Kettlebell Blues

Okay, so I borrowed a kettlebell. It was about twenty-kilos, a pansyweight, but something to get the feel of what one can do with the suckers.

To be fair in the test, I loaded a dumbbell with the same amount of weight, and ran through a series of exercises I found on the web. Apparently there are a lot of folks making money selling kettlebell routines, and they vary from not-so-hard to killer. I found some simple ones that seem to be somewhere between and tried 'em.

Two things: First, I have a sore throat that is probably viral, but after a couple days gargling with hydrogen peroxide and taking antihistamines to dry things up, still isn't much fun living with. Thus my energy level isn't what it normally is.

Second ... did I mention my energy level isn't what it normally is?

Okay, I can see why folks like these things. There are some amusing exercises, like lying down with the kb held overhead, then coming up to a stand and going back to to the ground that are passing hard to do. And there is the cool-factor, in that it looks retro and you can get flashes of Sandow in his prime, and like that.

But in terms of how it works the major muscle groups? I can't feel much difference twixt the kb and the db. The kb is harder to hang onto, the shift in the grip necessary to achieve some of the exercises does work the forearm more, and requires some adjustment of balance so you don't drop it on your head, but in the end, it's just a slightly different freeweight. Yeah, there are things that you can't do exactly the same with a dumbbell, some swings and stuff, but spending any significant amount of money on one of these for that doesn't seem worth it to me. (And there are ways to make them using dumbbell plates and pipe for about twelve bucks that -- far as I can see -- will achieve exactly the same physiological effect. Look at the one at the bottom of the page.)

So I won't be buying one. I'll just have to make do with the iron I have until my rope-climbing hand heals up ...