IRONMASTER Kettlebell (best $189) ever spent on kettlebells.

[Curbside_Quiche]

Just thought I would chine in with some background on the difference between the Ironmaster kettlebell handle and "traditional kettlebells". I know Matt from Ironmaster took a long time to get the handle right. I know because I was nagging him the whole way! Here are some prototype pictures of an early design - http://www.samsfitness.com.au/blog/u...dumbbells.html

[KBKB]

Just thought I would chine in with some background on the difference between the Ironmaster kettlebell handle and "traditional kettlebells". I know Matt from Ironmaster took a long time to get the handle right. I know because I was nagging him the whole way! Here are some prototype pictures of an early design - http://www.samsfitness.com.au/blog/u...dumbbells.html

Interesting photos. I'm glad you nagged him to improve it!

Repped!

[KBKB]

Here's a comparison photo showing rack position. I tried to position each bell to be most comfortable on my arms.

As I understand it, my elbows should be positioned closer to my torso, resting on the hip bone if possible. I lack the flexibility to do this though even when not holding kettlebells. And, as I understand it, not everyone can do this anyway even if they are flexible enough due to differences in arm vs torso length.

The curvature of the IM kettlebell feels good on the arm. Note that I cocked the hand holding the Lifeline bell back a little bit so that it would rest lower on that arm. Positioned as they were, the IM bell felt more comfortable but, today, the Lifeline bell was more comfortable than I had expected. (I held them for perhaps a minute while my daughter took shots from various angles. I can post a side views too, but I think this one is more useful.)

If anyone sees anything obviously wrong with my form, please let me know...

[keyboardworkout]

Here is a good video on the clean. Is the squared portion of the IM bell going to impact your biceps?

[Thremix]

so far I have only done the BOB Harper cardio workout, and the only time I feel as if the kettllebell might not feel right it with doing the Turkish get up, the bell falls off towards the bicep

[KBKB]

Is the squared portion of the IM bell going to impact your biceps?

The photos show that it does, but I didn't notice it. Maybe I will when I do a lot of them?

(Thanks for that video. He makes it looks easy.)

[leaftors]

Wow, good job buying it.

[Thremix]

I'm thinking about getting them powder coated.. any opinions??

[KBKB]

I'm thinking about getting them powder coated.. any opinions??

I know very little about the powder coating process. Something to research before pursuing it any further is whether or not the thickness of the new coating will be appreciably different from what's already there. This matters because the Quick-Lock screw of the kettlebell (and dumbbells too) needs to adequately engage the screw threads in order to be safe. If you add a new coat of paint to the plates making them thicker, then it's possible that you won't get enough screw engagement for some combination(s) of plates.

I have this problem already when using one of my large 22.5lb plates with some combination of 5 lb plates. I don't run into it very frequently, but there are times when I can't get more than a few degrees past the disengagement point. I know this isn't good enough, so I grab a different 5 lb plate to nest against the outside of the problematic 22.5 lb plate. It sometimes takes a few tries, but I'm always able to find a way to obtain adequate engagement.

It seems to me that it won't take a lot of additional thickness to run into this very problem on a constant basis that I run into only rarely.

If the above doesn't make sense to you, take a look at the dumbbell on the right in the photo below. (I posted this to The Dumbbell Thread a while back.) The caption below that shot pretty much explains the problem. It should be noted though that even if you can tighten the handle, but only a few degrees, I think the bell's lock-screw is still unsafe. Likewise, if you can turn it all the way around so that it tightens only a few degrees from the disengagement point, that too is unsafe. You might want to look at my post to The Dumbbell Thread because I show a solution to this problem. You could, in theory, use that solution should you decide to go ahead with powder coating the KB handle and plates anyway.

