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Off-Topic Why Do YOU Use Kettlebells?

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The number one reason for me is that I can train at home with KBs.
It is extremely enjoyable and saves a lot of time. Also I do not have to share the bells with somebody as I had to if I trained in a gym.
 
I was having some bursitis issues in my shoulders. Found the military press very ergonomic and helped build strength I lost. Then loved the ballistics.
 
What sort of training were you doing for 4 hours a day in addition to your BJJ?

Before BJJ, I would run for an hour, then I'd hit the weights for about another hour. I had just started studying Yoga to become a Yoga Teacher to help with my mobility flexibility which would average at least 90 minutes.

Then I'd have BJJ in the evening.

It was nuts...
 
My dog likes it when I train with kettlebells.

When he sees me walking through the house with my 16 and 24, my 8-kg dog races to the door to join me in the back yard. While I do swings or presses on the patio, he patrols the grounds to keep the place free of elephants and polar bears.

Note: He's very effective. In the five years since he assumed guard duties, I haven't seen a single elephant or polar bear in our yard.
 
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They are Fun, Effective, and Efficient (time-wise). They accomplish all my GPP needs so I can live my life and free up time for other passions (family, dogs, other strength training like powerlifting, work, scuba, cars, motorcycles, etc...).
 
For me, it was highest return on investment. I work full time and have a wife and three kids. A few kettlebells, my basement or back yard, and 45 minutes 3-4 times a week was (and remains) the ideal balance between time and energy invested and results obtained. I’m content with 80% of my potential because the cost of chasing that remaining 20% would have to displace other higher priorities in my life. At the end of the day, I’m just an average Joe in early middle age trying to undo the damage of sitting all day, stave off frailty, and resist settling into a dad bod. Kettlebell training checks all those boxes for the least amount of brain and will power.

Man @Sean M , that's a great perspective! Especially the acknowledgment of diminishing returns.

For me, I was into training for OCRs. I had injured my calf while running and it was a naggin injury that wouldn't go away. I can't really remember how I got intersted in kettlebells, but I was hooked after my first couple sessions with an RKC. Although I have been in consistent in the past, I am still passionate about them, I am inspired by the dedication and accomplishments of those on this board and the trainers that I have had in my life. Eventually I want to be able to inspire others and help folks in my community get strong and healthy. That's why I train with kettlebells.
 
I discovered kettlebells around 2002, give or take a year, in Power to the People. Kettlebells are ubiquitous now, but back then there was only one place to order them from, and they were expensive... and so was shipping and handling. I quickly outgrew that first one, and went on to buy a few more. No ragrets ;)

I remember doing the Secret Service Snatch Test, and Viking Warrior Conditioning, and whatever other challenges popped up. Gireviks would get excited at any kettlebell sighting in a mainstream environment... movies, gyms, etc... It was new, exciting, a fun way to work out, and you could experience results rather quickly.

They sell kettlebells at Walmart now. Every single gym I've been to in the last couple of years has them. It's quite amazing how Pavel has influenced health and fitness in America (and presumably around the world). Not just through kettlebells, but by introducing fitness and exercise concepts other than the Weider Principals and whatever you could find in bodybuilding magazines.
 
Kettle Bells give me more bang for my buck/time. Strength and a good degree of conditioning rolled into one. I really wished I had found these decades ago. I have my kids work with 5-10lbs and they enjoy it. They can do the same training I'm doing when I train at home on weekends.
 
It was new, exciting, a fun way to work out, and you could experience results rather quickly
You should move to Argentina, nobody knows what these things are here.

To me, the great thing about kettlebells is how well balanced they are. They give you just enough of everything: strength, mobility, conditioning and fun. And they only take very little time. They truly are a "program minimum"

KB were brought to Argentina by crossfit. when i was doing cf I really enjoyed the KB wods. One day I was buying some yoga mats and the store had plastic KB for sale. I bought the heaviest one, 14 kg, and didnt touch it for 2 years. Then, my daughter was born and my time to train dissapeared. I looked at the KB and figured it was time to give it a try. I had read The Naked Warrior, so when the time came to learn how to use it, I knew I should look for Pavel. I bought S&S and have been doing it since.
 
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Heard of them. Had seen people use them for a while. Wanted to learn how to use them properly instead of harming myself.

Anyway, my body was starting to have issues(age, weight, office worker), and I linked up with a trainer at a chain gym, who gave me some advice re kettlebell form and showed me how to swing. That kinda got its hooks into me. Specially when the cardio component kicked in, showing the multifaceted nature of the beast.

The dynamism of the kettlebell attracts me, vs barbell or dumbbell. Life isn't a straight up and down motion set. So dumbbells never have called to me, despite having a few.

So now I have a few bells at home as I work on the S+S programming w/ a few specific exercises for prior injuries tacked on; and the wife is seeing what she can do with them too. It's a system that I can do 5-7x week and keep my fitness for the challenge of sitting at a desk and not having the body collapse around me. I don't need to be a trainer, pro athlete, cop, etc. Just want to live in health.

Since I got going with the bells, most of my life pains have vanished or diminished. The wrist tendonosis is in remission. I attribute most of that to the Swing. Many confounding variables, but I feel good most days.

Long term I'll probably cancel the gym membership and see if I can't just get a home treadmill & a bigger bell. :)
 
For me, it was highest return on investment. I work full time and have a wife and three kids. A few kettlebells, my basement or back yard, and 45 minutes 3-4 times a week was (and remains) the ideal balance between time and energy invested and results obtained. I’m content with 80% of my potential because the cost of chasing that remaining 20% would have to displace other higher priorities in my life. At the end of the day, I’m just an average Joe in early middle age trying to undo the damage of sitting all day, stave off frailty, and resist settling into a dad bod. Kettlebell training checks all those boxes for the least amount of brain and will power.

+1, also I found they have a much better carry over to real world strength than powerlifts. I used to do above average numbers in the big 3 and still felt weak in a lot of everyday scenarios.
 
I turned to kettlebells after I tweaked my back deadlifting. At my age, 50 at that time, I knew that I would not heal as quickly as a younger man. So, I looked for a better alternative, to strengthen my lower back, while staying strong in other lifts. I came across kettlebells, and I got hooked. That November, for Black Friday, I bought my set of kettlebells, quit the gym, and I have been working with them ever since. August will be 2 years of kettlebell work, and I am more mobile, stronger, and I just feel better.
 
it gives me many thing for my sport: strength, quickness, stamina, explosion. Plus snatching a kettlebell is the fastest way to get my infinity calluses
 
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