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:
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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Perfect technique with the right kettlebell exercises will give you all the ab work you’ll ever need without doing a single crunch or sit up. Here are three kettlebell exercises that work the heck out of your abs (and work almost every other muscle in your body as well):
1. Renegade Rows
This exercise, while working a lot of other muscle groups at the same time, is probably one of the most challenging ab exercises you’ll ever do. Here’s a quick video with some great tips on how to perfect it:
And an entire post on the Kettlebell Row and variations of it, like the Renegade Row:
Kettlebell Front Squats are one of the best kettlebell exercises for your abs. They force you to stabilize a weight in front of you and maintain a neutral spine (if you’re doing the exercise right, that is) through a very real-world and functional movement – squatting! Here’s the full article on how to do the Kettlebell Squat:
The Turkish Get Up is another fantastic exercise for your abs that can be performed using kettlebells. It is, however, highly technical – here’s an article on this blog about how to perform it properly:
So there you have three great kettlebell exercises for the abs – the Renegade Row, the Front Squat, and the Turkish Get Up. Incorporate these exercises into your existing routine and start reaping the benefits today!!
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The best kettlebell routines from KettlebellBasics.net
Variety in your kettlebell training program, contrary to popular belief, can be both good and bad.
If you keep doing the same workout for a long period of time, your body adapts and you stop making progress. It also gets super boring :).
On the other hand, change things up too much and it’s difficult to measure progress.
Sticking with your program just long enough and changing things up when your gains start to stall is the ticket to steady progress. And that being said, here are a few kettlebell routines to give you ideas for your workouts and to help you keep things interesting. Most of these have written descriptions and video – enjoy!
Combines two basic kettlebell exercises – the Swing and the Get Up – into a medium intensity, beginner level workout. Start here after you feel confident with your Swing and Get Up technique.
This one takes all five basic kettlebell exercises – the Swing, the Get Up, the Goblet Squat, the Clean and Press, and the Snatch – and combines them into a giant circuit.
If you’re short on time, here’s two kettlebell workouts you can do in 15 minutes or less.
Kettlebell Basics Combo Series
A video series by yours truly that features four ‘kettlebell combo’ videos so far. Take combo #1 for example – the one arm Swing to one arm Squat to Overhead Press to one arm Snatch. All combos also have a basic workout you can do with them.
Being that combat athletes come from a broad group, this kettlebell circuit workout can be adapted to your training program; it is done for time instead of reps and requires the use of a kettlebell in each exercise
If you are just beginning to train with kettlebells, this circuit is designed for you, incorporating simple, yet effective kettlebell exercises to get you started
To branch out, this workout has ten exercises utilizing body weight, a stability ball, and kettlebells; this combination is great for losing fat and gaining lean muscle
Halloween has passed, but that doesn’t mean candy isn’t still available throughout the year, try this bodyweight/kettlebell workout to burn some of those calories!
Women require different training needs than men and this routine targets that issue with a combination of lunges, get ups, rows, swings, snatches, and cleans
Now, these kettlebell routines are just a start – we’ve got many more to come, so stay tuned!! Comments and questions are always welcome.
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Quality kettlebell training advice can be hard to come by- here’s a short list of resources I’ve used to build my kettlebell knowledge over time – I hope you find it useful:
The premier source of kettlebell training info. Pavel Tsatsouline, the man behind The Russian Kettlebell Challenge, Enter The Kettlebell, Return of The Kettlebell and lots of other books from Dragon Door, is largely responsible for popularizing kettlebell training in the U.S.
The best book, in my opinion, on getting started with kettlebell training. Keeps things basic for you, and Pavel has a both highly effective and highly entertaining way of teaching. A must have for your KB training library. The Enter The Kettlebell DVD is also a great tool.
A good resource with a lot of good stuff – and a lot of bad. I might sound a little like I’m condradicting myself after this post – the rule is to use YouTube at your own risk and, after looking at all the other resources I recommend here, use your knowledge as a ‘filter’ and decide what’s good and what’s not.
This is, at $25 a year, one of the best investments you can make in furthering your general training knowledge. I know the jury is out on CrossFit (I wrote a post about this recently on The Fitness Monster, in fact – you can check it out here), but I think their journal is an awesome resource. There’s not only a lot of kettlebell info here – much of it from Jeff Martone, a former RKC guy – but lots and lots more on every imaginable topic.
This is a killer book if you’re looking to improve your conditioning. A word of warning: the program is hard 🙂 But if you can survive, you’ll probably get into the best shape of your life.
Another cool thing is that Kenneth Jay, author of Viking Warrior Conditioning, has extensive research that he’s performed himself to back up what he’s saying.
What to do once you’re done with Enter The Kettlebell. Covers advanced kettlebell training methods, most notably double kettlebell drills in detail – again, don’t even think about it until you’ve completed the Rite of Passage!
Another former RKC guy, has an awesome free e-book on kettlebell training you get for signing up for his newsletter. Also has a ton of training dvd’s and holds various workshops across the country. Highly recommended.
