Want to get stronger and burn lots of calories in the process without going to the gym? Buy yourself a kettlebell and do this workout instead. It won’t leave a muscle unturned, working your entire body from head to toe. Plus, its circuit-style format with short rest periods keeps the intensity high, so it’ll leave your heart racing helping to crunch through those calories.
Circuits don’t just build strength and burn calories though, they’re also an effective way at boosting your cardiovascular fitness— so, if you slack on the cardio front, you’re in luck! This is down to the short rest periods between movements, but also because most of the exercises involved in a circuit are compound exercises. These recruit lots of muscles and the more muscles your body has to use, the harder it has to work, elevating your heart rate, similar to that of a cardio workout.
For this workout you’ll have three different circuits to work through. You’ll perform each exercise back to back for 40 seconds, two times round, followed by a 30 second rest. Once the rest is up, move onto the next circuit. Don’t worry if you don't have access to a kettlebell, a dumbbell is a good substitute. Just make sure you’re opting for a weight that’s challenging enough— so you’re finding the last few reps pretty tough, but still able to complete the exercise for the set amount of time. Here’s your workout:
Complete each exercise for 40 seconds, one after the other, and repeat each circuit twice
Circuit 1
- Single arm row (left)
- Single arm row (right)
- Overhead tricep extension
- Squat into upright row
Circuit 2
- Reverse crunch
- Sit-up with overhead press
- Push-up with kettlebell drag through
- V-sit
Circuit 3
- Split squat (left side)
- Split squat (right side)
- Deadlift
- Kettlebell swings with hand switch
If you're looking for some more kettlebell workouts to schedule into your week, try this six-move full-body workout— it also features some great core exercises— or if you need something that's a bit more gentle on the joints check out this walking kettlebell workout.
