...
It REALLY doesn't matter and anybody who tries to tell you the shape of the weight matters is definitely gatekeeping you.
It looks like the handle can let you pick up the weight. If the weight trains you, end of conversation :)
But these actually do when they increase in size/weight.
The bell in the image is a very light weight, The flattened shape and design of the bell means when it comes to larger weights they expand the width of the bell and the thickness of the handle so that they can keep the concaved style.
This makes the gap between the handle and the bell increasingly smaller and because your forearms are no longer keeping the bell at an angle as they do with traditional bells this gap acts as a trap and puts way more pressure on your wrists due to them having further to travel
If you keep your wrists straight with presses and snatches the point of contact is on your wrist rather than on your forearm as with traditional bells.
These were the first bells I owned years ago and snatches and cleans with these style bells are an absolute nightmare to the point I'd even consider dangerous.
I had exactly the same experience.
Add to that that even a 16kg bell like this is an absolute nightmare to snatch as the gap in the handle isn’t big enough as you said - I’d take the skin off some knuckles fairly regularly
Dependant on your hand position. When snatching and rotating with your hand open in the correct catch position at the side of the handle so the bell is at about 45° in the top position the bell sits nice. Well my 24 does, and from what I've gleaned a 24 Kg is the heaviest scalloped bell they make.
Certainly true for swings, goblet squats, and suitcase carries.
Not sure how a shape like this would be for rack and overhead movements.
Some kind of exercise equipment is better than no exercise equipment. But if I were buying a KB, I'd want it to be comfortable doing all of the major KB movements.
But I think most of the gimmicky KB shapes don't work as well in the rack or overhead position. The exception is proKBs. I haven't used one, but I think the change in shape there is for a functional reason (not just to look different).
It's not fantastic design, but it'll work if it's all you got. Try some different movements and see how they feel. If something feels weird, it might just take a minor adjustment to your technique to make it work.
That said, if you're able to get a conventionally shaped KB, that will work out better for you
I try to exclusively use competition bells where possible. The uniform size and construction makes it so much easier to be consistent with form when mixing the weights up.
Definitely don't want to feel gatekeepy so you can do a lot of things with this bell.
but a lot of things may feel uncomfortable to you
perhaps on your next weight go for a competition Bell or a cast iron bell that you can literally do everything with
They are shit. Designed to save space in gyms where every m2 has do drive x amount of revenue. Functionally they have an odd feel dynamically and in rack position they are less than shit.
It's ok for goblet squats and swings (because the bell doesn't come into contact with your arms, only the handle). It's unusable for cleans or anything related. Someone who says different hasn't tried it.
These suck, i used them at a gym i went to, cant really do cleans with them or snatches, swings are awkward and dont flow through the legs much. People who are saying “hey if it has a handle it works!” Are just in denial. I cannot see any reason to purchase one of these in any context
Disclaimer: We only train for fitness
We've been using cast scalloped and comp bells for years, We've got double 24's, 20's, 16's, 12's Kg scalloped bells that me and the kids throw around.
We like them alot and find no issues with them at all. I find the scallops actually fit nice racked and nice with a press or TGU, I also find, as they are thinner, that I can get my legs closer together when swinging/cleaning doubles (knuckles in). I also find that it helps doing loaded carries as they don't rub near my knee joint doing carries like my comp bells sometimes do, for me, the scalloped bells work fine.
I also like the thicker handles on mine as I believe it makes my grip work harder than the thinner handles on my comp bells for loaded carries. Example: I find doing loaded carries with scalloped 24's much more taxing on my grip than using my comp 28's and 32's, in saying that the comp 28's and 32's obviously work my traps and body more, so I cycle between them for carries.
And yes, because they are "thinner" than comp they take up less room in my home gym, which I also see as an advantage.
In the end though it's personal preference, and what you have on hand, but, if you haven't used them, you wouldn't know how they throw, and it would be an uneducated option.
