Why You Need To Add Kettlebells To Your Routine
Have you heard about kettlebells classes? If you’ve used dumbbells, you know that they’re a phenomenal way to build muscle.
However, dumbbells are also big and bulky, so it’s difficult to move them fluidly. Kettlebells offer you the same great strength-building opportunity without the big, bulky size.
In fact, there are many reasons to add kettlebells to your workout routine, even if you only use them sporadically.
5 Benefits of Using Kettlebells
1. Well-rounded Conditioning
You can use kettlebells for multiple forms of conditioning, such as:
Balance training
Endurance
Strength
Due to the versatility of this equipment, you can enjoy a complete conditioning workout, depending on the weight chosen and exercises performed.
2. Engage Stabilization Muscles
When you use dumbbells, it’s easy to stay rigid and use very little stabilization muscles in the process. Due to the movements performed with a kettlebell, you’ll need to engage your core and stabilization muscles throughout the entire movement.
Building strong stabilization muscles is crucial for:
Posture
Performing heavier lifts
In fact, strong core and stabilizer muscles will allow you to have a much easier time playing sports, running and even aging gracefully.
3. High-Intensity Options
Since you’re able to perform exercises in quick succession with kettlebells, they can act as a sort of cardio workout that boosts your heart rate and leads to higher caloric output. So, how many calories can you burn?
According to WebMD, you can burn as much as 400 calories in 20 minutes, although this figure is likely a little on the high side.
Due to the compound muscle movements and ease of transitioning from one exercise to another, kettlebells can be very intense. For example, you can start with:
Kettlebell swings
Transition into lunges
End the set with shoulder presses
When you go from one exercise to the next without any rest or changing weights, you’ll keep your heart rate high to burn excess calories.
4. Reduce Training Time
For some people, there’s a sense of pride in staying at the gym for two hours and heading home. Other people don’t have two hours a day to exercise. Kettlebells are the perfect opportunity to reduce your training time while burning more fat, toning muscles and improving flexibility.
You can incorporate kettlebells into your regular routine as often as you wish.
When you add any type of equipment or training methodology to your typical routine, you’ll keep your muscles guessing, which leads to better results. Since kettlebells are so versatile, high intensity and easy to use, they need to become part of your routine.
5. Kettlebells are compact and the ideal piece of equipment for at-home workouts.
You can perform many types of workouts with a kettlebell, but most people recommend compound movements. Swings or overhead presses are an excellent example of specific kettlebell exercises that people perform.
But you can also incorporate isolation exercises, such as curls, lateral raises or tricep extensions into your routine.