The fitness world is always subject to trends. Throw in a new piece of equipment and people start using it all the time. Incompetent trainers start saying it can cure cancer. The Bosu ball and training on unstable surfaces are the perfect example. Kettlebells are a little different. They are a very old piece of equipment. Even if they have become trendy in recent years, they have been used in Russia for decades. They can do wonders for your body. They are to be manipulated with care, but with good technique, they can help you burn fat and develop power. This is an overview of what kettlebells can do for you if you use them well.
Turn your body into a fat burning furnace
There seems to be some magic in the kettlebell swing. If you choose the right weight and put your heart into each in sets, you get leaner very fast with little effort on the diet side. I am not saying you can eat pizzas freely and swing your way to six-pack abs but you can certainly indulge a bit and still get results if you swing enough. This can be explained by the fact that swinging is similar to sprinting. They both work fast-twitch muscle fibers, which require a lot of energy and provoke the most dramatic hormonal reactions.
Develop power
If speed is an issue for you, kettlebells can help you break plateaus. There is plyometrics involved in swinging since you use the stretch reflex to bounce back. This means you work on fast eccentrics and fast concentrics, which is ideal for speed development. Of course, sprinting will also develop speed but swinging is a nice addition when training for speed, especially when the weather doesn’t allow for sprinting sessions.
Build powerful glutes
Good swingers can recruit their glutes very effectively in a swing. The glutes have a lot of fast twitch muscle fibers which are best stimulated with dynamic, fast movements. Swings are a great addition to a programme designed to develop the glutes. Of course, additional work would have to be performed, for swings are not sufficient to develop glutes, but they certainly have their place in a glute building programme.
Build a strong core
A lot of work is required from the core to keep a neutral spine during a swing. It is not rare to see a pump develop in spinal muscles during sets of swings. This is because they are constantly under tension, even if the spine doesn’t move. I would not make someone with a weak core swing, but with a good basis, swinging can help build a more efficient core.
A few things to keep in mind
Swinging is different from squatting. If you want to see me rant, show me someone squat-swinging a kettlebell. The kettlebell swing is designed to work the posterior chain. If you do it well, you should be able to isolate the glutes and practically not feel the hamstrings. Your knees can bend slightly but your shins should stay vertical. Think about a deadlift when you swing, and not a squat. You should push everything through your hips. Here is a video of a proper swing. Also, don’t fall into the trap of thinking that swinging replaces everything else. It doesn’t. I do my kettlebell sessions as part of my conditioning work. That means I keep my training the same and add kettlebell swings instead of doing cardio.
Kettlebells are great. They can certainly help you stay lean year round. They even compensate for a few slips in your diet. However, they have to be integrated into the rest of the training and not replace essential elements like squats or deadlifts. They work well, but not that well. They can make you shredded, but they can’t really make you big on their own. The barbell is still your best tool to get you stronger but kettlebells are great for conditioning.