Kettlebells and Minimalism

If I were to be locked in a jail cell for 3 months and was told to come out in the best shape of my life using only one piece of equipment, do you know what I’d choose?

A 16 kg kettlebell.

This fun contraption called a kettlebell is basically a cannonball with handles. (Destructive for your muscles too ;)) You can get a diverse and fun mix of workouts from this simple tool.

A 16 kg (35 lbs) kettlebell will allow you to practice all the major training systems.

-strength

-power

-metabolic conditioning

-endurance

-hypertrophy

-mobility

This is what makes it the ultimate tool in a minimalist trainee’s toolkit.

Let me explain.

The kettlebell has a unique feature you can’t get from 1 barbell or 1 dumbbell. This is the ability to seamlessly transition between exercises and create what is known as a complex.

For example:

-1 kb swing

-1 kb clean

-1 kb press

-1 kb squat

-1 kb row

Switch sides and repeat.

You could run through a sequence like this for 15-20 minutes using different rep schemes or time intervals depending on your goal. Keep in mind, this only scratches the surface of what’s possible.

Sure, you could use a dumbbell for this, but there is just something about the transitions and exercises that flows better with a kettlebell (trust me).

At the end of the day, it’s all about efficiency. You could take all the time in the world to load up a barbell with 400+ pounds and work up to a 1RM. Or you could take a kettlebell and get an entire workout done in the time it took someone else to warm up for their final set of deadlifts.

It’s a matter of choice and goals.

Obviously if your goal is to get stupid strong, the barbell is your best bet. But if you’re just trying to be lifestyle lean and better-than-average with your strength, then the kettlebell can’t be beat.

Small, versatile and effective. This makes it ideal for your home gym so you don’t have to worry about finding space for an entire bar and rack. You just need a courage corner ;)

There’s a time and place for other “tools” like bodyweight exercises, dumbbells, barbells, etc. But if you only had 3 months and could only use 1 piece of equipment to get in the best shape of your life, the kettlebell will get you there (and maybe more).

So consider adding some kettlebells into your training and see how it goes!

At the worst, you’ll have a new skill to add to your arsenal that you can show off to your friends. So it’s still a win!

My 101 Metabolic Workouts has over 20 kettlebell complexes you can try on for size, so don’t miss out on that!

If you have any questions or need some ideas, hop on my email list and shoot me a reply after your welcome email is sent! I’ll get back to you as soon as I can :)

The kettlebell may not be the “coolest” or most common way to achieve feats of strength and conditioning, but it has been long overrated and may make the difference in your training.

Either way, the choice is yours and I’m here to help if you need to some ideas :)

Happy training and stay safe!

-Vinnie