[RemainDieHard]

Wow I didn't know these existed. The wife was just telling me she wanted to do some kettlebell training. I may end up getting these. Thanks

[KBKB]

Wow I didn't know these existed. The wife was just telling me she wanted to do some kettlebell training. I may end up getting these. Thanks

Depending upon her current level of fitness, your wife may want to start with a lighter weight than is available with the Ironmaster kettlebell handle. As I understand it, 8kg (17.6lb) kettlebells are popular with women starting out. My wife and daughter, neither of whom are really into kettlebells, both find 8kg an acceptable weight for practicing a few swings.

Also, even at it's lightest, which is 22.5 lbs, I think the IM kettlebell handle will be taller and widerr than a 12kg kettlebell. I have a 12kg bell (and a 24 too!) coming from Lifeline USA in a few days. When they get here, I'll post some comparison photos similar to the ones posted earlier.

[BelgianBillie]

Can oen doe kettlebell training on lets say sunday or sat/sun when you have 3 full body workouts during the week.

Im looking for something to burn fat, during the week i have 2 sessions on the elliptical. I hate cardio like that so i thought in the weekend i could do a kettlebell session. Or would this impede to much with the recovery of my full body workouts, which are pretty intense.

[KBKB]

Can oen doe kettlebell training on lets say sunday or sat/sun when you have 3 full body workouts during the week.

Im looking for something to burn fat, during the week i have 2 sessions on the elliptical. I hate cardio like that so i thought in the weekend i could do a kettlebell session. Or would this impede to much with the recovery of my full body workouts, which are pretty intense.

You might get a better variety of answers (and potentially more useful ones too) if you were to ask this question in the Workout Programs forum. That said...

Let's look at it this way: Would you feel comfortable doing a rowing machine workout on the weekend? If so, then I think that a carefully chosen kettlebell routine would be okay too. I think you'd want a lot of volume with no or few rests using lighter weight kettlebells.

[Thremix]

any one know if the CAP kettlebell is any good?

[Thremix]

I would like to know if any one with the Ironmasters kettlebell, could tell me if you could do two kettlbell work outs with the IM??

[KBKB]

I would like to know if any one with the Ironmasters kettlebell, could tell me if you could do two kettlbell work outs with the IM??

For what it's worth, in that photo earlier where I show the 20kg Lifeline bell and the 45lb Ironmaster bell in rack position, I was able to clean both of them at once. My technique wasn't very good, but I was able to do it. If you look at those earlier comparison photos, the IM kettlebell isn't too far off in size from that 20kg Lifeline kettlebell, so it seems to me that it'd be possible to use two IM kettlebells at once. One of the things I wonder about, however, is whether or not the fact that they're squarish makes a difference if the the bells should touch on the way down. It seems to me that they could bounce off of each other in interesting and unpredictable ways if one is not careful.

Hopefully someone who actually has two IM kettlebells will be able to provide you with a better answer...

[maybesew]

Are these things for women? They only go up to 57.5?

[KBKB]

Are these things for women? They only go up to 57.5?

The range is from 22.5 lbs with just the handle to 80 lbs with the add-on kits. You could probably go to 102.5 lbs if you had the really long screws from the 165lb dumbbell add-on kit. (It'd make for a really tall kettlebell though.)

As shown in the earlier photos, the handle is fairly large. Women (or men) with short(er) forearms may find that the bell rests against the arm in an uncomfortable position. But, for what it's worth, I presently find the IM bell to be more comfortable than some of the smaller Lifeline bells which end up resting against my wrist.

[Thremix]

Are these things for women? They only go up to 57.5?

Jesus man, lol I consider my self to be a fit, and strong guy, but I tried to do a 30min work out with the Kettlebell set to 30LB, I and THAT! was way to much.. I had to take ALL of the weight of to continue. my arms were jelly, and that's because I can press 80LB, curl about 50LB or so.. I'm not "buff" but I'm fit and strong, like all men should be... try a 30LB KB, that's assuming you haven't already.

