is in sports performance, and most specifically grappling. I love Judo, Bjj, wrestling, sambo whatever. I also love training others with the same interest! To that end, my good friend Klint Radwani (Yamasaki jiu jitsu brown belt) and I have compiled a short video pointing out a few ways in which kettlebell lifting is perfectly suited to grapplers in the gi. Check it out!
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