Adjustable kettlebells are an excellent home gym option for aerobic workouts, strength building, and body sculpting. They are small and easy to use and store at home, where space may be limited.
Whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or seasoned resistance training or strength building enthusiast, adjustable kettlebells will come in handy in your home as versatile exercise equipment. But finding the best ones in a flooded market might be tricky. We are here for you.
Let’s start with a basic overview before we roll out the top five kettlebells that will work best for you at home.
What are Adjustable Kettlebells?
A kettlebell is an exercise weight that resembles a giant padlock with a handle at the top and usually around cast steel or cast iron mass below it. When it is a single-weight tool, it is known as a standard kettlebell.
An adjustable kettlebell consists of several weights that you. can attach or detach to scale the overall weight of the tool up or down based either on your as a user or the specific exercise you are doing.
What are Adjustable Kettlebells Used For?
Adjustable kettlebells are used for various body exercises to enhance the cardiovascular system, flexibility training, strength building, and body sculpting. In addition, since the exercises are vigorous, they act as an aerobic workout where you burn calories, thus enhancing the cardiovascular system.
Proper use of kettlebells leads to strong muscles, flexibility, and a good body form. However, these benefits do not come easily. You must pick the right adjustable kettlebell for the right exercises or moves to fine-tune different body parts.
What to Consider Before Buying Adjustable Kettlebells
There are several factors to consider when you are on the market for a suitable adjustable kettlebell for home use. Apples start falling from the trees once you know what to look for to get the best. Be sure to consider the following factors.
Safety
As with any other exercise or workout tool, your safety comes first. Therefore, you should ensure that you buy safe kettlebells with handles that you can grip easily and comfortably even as you proceed with demanding exercises like one-arm swings.
Because kettlebells are usually small, they mostly stay near your body as you toss, throw, or swing them about you.
Number and Size of Weight Increments
Many adjustable kettlebells range between 3kg and 18kg. If you already have some weights at home, you can go for one with less. Some are not precisely kettlebells but handles or grips for holding your already existing weights or dumbells to convert them into kettlebells.
You can pick an adjustable kettlebell with five to seven weights depending on your skill level and budget. The price goes higher as the number of weights increases. If you are just a beginner, choosing more than 15kgs would be poking the bear further than necessary.
Ease of Use
Adjustable kettlebells come with a weight adjustment mechanism. You must be able to operate the weights system easily.
The kettlebell handle should be wide enough to allow you to grab it easily during all types of moves, especially the fast-paced ones.
The size of the kettlebell also determines how easy or hard it is to use it. Long kettlebells run you the risk of hitting the ground during low moves, and you might have to incur extra costs buying mats or floor pads for them.
Top 5 Adjustable Kettlebells for Your Home
Regardless of your skill level in using adjustable kettlebells, our list of the top 5 picks features at least one best suited for you as a beginner, intermediate, or seasoned flexibility training enthusiast.
We have combed the UK adjustable kettlebells market to bring you the best that will help you achieve strength building and body flexibility success right in your home.
The high price of this aluminum/plastic adjustable kettlebell should not scare you away. On the contrary, it offers you great value for your money with its six separate weight adjustments between 3.5 and 18kg. Six weights range from 3.5, 5.5, 9, 11, 16, and 18kgs.
The Bowflex SelectTech kettlebell is longer than standard iron kettlebells, and you might find it harder to use for one-handed moves. You will gain access to training videos to help you use this adjustable kettlebell with ease.
The Yes4All cast iron kettlebell has several unique features. It has adjustable weights and an adjustable handle that you can comfortably hold with one or both hands.
The rubber handle helps enhance the grip, as do the handy lifting straps that come with the 20, 45, and 75-pound options. The straps have pads to cushion your wrists and hands during your exercise moves.
The sturdy loading pin allows you to stack weight plates of up to 100 pounds, making it suitable for beginners and intermediates.
The Isogym 3-18kg weight set has seven weight selections with increments of 3.4, 5.5, 10.7, 13.4, 15.9, and 18kg. The weight adjustment mechanism is easy as you only have to unlock, pull, and lift to add or remove weights before locking it in place once again.
Storing the kettlebell at home is easy since it has a rubber bottom that ensures it stays put with no chances of scratches or dangerous rolling.
We consider this an adjustable kettlebell handle rather than an actual kettlebell because it doesn’t come with its own weights. Instead, you use the weight plates you already own to complete the tool.
The handle is ergonomically designed to be gentle on your hands and still provide a good grip for enhanced safety. In addition, it weighs only 6.5 pounds, and you can add light and heavier dumbbell or barbell plates to suit the kind of exercise you are doing or your level of expertise in using adjustable kettlebells.
Given its compact cone structure, the Powertude 7-in-1 adjustable kettlebell is easy to store at home or transport around. It has seven weight variations from 3kg with increments of 3.4, 5.5, 10.7, 13.4, and 15.9 up to 18kg.
The kettlebell has a safe locking system with a slide, pull, and lift system for adding or withdrawing weight plates.
Body Parts to Target Enhance with Adjustable Kettlebells
Variable weight kettlebells are suitable for enhancing or strengthening the following body parts:
- The back
- Shoulders
- Hips
- Legs
- Glutes
- Abs
- Chest
- Arms
While you may do upper or lower body kettlebell exercises, experts advise that full-body moves are the best. The type of exercises you choose depends on your expertise and the part of the body you want to strengthen.
Popular Kettlebell Workouts
There are many kettlebell exercises or moves you can explore depending on your skill level and the specific body parts you want to strengthen. Some of the typical workouts are listed below.
- Squats
- Crunches
- Lunges
- Slingshots
- Glute bridges
- Swings
- Kettelbell row
The weights you add to the kettlebell are a major basis for determining the best exercises for you. Lighter weights are suitable for fast-paced moves, while heavier ones are best suited for two-handed moves.
Although not only one item in our list comes with a library of trainer-led videos on how to use the kettlebell, a simple Google search will lead to several YouTube videos that you can use to learn the best and safest moves.
What Kettlebell Weight Should I Choose?
As mentioned earlier, it is important to check on the weights you add to the adjustable kettlebell. Exceeding the limits you can comfortably accommodate means that you are risking injuries.
There are adjustable kettlebells that weigh as low as 2kg and are a good start for beginners. 4 and 6kg weights are good for exercising both lower and upper bodies.
As you make progress, you can shift to lifting heavier kettlebells with both hands and preferably for slow-paced manoeuvres to reduce the chances of injury. At this stage, you can set 15 as your upper limit.
If you are a seasoned strength builder, you can lift kettlebells weighing between 18 and 30kg. For advanced levels, you may find a 50kg adjustable kettlebell.
Bottom Line
Finding the best adjustable kettlebells for use at home doesn’t have to be hard once you know what to look for, what weight to lift, and the results you should be seeking to achieve.
Adjustable kettlebells are an excellent exercise tool for developing a good body form, strengthening muscles, improving your cardio condition, and enhancing your overall flexibility.
Shall we toast? Here’s to more muscular bodies, good forms, enhanced flexibility, and improved cardiovascular systems!
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