3 Reasons to Train with Kettlebells

Kettlebells are a great tool to use if you’re looking to build strength, lose body fat, and increase your strength and mobility overall. While there are numerous benefits to training with kettlebells, below are the top three reasons you should start incorporating them into your workouts!

1. Kettlebell training is effective - especially for people short on time.

Kettlebells allow you to work multiple muscle groups at once, making them extremely effective to work with - especially if you're short on time. Take the kettlebell windmill for example; it increases shoulder mobility and stability while strengthening your glutes and core all in one swift motion. As a bonus, it helps increase your overall flexibility as well!

2. Kettlebells can be used for both strength training and increasing cardiovascular endurance.

Kettlebell training allows you to work multiple muscle groups at once to build strength, but there are also kettlebell movements and workouts formats that you can use to increase your cardiovascular endurance. The kettlebell swing, for example, is a motion that requires both the kettlebell’s momentum and the drive of your hips and glutes to move the bell back and forth in a pendulum motion. It builds the muscles in the glutes and hamstrings, but it is a fast-paced exercise that brings up the heart rate as well.

Kettlebells can also be used to increase the cardiovascular endurance by working with specific moves in an interval format. By incorporating those faster-paced motions with a timer element (for example, 40 seconds of work with 20 seconds of rest), you'll build muscle and increase your overall endurance as well.

3. Kettlebells are versatile.

Kettlebells are one of the most versatile training tools available. Anything that you can do with a dumbbell or barbell you can also do with a kettlebell (or a pair of kettlebells), but there are kettlebell-specific movements as well.

The kettlebell swing, for example, is something that can only be performed with a kettlebell, whereas a chest press could be done with dumbbells, a barbell, or kettlebells. You have the ability to only have a few (or even one) kettlebells and get in a really great total body workout.

Want more reasons to train with kettlebells? Check out 4 other reasons you should be incorporating them into your strength training!

Lauren Weiss is a personal trainer and group fitness instructor based out of Long Beach, CA. She specializes in kettlebell training and unconventional workouts and has been working with both types of fitness for over a year. Lauren has her BOLT Kettlebell Sport Certification through the USA Kettlebell League and has expertise working with kettlebells, barbells, dumbbells and several unconventional fitness tools. Lauren received her BA in Journalism and uses her writing expertise to craft thought-provoking articles about trending fitness, health & wellness topics. Follow Lauren on her website, Facebook, and Instagram.

Main Photo Credit: Lenka Horavova/shutterstock.com; Third Photo Credit: wavebreakmedia/shutterstock.com