Can kettlebells really replace traditional weight training?

[TerryMCLOOPS]

In a hypothetical example of someone training with "only barbells" vs "only dumbells and kettlebells" for a long term I agree with you.

It's an unlikely hypothetical scenario though.

It's highly likely. If your programming calls for a 6 week strength cycle, you need to figure out what the best way to get stronger is. Zero NFL teams build their strength programming around kettlebells. It's all barbells.

 

[Ackmed]

It's highly likely. If your programming calls for a 6 week strength cycle, you need to figure out what the best way to get stronger is. Zero NFL teams build their strength programming around kettlebells. It's all barbells.

You're saying they ONLY train with barbells, ie. Every resistance exercise they do involves a barbell (so zero dumbells, zero kettlebells, zero cables, machines etc?) And this is how they train for the long term (years?)

 

[TerryMCLOOPS]

You're saying they ONLY train with barbells, ie. Every resistance exercise they do involves a barbell (so zero dumbells, zero kettlebells, zero cables, machines etc?) And this is how they train for the long term (years?)

Yeah I said all that

 

[Ackmed]

Yeah I said all that

Good for them if it works for what they're trying to achieve. Most bodybuilders and powerlifters mix in various non-barbell movements

 

[thugpoet]

Your body can't tell where the resistance is coming from.

As long as you have progressive overload then it doesn't matter what you are doing.

Do what you love. You will be consistent that way.

 

[JimRussel]

You're saying they ONLY train with barbells, ie. Every resistance exercise they do involves a barbell (so zero dumbells, zero kettlebells, zero cables, machines etc?) And this is how they train for the long term (years?)

He said exactly none of that.

 

[No Skill Gap]

Good for them if it works for what they're trying to achieve. Most bodybuilders and powerlifters mix in various non-barbell movements

NFL s/c programs revolve around barbells a lot but not solely. They definitely use dumbbells, likely use kettlebells here and there, pull up bars, etc. They are running sprints and doing specific sports practices which is going to include wind sprints, hill sprints, cardio shit in various forms.

But yeah the majority of strength work and closer to strength work on the speed-strength spectrum is done with a barbell for most movements. Deadlift, Bench, Squat, Hangcleans/Powercleans = the bulk of an NFL lifting program generally.

They might use kettlebells, more likely dumbbells for some other work or just for their own pump/bodybuilding really.

 

[Ackmed]

NFL s/c programs revolve around barbells a lot but not solely. They definitely use dumbbells, likely use kettlebells here and there, pull up bars, etc. They are running sprints and doing specific sports practices which is going to include wind sprints, hill sprints, cardio shit in various forms.

But yeah the majority of strength work and closer to strength work on the speed-strength spectrum is done with a barbell for most movements. Deadlift, Bench, Squat, Hangcleans/Powercleans = the bulk of an NFL lifting program generally.

They might use kettlebells, more likely dumbbells for some other work or just for their own pump/bodybuilding really.

Makes sense - that's what I suspected.

He said exactly none of that.

He implied all of that, especially if you read the full exchange.

All I'm saying is it's silly to make absolute statements like "barbells are better than...." if this were true no one would use anything but barbells.

 

[TerryMCLOOPS]

Makes sense - that's what I suspected.



He implied all of that, especially if you read the full exchange.

All I'm saying is it's silly to make absolute statements like "barbells are better than...." if this were true no one would use anything but barbells.

All Im saying is barbells are better than anything for strength training, and from a practical perspective sentences like "all I'm saying is its silly to make absolute statements about whats better" are devoid of meaning and are at best confusing. If you're trying to convince a sedentary vegetable that kettlebells are better than no exercise and hes using his lack of barbells as an excuse not to train, maybe, but if a team hired a strength coach and he started talking about how all methods can work and there is no clear way forward, that team would get crushed by a team of guys who've been throwing heavy barbells around.

 

[TerryMCLOOPS]

He said exactly none of that.

I think he is confusing strength for general fitness and I don't think he understands periodization.

 

[Phlog]

In a hypothetical example of someone training with "only barbells" vs "only dumbells and kettlebells" for a long term I agree with you.

It's an unlikely hypothetical scenario though.

Listen man, just a couple of points off the top of my novice head: try pressing half of what you barbell press with dumbells, it's way harder, even getting the weight into position is a serious consideration. The barbell let's you add more weight.

It also lets you control the progressive overload way better than kettle bells (seeing as we were talking about them initially), most people only have a couple of kettle bells, even gyms don't have em in 0.5kg jumps. So the the barbell offers quicker and safer progression whilst letting you load heavier.

 

[Ackmed]

Listen man, just a couple of points off the top of my novice head: try pressing half of what you barbell press with dumbells, it's way harder, even getting the weight into position is a serious consideration. The barbell let's you add more weight.

It also lets you control the progressive overload way better than kettle bells (seeing as we were talking about them initially), most people only have a couple of kettle bells, even gyms don't have em in 0.5kg jumps. So the the barbell offers quicker and safer progression whilst letting you load heavier.

I didnt say anything about kettlebells being better.

The OP asked if training will kettlebells in the short run (months) will make him lose gains and most responses implied yes barbells are necessary, barbells are absolutely better, unilateral movements are inferior etc.

Like I and a minority pointed out, don't overthink it, your muscles don't know the shape of weight that they're moving... use what you have for now and even when you can use barbells again you can mix in some dumbells, kettlebells etc.

If barbells were such an end-all be-all then pro athletes wouldn't use anything but barbells in their workouts. Any deviation to mix in a dumbell woukd be counter-productive as they could he using a barbell instead for even more gains

If your logic is "you can use more weight with a barbell than a dumbell so it must be better" then machines would be even better than barbells lol, obviously weights on an end of a bar have different center of gravity and require less balancing.

