Kettlebells are fantastic, and their use has grown as people seek out at-home workouts. The ability of kettlebell training to strengthen the core, shoulders, back, and legs is well known, but the ability to strengthen the arms is less well known.
Although it’s crucial to realize that kettlebells are not used in the same way as traditional bodybuilding exercises, it is possible to use them for arm exercises. Training with kettlebells should concentrate more on movement patterns than specific muscles.
Here are 10 kettlebell exercises for the arms to put that right.
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Benefits of Using Kettlebells
Build Strength Without Adding Volume
With an emphasis on developing strength rather than bulky muscles, kettlebells are great for sculpting a lean, toned, and firm physique. They are particularly effective at strengthening your glutes, lower back, and core. While kettlebells can be used for deadlifting, a lighter weight kettlebell is an easy and useful addition to cardio exercises.
Functional Exercise
All the muscles you use every day can be worked out with kettlebell exercises, which will facilitate daily tasks and enhance posture. The fluid swinging movements often used in kettlebell workouts are also easy on the joints. So be kind to your body and pick up some kettlebells! After using the exercises for over a year, a personal trainer I follow revealed her obe fitness reviews.
Instant Heat Burners
A very quick way to lose weight is with kettlebells. A study by the American Council on Exercise (ACE) found that the average person burns around 20 calories per minute during a standard kettlebell workout, meaning you could burn 400 calories in a 20-minute workout!
Easy to Store
Buying your own kettlebell is a great investment since these nifty weights are far easier to store in your own home than barbell or dumbbell weights. In addition, kettlebells are more portable and affordable than machines.
10 Kettlebell Workouts for Arms
Kettlebell Single Arm Overhead Extension
You need two kettlebells, and you need them to avoid each other as you lower them behind your back.
How to do it
- With a small kettlebell in each hand and your elbows bent straight up in the air behind your back, stand up straight with your hips level.
- Till your arms are fully extended, raise the kettlebells above your head.
- After pausing, you should bring them back down behind your back to complete the motion.
Kettlebell Bicep Curl
Just like a bicep curl with a dumbbell, this is executed in the same manner. The secondary muscles in the forearms and biceps benefit greatly from this exercise.How to do it
- Stand straight up with your feet shoulder-width apart and your arms at your sides.
- Pushing your chest out while holding a kettlebell with an underhand grip will cause the kettlebell to curl up toward your shoulder.
- Slowly lower the kettlebell back to the starting position after pausing when your hand is nearly in contact with your shoulder.
Double Arm Kettlebell Bicep Curl
This exercise is slightly different from exercise #2 in that you are using both hands to hold a single kettlebell, changing the angle, and working the biceps in a different way.
How to do it
- For this, use a heavier kettlebell.
- Push your chest out and then curl the kettlebell up towards your chest while holding it in both hands.
- After pausing, bring the kettlebell back down gradually.
Kettlebell Overhead Extension
One of the best kettlebell arms exercises is the overhead extension.
How to do it
- With your feet shoulder-width apart and a kettlebell positioned in the middle of your hands, stand straight.
- Your elbows should be close to your head as you hold it behind your head with an upright position.
- Keeping your elbows fixed in position, raise the kettlebell up above your head so that your arms are fully extended.
- When you are ready, take a pause and gradually lower the kettlebell back down until it is resting behind your back.
Kettlebell Single Arm Skull Crusher
Each hand must hold a small kettlebell.
How to do it
- Lie on the ground (or bench) with the kettlebells directly over your chest.
- Bring the kettlebell to the floor just above your head while keeping your arms stationary and bending your elbows.
- Pause when it touches, and then bring it back over your chest by straightening your arms.
Single Arm Close Grip Kettlebell Floor Press
This is an excellent chest and triceps exercise.
How to do it
- Lie on your back with a kettlebell in one hand, the bell should be situated on the outside of your hand.
- The angle of your elbow from your side should be 45 degrees when it’s on the floor.
- This is where you are starting from. Inhale deeply, and then raise the kettlebell abruptly into the air.
- After pausing, bring it gradually back to its starting position.
- This significantly aids in the development of effective bench press movement patterns.
- You can perform an alternate kettlebell floor press if you have two kettlebells.
- You might even try performing a double-handed variation with the kettlebell’s ball facing the outside of each hand.
Kettlebell Close Grip Push Up
Among these kettlebell arm exercises, this one may be the most challenging.How to do it
- Place a large kettlebell on the ground on its side.
- A diamond-shaped grasp is best achieved by using both hands.
- Put your chest down to the kettlebell and then perform a push-up.
- Push back upward after pausing. Maintaining your posture while doing this can be very challenging.
- What makes this exercise so difficult is the challenging positions required while you rise up and down.
- It takes a lot of coordination and balance to start a push-up with both hands on a kettlebell.
Seated Incline Kettlebell Bicep Curl
What makes this exercise great is that it broadens the biceps’ range of motion, which enables you to achieve even greater gains.
How to do it
- Lay back on a bench that has been adjusted to a 45-degree angle, a kettlebell in each hand.
- Make sure you are lying comfortably.
- Allow your arms to hang down toward the floor.
- Curl the kettlebells up toward your shoulders while keeping your back against the bench.
- Pause, and then slowly return them to the starting position.
Kettlebell Single Arm Bent over Rows
If you only have access to one kettlebell, this will allow you to perform the exercise with a little bit more control.
Squats and deadlifts performed on the same day: Is this a good idea?
How to do it
- When your chest is as close to parallel with the ground as you are able to get it, bend your knees and bow forward.
- Holding your kettlebell with a straight arm, let it hang down toward the floor.
- Pull the kettlebell up toward your armpit while extending your chest and drawing your shoulder blades back.
- A pause is followed by a slow descent once more.
If you can complete 10 single-arm kettlebell rows with one hand, move on to the next exercise. If not, you might need to locate a kettlebell that is lighter.
Kettlebell Bent over Rows
The bent-over row is primarily an upper back exercise, but it also does a good job of working the biceps. You’ll need a kettlebell in each hand for this exercise.
How to do it
- Bend your knees and then bow forward until your chest is as close to parallel with the ground as you can make it.
- Straighten your arms as you hold the kettlebells so that they are hanging down toward the floor.
- Push your chest out, pull your shoulder blades backward, and then pull the kettlebells up towards your armpits.
- Wait a moment, then gradually bring them back down.
Summary
Kettlebell workouts are different from bodybuilding style training. Since kettlebell exercises are based on movement patterns, the entire body is worked out rather than just a few specific muscles, such as the triceps and biceps. While more than 600 muscles are worked out during a kettlebell workout, some exercises specifically target the arms more than others.
