Well, I don't plan on entering any kettlebell competitions. While I'd like to have a bell made of steel instead of cast iron, and with those flat surfaces next to the handle, at this point, I think I'm leaning towards the rogue kilo just because it's made in the US and seems to be of fairly high quality. I like the fatter handle for improving grip, but since I'm a kettlebell newb, I have no idea if that's going to become detrimental for certain exercises later on. Also, I like the idea of adding the kettlebell budy to jump to 28kg, so if I actually do stick with this and like it, I'd probably only have to purchase the kettlebell buddy and a 32kg bell. Thanks for your insight, KBKB.
KBKB, The finish on your kettle bell looks better than the ones on the manufacturers website. ...in particular, the seamless casting. In the manufacturer's photo some of them don't look as good. Do you think it's hit or miss?
I'm skeptical of kettlebells and don't have any exerience with them... but I thought it might be fun to try... and I'll probably need to go to Madison (where LifelineUSA is located) in the next few weeks.
Ⓜ──Ⓞ Ⓡ──Ⓔ []---[] Ivanko Barbell Crew #32 []---[]
Plates are 50˘ per pound, bars are $25, benches are $40, power racks are $200, cars are $5000, houses are $100,000, & clothes are 25˘.
KBKB, The finish on your kettle bell looks better than the ones on the manufacturers website. ...in particular, the seamless casting. In the manufacturer's photo some of them don't look as good. Do you think it's hit or miss?
I'm skeptical of kettlebells and don't have any exerience with them... but I thought it might be fun to try... and I'll probably need to go to Madison (where LifelineUSA is located) in the next few weeks.
I noticed a seam on one of my Lifeline bells while doing Turkish Get Ups recently. It's on the side of the bell, so it's not a problem. Once I noticed it, I checked the handle to see if it extended up to the handle, but it does not. Or if it did, they cleaned it up before painting.
I think the bells in Lifeline's photo look okay. There are some minor surface imperfections and I think I see some evidence of seams at the tops of a few of the bells, but this should not be a problem since that part of the bell won't make contact with your body. Don't know if it's the lighting or if they somehow shined them up, but the bells in the photo look a lot shinier than the ones I have. The paint on mine are flat black. The ones in their promotional photo look almost glossy.
Another possibility... I think I once read somewhere that their early bells were made somewhere else, but that they switched the manufacturing to the USA. It's possible that the bells you see in the photo were some of those early kettlebells. Just guessing, and I'm not even certain that what I read was true.
If you're buying them in person, you have the advantage of being able to pick out some of the better looking ones.
Edit: Looking again at the the photo of my bell that you quoted, I think I can see where the seam was on both the handle and the side of the bell. It's very slight and I've never noticed anything when using it. Here it is again:
Thank you, KBKB. I'm on spread but owe you my measly reps... probably more than once. You can place the order online for pick up but I'm not sure how it works. I hope I'll be able to pick and choose. If they have a show room, I'll take some photos. I've been procrastinating heading down to Madison so I'm not sure when it will happen but I have a bunch of stuff in storage there so it's going to happen sometime.
Ⓜ──Ⓞ Ⓡ──Ⓔ []---[] Ivanko Barbell Crew #32 []---[]
Plates are 50˘ per pound, bars are $25, benches are $40, power racks are $200, cars are $5000, houses are $100,000, & clothes are 25˘.
Thank you, KBKB. I'm on spread but owe you my measly reps... probably more than once. You can place the order online for pick up but I'm not sure how it works. I hope I'll be able to pick and choose. If they have a show room, I'll take some photos. I've been procrastinating heading down to Madison so I'm not sure when it will happen but I have a bunch of stuff in storage there so it's going to happen sometime.
I usually place online orders, but I've called them before when I've had questions. They're competent and pleasant to talk to. (Lifeline used to sell 44kg kettlebells. I called them once to see if they had any old stock I could buy - unfortunately they didn't. I think I talked to them one other time when their online ordering system wasn't working properly.)
