For building strength, most guys still gravitate toward heavy barbell lifts like squats and deadlifts. They work, but they also lock you into rigid movement patterns and demand a level of space, setup, and joint tolerance that isn’t always realistic or sustainable. Kettlebells offer a different path. They move with you, force you to stabilize through space, and train strength in a way that carries over to real life instead of just the weight room. For men over 50 in particular, they’re a way to keep getting stronger while staying mobile and confident in how your body moves.
"For beginners over 50, kettlebells make it easy to build a full-body routine using fundamentals like deadlifts, goblet squats, light presses, and carries, without heavy spinal loading or complicated setups,” says Matt Bandelier, a certified personal trainer at Eden Health Club.
Below, Tyler Manzo, head coach at Ubdefeated Athletic Club in Los Angeles, CA, and Lee Boyce, a Toronto-based strength coach, speaker, college professor, owner of Lee Boyce Training Systems, and internationally published fitness writer, crafted 12 kettlebell workouts you can do from the comfort of your own home.
The Men’s Journal Fitness Special is on newsstands now. Order your copy today!
12 Best Kettlebell Workouts to Build Strength and Power
Directions
You'll be performing many reps for several rounds and, in some cases, performing them for time. The goal of these workouts is to elevate your heart rate, so be sure you select a kettlebell light enough to sustain proper exercise form throughout the entire workout.
Workout 1: Explosive Kettlebell Power
James Farrell
How to Do It
- Kettlebell swing x 10
- Burpee x 10
- Kettlebell squat x 10
- Pushup x 10
- Perform 7 rounds in total.
Workout 2: Kettlebell Leg Burner
How to Do It
- Kettlebell squat x 20
- Kettlebell deadlift x 20
- Situp x 20
- For 15 minutes, do as many rounds as possible.
Workout 3: 10-Minute EMOM Blast
Beth Bischoff
How to Do It
Note: This workout is structured as an EMOM, which means “every minute on the minute.”
- Start working when the clock hits the top of each minute.
- As soon as you're done, rest for the remainder of the minute.
- On even minutes (including the start of the workout), do 20 kettlebell swings.
- On odd minutes, do 12 burpees.
- “Go hard in each segment, because this workout is only 10 minutes and gives you some built-in rest thanks to the EMOM protocol,” says Manzo.
Workout 4: The Kettlebell Get-Down
How to Do It
- Mountain climber x 30
- Kettlebell squat x 20
- Pushup x 10
- In 20 minutes, do as many rounds as possible.
Workout 5: Kettlebell Abs
How to Do It
- Kettlebell deadlift x 20
- V-up x 20
- Bodyweight squat x 20
- Perform 6 rounds. Record your total time and see if you can go faster next time you try this workout.
Workout 6: Kettlebell Burpee Grinder
Beth Bischoff
How to Do It
- The ultimate goal of this workout is to do 100 burpees as fast as you can. The only catch? Every minute, on the minute, you have to perform 7 kettlebell swings.
- “Move as fast as you can through those burpees—don’t let the kettlebell swings slow you down,” says Manzo.
Workout 7: Full House
How to Do It
Note: If you have a second kettlebell, you can hold two at a time at your sides while performing the moves above.
- Kettlebell squat x 8
- V-up x 8
- Kettlebell lunge x 8
- Perform 10 rounds. Record your time and try to go faster the next time you do this workout.
Workout 8: Kettlebells in Threes
James Michelfelder
How to Do It
- Kettlebell squat x 9
- Kettlebell swing x 6 (option to use 2 kettlebells)
- Burpee x 3
- Perform as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes.
Workout 9: The Chipper
Beth Bischoff
How to Do It
There's a reason this is called The Chipper, Manzo says: It's a monster amount of reps. To do it, attack each 50-rep set by breaking it up into smaller chunks: 25-15-10, 15-15-10-10, or even 10-10-10-10-10. As you improve and become fitter, you'll be able to do this workout faster, so make sure to record your times and track your progress. Going as fast as you can, do the following:
- Kettlebell squat x 50
- Pushup x 50
- Kettlebell swing x 50
- Burpee x 50
- Kettlebell deadlift x 50
Workout 10: The Ladder
How to Do It
Part 1
- Begin with 12 kettlebell goblet squats.
- As a superset to the squats, perform 1 single pushup (bodyweight only). After minimal rest (0 to 15 seconds), perform 11 goblet squats and 2 pushups.
- Then proceed to 10 squats and 3 pushups.
- Continue repeating in this fashion until you’ve inversed the values and performed 12 pushups and 1 goblet squat.
- Then rest as long as needed.