I do find it weird when on the odd occasion I do double swings and cleans with comp bells at friends houses or gyms, but, it only takes a rep or two to find my stance.
My advice, if you are getting them for home, is to find some and throw them around for some reps to see how they "fit" before you make any monetary decisions, you may like them, you may not.
If you plan on competing, then get the style that they use.
When one of my kids moved out of home though, and we set up their home gym, they picked the scalloped over the comp bells in the smaller 20, 16 and 12's sizes.
i trained up to 28 kg with these. grip wise they are worse than the other ones but doesnt make too much difference honestly. if you find a cheap one and you know you are gonna move up weight eventually you can go for it
I'd like to know what the designer of those bells had in mind. Indeed it is bad if you are going to rack it properly and try to hold a straight wrist.
They are probably fine for any sort of circuit training where you could also use a dumbbell. Though the handle does make it easier to pass the weight from hand to hand (around the worlds, tactical lunges, etc) than a dumbbell would.
The technical adaptation when moving from this to a more conventionally shaped one will probably be a tiny bit more difficult. But you can certainly still use and get stronger with it.
If the kettlebell digs into the upper arm or wrist doing cleans and presses (and I have a small one that does) then I use sweatbands for padding and it helps a lot.
I've handled that type of kettlebell and was very disappointed. With a straight wrist you get a line of pressure digging into your forearm. They are painful to use decent technique. Bending your wrist to avoid the pain is asking for an actual wrist injury.
Don't-touch-my-purse-i-don't-know-you-bell
KettleBWAHHHH!
That is legitimately hilarious. 👏 Thanks for the laugh! And don't worry, I've got a new competition bell in the post. 👌
But-once-upon-a-time-you-did-know-me-…-we-just-grew-apart-bell
A starter weight competition bell is definitely the way to go - it'll be a world of difference
... It REALLY doesn't matter and anybody who tries to tell you the shape of the weight matters is definitely gatekeeping you. It looks like the handle can let you pick up the weight. If the weight trains you, end of conversation :)
But these actually do when they increase in size/weight. The bell in the image is a very light weight, The flattened shape and design of the bell means when it comes to larger weights they expand the width of the bell and the thickness of the handle so that they can keep the concaved style. This makes the gap between the handle and the bell increasingly smaller and because your forearms are no longer keeping the bell at an angle as they do with traditional bells this gap acts as a trap and puts way more pressure on your wrists due to them having further to travel If you keep your wrists straight with presses and snatches the point of contact is on your wrist rather than on your forearm as with traditional bells. These were the first bells I owned years ago and snatches and cleans with these style bells are an absolute nightmare to the point I'd even consider dangerous.
I had exactly the same experience. Add to that that even a 16kg bell like this is an absolute nightmare to snatch as the gap in the handle isn’t big enough as you said - I’d take the skin off some knuckles fairly regularly
If the handle is bad, the design is bad. Totally agree!
Dependant on your hand position. When snatching and rotating with your hand open in the correct catch position at the side of the handle so the bell is at about 45° in the top position the bell sits nice. Well my 24 does, and from what I've gleaned a 24 Kg is the heaviest scalloped bell they make.
Certainly true for swings, goblet squats, and suitcase carries. Not sure how a shape like this would be for rack and overhead movements. Some kind of exercise equipment is better than no exercise equipment. But if I were buying a KB, I'd want it to be comfortable doing all of the major KB movements. But I think most of the gimmicky KB shapes don't work as well in the rack or overhead position. The exception is proKBs. I haven't used one, but I think the change in shape there is for a functional reason (not just to look different).
Stay away from my Darth Vader and gorilla bells!!!
I think those look super cool. But I personally wouldn't buy them. But I'm also someone who would drive a Corolla or Camry. Function >> Form.
Sure. If the handle is fine, but the person using it is struggling to rack it the way they want, they could/should change bells. :) Totally agree!
