But I'll add that the one arm pushup engages much more of your body than a military press, and a pushup more than a bench press. While I well understand that the strongest people in the world are the heavy barbell lifters and they deserve the reputation well, my 220lbs blob of weight is plenty heavy enough for me to get strong with, very strong even, and I hope to be able to do things that even heavy barbell lifters cannot in terms of balance, flexibility and body positioning.
I got the new "Next Level Strength" by the Kavadlo brothers. Very interesting stuff as always. I ran their "Get Strong" program before for two months. It was interesting. I'm not going to actually run their new program as I'm on judo and S&S, but I've made a list of 12 moves from the book I'll work on.
I suppose my thinking regarding kettlebell vs barbell vs bodyweight goes as such:
- barbell: best strength gains in all aspects, but the equipment is cumbersome and awkward. I'm not putting that stuff in my home (well, a barbell or two is fine, but not the bench, cage etc)
- kettlebell: we're talking about mainly explosive movements here like the snatch and swing, these are what make the kettlebell a unique and useful tool, however if we're talking raw strength kettlebells rank behind the other two kinds of training. Kettlebells are for "strength endurance" it seems, and for violence, which are important things, and kettlebells can stand alone to keep you in a rough and ready fitness state.
- bodyweight: the heavier you are the better this is for developing strength, and it's relatively safe compared with the other two - kettlebells can fly out of your hands or you can drop them on your head, and barbells can break your floor or you can go too heavy and tear your muscles, put your back out etc. In most parts of most sports and life you are required to be very proficient at moving yourself about more than anything you might be holding. I suppose the biggest sell for bodyweight is that you can do it at home with minimal equipment and make yourself into a tank still.
I have several "serious iron" lifter friends, and I mean guys who bench and pull into the high 600lbs range! These guys still do dips, pullups and other bodyweight moves. They see value in them. One of them switched to bodyweight only for a year once (I think he realized that lifting his own bodyweight is nowhere near 600lbs plus though and got back into the barbell!)
All three have distinctive movements that train you do physically do different things in spite of often the same muscles being worked. This is where your requirements for sport or life might dictate to you which one to emphasize.