The fact is that you can do so much more for your body with a simple 35 lb kettlebell than you can with other pieces of fitness equipment such as dumbbells or barbell free weights. We all know the incredible benefits of working out with kettlebells. I have gone over several kettlebell exercises and detailed how these functional movements are far superior to most exercises done with traditional fitness equipment. Whether you are talking about competition kettlebells where they use two kettlebells and do a double jerk. Or whether you are just in your home gym getting the benefits of a kettlebell swing. The fact is that you can do so much more with a 35 lb kettlebell than almost anything else.
When you look at kettlebell competitions, the most often used exercise movement is the jerk. It is typically performed with two kettlebells and the participants will bring both bells from the height of their knees, up to the rack position, which is almost like resting on the forearm with your elbows in towards your body, and then lifting the bells straight overhead simultaneously. Then they go back to the rack position and down and swung between the legs again. The weight that is most often used is a 35 lb kettlebell, or a 1 pood kettlebell. The pood is the Russian unit of measurement and it is often associated with kettlebells since, if you know your kettlebell history, they were first used and perfected by the Russians. In fact, they were the first to have kettlebell competitions as well.
The most popular movement that you can use for your own fitness goals is the kettlebell swing. This movement is said to be able to burn as much as 20 calories in 1 minutes. This puts it right up there with running a mile at a very fast pace as far as caloric burn. The way you perform the kettlebell swing is to have your feet a little more than shoulder length apart. Hold the bell by the handle and let it dangle right around your nether regions (please be careful not to hurt anything down there!). You bend your knees and use your hips to thrust the kettlebell forward, swinging it upward like a pendulum and allowing gravity to bring it back to the starting position. There are several keys to the kettlebell swing that you want to be aware of. You never want to manipulate the weight with your body. You want to allow gravity and momentum to do a lot of the work. You also don’t want to use a weight that is not appropriate for your fitness level. This is why the 35 lb kettlebell is also the most popular choice amongst home gym owners because you can get a tremendous benefit from doing a 35 lb kettlebell swing.
There is no debating the benefits of using a 35 lb kettlebell when it comes to getting in better shape and increasing your overall level of fitness. Whether you are doing competition kettlebell moves like the jerk or you are burning calories with the kettlebell swing. Using a 35 lb kettlebell will give you everything you need.
