TODAY I AM going to talk about the kettlebell and give you three excellent full body workouts to try.
If you are regular reader of my column then I’m sure you know by now that I am a big fan of the kettlebell. It features in most of my programmes and is a piece of equipment I generally bring with me when I’m on the road travelling.
The kettlebell is an excellent exercise tool and is something I recommend everybody to have. It’s perfect for a home or park workout, versatile and quite easy to bring on the road.
As for the swing itself, both the American and Russian swing are great exercises. The American swing is the image above and the Russian is pretty much the same except you don’t finish as high with the bell.
The principles stay pretty much the same, but this is where a lot of people go wrong with the movement. The kettlebell swing can be quite complex for a newbie and needs some initial coaching.
Most people don’t get this coaching and the swing really ends up looking quite ugly. It’s another exercise that can cause injury if you don’t get the basics mastered.
(This video linked includes a couple of tips along with the normal mistakes I see with most beginners who haven’t been taught right at the start)
As for the 3 workouts today…..
These are roughly 10 minutes in length and perfect to add in to the end of your session. All you need is one or two kettlebells and you’re ready for a full body workout. I generally buy all my kettlebells here in D8Fitness
Kettlebell ladder 8-1
Give yourself 10 minutes to get though this complex. It’s four movements paired together starting off with eight reps of each; then working its way down to seven, six and so on until you get to one. When choosing a weight, go with light to moderate load and if possible, go with two bells here.
Kettlebell four minute complex
The goal here is get through this full body complex within 2.30-3 minutes and then on the top of the fourth minute start the next round. I suggest going for 3-4 rounds.
This is a great interval workout that is going to bring the heart rate up and down which is super for burning a lot more calories. Again, this is a full body workout which consists of the following — thrusters x 15, renegade row x 8/8, Russian swing x 15, and finishing off with a core complex
When choosing a weight, go with something moderate. Ideally, a set of 14-16kg for men and 8-12kg for women is something that will work well.
Kettlebell circuit
Another workout that is going to work the full body. For this one, you can go with one or two bells and there’s no real need to use a clock. I’d suggest you bounce from exercise to exercise and aiming for 2-3 full rounds is something that will push you. Everything is worked here from legs, bum, tummy, arms and shoulders!
I hope you’ve found this information useful and if you need any more advice you can pop me a direct message through the links below.
David Last is a personal trainer based in Dublin. For more information you can follow him on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Or you can send him a direct message here.
You can also see some of his previous articles here.
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