Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Build Muscle Up with Variety by Using Kettleballs

By Jared Conley

While kettleballs have been around for over a century in places such as Russia, their use was not common until recently. In America, kettleball training is simple exploding, thanks to some very unique benefits that you can achieve with kettleballs. For anyone looking for muscle weight gain, kettleballs make a versatile addition to your workout routine.

Kettleballs look like miniature bowling balls with large, thick handles. They come in many weights from around 4 pounds to 70 pounds, but the heavier weights aren't used often, because kettleball training is more focused on conditioning, explosive strength, and movement, instead of sheer strength.

The beauty of kettleball training is their versatility. In one short workout you can accomplish a number of objectives. Some of the numerous benefits you'll gain from kettleball training include:

* Strength increases

* Explosive power increases

* Improvement in your conditioning level

* Increased joint flexibility and range of motion

* Anaerobic conditioning improvements

* Core strength improvements

* Stabilization and balance improvements

* But wait, I've saved the best for last: kettleball training can boost your metabolic rate for quite some time after a workout is over, making kettleballs ideal candidates to help you build muscle up and shed fat.

Kettleballs do have drawbacks, however, but they can be worked around. The drawback cited most frequently is that kettleballs only work for upper body and core conditioning, and not your lower body. To supplement you'll need to pair your kettleball routine with a good lower body session, or maybe even a short high intensity interval training (HIIT) session.

Keep in mind that ketteballs will work best in interval-based workouts, so traditional body building workouts aren't the best fit. However, if your goal is to build muscle up and you stay abreast of advances in fitness science, you're probably aware already that traditional strength training exercises aren't the most appropriate option.

With the many advantages that kettleballs offer, they should be added to your workout workout, provided that your workout already emphasizes recent advancements in exercise science and is a good fit for your goals and body type. - 16003

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