Simple Kettlebell Workouts - HMG...

Simple Kettlebell Workouts For Strength and Fat Loss

by

Jody Beasley HMG Fitness

Birmingham, AL

hmgfit.com

Disclaimer

You must get your physician’s approval before beginning this exercise program.

These recommendations are not medical guidelines but are for educational purposes only. You

must consult your physician prior to starting this program or if you have any medical condition

or injury that contraindicates physical activity. This program is designed for healthy individuals

only.

See your physician before starting any exercise or nutrition program. If you are taking any

medications, you must talk to your physician before starting any exercise program, including

this one. If you experience any lightheadedness, dizziness, or shortness of breath while

exercising, stop the movement and consult a physician.

It is strongly recommended that you have a complete physical examination if you are sedentary,

if you have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or diabetes, if you are overweight, or if you

are over 30 years old. Please discuss all nutritional changes with your physician or a registered

dietician. If your physician recommends that you not perform the exercises and workouts

provided, please follow your doctor’s orders.

All forms of exercise pose some inherent risks. The editors and publishers advise

readers to take full responsibility for their safety and know their limits. Before practicing the

exercises in this workout, be sure that your equipment is well maintained, and do not take risks

beyond your level of experience, aptitude, training and fitness. The exercises

and dietary guidelines in this program are not intended as a substitute for any exercise

routine or treatment or dietary regimen that may have been prescribed by your

physician.

Don’t lift heavy weights if you are alone, inexperienced, injured, or fatigued. Don’t

perform any exercise without proper instruction. Always perform a warm-up prior to all forms

of training.

Simple Kettlebell Workouts for Strength and Fat Loss

Get ready to build strength and burn fat in minimal time with these simple and effective full body workouts.

Each session uses only the Kettlebell Swing, the Kettlebell Goblet Squat, and the Push-up, requiring just a

single kettlebell. They can be used as stand-alone workouts, or as “finishers” added on to the end of your usual

strength training session, stoking the fat burning furnace. They can be completed anywhere between 10-30

minutes depending on your needs.

What size bell should you use? You should use the bell that best allows you to perform the movements with

near perfect form, yet is still challenging enough to facilitate gains. In general, women will begin with bells

ranging from 8kg – 16kg (18lb-35lb). Men will usually begin with a 16kg – 24kg (35lb-53lb). It ultimately

depends on your current level of strength and physical ability.

Before beginning these workouts, make sure you understand and have practiced proper technique in all 3

exercises. Treat these workouts as a PRACTICE session. What does this mean? You should strive to make every

rep perfect. Better quality leads to more quantity, not the other way around. Fatigue is rarely a good teacher, so

by keeping a “practice” mindset, you will not only shield yourself from possible injury, but your training will

become more effective, equaling greater results. I'm not saying you shouldn't train hard, just should train smart.

The Kettlebell Swing

Before you begin swinging a kettlebell, you must first know how to properly hinge at your hips. In a HINGE,

the hips push back, loading the posterior chain consisting of the hamstrings and glutes, maximally flexing at the

hips, and minimally flexing at the knees. The spine remains neutral and the torso will fold forward with no

rounding of the upper or lower back. Stand with your feet a little wider than shoulders and slightly turned out.

Push your hips back as if trying to touch a wall behind you with your backside. Let your knees and ankles bend

naturally, keeping your focus on folding at the hips. Keep your weight centered over mid-foot without

unloading the balls of the feet and toes. Once you've hinged back as far as your mobility allows, drive your feet

down into the floor squeezing your glutes together, pushing your hips forward to stand up again, and locking

out the knees and hips.

Now let's deadlift a kettlebell.

• Stand over a kettlebell with the same stance

you used when practicing your hinge.

• You want the bell to be between your

ankles, not in front of your feet.

• Lower yourself down to the bell by hinging

at the hips, reaching for the handle with

your arms while keeping your spine neutral

and your shoulders pushed down away from

your ears (think the opposite of shrugging).

• Grab the handle with both hands and

squeeze your armpits together, creating

tension.

• Breathe into your stomach and brace your

abs preparing to lift the kettlebell.

• Keep your eyes up without jamming your

neck. It helps to look out on the ground or

floor 10-15ft in front of you.

• Stand up by pushing your feet hard into the

floor and squeezing your glutes (crush a

walnut) driving your hips forward into

lockout.

• Keep your abs braced throughout.

