One of the things people may not think about when selecting a type of workout is that that different types of workouts lead to different results in the physical appearance of your body. A long distance runner looks different from a swimmer, and a swimmer looks different from a boxer. I've personally experienced the difference between how different approaches lead to a different body by comparing how I looked after 3 months of working out with kettlebells vs a typical bodybuilding approach.



Before I knew kettlebells existed, I used the common bodybuilding-type workout to get in shape. Up until then, my greatest progress physically came from using the approach from Body-for-LIFE (bodybuilding plus aerobics and a moderate carb/protein diet). After a while I fell away from that method and eventually discovered kettlebells and Pavel Tsatsouline's particular approach to exercise and strength training.

I happened to document both methods with photos, and in looking back I was really struck by how different my body looked due to the two different approaches to exercise (to see the photo comparison, follow the link at the end of this article).

I found that working with kettlebells resulted in a leaner, "harder" look than what I achieved with the traditional bodybuilding approach. Using kettlebells I didn't have as much of a "rounded" look to my muscles as in the bodybuilding photo. Kettlebell workouts seem to lead to more of a lean, tight look while the bodybuilding method led to a bigger, bulkier look.

Pick your method, pick your look.

Of course you can combine both methods and get a little of each as well.