Best weights to get??? Kettlebells?

[tomtailford]

Are kettle bells the best thing to get in a martial arts gym??

If so, what would you recommend??

Also... what weights would you get?

Where is the cheapest to buy?

I have no ideas about weights, so would also appreciate some good exercises toooo!!

Thanks!!

[Rob T]

Depends what weight training goals you want people to be able to achieve. If you're looking for strength gains, kettlebells are definitely not optimal.

[tomtailford]

Strength for some people, i guess toning for others... will probably have a mixture of people training / goals.

[Rob T]

I would go for a power/olympic lifting set-up;

Power-rack/cage
Bench
Olympic bar
As much weight as you can afford

[6million$man]

I would go for a power/olympic lifting set-up;

Power-rack/cage
Bench
Olympic bar
As much weight as you can afford

I'd agree with Rob. I think kettle bells would be good in addition to more standards weights equipment, but not instead of. A decent range of dumbells and an olympic bar with plenty of weights, plus a good quality bench and squat rack would get you a long way. I'm no expert but I think that would be a good place to start.

[C.K.A.Martial Arts]

Kettle Bells are great for MMA Workouts ~ the problem is the price of them.

A good set of Kettle Bells will set you back a good few hundred squid. the size to look at are 8kg for qucik cardio work ~ 16kg for more harder work outs and then 20kg for killer reps - dont go bigger than that.

for the same money you can get a decent bench and a decent set of weights.

it all depends on your budget.

London Kettle Bells ~ Blitz Sports are 2 of the best ~ or from me when they are in but you would have to collect them or live within 10 Miles for free delivery

[Rob T]

Interesting article on a major pitfall I think people fall into regarding kettlebells... http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/...9889&zoneid=13

[123 MMA]

Interesting article on a major pitfall I think people fall into regarding kettlebells... http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/...9889&zoneid=13

I think that article is interesting, however the exercise they mentioned is not a common one (the BUP), they are not in many Kettlebell workouts.

[Rob T]

The specific exercise does not matter, it's just an example.

[Smiler]

Nice article RobT, it was a good heads up. This guy actually understands strength and conditioning.

Its not the technique - its how you perform the technique - and for what goal.

I think that's a good summary he's made.

If you are after cheap and versatile options for strength training, for minimal cost, and where you can buy several the same to get several people training at the same time, I would look at the power-bags. There are some very sports-specific work that can be done with them and they are quite robust. And if you have any punch bags in the gym you could use them the same too - and save money on even buying the power bags!

Just some thoughts to make you think, and I agree with <gulp> everything that RobT has said...

Best regards,

Smiler