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Personal trainer Chris Lopez shows you how you can use kettlebells as your only workout tool!

Kettlebell & Bodyweight Training Circuit

by Chris Lopez, RKC
www.KettlebellWorkouts.com/FriendsOfMarilyn

Combining Kettlebell Training 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.

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

The Goblet Squat

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

The Military Press

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

Staggered Stance Kettlebell Row

4. Opposite Hip Touch - 10 reps per side (alternating)

Opposite Hip Touch

•Start in a push-up position on the floor with your feet hip-width apart or wider (the wider your feet, the easier the exercise)
•Brace your abs and squeeze your glutes HARD
•Under control without twisting, take your right hand off the ground and touch your opposite hip
•YOU SHOULD NOT TWIST as you lift your hand off the ground, you should stay as stationary as possible
•Return your right hand to the starting position and repeat with your left hand
•Perform as many alternating reps as required

Opposite Hip Touch

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