The Benefits of Heavy Kettlebells

Want to get stronger and fitter? Move more heavy kettlebells.

They offer two primary benefits:

  1. More Range of Motion – Most movements allow you to either start or finish lower, which means more energy expenditure and muscle tension. For example, a front loaded heavy goblet squat will access at least another two inches of depth for most folks when compared to the back squat? Why? Because the ankle mobility is not challenged nearly as much as a back-loaded movement.
  2. Increased Motor Recruitment – Uneven loading, demanding positions, and challenging grip taps into new muscle activation. For example, in the heavy deadlift example below, there is 176# being lifted, 88# in each hand. The benefit here is that each side needs to stabilize and move the weight independent of the other. Unlike a barbell that is comfortable and easily balanced loading. So, this new responsibility of each side having to fend for itself opens a whole bunch of access to new muscle activation.

Both lead to stronger muscle and more of it.