Best Kettlebell Workouts: Kettlebell Workout Routines From HELL!

Nov 30 by Joanna

You may be wondering what I’m talking about. Kettle what? Although kettlebells have been around for a long time, most people have not tried them or even heard about them. They have become more popular recently due to the intense kettlebell workout routines you can get using this piece of equipment. And although I don’t own them, I have to say I’m intrigued to try them – they look like a great whole-body workout. I usually do a lot of free-style swings and movements with just free weights, but kettlebells look so much easier to handle for these types of workouts.

One of the unique benefits of using kettlebells is that you can train both cardio-vascular and anabolic systems in one go. Simply put you can increase your overall fitness and tone up your muscles. This is because the target repetitions for most kettlebell workouts are usually 20 lasting around 45 seconds to a minute.

Kettlebells usually come in the form of a cannonball with a handle, although you can get many kettlebells with a flat bottom as shown on the picture on the left. This is useful if you don’t want the kettlebells rolling around on your floor.

So, what makes Kettlebell workouts so special?

Kettlebells are so versatile and suit people who are more interested in core body strength, and fitness. Here are some of the things about kettlebell workouts that make them such an effective tool in your weight loss and muscle building arsenal:

Unlike traditional dumbbells, the kettlebell’s center of mass is extended beyond the hand. This facilitates swinging movements. By their nature, typical kettlebell exercises build strength and endurance, particularly in the lower back, legs, and shoulders, and increase grip strength.The basic movements, such as the swing, snatch, and the clean and jerk, engage the entire body at once,and in a way that mimics real world activities such as shoveling or farm work. (via Wikipedia).

This one little piece of equipment can literally replace an entire gym. People tend to think you need all these machines to get in shape. If you know what you are doing or can get sound advice all you need is a your own body for body weight exercises, kettlesbell or dumbbells and you are good. This is great if you are want to work out at home but don’t have a enough space and don’t want to spend money on fancy exercise equipment. You can own just 3 kettlebells, a skipping rope and a yoga mat and it would be sufficient to get all your workouts from this basic kit.

Kettlebells save time, there’s less resting time and more time spent on the exercises. Kettlebell workouts take around 30 minutes or less and will leave you totally drained and exhausted. In fact if you can even make 30 minutes you should be proud of yourself! It’s great if you want short and intense workouts. For example, you can be doing kettlebell swings at intervals of 30 seconds of swings followed by 10 seconds of rest, and repeating this sequence for three or four minutes. This type of training will leave you totally exhausted!

Kettlebell workouts will not only burn a ton of calories, helping you lose weight, they will build incredible strength, stamina, as well as give your core a workout like no other!

Combining kettlebell workout routines with bodyweight exercises is a killer way to build lean muscle and burn body fat at the same time.

The key to getting a great workout is to use movements and exercises that work your body as a network and use as many muscles and joints as possible. Isolation training is a thing of the past and does not work with kettlebells.

Kettlebell workout routines

The circuit below combines full-body kettlebell exercises with a great full body ab exercise that will leave lean, energized and wanting more!

After a proper dynamic warm-up, perform the following circuit 2-5 times.

Do not rest between exercises.

Rest 60-90 seconds before completing another round of the circuit.

1. Goblet Squat – 5 reps

Goblet Squat

• Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip width apart and your toes slightly turned out
• Hold a Kettlebell by the “horns” (the angled verticals of the handle) just under your chin with your elbows tucked into your ribcage and your glutes and abs braced
• Descend into a squat by thinking about opening your knees and pushing your hips down
• Keep your feet flat on the floor and your chest nice and high at all times
• Once youʼve reached your lowest point below parallel, push into the floor with your feet and think about lifting through the top of your head to stand up
• Repeat for the required reps

2. Military Press – 5 reps per side

Military Press / “The Press”

• Stand with your feet about hip width apart holding a kettlebell in the rack position.
• Brace your abs, pull your knee caps into your quads and squeeze your glutes so that you feel “rooted” into the ground
• Pull your shoulders down and back by firing your lats and squeeze the handle of the kettlebell
• With control, press the kettlebell overhead making sure your shoulder stays down and back
• Lock your arm out overhead and make sure that it is in line or slightly behind your head
• Pull the kettlebell down under control with your lat bringing it back to the rack position

3. Staggered Stance Kettlebell Row – 10 reps per side

1-Arm Kettlebell Row

• Get into a split stance slightly wider than a stride length
• Point your left foot straight forward and your right foot at 90 degrees to your left
• Bend your left knee, arch your back and lean forward resting your left forearm on your left leg
• Grab your kettlebell with your right arm
• Squeeze your shoulder blades together and bend your right elbow pulling the kettlebell up into the
region between your rib cage and your hip
• Slowly lower the kettlebell to the starting position and repeat for the recommended number of reps

5. 2-Arm Kettlebell Swing – 15-20 reps

2-Arm Kettlebell Swing / “The Swing”

• Stand with your a little wider than hip width apart with your toes slightly turned out
• Place a kettlebell approximately 1 to 2 feet in front of you
• Arch your back and hinge at the hips and only slightly bend your knees to grab the kettlebell with both hands
• “Pack” your shoulders by keeping them down and back
• Brace your abs and forcefully “hike pass” the bell between your knees to initiate the back swing
• As the bell starts to rock forward after the back swing, thrust your hips forward and stand straight up swinging the bell to chest height
• As you stand up, extend your hips by squeezing your glutes and bracing your abs
• DO NOT allow yourself to rock back or to try to lift the kettlebell with your arms
• Allow the bell to descend with gravity and forcefully hinge at the hips (keeping your back arched) as the kettlebell passes through your knees for the next swing

http://www.marilyn.ca/HealthFitness/segments.aspx/Daily/November2011/11_02_2011/Kettlebells

Kettlebell Snatch Technique

The kettlebell snatch is one of the most difficult moves to get right, and should only be attempted after mastery of the kettlebell clean; the lift basically involves lifting the kettlebell from the ground to the overhead locked out position in one move.

Kettlebell Workout with Kettlebell Trainer Ryan Shanahan

Addicted to Kettlebells
Contrary to what you might think, Kettlebells aren’t just for men, but women can use it today. It’s actually perfectly suited for women because the aim is not to build huge muscle, rather the aim is fitness and overall core strength. What you will find is that you will lose fat and tone up those glutes and thighs.

Interval Training with Kettlebells (hell)!

Warning #1: I have to include this warning here. If you are very out of shape, start with low weight kettlebell and be very careful to keep the correct posture, so that you don’t end up injuring your back or other part of your body. It’s always good to start slow and gentle!

Correct movement is the foundation for ANY training program and something that needs to be addressed FIRST ABOVE ALL ELSE prior to anyone using any type of program – be it strength, hypertrophy, fat loss, whatever.

Warning #1: Kettlebells are not the “magic bullet” for fast weight loss. Diet & lifestyle both play MAJOR ROLES – possibly more than the training effect – in the fat loss equation.

Adjustable Kettle bells on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Kettlestack-Adjustable-Kettlebell-Handle-Included/dp/B000TL15WC

kettlebell workout dvd

http://www.amazon.com/Kettlebell-Strength-Secret-Soviet-Supermen/dp/0938045695/ref=pd_sim_sg_1

Questions? Comments? Weight Loss Tips?

Why not add to the conversation in the comment section below! Are you trying to lose weight? What type of diet are you following? What are you struggling with? Have you tried green smoothies for weight loss?

Want to share some weight loss tips with fellow readers? I’ll be looking forward to hearing from you!

Thanks!

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