LEGEXERCISES

THE KETTLEBELL- DUMBBELL WAR

comes down to the Marmite of training: legs day. Love it or loathe it – and regardless of whether you’re chasing big arms or explosive power – you need to hit your lower body if you want to build total-body muscle and scorch through fat.

Kettlebells are the best tool for lighting up your quads in front squats, thanks to how natural it is to hold them in a front rack. The act of standing with weights at your chest turns on your lats and abs, but the position is more easily held with kettlebells, which means better squats and lunges. But kettlebells do fall short in a third leg exercise: the deadlift. The aim is to work your hamstrings and glutes, and deadlifts function best when you can lower the weights over a greater distance. Kettlebells are bulkier below your wrists, so they hit the floor sooner as you lower, thus costing you crucial inches in your range of motion. This one is too close to call.