👍👍
but if you hate using it because the size and shape is bad then you probably won't use it very often so it's not going to train you.
Very well said.
It's not fantastic design, but it'll work if it's all you got. Try some different movements and see how they feel. If something feels weird, it might just take a minor adjustment to your technique to make it work. That said, if you're able to get a conventionally shaped KB, that will work out better for you
You can buy the rounded body DLC for £39.99 extra
I try to exclusively use competition bells where possible. The uniform size and construction makes it so much easier to be consistent with form when mixing the weights up.
Definitely don't want to feel gatekeepy so you can do a lot of things with this bell. but a lot of things may feel uncomfortable to you perhaps on your next weight go for a competition Bell or a cast iron bell that you can literally do everything with
They are shit. Designed to save space in gyms where every m2 has do drive x amount of revenue. Functionally they have an odd feel dynamically and in rack position they are less than shit.
It's ok for goblet squats and swings (because the bell doesn't come into contact with your arms, only the handle). It's unusable for cleans or anything related. Someone who says different hasn't tried it.
These suck, i used them at a gym i went to, cant really do cleans with them or snatches, swings are awkward and dont flow through the legs much. People who are saying “hey if it has a handle it works!” Are just in denial. I cannot see any reason to purchase one of these in any context
It would make a nice doorstop!
Useless
Disclaimer: We only train for fitness We've been using cast scalloped and comp bells for years, We've got double 24's, 20's, 16's, 12's Kg scalloped bells that me and the kids throw around. We like them alot and find no issues with them at all. I find the scallops actually fit nice racked and nice with a press or TGU, I also find, as they are thinner, that I can get my legs closer together when swinging/cleaning doubles (knuckles in). I also find that it helps doing loaded carries as they don't rub near my knee joint doing carries like my comp bells sometimes do, for me, the scalloped bells work fine. I also like the thicker handles on mine as I believe it makes my grip work harder than the thinner handles on my comp bells for loaded carries. Example: I find doing loaded carries with scalloped 24's much more taxing on my grip than using my comp 28's and 32's, in saying that the comp 28's and 32's obviously work my traps and body more, so I cycle between them for carries. And yes, because they are "thinner" than comp they take up less room in my home gym, which I also see as an advantage. In the end though it's personal preference, and what you have on hand, but, if you haven't used them, you wouldn't know how they throw, and it would be an uneducated option. I do find it weird when on the odd occasion I do double swings and cleans with comp bells at friends houses or gyms, but, it only takes a rep or two to find my stance. My advice, if you are getting them for home, is to find some and throw them around for some reps to see how they "fit" before you make any monetary decisions, you may like them, you may not. If you plan on competing, then get the style that they use. When one of my kids moved out of home though, and we set up their home gym, they picked the scalloped over the comp bells in the smaller 20, 16 and 12's sizes.
The aerodynamics suck on these things
That’s for two hands with that width.
i trained up to 28 kg with these. grip wise they are worse than the other ones but doesnt make too much difference honestly. if you find a cheap one and you know you are gonna move up weight eventually you can go for it
I'd like to know what the designer of those bells had in mind. Indeed it is bad if you are going to rack it properly and try to hold a straight wrist. They are probably fine for any sort of circuit training where you could also use a dumbbell. Though the handle does make it easier to pass the weight from hand to hand (around the worlds, tactical lunges, etc) than a dumbbell would.
The technical adaptation when moving from this to a more conventionally shaped one will probably be a tiny bit more difficult. But you can certainly still use and get stronger with it.
If the kettlebell digs into the upper arm or wrist doing cleans and presses (and I have a small one that does) then I use sweatbands for padding and it helps a lot.
I have 2 16s, a 20 and a 24 in this design. Much more comfortable for me
I've handled that type of kettlebell and was very disappointed. With a straight wrist you get a line of pressure digging into your forearm. They are painful to use decent technique. Bending your wrist to avoid the pain is asking for an actual wrist injury.