I'd be interested in seeing showroom photos if they have one.
Have you figured out what size (or sizes) of kettlebell you want?
I was thinking about one or two at 16kg but I haven't decided. I'm not sure if it's something that I'd use regularly and there are other things I could use the money towards. It seems like something that I want pops up on Craigslist fairly regularly. Curiously, I haven't seen any Lifeline USA kettle bells on CL even though the company is located in the area.
Ⓜ──Ⓞ Ⓡ──Ⓔ []---[] Ivanko Barbell Crew #32 []---[]
Plates are 50˘ per pound, bars are $25, benches are $40, power racks are $200, cars are $5000, houses are $100,000, & clothes are 25˘.
I was thinking about one or two at 16kg but I haven't decided. I'm not sure if it's something that I'd use regularly and there are other things I could use the money towards. It seems like something that I want pops up on Craigslist fairly regularly. Curiously, I haven't seen any Lifeline USA kettle bells on CL even though the company is located in the area.
YMMV, but here are my current preferences...
Of all the kettlebells I own, I use 20kg Lifeline bells the most frequently, possibly as much as 80% of the time. E.g. I did a short workout on Monday night and used a single 20kg bell exclusively. I did three TGUs on each side and then a complex consisting of a right handed snatch followed five swings, with 2.5 swings per hand, a left handed snatch, five more swings, transitioning back to the right hand. I repeated that (without rest) ten times giving me 100 swings and 20 snatches. After a rest, I did twenty more snatches. I could possibly use a heavier bell for this workout, but I'd have to break it up to have more rests. I notice a big difference between snatching a 20kg vs a 24kg bell, especially when bringing the bell down.
After that, I probably use 24kg and 28kg bells nearly equally as much, followed by the 32.
I also have 8kg, 12kg, and 16kg bells, but they don't get used unless I'm trying something new. I also have 36kg and 40kg bells. I occasionally do heavy swings, push presses, kettlebell front squats, and TGUs with them.
Thank you, KBKB. I was under the impression that 16 was sort of a standard. I'll keep that in mind and look into trying out a few different sizes.
Ⓜ──Ⓞ Ⓡ──Ⓔ []---[] Ivanko Barbell Crew #32 []---[]
Plates are 50˘ per pound, bars are $25, benches are $40, power racks are $200, cars are $5000, houses are $100,000, & clothes are 25˘.
Ⓜ──Ⓞ Ⓡ──Ⓔ []---[] Ivanko Barbell Crew #32 []---[]
Plates are 50˘ per pound, bars are $25, benches are $40, power racks are $200, cars are $5000, houses are $100,000, & clothes are 25˘.
An issue raised in another thread is the amount of space available on the handle for doing two-handed swings. This can especially be a problem for those with large hands. I don't think that I have exceptionally large hands - when I buy gloves, I get either an L or an XL with the XLs usually fitting me better. Even so, I've noticed that I have trouble getting both hands comfortably on most fixed-weight kettlebells. This is definitely not the case with the Ironmaster Kettlebell. I have room to spare on the Ironmaster bell. Plus I find the handle more ergonomic for doing two handed swings. The gently curved shape of the handle allows you to position your both hands so that a neutral wrist position may be maintaned. As noted elsewhere in this thread though, the shape is a drawback when doing one-handed work.
Below are some photos showing hand positions for several kettlebells that I own, including the Ironmaster Kettlebell Handle at the end. I show both a two-handed grip and the position that I use for gripping the bell for most one-handed lifts, including snatches and cleans. Note that my thumb and forefinger are positioned to be in the corner of the handle for the conventional bells. When using the Ironmaster bell, I grip the handle in the center since it doesn't have a suitable corner. Gripping the Ironmaster bell in the center also tends to cause the flat part of the bell to rest against the forearm when in the rack position. If you try to grab it in an offset position, you'll end up with the relatively sharp corner against your forearm.
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