| MARTIAL ARTS CONDITIONING PUTS UNIQUE | | | | you can easily adjust the weight until you are able to |
| DEMANDS ON THE BODY | | | | challenge yourself with the rep range you need. |
| Unlike some athletic pursuits, martial arts is all about | | | | This is in direct contrast to kettlebell conditioning |
| skill. While conditioning, strength, and flexibility are | | | | workouts. In these sub-standard workouts, you are |
| undoubtedly important, they're just the building blocks | | | | forced to adapt your workout to the kettlebell, |
| upon which your skills are perfected. | | | | instead of adjusting the tool to your needs. |
| Therefore, you need a conditioning regimen that | | | | One rarely-voiced fact about kettlebells is that they |
| boosts muscular endurance to unprecedented heights | | | | tear up the skin on your palms. Unless you spend |
| of achievement, but leaves you with enough energy | | | | literally months developing thick, resilient calluses, a |
| to devote to your skill training. If your conditioning | | | | good set of kettlebell snatches will earn you a |
| workout leaves you dead tired, your martial arts will | | | | magnificent crop of painful, debilitating blisters. |
| suffer. | | | | Dumbbells, on the other hand, have |
| KETTLEBELLS AND MARTIAL ARTS CONDITIONING: | | | | ergonomically-designed handles which don't promote |
| THE EXTRAORDINARY LIE | | | | the formation of blisters. And, unlike a kettlebell's |
| So do kettlebells and martial arts go together like | | | | off-center weight configuration, dumbbells won't spin |
| two peas in a pod, like the kettlebell marketers will | | | | and twist during the movement -- in short, they don't |
| have you believe? The proven answer is: NO. | | | | cause blisters when you use them in the standard |
| In fact, the best martial arts conditioning workout is | | | | way for snatches and other exercises favored by |
| to perform the art itself. Just like boxers can't | | | | kettlebell enthusiasts. |
| dispense with boxing training -- hitting the bags, | | | | Dumbbells are also better than kettlebells at |
| sparring, shadow boxing, etc -- martial artists can't | | | | maintaining joint integrity in the shoulder, elbow and |
| neglect their skill training in favor of a kettlebell | | | | wrist. Anyone interested in martial arts conditioning |
| workout that doesn't involve specificity to a martial | | | | knows that these joints are crucial to the proper |
| artist's goals. | | | | pursuit of the pastime. With kettlebells, you risk |
| So don't let kettlebell hype influence your training | | | | hyperextension and repetitive stress injuries, |
| methods to the point where you are actually hurting | | | | especially during the high-rep work necessitated by a |
| your chances of reaching your goals. Kettlebells offer | | | | non-adjustable kettlebell of less than ideal weight. |
| a minimalist approach that appeals to many of us, but | | | | DUMBBELLS ARE OVERLOOKED MARTIAL ARTS |
| when looked at objectively, they fail to deliver as | | | | CONDITIONING TOOLS |
| well as the standard workouts utilizing dumbbells. | | | | Virtually anything you can do with a kettlebell, you |
| MARTIAL ARTS CONDITIONING: GUARANTEED | | | | can also do with an adjustable dumbbell. The only |
| BETTER WITH DUMBBELLS | | | | difference is: dumbbells allow you to do it safer, more |
| Unlike with kettlebells, conditioning workouts utilizing | | | | efficiently, and with less expense than kettlebells. |
| one or two adjustable dumbbells are scalable. That is, | | | | |