Part 2
- Now it’s time to focus on opposing patterns. First, perform 12 kettlebell swings.
- As a superset to the swings, perform 1 biceps curl (using two hands on the kettlebell).
- Then perform 11 swings and 2 curls to follow up.
- Continue in the same fashion as Part 1 until you get to 12 curls and 1 kettlebell swing.
- Rest as long as needed.
Workout 11: Unilateral Bliss
How to Do It
- Single-arm kettlebell floor press: 3 x 12 (each side) with 1 minute rest between sets
- Suitcase walking lunge: 4 x 20steps with 90 seconds rest between sets
- Single-arm kettlebell bentover row: 3 x 12 reps with 60 seconds rest between sets
- Kettlebell situp: 4 x 10 reps with 60 seconds rest between sets
Workout 12: The Complex
James Michelfelder
How to Do It
A complex simply means the same implement (in this case, your single kettlebell) is used for a series of exercises without putting the weight down. It works best when one movement can flow into the next movement, and this complex does just that. It also warrants a “rest as long as needed” directive once the complex is complete. As you get better at this, see if you can reduce your rest time to sneak more rounds in before 20 minutes has elapsed.
- Kettlebell swing x 10
- Kettlebell goblet squat x 10
- Kettlebell single-arm press x 10 (each arm)
- Perform as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes.
Related: The 18 Best Kettlebell Exercises Every Strong, Athletic Man Should Master
Best Kettlebell Workout Split
- Monday (Push): Kettlebell chest exercises + shoulders and triceps
- Tuesday (Pull): Kettlebell back exercises + biceps and forearms
- Wednesday (Legs): Kettlebell leg exercises (quads, hamstrings, calves) + glutes
- Thursday (Push): Kettlebell chest exercises + shoulders and triceps
- Friday (Pull): Kettlebell back exercises + biceps and forearms
- Saturday (Legs): Kettlebell leg exercises (quads, hamstrings, calves) + glutes
- Day 7 (Rest): Walking, stretching + optional kettlebell ab exercises
Kettlebell Exercises Library
- Kettlebell Abs Exercises: Turkish getups, windmills, Russian twists, plank drags
- Kettlebell Back Exercises: Renegade row, bentover row, kettlebell swing
- Kettlebell Chest Exercises: Pushups, flyes, kettlebell floor press
- Kettlebell Legs and Glutes Exercises: Snatch, swing, front squat, jump squats, Romanian deadlift
- Kettlebell Arms Exercises: Single-arm press, overhead press, bicep curl,
- Kettlebell Full-Body Exercises: clean, jerk, halo to lateral lunge
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it ok to use kettlebells every day?
You can use kettlebells every day, though you wouldn’t want to train the same body parts or movements daily with kettlebells any more than you would with dumbbells or your body weight. For instance, you might want to focus on specific body parts and do a split on some days of the week (while others are dedicated to full-body moves.
But if you’re mixing up your workouts daily, using kettlebells is okay, as they’re versatile equipment in terms of weight and exercises you can do. Of course, one of the attractions of kettlebell exercises is that they provide a change of pace from dumbbells to barbells and machines. Going with kettlebells every day, like anything else, can grow monotonous.
Can you lose weight with kettlebells?
Strength training, combined with proper nutrition, can increase lean mass, reduce fat, and cause weight loss if desired. Kettlebells, like dumbbells and weight machines, can produce these results. As noted, kettlebells are also designed with motility in mind, lending themselves to cardio training and HIIT workouts that may include exercises like swings, cleans, snatches, lunges, and more.
How long should a kettlebell workout be?
Like any workout, it’s quality over quantity. A rigorous 10- or 20-minute workout with kettlebells, as with dumbbells, machines, body weight, or HIIT training, can be sufficient. Likewise, 10 or 20 minutes of unfocused, meandering time spent with kettlebells, like anything else, is unlikely to produce results.
How often should you work out with kettlebells?
You can work out with kettlebells as often as you would any other form of resistance training or cardio. If you are performing an intense kettlebell workout, stick to 2 to 3 days max per week to avoid overtraining. If kettlebell training is your primary workout method, 4 to 5 days per week is a great goal to aim for.
Is a 20-minute kettlebell workout enough?
A 20-minute kettlebell workout is enough to get in a great cardio or strength training session, especially if it is on the more intense side. If you are using a lighter kettlebell and faster movements, 20 minutes of kettlebell cardio will be a challenging but manageable workout length. If you are focusing more on strength or muscle building, 20 minutes is a good place to start as a beginner or if you are short on time.
from Men's Journal https://ift.tt/Gdkw6sW
via IFTTT