Kettlebell Exercises and Kettlebell Workout Routines

I recently started incorporating kettlebell exercises into my workout routine.  If you want to add a little variety and ramp up fat burning, I’d highly recommend utilizing kettlebell workout routines.  So, why should you start using kettlebells?  Because they’re great for increasing strength, losing body fat, and improving your cardiovascular health.  What more could you want out of a piece of equipment?  Another benefit I’ve found is that one-arm kettlebell exercises have helped me even out the strength between my arms.

What is a kettlebell?

As you can see from the picture, a kettlebell is a cannonball with a handle.  For some, the initial reaction to kettlebell workout routines is that you can perform the same exercises with dumbbells or a barbell.  In my recent experience, I’ve found the kettlebell provides a slightly different workout than either though.  It lies in the fact that you hold the handle to perform exercises which means the weight is distributed differently than a dumbbell or barbell.  This slightly unique factor has made training with them more challenging than expected.

What size kettlebell to get?

A good weight for guys to start with is 35lbs (16kg).  More advanced men could go as high as 53lbs or 70lbs, but I’d recommend starting lower and working on your form before advancing too quickly.  Women can start with 18lbs.  Again, more advanced women could start as high as 26lbs or 35lbs.  In my opinion, the best place to get kettlebells is from Dragon Door.  However, you might consider starting with a lower quality kettlebell until you find the proper weight to use.

Kettlebell Exercises

If you’ve never trained with kettlebells before, Pavel Tsatsouline’s Enter the Kettlebell is almost required reading.  He reviews details about the proper way to lift a kettlebell, safety tips, and how to avoid injury.  That’s before getting to the detailed descriptions of kettlebell exercises and kettlebell workout routines.

Here’s a breakdown between the fundamental kettlebell exercises as well as some others I’ve incorporated into my kettlebell workout routine that are separate from Pavel’s recommendations.

Fundamental Kettlebell Exercises:

• Swing: this one will really work your glutes and is one of the best conditioning exercises around.  Kettlebell swings done for high reps could easily replace a cardio program.
• Get Up: just like it sounds, the goal is to lay on your back and get up while holding a kettlebell above your head…and then lay back down.  Personally, I love this exercise and am amazed at how much more challenging it is for my left arm than my right.
• Clean
• Military press
• Snatch: start with a kettlebell swing and use your upper back to pull the weight above your head

Assorted Kettlebell Exercises:

• Sots press: in a full squat position, perform a military press
• Bent over row
• Floor press: basically a one-arm bench press while laying on the floor
• This is the extent of exercises I perform but you could easily do other exercises that you would normally perform with dumbbells such as squats or curls.

Kettlebell Workout Routines

Kettlebells on their own can constitute a full body workout routine.  They provide all you need to train for strength as well as stamina.  However, I include them as part of my broader workout routine.  As such, I just perform a single circuit using the one-arm variation of the kettlebell exercises listed above.  I perform 5-10 reps with 30 seconds of rest between exercises.  I challenge my muscles but avoid failure.  I am always sweating and out of breath after this simple 10 minute circuit.  I like to switch between pulling and pushing exercises to allow my individual muscles more rest time.

Here is the exact circuit I perform:

• Snatch
• Sots Press
• Swing
• Floor Press
• Clean
• Military Press
• Row
• Get Up

Again, if you want a more complete kettlebell workout routine, Enter the Kettlebell offers specifics on what exercises to perform on light, moderate, and heavy days and how to increase your overall strength.

Alternatively, if you’re focused on using kettlebells for fat loss, then you could check out TT Kettlebell Revolution which combines non-competing supersets with kettlebell exercises to generate a high intensity fat burning workout.

Give Kettlebell Workouts a Try

Do yourself a favor and go buy a kettlebell.  I put this off for a long time but now I can’t imagine my workout without one.  I never realized how effective kettlebell exercises could really be.  Given all their benefits, a case could easily be made to drop all other weight training and cardio and focus exclusively on kettlebell workout routines.  I’m not at that point yet, but kettlebells have added great variety to my routine and are certainly helping me get stronger and leaner.