• Exhale as you stand up.

• Return to the start position by again hinging

to lower the bell to the floor.

• Do not let your back round as your body

folds forward.

• Aim the kettlebell back to the floor between

your ankles.

• Repeat the process for reps.

Practice the deadlift until you are proficient with it.

Now that you are competent in the deadlift, time to swing!

• The swing is simply an explosive deadlift,

so your start position will be the same, only

the bell will be placed in front of your feet

about 6-12 inches depending on your arm

length. Keep your eyes forward.

• Hook your fingers around the handle with a

loose grip and tilt the bell back toward you,

the bell and your arms forming a straight

line to the shoulders.

• Keep your shoulders packed, not letting

your back round.

• Your weight should be centered over your

mid-foot.

• Practice this setup and make it perfect. Your

swings will only be as good as your setup.

• To begin the swing, hike the bell back

between your legs, loading the glutes and

hamstrings.

• Aim the bell high into your groin, placing

your forearms high against your inner

thighs.

• You may feel a slight weight shift over the

feet, but your back and shoulder position

should stay the same.

• Inhale as you hike the bell.

• Once the bell is hiked, explosively stand up by driving your feet hard into the floor through your heels,

squeezing the glutes and pushing your hips forward, standing tall in full lockout.

• Exhale sharply and brace your abs as your hips meet the lockout position.

• Do not lift the bell up with your arms. Your explosive hip snap is the driving force, sending the bell

forward. The bell rises because it has to as you are holding onto it. Notice how I have already reached

my lockout before the bell has stopped traveling and reached its height.

• Let the bell continue to rise until it reaches

around shoulder height, floating momentarily.

• Your lockout should remain firm with glutes,

abs, and quads (leg muscles) tight and braced.

• Keep this position as the bell falls back down.

Guide it towards your hips as you do with the

hike pass. Wait until your upper arms connect to

your ribs, then hinge back down loading for

another swing.

• Repeat the process for the desired number of

reps. Once your last rep is completed, safely

return the bell back to the floor in the start

position.

The Kettlebell Goblet Squat

A squat is different from a hinge. In the squat, the hips and knees both flex at the same rate, dropping the hips

slightly back and down. Think about how you would sit on a curb.

• Get the kettlebell in position by deadlifting

it up, then holding it in front of your

sternum grabbing it by the horns (the sides

of the handle).

• Shoulders should be packed and pushed

down into your hips away from your ears.

• Inhale into your groin, brace your abs, and

lower yourself down by pulling your knees

to your chest. This is actively lowering

using your hip flexors and is much

stronger and safer, versus passively

lowering by collapsing and letting gravity

do the work for you.

• Aim to get your hips below your knees,

keeping the knees tracking the toes. Place

your elbows inside your knees and do not

let your back round. Pause briefly before

standing up, refraining from “bouncing”

out of the bottom when standing.

• To stand, drive your feet into the floor,

squeezing your glutes and bringing your

hips forward to lockout. The hips and

shoulders should rise at the same rate.

Begin the ascent with a “grunt” or exhale

sharply, keeping the abs tight. Repeat for

reps.

The Push-up

The push-up is a time-tested exercise that doesn't need an introduction. We all know what it is and looks like.

All the same, it is one of the more butchered exercises out there. Here are some pointers to make sure you're

getting the most from your push-ups.

• The push-up is a basically a moving plank

and should be treated as such. Make sure

your body forms a straight line from the

crown of your head to the heels of your feet,

and keep the appropriate amount of tension

in the glutes and abs, not letting the hips sag

to the floor.

• The hands should be placed underneath the

shoulders or slightly outside with the arms

perpendicular to the floor in the start

position.

• Lower to the floor until your chest touches

or almost touches. Keep your elbows tucked

to your side or flaring out no greater than a

45-degree angle. Do not let your chest fall

between your shoulder blades or your head

droop, or “chicken neck,” to the floor.

• Keeping a rigid torso, press your hands into

the floor to push your body back up to the

start position. Do not let your shoulders rise

faster than your hips as you perform the

push-up. Exhale as you push up. Visualize

pushing the floor away from you, rather

than pushing yourself away from the floor.

This will help to make a stronger push-up.

• If push-ups are difficult for you, do them inclined to reduce the percentage of your body weight required

to lift, making it easier.

Let's Get Training

The workouts provided vary in sets, reps, and total volume, utilizing a combination of rep ladders, supersets,

and circuits.

