If you had only 20 minutes to workout and within that time you wanted to improve your physique, strength, flexibility, and stamina you don’t have too many options. One is the kettlebell.

Kettlebells provide such a great and effective workout. There are a few things you’ll notice when you start swinging kettlebells, but one of the first and most important things is that it’s not boring. I dare you to start doing swings, snatches, cleans, and windmills and feel like it’s a waste of time!

Compare the fat burning benefits of a traditional, isolation exercise like bicep curls, to a kettlebell exercise like the swing. The motion of a swing involves entire series of muscles in your back, shoulders, arms, hands, and legs. Guess what you’re working with a curl; your biceps. In addition, a swing gets your heart pumping faster, incorporating cardio into the activity and burning more calories.

Another great benefit is the strength you gain from kettlebells. Due to the unbalanced nature of the bell, you have to work even harder to keep it under control. This extra work leaves you, again burning more calories, but also develops all around, useful strength. Every time you win the battle of controlling the kettlebell means you are getting stronger and stronger.

High-intensity kettlebell workouts also elevate your EPOC or excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. In order to clear your body of lactic acid and refuel glycogen, it needs to work even harder, burning more calories.

Burning fat and increasing functional strength are just two of the benefits of kettlebell training; in addition, there are significant changes in endurance and conditioning that will occur. Kettlebells allow you to increase your overall stamina and work capacity because of your heart and lungs are getting a workout during each exercise. This provides both an aerobic and anaerobic workout at the same time. That’s the way to train efficiently.

Say you want a home gym. Do you think you have the money or space required to get all the equipment you need? You do if you use a kettlebell! The compact size of the kettlebell combined with the numerous exercises you can do within a couple square feet means that you can workout anywhere. This includes your garage, backyard, a park, or at the beach.

If all you have time for is kettlebell training, you still have the ability to get into great shape. You could also combine it with standard gym routines or other training methods to hit more muscles in less time. Everyone, from the bodybuilder to the fitness newbie can benefit from kettlebell training.