What is the difference, if any, with working out with kettlebells vs dumbbells?

2hr yoga Sunday night

1.15hr yoga last night

2 day break and then 1.5hr yoga Friday night

Kettlebells, due to the way you hold them and their shape, allow for more full range of movement.

This is a pretty good explanation (though maybe a little over the top in its praise).

http://ezinearticles.com/?Why-Kettlebells?&id=1371082
Here are a few advantages kettlebells have over other exercise equipment:

Freedom of movement - kettlebells can do everything dumbbells can do plus much more. Machines and their single plane of movement do not even compare! Taming a kettlebell is similar to wielding a medieval sword. By now you've heard of all the popular buzzwords like "core" "stabilizer muscles" and "explosive strength" well, with kettlebell training and the hundreds of exercises you can do with them, you can develop all that and then some!

All-around fitness - the 5 components to physical fitness are: muscular strength, endurance, flexibility, cardio-respiratory efficiency and body composition. Kettlebell training will help you improve in all 5 of these areas. I'll save the specifics for another article and for now just tell you that it's something you'll have to experience to truly appreciate. A set of swings and a few overhead presses will get you thinking on the right track!

The swing - the foundation of all kettlebell exercises. No other piece of equipment will allow you to do a swing like a kettlebell does, and no other exercise conditions your body like a swing does. As simple as it sounds, there is a lot to be said for swinging a weight in between your legs, slowing the momentum and redirecting that force in the face of gravity. Strong and flexible hamstrings, powerful hips and a resilient lower back is what you can expect from doing swings, not to mention a healthy heart with endurance that won't quit!

Convenience - kettlebells are compact and easily transported. Train with them in your bedroom, in your backyard or take them with you on vacation. No more missed workouts or having to settle for the cheesy "health club" at the hotel. My kettlebells sit beside my television in the living room and it's not uncommon to find me doing swings during commercial breaks, or while soaking in some rays at the beach in Ocean City.

Enjoyment factor - kettlebell training is fun! The freedom of movement you have, all the different exercises available, the rhythmic flowing nature of the training itself... it's enjoyable! And let's be honest, an exercise that you do not enjoy is an exercise that you will not do for long.

Here's another good one:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/hale8.htm
JH: What advantages do kettlebells have over dumbbells? How hard was it to become a certified Russian kettlebell instructor?

MM: There are several advantages that kettlebells have over dumbbells:

1. The handles are much thicker making every exercise much harder and giving your grip a tremendous workout. I notice that my forearms get pumped even on exercises such as the floor press.
2. The way the weight hangs to one side makes it much more difficult to control and you have to fight to stabilize it throughout each exercise.

3. It takes more coordintation to master exercises such as the kettlebell clean and snatch in which the kettlebell flips over your hand. In addition to increasing coordination, you learn how to brace for the shock of the kettlebell flipping over. This is very applicable for combat athletes or anyone else that trains for mental toughness.

4. Kettlebells have a real "dinosaur" look to them and they scare what Brooks Kubick refers to as the "Chrome and fern" crowd.

5. Kettlebells are addictive and every time you see one, you want to throw it around, ha ha. Getting certified as an RKC instruction was a grueling three days. Pavel is an outstanding instructor. However, he does not take any prisoners and shows no mercy. You better make sure that you are prepared. He especially took pleasure in drilling me for three days, ha ha.

I lold at this. Don't do this unless you want a brutal challenge that will get you into the best shape of your life. Unless you're a real self-motivator, you'd better get a trainer to push you on this.

That rough?

I go to a personal trainer about every other weekend - this is the truth. I can't push myself as hard as the trainer does, not even close. It's maddening.

I've probably oversold it. You can do the exercises by yourself at a slow pace, but to really get the fatburning benefits, workrate needs to be hard and fast. In all actuality, a person could work out with regular weights the same way and probably get most of the same benefits. No 30 second rest periods between sets, no loafing. Go from set to set to set with minimal rest and I think a person would get the same thing out of weight training as they would a kettlebell workout.

Rough, no. But "fun" and "enjoyable" aren't words I'd use to describe it. More like "rigorous" and "intense".

Kettlebell looks easier to me.....from a standpoint of needing less equipment and room. Plus I'm assuming that there isn't a spotter needed either.

You can't do swings with a dumbbell, but you can do most of the same lifting components as with a kettlebell. Presses, front squats, lunges, etc. All you'd need is a dumbbell or two.

I guess it's just a personal preference then. Although I'm sure it would be easier for someone to just pick up a set of dumbbells, instead of trying kettlebells for the first time without a trainer.

Yeah, but Brock is also underselling the swing, imo. I think that the swing and snatch, while only 2 of many exercises that can be done with the kettelbell, are also the essential KB exercises that set it apart. You can't do swings with a dumbbell, and while it only seems like 1 exercise... it's a very big part of the total kettlebell experience.

This is true. The ballistic component is what sets the kettle bell apart.

Couldn't you do swings holding one end of the dumbell?

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I know it's not the same grip and everything.....but it's basically the same.....right?