why kettlebells feel heavier than dumbells?

[daken7]

The weight distribution and weight displacment (I hope that's the right word) is just different for a dumbell and a kettlbell. It's that simple.

 

[DrBdan]

With barbell curls in particular. I've been lead to believe holding the bar at different lengths makes a difference.

I think I understand, but what about hammer curls vs underhand vs overhand curls? They all work the bicep, so what's the difference?

The grip width doesn't a difference with curls. There is a difference with hammer/underhand/overhand and that's that when your hand isn't fully underhand your bicep can't contract fully. So really if you are doing hammer curls or curls with the ez curl bar where your hands aren't underhand you are selling yourself short. You have the same difference with underhand vs. overhand pull-ups.

Most info about shaping your muscles, toning them, and hitting them from different angles is complete bullshit.

 

[KidAlchemy]

With kettle bells, the weight

 

[Deleted member 382931]

Well if we think about the resistance as a force pulling the object then downwards towards the ground then no it doesn't matter.
If it's either a 15kg DB or KB the force is still the same (15kg x 9,81m/s^2(g) = ~147N). But I have no idea if there's any effect by moment in the resistance. And it can be that my science is flawed but lol, as long as I sound smart, right? :icon_lol:

Like the Dr said, if the force is applied in a straight line the size of the object doesn't matter, as the contact point with the implement is on your hand, reagardles of KB/DB. If you perform a swing, there are of course differences because of other forces applying and an extra/longer moment arm existing between the COG of the KB and your hand.

 

[KidAlchemy]

Like the Dr said, if the force is applied in a straight line the size of the object doesn't matter, as the contact point with the implement is on your hand, reagardles of KB/DB. If you perform a swing, there are of course differences because of other forces applying and an extra/longer moment arm existing between the COG of the KB and your hand.

Aaah, missed that post. But wouldn't there a difference if you hold it like in the middle of this pic:

I'm not saying that it might increase the resistance infact I don't it does but because of the way the weight is placed it does affect different/more muscles than just holding it so that the COG is "under" the arm.

 

[Red Eyed Buddha]

Aaah, missed that post. But wouldn't there a difference if you hold it like in the middle of this pic:

I'm not saying that it might increase the resistance infact I don't it does but because of the way the weight is placed it does affect different/more muscles than just holding it so that the COG is "under" the arm.

This, I still question.
The same thing with Hammer curls. Though it might be a bit different.

 

[DrBdan]

Aaah, missed that post. But wouldn't there a difference if you hold it like in the middle of this pic:

I'm not saying that it might increase the resistance infact I don't it does but because of the way the weight is placed it does affect different/more muscles than just holding it so that the COG is "under" the arm.

You're correct that it adds in more muscles because your wrist/forearm has to work harder to support the KB. The downside is that if your wrist gives out before your bicep you are selling yourself short, assuming that you main goal is bicep strength.

In terms of the resistance, the longer lever arm would make the weight feel a bit heavier but you could achieve the same effect by simply using a heavier dumbbell.

 

[Tosa]

I'll add that my gym has had kettlebells ranging in weight from ridiculously light to 50kg for some years now, and plenty of people have experimented with them, and tried all sorts of different exercises with them, from basic stuff like just doing rows with them, to juggling. From all that, I've figured that while they have their uses, like most speciality equipment, they're nothing special.

 

[aries]

Aaah, missed that post. But wouldn't there a difference if you hold it like in the middle of this pic:

I'm not saying that it might increase the resistance infact I don't it does but because of the way the weight is placed it does affect different/more muscles than just holding it so that the COG is "under" the arm.

If you think about that pic the KB increases the length of the lever to center of mass by a small amount in terms of the distance from your elbow to the KB CoM so it's a bit harder on your biceps weight for weight compared to a dumbell. But proportionally the lever length from your wrist pivot point to the CoM of the KB is quite a bit longer than it would be with a dumbell. Hence it's going to be far more taxing on all the musculature that needs to keep your wrist straight.