Going from Barbells to Kettlebells

sugarbone

I used to lift heavy 3x a week - I did starting strength initially, then after ~6 months modified it to suit my purposes. Squats, deads, bench, rows, pull ups, etc. However, in March I had chest surgery (breast deformity, so, not open-chest surgery thankfully) and again in May. Due to the geometry of handling a barbell, pretty much all of the lifts I did are now impossible for a couple years. Except maybe deadlifts? But I'm not paying $30 a month to deadlift and go home.

My surgeon recommended pilates, certain calisthenics, or kettlebells as an alternative. While the first 2 I'm not interested in, can I get a heavy muscle work out with kettlebells? I know it'll never be the same as squatting under a barbell but I'm going out of my mind not being able to lift and increase strength. Bike riding isn't cutting it anymore lol.

tl;dr are kettlebells really an alternative to barbell training? at least somewhat? Or should I try something else?

sugarbone

no one?

GhostPack

KB's are great. I add them in all the time. OR I just use a regular weight if a KB isn't really needed, like for Turkish get-ups. Thing is, they make them very heavy, so you can use them for strength, if you get the heavier ones.
Swings, Snatches, get-ups, deadlifts (suitcase dead's), sumo squat, press, etc.
You're right that they won't replace barbell's, but you can certainly get very strong training with them.

darrensurrey

How about dbs for bench press?

Hezzietiger1

It's all about the weight. Kettle bell swings are one of my favorite glutes/ab cardio/weight moves. I did 50 reps today with a 30 lb weight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_XjJjLc7NE

I don't think you can get a great workout like you are wanting with light weights tho.