[KBKB]

Weight comparison

I configured the IM kettlebell using only the handle, lock-screw, and one 2.5lb plate. It ends up being only a little over one pound heavier than the 12kg Lifeline USA kettlebell. Note too that the Lifeline bell that I received is slightly overweight. (I know from the 8kg bells that I have that the weight varies a bit from one to another.)



Front View

I was surprised to find that these two kettlebells are very close in height. I was expecting the IM kettlebell to be significantly taller.



Side View



Top View

[KBKB]

Weight Comparison

I configured the IM kettlebell to use the handle, the lock-screw and two 5lb plates. The nominal weight is 35lbs. As shown by the photo, it is (very) slightly underweight. The 16kg Lifeline kettlebell is underweight too. It should weigh 35.2lbs, but only comes in at 34.8lbs.



Front View

Note that the IM kettlebell is only slightly taller at this weight. At 12kg, the bells were roughly the same height.



Side View



Top View

[KBKB]

Weight comparison

When I weighed the Lifeline 24kg kettlebell, I found it to be about half a pound overweight. I checked the actual weight of a nominally configured 52.5lb IM kettlebell and found it to be underweight, so I decided to compare a (nominal) 55lb IM kettlebell with the 24kg Lifeline bell.

The IM kettlebell has been configured to use all six of the 5lb plates.



Front View

Note that the IM kettlebell is significantly taller than the Lifeline kettlebell of comparable weight. This makes sense due to the fact that the plate size is fixed for the adjustable IM kettlebell. The Lifeline kettlebell is able to carry more of its weight out at the sides. If I ever get a 28kg Lifeline kettlebell, I would expect it to be obviously wider than an equivalent IM kettlebell. (Lifeline has the 28kg bells currently on backorder.)

The marks on the front of the Lifeline bell are, I think, bits of packaging that have become stuck to it during shipping. I had this problem too on some of the other ones that I've received. I've been able to remove those marks without much effort.



Side View



Top View

[KBKB]

Here's a couple of shots showing the variations in size of the Lifeline USA kettlebells from 8kg up thru 24kg.

[keyboardworkout]

Beautiful bells.

[Thremix]

I sanded down the Ironmaster kettlebell and re painted it... WOW SUPER smooth handle, I did a great job if I do say so my self! lol I recommended sanding and repainting it! the IRONMASTER logo can be removed and re glued.

[KBKB]

I sanded down the Ironmaster kettlebell and re painted it... WOW SUPER smooth handle, I did a great job if I do say so my self! lol I recommended sanding and repainting it! the IRONMASTER logo can be removed and re glued.

Photos?

[Thremix]

I dont know how... lol

[KBKB]

I dont know how... lol

If you reply and click the "Go Advanced" button, there's a button below the text entry area called "Manage Attachments". Click that button to upload your photos.

I'm not sure if your post count is high enough to post an attachment or not. Some folks complain that they have a 50 post limit, but I've seen people with a very few number of posts who manage to post attachments.

Anyway, if you manage to get a photo attached, I can inline it for you.

[RemainDieHard]

Are these things for women? They only go up to 57.5?

If you took a minute to look at their site you'd see they have a package deal for an 80# setup.

Seriously how many women could do an shoulder press with 57.5, or the kettlebell swing? Probably 9/10 dudes on this site couldn't even do an shoulder press with 57.5 (one arm).

And for the powdercoating, I do powdercoating at home and yes it is a lot thicker than paint but it probably would not cause a problem. The IM finish is no Ivanko... but it's not bad or anything. Personally I wouldn't bother.

[KBKB]

Weight Comparison
My postal scale has a weight capacity of only 55 lbs, so I was unable to perform a weight comparison.

I configured the Ironmaster kettlebell for a nominal weight of 62.5 lbs. The 28kg Lifeline USA kettlebell should weigh about 61.7 lbs.

Note that I had to use a 22.5lb plate and a long lock-screw to configure the Ironmaster kettlebell.

Front View
The Ironmaster kettlebell looks significantly taller here than its Lifeline counterpart in any of the other photos posted thus far.



Side View



Top View