Great YouTube channel, Art of Strength and Punch Kettlebell Gym is headed by Anthony DiLugo, who got his start with the RKC – seeing a common theme here?
There you have it – a short list of kettlebell training resources that should keep you busy for a while! This list is by no means exhaustive – in fact, feel free to leave links to your favorite places to find kettlebell training info in the comments section.
You’ll do 10 reps of the thrusters and 20 reps of the swings. Pick a medium weight. Set a timer, get
your mind right and do as many rounds of this circuit as you can in 5 minutes. Recover in the fetal
postion.
2. Swing/ Get Up Decending Ladder
Pick a heavy weight for the swings and a medium weight for the get ups. You’ll do:
25 swings/ 20 swings/ 15 swings
3 get ups/ 2 get ups/ 1 get up
Except you’ll repeat each swing rep count twice: 25 swings, 3 get ups on the right side, 25 swings, 3
get ups on the left, 20 swings, 2 get ups right, etc.
Try these workouts on for size when you’re pressed for time and let us know what you think!!
One of the reasons you like kettlebells so much is because of the ridiculously fast and effective workouts you can get with them, right? So here are two ultra abbreviated kettlebell circuits that deliver a metabolic whollop and a nice dose of ‘calorie afterburn’ that’s hard to match with other, ‘lesser’ training tools like dumbbells or barbells:
You’ll do 10 reps of the Thrusters and 20 reps of the Swings. Pick a medium weight. Set a timer, get your mind right and do as many rounds of this circuit as you can in 5 minutes. Here’s what a Kettlebell Thruster looks like:
2. Swing/ Get Up Descending Ladder
Pick a heavy weight for the Swings and a medium weight for the Get Ups. You’ll do:
25 Swings/ 20 Swings/ 15 Swings
3 Get Ups/ 2 Get Ups/ 1 Get Up
Except you’ll repeat each Swing rep set twice, like this: 25 Swings, 3 Get Ups on the right side, 25 Swings, Get Ups on the left, 20 Swings, 2 Get Ups right, etc.
Try these workouts on for size when you’re pressed for time and let us know what you think!!
P.S. I have some great stuff for you guys coming in the next two weeks – a brand new product (hint: it’ll give you some killer workouts you can do when you’re away from your beloved kettlebells that will give you some of that same killer metabolic toughness), a new, updated version of the kettlebell basics manual, and more. Sign up for our newsletter if you haven’t already to stay posted!!
As much as we love training with kettlebells, the reality is that we can’t train with them exclusively forever and expect balanced development. Kettlebells are great for building strength-endurance and for improving your overall condition, but they aren’t so good for some other things – like building maximal strength. And, just like any training stimulus, you’re going to eventually adapt to kettlebell training. So what’s the best way to mix them with other training modalities and still get the results you’re looking for?
There are two basic approaches to mixing in other types of training with your kettlebell work. The first approach would be to utilize a kettlebell-only program, like the one found in Enter The Kettlebell by Pavel for a four to eight week period. When your progress stalls out on this program, you would then switch to a program such one found in Beyond Bodybuilding – a more traditional barbell, dumbell, and body weight based routine – for another four to eight weeks. Once adapted to this program, you would switch back to your kettlebell-only routine.
The second approach would be to use a program like the one found here on my main fitness blog, thefitnessmonster.com, that mixes kettlebell training and more traditional strength work together. This program kind of gives you the best of both worlds in that you train with kettlebells a couple of days a week and lift heavy a couple of days week.
There are pluses and minuses with both approaches. While focusing on one specific goal for a given period of time does help you make a little faster progress towards that goal, a drawback can be that you lose a little bit of what you worked so hard for in your last training period. Mixing kettlebell training with the rest of your strength work helps you avoid losing what you gained – but you might not make as fast of progress towards a specific goal as if you focused on it completely.
So those are the two approaches to mixing in more traditional strength training with your kettlebell work. In the end, it comes down to your specific goals and what’s going to work best for you when you decide how to organize your training schedule. Keep training hard and good luck!
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If you’re like me and you strongly dislike the more ‘traditional’ cardio methods – like the eliptical or the recumbent bike – kettlebells can be the perfect tool for an extreme cardio workout. Let’s first define what cardio is, how you can get a great cardio workout using kettlebells, and then talk about what a cardio workout done with kettlebells would look like.
‘Cardio’, otherwise known as ‘aerobic exercise’, is defined by Wikipedia as follows:
“Aerobic exercise is physical exercise that intends to improve the efficiency of the cardiovascular system in absorbing and transporting oxygen.
[1] Aerobic means “with oxygen”, and refers to the use of oxygen in the body’s metabolic or energy-generating process.
Many types of exercise are aerobic, and by definition are performed at moderate levels of intensity for extended periods of time.”
So … can we use kettlebells to get a cardio workout? Absolutely! High rep swings, squats and sntaches get your heart rate up very quickly, and if you take minimal rest breaks, can keep it up for as long as you want.
