Mutt Cowbells: Why to Use Them and Where to Buy

Mutt Cowbells are a hugely versatile and effective tool for your gym and training.

What are Mutt Cowbells?

Mutt Cowbells, from the makers of the Mutt Bar and Mutt Dumbbells, are a patent-pending new hybrid plate, combining elements of a kettlebell and a traditional cast iron plate.

The integrated handle of the Mutt Cowbell gives it additional dual functionality off the bar, as it can be used for kettlebell exercises such as swings, farmers carries, and shrugs.

How do Mutt Cowbells Work?

They can be used both on and off the bar.

Mutt Cowbells offer destabilization resistance through a subtle swing motion when implemented in barbell exercises.

This destabilization encourages proper barbell path and improves control of muscle engagement.

The integrated handle is convenient for weight loading but also allows the Cowbells to perform a variety of other exercises traditionally performed with Kettlebells, such as Farmer Carries and Shrugs.

What Exercises can you do with Mutt Cowbells?

• Cowbell Goblet Squat
• Cowbell Shrug
• Flat Bench Press
• Floor Press
• Barbell Squat
• Deadlift
• Overhead Press
• Farmer Carries
• Holds
• Swings
• Presses

Why are Mutt Cowbells Effective?

Sold in pairs and manufactured in the USA, each single-piece cast-iron Mutt Cowbell includes a bored hole in its centre, allowing it to be loaded securely on any standard Olympic barbell.

The bottom-heavy weight distribution of the triangular plates then creates a subtle swinging motion as the bar moves through an exercise, activating the user’s stabilizing muscle groups in a similar fashion to training with chains or resistance bands.

Mutt Cowbells also help train better form by forcing the athlete to maintain a proper barbell path throughout a movement.

Benefits of Mutt Cowbells

• They provide new stimulus for your strength and conditioning training
• They can be used to help enhance form and correct bar path
• The cowbells force your core and body to work hard to balance the swinging motion
• Easy to stack and store
• Versatile training tools

Weight Increments

There are two weight increments to choose from (25LB and 50LB), and Mutt branding and weight indications are debossed into the face of each plate.

How can you Store Mutt Cowbells?

When not in use, the design’s interlocking tabs allows multiple Cowbells (regardless of plate size/weight) to be stored securely and with maximum space efficiency.

They can also stand on their own vertically when placed on a level surface.

Specifications:

• Made in the USA
• Patent Pending Design
• Sold In Pairs
• Single Piece Cast Iron Construction
• Weight Variants: 25LB / 50LB
• Height: 14.625″
• Width at Base: 10.625”
• Depth: 1.75” (for 25LB), 3” (for 50LB)
• Handle Width: 8.75”
• Handle Thickness: 0.75” (for 25LB), 1” (for 50LB)
• Weight Tolerance: +/- 2%
• Colour: Black

Are Mutt Cowbells Compatible with Standard Olympic barbells?   

Yes, they are compatible with standard Olympic barbells and can be easily slotted onto to any standard sized Olympic barbell.

Are Mutt Cowbells Made in the USA?

Yes, they are 100% made in the USA from cast iron.

How are Cast Iron Kettlebells Made?

Learn more about the process.

Casting

Metal is poured into the sprue which goes into the runner, slows down and smooths out the flow of molten iron to provide more uniform flow rates to the various parts of the mould cavity.

The gate is where the molten metal enters the cavity and designed to feed the casting at a rate consistent with the rate of solidification.

The molten metal flows into the cavity and starts to fill it. The molten metal needs to move just fast enough to fill the cavity before it solidified but not too fast where it can become turbulent and disrupt the sand (leading to defect).

The riser, which is outside of the main body of the cast part, acts as a reservoir to pull in more metal to the cavity when it cools and contracts so that the kettlebell ends up the right shape, size and weight.

This is particularly important for larger casting.

Grinding and Machining

The kettlebell has now taken shape, it is broken from its feed and sent on for grinding.

Each kettlebell is ground by hand with a fine white stone, which removes the sharp edges but does not cause the excessive removal that can lead to flat sections.

This removes the casting seams and any high points. The base is also ground or machined flat.

Quality Control

Each kettlebell is individually checked for signs of shrinkage, damage or defects and remaining seams.

If it does not pass quality control, it is either sent back for further grinding or it is re-melted into a new kettlebell.

Powder Coating

Coatings are applied to cast iron surface of the kettlebell for two reasons:

1. To provide corrosion protection
2. To change the texture and grip of the kettlebell in your hand

Often the former is only considered.

In many gyms you’ll see beaten up rusty kettlebells which have their own charm, but they should start out with an excellent touch coating.

Typical coatings including painting (brush, spray or e-coating) or powder coating.

Painting by spray or brush often leads to poor adhesion to the surface.

E-coat provides a more uniform coating except however gets slippery when wet (not what you need at the end of a long workout) and can suffer from degradation in UV-degradation (meaning the coating can deteriorate after using outside for prolonged periods).

The benefits to the manufacturer of e-coating are that it is a cheaper technique and faster for processing large volume of samples. This is because you do not need to heat and cool your kettlebell.

However the compromise is the quality of the feeling in ones hands.

Where is the Best Place to Buy Mutt Cowbells?

Buy them from Rogue Fitness.

They are one of the most highly respected companies in the strength and fitness equipment industry, have easy return policies and provide excellent customer service.