Rep Ladder: each set of an exercise increases or decreases in the number of repetitions performed, resting

between sets.

Ex.- push-up ladder 1-2-3 is performed 1 push-up, rest, 2 push-ups, rest, 3 push-ups, rest, repeat

Superset: 2-3 exercises performed in succession for a set number of repetitions with no rest between sets

Ex.- 5 push-ups + 5 squats, rest, repeat

Circuit: 2 or more exercises performed in succession for a set number of repetitions, resting as necessary

between sets

Ex.- 10 kettlebell swings, rest, 5 push-ups, rest, 3 squats, rest, repeat

These workouts are great to do on their own or in addition to your other training. If you're short on time, they

can be done in as little as 10 minutes. You can also do them at the end of another workout as a 5-10 minute

finisher to add a fat burning element to your current training program. You may find some of these workouts are

better suited for this purpose than the others.

The Workouts

WO#1

10 swings

5 goblet squats

10 swings

5 push-ups

– Do this circuit for 15-20 minutes, performing as many quality rounds as possible.

WO#2

10 swings

5 goblet squats

3 push-ups


WO#3

10 swings + 3 goblet squats

10 swings + 3 push-ups

– Do this workout for 10 minutes. Alternate between the supersets, doing one every minute.

– This is great to do as a finisher or as a stand-alone workout when short on time.

WO#4

10 swings + 5 goblet squats + 5 push-ups




10 swings + 1 goblet squats + 1 push-up

– Do this 1-2 times through, resting as needed between supersets.

– This is great to do as a finisher or as a stand-alone workout when short on time.

WO#5

10 swings

10 goblet squats

10 push-ups

9 swings

9 goblet squats

9 push-ups

8 swings

8 goblet squats

8 push-ups

…. continue this descending ladder down to

1 swing

1 goblet squat

1 push-up

– Complete this descending ladder in as little time as possible.

– You could travel back up the ladder once you reach the bottom for an even tougher session.

WO#6

1 goblet squat

1 push-up

1 swing

2 goblet squats

2 push-ups

2 swings

3 goblet squats

3 push-ups

3 swings

…. continue this ascending ladder up to

10 goblet squats

10 push-ups

10 swings

– Complete this ascending ladder in as little time as possible.

– You could also travel back down the ladder once you reach the top for an even tougher session.

WO#7

5 goblet squats

5 push-ups

10 swings

10 goblet squats

10 push-ups

20 swings


WO#8

1 push-up + 1 goblet squat + 5 swings

2 push-ups + 2 goblet squats + 10 swings


– Do this for 15-20 minutes, performing as many quality rounds as possible.

WO#9




– Do this for 15-20 minutes, performing as many quality rounds as possible.

– Notice the push-ups and swings go UP in reps as the squats go DOWN in reps.

WO#10

5 goblet squats + 1 push-ups + 15 swings



– Do this for 20 minutes, performing as many quality rounds as possible.

– Notice the squats and swing go DOWN in reps as the push-ups go UP in reps.

WO#11

10 swings + 5 goblet squats

10 swings + 1 push-up + 4 goblet squats

10 swings + 2 push-ups + 3 goblet squats

10 swings + 3 push-ups + 2 goblet squats

10 swings + 4 push-ups + 1 goblet squat

10 swings + 5 push-ups

– Do this as written with as little rest as possible for a great fat burning finisher, totaling 60 swings, 15

push-ups, 15 squats. Do it twice for double the volume.

WO#12

20 swings + 1 goblet squat + 1 push-up










– Complete as written with perfect form. Rest as little as possible, just enough to ensure quality of reps.

If you need to decrease the difficulty of any workout, you can use a regression of any exercise or simply

decrease the number of reps prescribed.

• If you haven't yet developed a good swing, replace the swings with kettlebell deadlifts.

• If you can't do 20 swings without your technique breaking down, do 10 swings instead.

If these workouts are too easy for you…

• Grab a heavier kettlebell.

• Add a weight vest for push-ups or do a harder variation, such as on a decline.

• Increase the reps for each set by 1-5.

• Rest less between sets, doing the workouts faster, or do more total volume.

I sincerely hope you not only achieve great results, but that you come to love kettlebells as much as I have. Feel

free to share your progress with me. Train hard! Train smart! Have fun!

Simple Kettlebell Workouts - HMG...

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