Getting Fit From Scratch: It's Time to Pick Up the Kettlebells

We threw everything but the kitchen sink at you in our first three workouts, getting you into the swing of using your bodyweight and testing your endurance. Now it's time to get familiar with a new piece of equipment: the kettlebell, essentially a cannonball with a handle.

Kettlebells are the ultimate weapon for improving our cardiovascular endurance, power, and strength. A kettlebell swing uses the muscles of the hips, glutes, and hamstrings — with some help from our lats, abs, shoulders, pecs, and forearms (see why we're using them today?). Take yourself through our no-weights warm-up, then we'll go through our kettlebell workout.

And just in case you don't have access to a kettlebell, we'll teach you how to modify the moves with a dumbbell. You'll get the same benefits. You just won't look like a strongman from an old-timey circus.

The Warm-up

Let's get started by warming up our legs and abs — both of which will get knocked around hard in today's workout.

The Warm-up:

Three Rounds

• 20 Mountain Climbs
• 30 Flutter Kicks 

Mountain Climbers

Performing mountain climbers will increase blood flow to the muscles, preparing our joints and body for the upcoming exercise, you should notice your heart rate and breathing increase. Start in a plank position, hands planted on the ground. Begin by jumping your right foot toward your right hand. Now, simultaneously jump your left foot toward your left hand while bringing your right foot back to its starting position. Alternate, and move fast.

Flutter Kicks

This abdominal exercise will engage those hard-to-target lower abdominals, and burn away that last bit of belly fat that’s keeping you from your six pack. On the function side, you’ll work the five muscles that make up the hip flexor: the psoas major, iliacus, rectus femoris, pectineus, and sartorius. Don’t forget to flex your abs and keep those legs straight throughout. Lay on your back, feet six inches off the ground. Tuck your hands under your butt. Keeping your legs stiff as a board, begin moving your feet up and down without touching the ground.

Russian Twists

Our obliques are the outermost abdominal muscles. Their main purpose is to rotate the trunk and support the spine during rotation while providing stabilization to the hips and back. To hit them hard, we're going to do a Russian twist. It begins on the floor, back and heels off the ground, with a slight bend in your knees. Keep your lower half as stiff as possible. Grab a kettlebell with two hands, keeping it close to your chest at the start. Rotate your torso to the left as you reach the kettlebell to the floor, but stop the motion just before the bell hits the ground. Return to the starting position and rotate your torso to the right as you reach the kettlebell to the other side.

If you don't have a kettlebell, you can grab a dumbbell lengthwise by its two sides.

Russian Kettlebell Swings

A strong hip drive is what we’re working here, because that's how our body generates power. The glutes, hamstrings, and back are the predominate muscles involved in the hip drive, and the kettlebell swing is an effective tool for working those muscles. To do it, start with your feet shoulder-width apart, a kettlebell in front of you. Reach for the kettlebell, sending your hips down and back. Pull the kettlebell toward you, passing between your legs. Your wrists should graze your inner thighs and the kettlebell should be slightly behind you. With straight arms and a tight grip on the kettlebell, stand up tall and drive your hips forward until the bell reaches eye level. Make sure you keep a big gorilla chest and don’t round your back. 

If you don't have a kettlebell, grab a dumbbell. Set the 'bell on its end, then grab the top end with two hands, like a burger. A tight grip and straight arms are especially important here.

Goblet Squats

The squat works by flexing and extending the muscles of the hips and knees, effectively working the glutes, hamstrings, quads, and calves. The goblet squat is a natural next step after your air squat from the endurance workout will allow us to add weight to the movement, increasing the stress on the same muscles as our squat, and causing the muscles to strengthen and grow. Additionally, because the weight is in front of our body, we end up recruiting our abdominal muscles to help keep our torso upright throughout the squat. Starting with your feet shoulder-width apart, grab a kettlebell and raise it to about chest level. Send your butt back and down until your hip crease passes below the top of your knee. Ensure your weight remains in your heels and your knees are pushed out. The kettlebell should stay in contact with your chest throughout the entire movement. Don’t let it get away from you. Stand tall and repeat.

If you don't have access to a kettlebell, hold a dumbbell by one of its plates, palms up, like you're holding a goblet.

The Workout

It's time to use your new kettlebell moves. Here's our workout for today:

Three Rounds For Time:

• 20 Russian Twists
• 25 Russian Kettlebell Swings
• 30 Goblet Squats