How to Exercise with Kettlebells in 2017

Today I want to share with you a quick overview of how to exercise so you can make 2017 your healthiest year ever!

1. How long do I need to exercise for?

​​​​​​​Put very simply, the more intense your workout the less time you need to do it. Intense workouts take up more resources and so need more recovery time.

Short Intense Workouts = Full body circuits, sprints, kettlebell swings
Long Steady Workouts = Cycling, Walking etc.

2. How many days per week do I need to exercise?

Personal recovery time is most important here. The older you become the more time it takes to recover. The better your diet the quicker you recover. The more demanding your workout the more recovery time necessary.

If you keep your workouts short, under 10 minutes, then you can exercise 4-5 days per week. Longer more brutal workouts, 2-3 days per week.

3. Should I do cardio or weight training?

Cardio is great for the heart and lungs. Weight training is good for the bones, increasing metabolism for fat loss, increasing muscle tone and improving movement abilities.

You can get both cardio and weight training in 1 single workout by performing circuits with limited or no rest between exercises. You don’t need to waste time doing cardio on a separate day unless you are training for a specific event e.g. 10K run or 50K cycle etc.

4. What exercises should I perform?

The modern way to look at exercise is to think about movement patterns rather than muscles. Using movement patterns ensures that you follow the body’s natural structure and so prevents injury but maximises muscle integration.

The 5 basic movement patterns are: Squat, Lunge, Deadlift, Push and Pull.

Watch a Video on the basic movement patterns below:

 

5. How should I structure my workouts?

Keep it very simple and use the above 5 movement patterns in a circuit format and you can’t go far wrong.

Here’s a 5 Minute Circuit example:

1. Lunge – forward, reverse, side lunge (beginners can avoid the lunge)
2. Deadlift – single leg, single arm, kettlebell swings
3. Push – push ups, overhead press, front planks, shoulder taps
4. Squat – y squats, yoga squats, goblet squats, burpees, pistol squats
5. Pull – rows, pull ups, high pulls, skydivers

Start with 60 seconds per exercise, or 30 seconds on each side, and see how many you can perform. Rest as little as possible and then move onto the next exercise.

Beginners start with just 1 circuit, the more advanced 2 or even 3.

Conclusions

There you have it, the best way to exercise in 2017. The most important thing you can do is just start.

You can see all the Kettlebell Exercises here and Bodyweight Exercises here.

Keep it simple and you WILL succeed.

Take care,

Greg