One of the most common questions I hear regarding kettlebells is, what is the benefit of competition / pro style kettlebells over standard kettlebells? The answer is simple, consistent. With the competition / pro-style kettlebells, you will be able to maintain the same shape every time you use them. This is true whether you are using an 8kg or 32kg kettlebell. With standard kettlebells, each kettlebell size has a different dimension. Whether it’s the diameter of the handle, the dimension between the handle and the bell, or the size of the bell, it will always be different with standard kettlebells. It won’t differ that way from competition / pro style kettlebells.

The professional-style kettlebell manufacturing process allows us to produce a kettlebell that has the same dimensions in each bell, regardless of size. That means the handles will always have the same diameter, the dimension between the hood and the handle will always be the same, and the size of the hood will never fluctuate. This will allow you to consistently maintain the same shape and feel with every movement regardless of weight. This is a huge advantage over standard kettlebells.

Another benefit of competition / pro-style kettlebells is weight tolerance. In a competition / professional style kettlebell, the weight tolerance is typically +/-. 3%. That’s right, less than half a percent. That means that even with a 32 kg kettlebell, your weight can fluctuate. 2 pounds (3.2 ounces). Again, that will only help create more consistent lift and movement in all of your workouts.

The competition / pro style kettlebells are also made of 100% steel. This differs from standard kettlebells which are typically solid cast iron. Because steel is stronger than cast iron, this will generally create a higher quality kettlebell that will stand up to more abuse.

Think of this in terms of the bumper plates used by Olympic lifters. Each bumper plate has the same diameter. ¿Why is it so important? Again, the answer is simple, it is consistency. If you are doing olympic movements like a clean, for example, and the 10 pound plates have a different diameter than the 45 pound plates, when you do a 65 pound clean you are starting in a completely different position than a 135 lbs. If you can’t have consistency with those plates, you will never have a consistent shape. The more consistent your form, the safer and easier it will be to gain weight. Why would you want it to be any different when you are working with kettlebells? You would not do that!

So why do people use standard kettlebells instead of competition if there are so many benefits to competition kettlebells? Well, one of the main drawbacks of competing kettlebells is price. They are, due to the quality, more expensive than standard kettlebells. That means you’d have to weigh your options as to what’s more important, consistency and quality, or money in your wallet. At the Christian’s Fitness factory, we have our own line of competitive kettlebells at very competitive prices.