Battle Of The Bells

DUMBBELL VS KETTLEBELL. YOU NEED ONE. BUT WHICH?

DUMBBELL VS KETTLEBELL

It’s the gym equivalent of brown sauce versus ketchup,

and a question that gym-goers have pondered since the dawn of strength-training time. Which instrument of muscle-building, fat-crushing iron is better: the dumbbell or the kettlebell ? Both share DNA from the same ancient training tool: Greek halteres, a pair of crescent-shaped stones with handles. Ripped Olympians lifted them more than 2,500 years ago, swinging them to enhance their performance in the long jump. To US Men’s Health fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, halteres are proof that the dumbbell is the ideal tool. “There’s a reason why dumbbells are in every gym,” he says. “For targeted muscle growth, you want dumbbells.” Don’t start curling away yet, though. Kettlebells are having a moment. They first earned an underground following in the late 1990s among trainers who had heard that kettlebells were the training weapons of choice for the Russian special forces. They went mainstream more recently with the rise of CrossFit and sold like hot (and heavy) cakes in last year’s lockdowns. “Kettlebells are exciting and versatile, especially in flows – chains of explosive exercises,” says trainer Eric Leija. “I can do anything I want to do with kettlebells that I can do with dumbbells. But kettlebells are way more fun.” So, which is the more efficient tool for constructing your ideal physique? We assessed each bell in five key areas that are crucial to building muscle and burning fat at home. Now you can pay the iron price in confidence.