Kettlebells Vs Dumbells

The question asked around gyms and fitness facilities around the world: Which one is better - Kettlebells or Dumbbells? Let’s take a closer look at the history and what makes both unique.

Dumbbells

Dumbbells date back to almost 2000 years ago. In ancient Greece, they invented a piece of equipment called a 'haltere'. This was a crescent-shaped stone with a handle. This was the predecessor to the dumbbells we know and love today.

Arguably the biggest step forward dumbbells took, was when Istvan Javorek created his 'Javorek's Complex' in the 1980’s. This made dumbbells very popular amongst the mainstream. Go check this out if you run out of dumbbell exercise ideas.

Ever wonder why it's called a dumbbell? Well it's all in the name - a ‘dumb’ bell. In the 1700’s people would use bells with the clappers removed to silence them, making them ‘dumb’.

Kettlebells

The handled, cannon-shaped balls, have become a staple piece of equipment in all gyms. Kettlebells were born in Russia and made famous by Vladislav Kraevsky - a Russian physician who many believe is the founding father of Olympic weight training in Russia.

The kettlebells gained most of their momentum when they were introduced to the USA in the 90’s by Pavel Tsatsouline.

In 2002, kettlebells were called the "Hot Weight Of The Year" by Rolling Stone. There was a true kettlebell boom in the USA, then around the world!

Kettlebells vs Dumbells

There's no simple answer to this question. It comes down to a few things. How much experience do you have lifting? How much time do you have to train? If you are setting up a home gym, what is your budget? These are just a few of the questions you need to ask yourself to decide which is better suited to you.

Dumbbells have many advantages, such as being able to do many exercises for muscle building, toning and developing muscular endurance. And to put it simply, the exercises with dumbbells are much easier to perform than Kettlebell exercises.

The downside? You may need more than one set of dumbbells as you will need a variety of weights to train properly (unless you get yourself Rug & Rig's adjustable dumbbell set, of course).

Kettlebells, on the other hand, have a variety of advantages too, such as being able to train for muscle growth and toning. They're more focused on muscular endurance. Also, much more effective for cardio than dumbbells are. You can pump out a workout in as little as 10 minutes with kettlebells, so they are great for people who are a little time-poor. The list of exercises you can do with kettlebells is almost endless.

Some of the disadvantages with kettlebells are that they require quite a high level of technique to really benefit from them. Read up on how to properly use kettlebells and the results will be worth it.

The verdict

Both dumbbells and kettlebells are great pieces of training equipment. We can’t pick just one. As we said, it all comes down to your personal goals and experience. So we will leave you with this, Por qué no los dos?

Rug & Rig is committed to bringing you quality equipment at affordable prices.