Visit any gym and I can guarantee you there’s bound to be a kettlebell somewhere.

This makes it all the more difficult to deny the fact that kettlebells are no longer “just a fad.”

And the reason for that is simple:

Kettlebells just work!

And they’ve worked for centuries. (Don’t believe me? Just check out this article on the history of the girya.)

They worked for the Greeks.

They worked for the Russians.

And they’ll work for you too!

But just what makes kettlebells so effective?

Why are kettlebells so effective?

In an effort to answer this question, I came up with a few of my favorite reasons in no particular order.

1. They’re efficient

First and foremost, we have to state the obvious…kettlebells are just outright efficient.

The ease of transitioning from one exercise to another is unrivaled and this allows you to essentially do more in less.

And when you factor in that the majority of the movements such as the kettlebell swing or thrusters are compound movements, meaning they incorporate more than one muscle group, it allows you to burn calories at a faster rate.

This leads into my second point which is

2. Kettlebells combine cardio and strength

Piggybacking off the the first reason, the ease of transitioning from one exercise to another decreases the amount of rest.

This builds up your endurance base while also increasing your strength.

3. They’re great at building power too!

Olympic lifts like the Snatch and Clean & Jerk are key players in developing power due to their explosiveness.

They’re also two of the big six when it comes to kettlebells.

The other four movements are the kettlebell swing, front squats, turkish get-ups and overhead press.

4. Kettlebells will challenge your stability

Because of their off center weight distribution, a greater amount stabilization and coordination will be required of you.

In turn, this will challenge your core more than say the traditional dumbbell and improve your posture and stability.

5. They develop killer forearms

Unlike traditional barbells and dumbbells, the handle on a kettlebell is thicker.

Much thicker!

And this is good because it challenges your grip strength more than that dumbbell would.

The result is a bigger and more defined forearm!

There’s even more benefits to kettlebell training!

Now of course I can mention that there are additional benefits to owning a set of kettlebells like how they’re a cost-effective alternative to a traditional home gym.

Mention how they’re significantly smaller than a rowing machine or treadmill.

And definitely easier to move around the house. (Did I mention you can even train with them outside.)

All jokes aside, as you’ve seen there are numerous benefits to owning a set of kettlebells and hopefully have a better understanding of just why they’re so effective!

Now if you’re interested in kettlebell training and don’t know where to start, I can say HIIT HART is an amazing fitness program that’s scalable for all users.

We upload four new, 30-minute workout videos each week that you can stream right here on our website and all for just $8 a month.

Even better yet, you can stream a free class on us by clicking the link in the green hello bar above or just click here.