Hi, virus. You have a lot of awesome posts on S&C. I guess, my question really pertains to why exactly is it that these are considered tools for different jobs? I really don't see how much of a functional difference there is between kettlebells, sandbags or a medicine ball with handles. To deadlift with a sandbag should be the same with a ball and with the kettlebell, wouldn't it?
That guy has possibly the most annoying voice I've ever heard. Secondly, lifting a sand bag and lifting a barbell are entirely different things. Using the handles on a sand bag all but eliminates the point of using a sand bag.
So handles on a sandbag defeat the purpose of having one? Okay, from that standpoint, i can see how getting a grip on one would be hard to deadlift. I really like the concept of kettlebells as it seems you can do a lot more with them, regarding the lack of handles on a sandbag and medicine ball-- but the fact that--like dumbbells-- you would have to keep investing in more in order to go up in weight, along with the room it takes up for someone in a small living space is the only downside to these things. :tired
They can all be used for different things but all have key differences which make them more ideal for different types of training. Doing a deadlift with any weight or loading method should be the same form, but certain tools are more idea for different things. The point of using sandbags is because they're awkward to carry as it's a dynamic load (the sand moves within the bag). The moving sand forces you to activate different muscles to stabilize the load. The same happens with farmers walks but the difference is how you hold/stabilize the weight. Holding the bag by the corners somewhat defies the point of using sandbags as in doing so the sand is compacted and held in the bottom of the bag making it a non-dynamic load. Holding the corners uses and improves grip strength, but the idea is that bags should be carried under one arm, over a shoulder, over both shoulders or bear hugged. If you wanted to improve grip strength you'd do farmers walks with heavy dumbbells, kettlebells, barbell, torpedoes etc. Try this - fill a bag with 50kg of sand and get 2 25kg dumbbells. Walk 100m with the dumbbells (farmers walk) then go back to the start and pick up the bag in a bear hug and walk the 100m again. Feel the difference. Kettlebells are a conditioning tool not a strength tool. Could you imagine the size of a kettlebell for a 400lbs deadlift? Kettlebells are also a set weight and mostly a somewhat light weight that cannot be changed. Obviously for strength training you need some form of weight that can be increased steadily i.e. barbell with weight plates. You can use anything for deadlift, people, tables, weights, computers, horses, cars, whatever, but having a weight set which can be changed up or down in small increments is obviously more ideal than finding different people with 2.5kg difference between their weight and deadliftng them for reps. Again, it's different tools for different jobs.
Thanks for this, virus. This just confirms for me what I sort of suspected-- that barbells are simply the more economical way to go. Unfortunately having one in a dorm-living space is impossible and against school code. Can you explain what you mean by kettlebells being a conditioning tool instead of a strength one? I thought the whole idea behind having one-- which would enable you to mimic the olympic lifts-- was in developing explosiveness or power. Wouldn't that qualify it as a strengthening tool? Sorry for all the question. I'm just trying to learn.
also.. I think this thread is fairly applicable to the discussion we're having here as the consensus seems to be that kettlebell exercises are better than barbell traditional olympic lifting for people training for sport-specific purposes: http://www.boxingforum24.com/showthread.php?p=15439121#post15439121 What do you think?
Your statements are very broad even though the subjects we're discussing are specific. You'll have to define "sport specific". When it comes to weight training, unless you lift a weight while participating there is no such thing as sport specific. Everything you do in the gym is to improve athletic performance which translates over to your sport. I see nothing in that thread worth taking notice of. It's just a bunch of guys stating whether they like kettlebells or Olympic lifts like you can only do one or the other or one is better than the other. I train for rugby. I need to be as strong as possible so I'll need to lift heavy weights. Doing high rep kettlebell snatches with 30kg will do jack **** for my ability to dump a 100kg forward running head on into me whereas doing cleans with 100kg+ would be a great help as I go through some of the movements with high resistance i.e a deep squat with a heavy weight on my shoulders. It all depends on what you're training for and the tools you can get your hands on.
