Michael: Is the Kettle Bell Butch Enough?

The water, mud, moss,
Roots, rocks, river, rain and steps
Keep the mind focused.


Monday, June 29, 2015

The gold standard upper body exercise when I was in high school was the bench press. Even my friends and I, cross country runners possessing little  upper body bulk, would regularly gather at each other’s house to see if any of us could bench more than our body weight.

My reasons for strolling down Memory Lane is to point out the types of strength exercises and philosophy behind muscle building that I grew up with and why the kettle bell intrigues me.

Doing such exercises as the bench press, bicep and triceps curls, flies and rows with heavy weights doing 3-5 grueling, slow reps was the way I was taught to strength train. It may still be the preferred way to go as far as I know, but it never worked as promised for me. I’m a thin lean dude and have grudgingly come to accept that not having 16” biceps doesn’t make me less of a man.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t care about strength training or don’t want to be strong, or even have as much of a traditional sculpted physique as my 145 lb. body will allow for. And despite never achieving the body builder’s physique that the bench, bar and dumb bell equipment and exercises promised, I enjoy using that equipment and doing those old exercises.

But I also like to mix it up and take a break from those exercises now and then so my muscles don’t get lazy and are forced to make adaptations. That’s why the kettle bell intrigues me. What could be more masculine or throwback than a shot put with a large iron handle? I expected from its appearance that the kettle bell would work much like traditional weights but that it’s unique shape would vary the demands on the muscles enough to make a difference and provide the variety I was seeking.

It turns out that I was both right and wrong. There are traditional strength moves that can be performed with the kettle bell and they even have the same names as the old iron plate exercises do; the press, the clean, and the snatch, for example. And even a specific to the kettle bell move, like the Turkish Get Up, has the feel of an old grunt drill.

But many kettle bell exercises revolve around rhythmic swing movements that are totally foreign to me, and quite frankly, feel a bit effeminate. If I were in high school and would’ve picked up a shot put and rhythmically swung it between my legs, like it was a small child on a swing, then flung it while saying “wheee!”, I would’ve been laughed off the track team.
Yet, outside of the letting go part, that’s what I’m doing a lot of with the kettle bell. And even worse, I pretty much enjoy it.

I also know that, just like dumb bell exercises, it’s not going to make much of a difference in my physique, but it does feel like I’m placing new demands on my muscles and joints and that the kettle bell is a worthwhile addition in the rotation of equipment and exercises that will help maintain my strength.