Kettlebell Exercises Vs. Weightlifting

As you explore strength training, you may start with regular bodyweight exercises such as pushups and planks. If you have gym access, you may next explore machines on a circuit -- either regular weight machines or free-motion machines operated by cables. If you take your strength program to the next level, you likely will graduate to free weights and finally to kettlebells. Advocates of kettlebell exercises describe them as tremendously valuable for those serious about becoming stronger.

History

The pendulum has swung between unilateral free weights that you can use on one side of your body at a time, as exemplified by dumbbells and kettlebells, and exercise machines over the past century. The early 1900s saw dumbbells and kettlebells widely used. After the appearance of the Universal Gym in the late 1950s and the Nautilus machine at the beginning of the 1970s, machine training became in vogue. The pendulum has since swung back with the emphasis on functional training good for sports and everyday life rather than bodybuilding, where kettlebell exercises can offer an advantage over lifting weights.

Degrees of Freedom

You can undertake resistance training, which includes weightlifting and kettlebells, by using a range of implements. Machines minimize your freedom of motion by fixing the path through which you lift the weight, notes certified strength and conditioning specialist Loren Chiu in a literature review conducted for the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Barbells require two arms and allow you to move without a fixed path, while kettlebell exercises allow you to use a single arm freely or to move each arm independently. You can perform kettlebell swings, cleans, clean and jerks, rows and presses with one or both hands. The C-shaped kettlebell handle creates a lever arm that allows you to perform the swing exercise and to provide an extension from the weight’s center of mass which requires functional strength to manipulate.

Functional Strength

Kettlebell trainers note that kettlebell exercises involve hundreds of muscles at once, creating functional strength without bulky size. Lifting a kettlebell by its handle mimics the real-world actions of lifting a suitcase, a child or pet, or a bag of construction material. Just lifting a kettlebell, which behaves asymmetrically when moved, engages all 38 core muscles, notes certified personal trainer Nicholas James Schodtler, who runs the online site American Kettlebell Club Chicago. Kettlebell workouts strengthen your stabilizing and support muscles, notes martial artist Andrea Du Cane in “From Russia with Tough Love: Pavel's Kettlebell Workout for a Femme Fatale,” written by Pavel Tsatsouline, founder of the modern kettlebell movement.

Training Load

Chiu’s literature review indicates that weightlifting with barbells holds an advantage over kettlebells if your goal is hypertrophy -- that is, large muscles -- or maximum muscular strength, as you can load the bar with very heavy weights. If your goal is muscular endurance or the ability to repeat a physical task, kettlebells have the advantage. Weightlifting can also allow you to isolate a muscle or muscle group if that is your goal.