The Kettlebell vs The Swiss Ball, Dumbells, Olympic Plates and Medicine Balls...

Yesterday I observed a particular gym member performing a circuit of exercises, moving from station, to station, to station and from one piece of equipment to another. I noticed that he was using swiss balls, dumbells, olympic plates and medicine balls.

Here are some of the exercises I witnessed him perform (in no particular order)

• Getups with a  Dumbbell.
• Halos with an Olympic Plate
• Push-ups with the feet elevated on a swiss ball.
• Lateral Medicine Ball Throws against a wall
• Lunges with Dumbells

Every single exercise listed could have been performed or replaced with a single kettlebell.
Kettlebells are ideally suited for Getups.
Halos can be performed while holding onto the "horns of the kettlebell"
Pushups can be performed on one or two kettlebells as well as a bottoms-up kettlebell to create a greater stabilization challenge.
Medicine Balls throws can be replaced with kettlebell juggling, swings, or figure-eights with a hold. This move creates a huge amount of rotational force that must be counteracted by the the muscles of the core.
Lunges can be performed with the kettlebell in the rack, overhead with one or two hands or with a single KB passed underneath the forward leg (a.k.a Tactical Lunges) which adds an extra rotational force.

The very same workout I witnessed at the gym using five different pieces of equipment at different stations could have been made into a circuit with a single kettlebell.  This would save time, save money if you had to buy all the equipment yourself and save space. Most importantly, the kettlebell complex would create a faster paced and more challenging workout because there is no need to change equipment or move from one area of the gym to another .  The result = more work, less rest, more challenge.

Here's a comparable alternative workout performed with a single kettlebell
Recommended size for men: 35lbs or 44lbs
Recommended size for women: 18lbs or 26lbs

Warmup: sets of 5~10 halos each direction

Option A

repeat the following circuit 3-10 times
10 one arm swings left, 10 one arms swings right
10 Figure-Eights to a Hold
10 Tactical Lunges
5 pushups (balance the kettlebell upside on it's handle with your hands on the ball)
The Get Down: A getup that starts in the standing position (1 reps per arm)

Option B

1 each (one arm swings per side, figure eights, lunges, pushups), 1 get down per side
3 each (one arm swings per side, figure eights, lunges, pushups), 1 get down per side
4 each (one arm swings per side, figure eights, lunges, pushups), 1 get down per side
5 each (one arm swings per side, figure eights, lunges, pushups), 1 get down per side
6 each (one arm swings per side, figure eights, lunges, pushups), 1 get down per side
7 each (one arm swings per side, figure eights, lunges, pushups), 1 get down per side
8 each (one arm swings per side, figure eights, lunges, pushups), 1 get down per side
9 each (one arm swings per side, figure eights, lunges, pushups), 1 get down per side
10 each (one arm swings per side, figure eights, lunges, pushups), 1 get down per side

Simple.Convenient. Effective.

Just one more example why kettlebells rule!