So how would you structure a kettlebell cardio workout? Those of you that have been training with kettlebells for any length of time can attest to the fact that almost every kb session tends to have a strong cardio element – but here are a couple of sample ‘cardio with kettlebells’ routines to really get your heart pumping:
1. Run and Swing
Those of you coming from a fighting background have surely done ‘road work’ at some point in time – here’s how to incorporate your kb:
1. run 400m/ 1 lap around a standard track or 1/4 mile fast
2. do 50 kettlebell swings
repeat this 4 times as fast as possible
Note: you can break up the swings if you can’t do 50 non-stop – but that’s the eventual goal
repeat circuit 2x as fast as possible without rest
So there you have two kettlebell workouts you can do when it’s time for your next cardio session. Both of these are short by traditional cardio standards, but many times more effective with regards to building true cardio fitness.
Now, if you want to take your cardio fitness to the next level, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Viking Warrior Conditioning by Master RKC Kenneth Jay. I can tell you first hand, this program is not for the faint of heart – but if you can make it thru, you’ll be in the best shape of your life. Click below for more details and to grab a copy for yourself:
And if you still need to master the basics of kettlebell training – which is required before taking on a program like Viking Warrior Conditioning – check out the KettlebellBasics.net Quick Start Guide by clicking HERE.
It’s the end of the workout week, and I’m scheduled for a ‘variety day’ (an active recovery/easy type of workout day – the term ‘variety day’ comes from the Rite of Passage program from Enter The Kettlebell by Pavel, FYI). Just in time for my workout, I get an email from Sandy Sommer, RKC with the daily routine he sends out to his email list. Long story short, I was smoked in less than 20 minutes- so much for the easy day :).
I emailed Sandy and asked him if I could share this workout with you all – just because I think it’s awesome. It hits nearly every major muscle group in your body in 20 minutes, and will challenge you no matter what your current fitness level. You’ll need to have mastered the basic five kettlebell drills – the swing, get up, squat, clean and press, and snatch – to complete it:
*Two handed swing – 10 reps
*Clean and press – 5 reps per side
*One hand swing – 10 reps per side
*Clean and rack squat – 5 reps per side
*Two handed swing – 10 reps
*Turkish get up – 2 reps per side
*One handed swing – 10 reps per side
*Snatch – 10 reps per side
*Two handed swing – 10 reps
Complete as many rounds as you can of this circuit in 20 minutes.
Like I said, this workout smoked me. My grip was failing by the end, my hams and glutes were like jello – if you’re up for a challenge and want to add a little variety to your program , give it a go!
P.S. You can check out Sandy’s blog at www.charmcitykettlebells.com. He posts about kettlebell training, primal eating, and a lot more. And while you’re there, sign up for his free newsletter to get workouts like this one delivered straight to your inbox!
One could, in theory, perform swings and get ups almost exclusively for a period of several of months and likely make some great progress. I think you’d be hard pressed to find more than a few pairs of exercises that this statement would hold true for (one exception to this would be the core Power to The People workout – Pavel uses the deadlift and the side press exclusively. This program works like crazy for getting you strong, by the way).
On the other hand, I’m well aware that just practicing the basic kettlebell exercises over and over can eventually get a little … well … boring. I’m going to give you a workout that incorporates some basic body weight moves with swings and goblet squats (a squat holding a kettlebell in front of you at chest height). This workout provides some much-needed variation to your routine, still allows you to work on your basic kettlebell drills, and if done for time is a hell of a workout.
Here’s a quick demo:
So to quickly recap:
Start with 20 push ups
Do 20 KB swings – these can be two handed, one handed, or hand to hand
Perform 20 full sit ups
Do 20 more swings
Finish with 20 KB squats
Repeat three times with as little rest as possible.
Incorporate this workout into your routine only after you’ve learned the swing well. This means that you can execute the movement safely and efficiently.
This workout performed once a week should provide some nice variety and leave you smoked in 15 or 20 minutes flat! Enjoy.
Let’s take two basic kettlebell movements – the Swing and the Get-Up – and put them together into a 15-20 minute gut-busting workout.
Start with a 10 minute warm-up – pick three or four body weight exercises like push ups, squats, sit ups, etc. and put them together into a circuit – do 10 reps of each about two-three times through. Make sure to chose movements that hit different parts of your body – for example:
10 body weight squats
10 push ups
10 sit ups
Repeat this sequence 2x without rest
Now grab your kettlebell. We’ll start with sumo deadlifts. Do two sets of 10 slow and deliberate reps, emphasizing the stretch in the back of the legs.
Next, perform five sets of 15-20 reps of kettlebell swings. Take 30 seconds rest between sets.
Finally, do three Turkish Get-Ups on each side, switching sides with each rep.
Cool down and you’re done for the day! This workout should only take you 15 or 20 minutes, but it’s guaranteed to leave you smoked if done with the proper intensity. Try adding this into your regular routine two times a week – let me know what you think!