 

[TerryMCLOOPS]

I didnt say anything about kettlebells being better.

The OP asked if training will kettlebells in the short run (months) will make him lose gains and most responses implied yes barbells are necessary, barbells are absolutely better, unilateral movements are inferior etc.

Like I and a minority pointed out, don't overthink it, your muscles don't know the shape of weight that they're moving... use what you have for now and even when you can use barbells again you can mix in some dumbells, kettlebells etc.

If barbells were such an end-all be-all then pro athletes wouldn't use anything but barbells in their workouts. Any deviation to mix in a dumbell woukd be counter-productive as they could he using a barbell instead for even more gains

If your logic is "you can use more weight with a barbell than a dumbell so it must be better" then machines would be even better than barbells lol, obviously weights on an end of a bar have different center of gravity and require less balancing.

You're confusing your personal idea of general fitness with specific things like strength and hypertrophy. I think we're talking about whats best for specific things at a high level or if efficiency is a priority.

 

[Phlog]

I didnt say anything about kettlebells being better.

The OP asked if training will kettlebells in the short run (months) will make him lose gains and most responses implied yes barbells are necessary, barbells are absolutely better, unilateral movements are inferior etc.

Like I and a minority pointed out, don't overthink it, your muscles don't know the shape of weight that they're moving... use what you have for now and even when you can use barbells again you can mix in some dumbells, kettlebells etc.

If barbells were such an end-all be-all then pro athletes wouldn't use anything but barbells in their workouts. Any deviation to mix in a dumbell woukd be counter-productive as they could he using a barbell instead for even more gains

If your logic is "you can use more weight with a barbell than a dumbell so it must be better" then machines would be even better than barbells lol, obviously weights on an end of a bar have different center of gravity and require less balancing.

We weren't talking about machines, it was whether op using kettle bells would suffer losses not using the barbell.

The responses are broadly right imo, what your saying , that kettle bells will provide benefit and he should plow ahead is a given, that's what he's doing. Ain't no one commenting on that, so you can drop pushing it. It was the specific question as to whether kettle bells can substitute barbell 1 for 1, which they cannot.

 

[Ackmed]

We weren't talking about machines, it was whether op using kettle bells would suffer losses not using the barbell.

The responses are broadly right imo, what your saying , that kettle bells will provide benefit and he should plow ahead is a given, that's what he's doing. Ain't no one commenting on that, so you can drop pushing it. It was the specific question as to whether kettle bells can substitute barbell 1 for 1, which they cannot.

Conversations evolve, I brought up machines as someone said barbells are better because you can use more weight.

Anyway we can agree to disagree. Not everyone will agree on the internet.

 

[thugpoet]

What is even the argument here? Is he just a matter of working out ? Are you trying to develop a certain physique? Is this for athletic endeavors? You are the architect of your own body. If your goal is to be an awesome bench presser then you're going to need the bench press but if your goal is to get better at jujitsu or boxing or whatever other sport you're talking about your body can't tell the difference between kettlebells dumbbells barbells or gymnastics, just focus on progressive overload via leverage or increase weight and call it a day.

 

[Phlog]

Conversations evolve, I brought up machines as someone said barbells are better because you can use more weight.

Anyway we can agree to disagree. Not everyone will agree on the internet.

Machines offer a lot but the isolation they provide makes them inferior to barbell compound lifts for strength.

You're only disagreeing for the sake of your original position of opposition. There is no reason not to accept that barbells are the superior training method for strength. It's established science!

I do not agree to disagree, I think you're better than that.

 

[Phlog]

What is even the argument here? Is he just a matter of working out ? Are you trying to develop a certain physique? Is this for athletic endeavors? You are the architect of your own body. If your goal is to be an awesome bench presser then you're going to need the bench press but if your goal is to get better at jujitsu or boxing or whatever other sport you're talking about your body can't tell the difference between kettlebells dumbbells barbells or gymnastics, just focus on progressive overload via leverage or increase weight and call it a day.

If you read the op carefully you will see op was worried kettle bells wouldn't maintain his strength he gained through barbell use.

The answer is he likely won't.

Does that mean he shouldn't train in all sorts of available ways? Absolutely not, that wasn't a question asked.

 

[thugpoet]

If you read the op carefully you will see op was worried kettle bells wouldn't maintain his strength he gained through barbell use.

The answer is he likely won't.

Does that mean he shouldn't train in all sorts of available ways? Absolutely not, that wasn't a question asked.

Oh okay I see. Strat is relative anyway You get stronger as you do something this carryover for sure but at the end of the day if you want to get stronger and bench pressing you need to bench You want to get it stronger at kettlebell swings the turkeys get up then you got to do those.

 

[Ackmed]

Machines offer a lot but the isolation they provide makes them inferior to barbell compound lifts for strength.

You're only disagreeing for the sake of your original position of opposition. There is no reason not to accept that barbells are the superior training method for strength. It's established science!

I do not agree to disagree, I think you're better than that.

I dont believe machines are superior. I posed a rhetorical question challenging the comment that dumbells are inferior because less weight is used than with barbells - because if that logic were true then machines would be more effective than barbells lol.

I do prefer most barbell movements over most dumbell movements. I've literally never done an exercise with a kettlebell. Not due to their effectiveness or lack thereof, just never tried them.

We all have different body structures, mobility, perhaps existing injuries, levels of motivation for certain exercises etc - that's why I say do what you feel is best for you and dont get hung up over details of barbell vs kettlebell etc.