As a Singapore personal trainer and fitness bootcamp owner, I have had clients come to our gym and ask "do you teach kettlebell exercises?" This is because kettlebells are becoming popular as a training tool in Singapore.

As a personal trainer and sports performance coach, I am often asked "so what do you think of kettlebells"...

First, what is a kettlebell? I describe a kettlebell to a person who has never seen one, as a cannon ball with a built in handle.

We use kettle bells alot in our training. Even my mom who is 54 years old, regularly swings a 16kg Kettle bell with great technique as part of our Fitness Bootcamps. (Yeah I'm proud of my mom! And she is can do a full man-style chinup too! If my mom can do it, im sure anybody can too!)

Kettle bells are very old school. In fact they are one of the oldest kind of strength training tools.

They do have their uses, and there are entire sports devoted to lifting Kettlebells for as many reps as you can.

But it is possible that sometimes things get taken too far. There are some people who think kettlebells are some magical fitness device that can easily give you the body of your dreams, or the strength to move a mountain.

They are not. They are weights with the handle in a different position. No more no less. Kettlebells are useful tools which can be used to add variation to training programs and workouts. They are good for training strength endurance. But they are not magic!

In fact dumbells in my opinion are more versatile, and If I were setting up a gym at home and had a limited budget, I would get a set of adjustable dumbells before getting any kettlebells.

Sure, our gym, the Genesis performance center has kettle bells from 4kg to 48kg... but honestly, they are not used as much as our dumbells and barbells are.

One thing that is good about kettlebells and kettlebell instructors worldwide, is that they tend to do total body, non-stupid training. They perform exercises like kettlebell swings, jerks and cleans. These programs will get results.

But it is not the magic of the kettlebell! It is simply a good program. It could be done with dumbells, barbells or heavy rocks from a granite quarry. It doesn't matter that much.

So in conclusion, Kettlebells are good tools. But if anybody tries to start a cult because of them, that is not a balanced viewpoint. We need all kinds of tools to give the body variation to ensure progress in training.

Using constant variation and constant progress will get you faster and better results that choosing any one of the "fitness cults" out there.

About the Author:

Coach Jonathan Wong, is a sought after Singapore personal trainer and performance expert who has helped hundreds of clients in Singapore achieve their fitness, weight loss and sports performance goals. He Is also a Singapore weight loss bootcamp owner, fitness author and a member of Singapore Men's Health Advisory Panel. Visit his website and blog for a free 1500 page e-book and constant updates. http://www.coachjon.com