Kettlebell Around The World

Who Should Do?

Average Gym Goers

The average gym goer’s training focus is to increase muscle mass, strength, and exercise variety. This can be done by performing compound exercises, which engage multiple muscle groups. This allows for significant loading, resulting in greater strength and muscle growth.  

The kettlebell around the world is a compound exercise that targets the deltoid, trapezius, serratus, wrist flexors, and wrist extensors. It allows us to engage multiple muscle groups in an alternative way, increasing mass and strength while expanding exercise variety.

This makes it a great exercise to add to your at home shoulder workout or shoulder workout for beginners.

Athletes

An athlete’s training focus is to develop power, strength, and muscle mass to meet the demands of their sports. This can be achieved by performing multi-directional movements to improve speed, agility, balance, and muscle endurance.

The kettlebell around the world is a multi-directional movement. It requires the engagement of the upper body to swing the kettlebell while the core and lower body engage to provide stability. This develops strength, muscle mass, and balance, which can be transferred to sports, including football, martial arts, tennis, and basketball.    

Who Should Not Do?

People With Elbow Tendinopathies

People suffering from elbow tendinopathies should avoid performing the kettlebell around the world. Elbow tendinopathy is when the tendon on the outer and inner sides of the elbow is inflamed. This can be caused by overuse or trauma.

The forearm muscles attach to the elbows and are responsible for moving the wrist and hands. However, bending the wrist and gripping can be difficult when they are inflamed. 

The kettlebell around the world requires considerable grip strength. If the elbow tendons are inflamed it can be difficult to maintain grip and cause further aggravation.

If you are struggling with an elbow tendinopathy, consult your physical therapist. They can prescribe exercise to help you return to training.

Absolute Beginners

If you are an absolute beginner you should avoid the kettlebell around the world. A beginner’s training focus is to increase muscle mass, function, and correct technique. The initial months should be focused on performing and developing muscle mass with traditional resistance exercises.

The kettlebell around the world is a safe and effective exercise for increasing muscle mass and endurance. However, simpler and more effective exercises can be performed to increase muscle mass, strength, and endurance. 

For the upper body, we recommend performing exercises like chest presses and rows to target the chest, back, and shoulders. Once you establish technique and muscle mass, you can expand to multi-directional movements. At this point, consider adding kettlebell around the worlds to your shoulder workouts.

Benefits Of The Exercise

Improves Shoulder Stability

Improving shoulder stability requires strengthening scapula muscles. The major contributors to shoulder stability are the trapezius, serratus, and rotator cuff, which are the muscles on the scapula.

The kettlebell around the world targets the trapezius and serratus anterior. During the movement, the middle trapezius pulls the scapula back and forward. While this happens, the upper trapezius and serratus isometrically contract to hold the scapula firmly in position. This helps to strengthen the shoulder and improve stability.

We recommend combining them with these shoulder mobility exercises and bodyweight shoulder exercises to build strong, healthy shoulders.

Develops Coordination And Balance

Developing coordination and balance requires aligning the body’s center of gravity with its base of support. This is achieved by performing balance exercises that challenge the body’s center of gravity.

The kettlebell around the world’s swinging motion continuously challenges our center of gravity. As the kettlebell swings around, our center of gravity shifts the torso away from the base of support. This requires us to stabilize, which can improve balance dynamically.   

Builds Grip And Forearm Strength

Developing grip and forearm strength requires progressive overloading of the wrist flexors and extensors. This is done by performing exercises that require us to grasp handles, gradually increasing sets, repetitions, and resistance. 

The kettlebell around the world requires considerable grip and forearm strength to hold the kettlebell during the swinging motion. As we increase weight and repetitions, we overload the forearms, promoting muscle growth and enhancing strength.

Frequently Asked Questions