Kettlebells For Building Muscle – Chest, Shoulder and Triceps Workout

Kettlebell workouts that we’ve talked about on this blog have primarily been full-body in nature – they hit all of your major muscle groups in a single session. This is great for fat loss, conditioning, and improving overall athleticism – but let’s face it, if your #1 goal is to gain muscle, a body part split is the way to go. And kettlebells can be used for gaining muscle just like any other strength training implement – in fact, I think kettlebells have a place in your workouts no matter what your fitness goals are. The key is knowing how to set up your workouts for maximum effectiveness. Here’s a chest, shoulder and triceps workout you can do with kettlebells and your own body weight:

1) TGU’s

Do one ‘naked’ on each side (no added weight) and then three more on each side, switching sides each rep. Here’s how to do a Get Up in case you need a refresher:

How To Do A Turkish Get Up

2) Push Ups

Do three sets of max reps with 30 seconds of rest between sets.  Pick a Push Up variation that’s challenging for you – you shouldn’t be able to complete more than 20 reps on the first set.  Here’s a great video on how to perform different Push Up variations:

3) KB Presses

Do three ladders up to 5 reps each.  The pressing ladders will look like this:

  • Clean and Press Right
  • Clean and Press Left
  • Clean, 2 Presses Right
  • Clean, 2 Presses Left
  • Clean, 3 Presses Right
  • Etc.

4) Ring Dips

Do three sets of max reps just like you did with the Push Ups. These are brutal if you’ve never done them before – here’s a video explaining the exercise – it also gives a nice progression if you can’t yet perform a true Ring Dip:

There’s a chest, shoulder and triceps workout for building muscle using kettlebells and your own body weight. Enjoy!

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2 thoughts on “Kettlebells For Building Muscle – Chest, Shoulder and Triceps Workout

  1. Pingback: Kettlebell Basics » Kettlebells For Building Muscle – Legs, Back and Biceps Workout

  2. Pingback: Kettlebell Routines | Kettlebell Basics

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