The 5 Week Whole Body Single Kettlebell Workout

So, you’ve tried everything to pack on more muscles and to get ripped faster. How did that work out for you? Here is your kettlebell workout!

Not that well I suppose, since here you are.

Trust us, you won’t be disappointed again!

Kettlebell workouts in general, are radically different from others and you can even use a kettlebell workout for weight loss.

They are Kaizen, a never ending improvement. But, there is something so magical about them which one only begins to understand when one learns how to perform the key movements correctly.

If you are willing to give this 5-week single Kettlebell workout a chance, you won’t want to go back to doing any other exercise ever for sure.

However, before proceeding you do need to understand how the weight of a Kettlebell plays a significant role and how you need to choose the right weight for you to begin with.

So, are you ready?

Because we are!

Caution is Required While Selecting The Weight of the Kettlebell

Choosing the right weight of a Kettlebell is of great importance than realized initially.

Why?

Because if you choose a weight that is too heavy, you’ll risk overloading the muscles, tendons, and ligaments too quickly while training and end up causing an injury.

Whereas, if you start too light, the Kettlebell won’t be able to offer enough overload to the body to produce significant results.

Therefore, take a look at the weights professionals recommend from person to person. You can also take a look at our recommendation dragon door kettlebell. 

• 08kg / 15 lbs – This is the starting weight for all women with no experience at all. But, in time most of the women easily move on to the next weight for two-handed exercises.
• 12kg / 25lbs – This weight can be utilized by most of the men unless you’ve got plenty of weight lifting experience. Thus, men too easily move on to the next category.
• 16kg / 35lbs – A lot of advanced and athletic women frequently make use of this particular weight of the two-handed exercises.
• 24kg / 50lbs – In a similar manner, men who have gained experience more frequently use this weight for the two-handed exercises.
• 28kg / 61lbs – It acts as the perfect bridge to cover the gap between 24kg to 32kg at once.
• 32kg / 70lbs – Needs to be used only when one is comfortable with the above-given weights.

Which weight, to begin with, will also depend on the weight training experience you’ve had.

Therefore, don’t be disappointed if you start off with the basic weights, one day you’ll get to the higher weights too!

The 5 Week Whole Body Single Kettlebell Workout Plan

Following the 5 weeks, whole body single Kettlebell workout plan will ensure that every muscle in your body makes use of while working out.

Through it, you will gain strength, lose fat, and add muscle to the body.

Therefore, do make sure to keep the spirit and the tempo of the workout high throughout.

• Time Interval & Repetitions

During the first week, if you are someone just starting off fresh with no workout background you will perform the four exercises for total four minutes without rest. If you are someone with a bit experience, increase the total time to 8 minutes.

Whereas, for the ones who have gained a lot of experience, 12 minutes will be perfect for them to begin with.

Eventually completing 3 circuits with 60 seconds rest should be the ultimate goal of every person.

So, for the first week start steady by getting used to the workout. As for the repetitions, even for a four-minute workout make sure to keep a track of the repetitions per exercise.

Getting into such a habit will help you go a long way. To get a rough idea, here are a few numbers:

• Swings: 15-20 reps
• Lungers: 10 -12 reps
• Squats: 10-12 reps
• Cleans: 10-15 reps

As the body will adapt to the exercise in the first week, make sure to begin challenging yourself from the second week onwards and further to make some serious progress.

To do just that, add more circuits to the workout. If you’ve been doing a four-minute circuit once, try increasing it to two rounds and then to three. Take a 60-second break between the two sets.

As you increase the number of sets consider increasing the weight as well when you get comfortable doing one circuit thrice. 

For example: If you’ve been using a 12kg move on to16kg.

Kettlebell Workout Routine

Week 1

Monday – Swing / Reverse lunge / Clean / Squat

Tuesday – Swing / Reverse lunge / Clean / Squat & Press

Wednesday – Rest

Thursday – Swing / Forward lunge / Clean / Squat & Press

Friday – Swing / Side lunge / Clean / Squat & Press

Saturday – Swing / Reverse lunge / Clean / Squat & Press

Sunday – Rest

Week 2

Monday – Swing / Forward lunge / Clean / Squat & Press

Tuesday – High pulls / Reverse lunge / Clean / Squat & Press

Wednesday – Rest

Thursday – High pulls / Forward lunge / Clean / Squat & Press

Friday – High pulls / Side lunge / Clean / Squat & Press

Saturday – High pulls / Reverse lunge / Clean / Squat & Press

Sunday – Rest

Week 3

Monday – High pulls / Reverse lunge / Clean / Squat & Press

Tuesday – High pulls / Forward lunge / Clean / Squat & Press

Wednesday – Rest

Thursday – Snatch / Reverse lunge / Clean / Squat & Press

Friday – Snatch / Side lunge / Swing / Squat & Press

Saturday – Snatch / Reverse lunge / Swing / Squat & Press

Sunday – Rest

Week 4

Monday – Snatch / Forward lunge / Swing / Clean, Squat & Press

Tuesday – Snatch / Reverse lunge / Swing / Clean, Squat & Press

Wednesday – Rest

Thursday – Snatch / Side lunge / High pull / Clean, Squat & Press

Friday – Snatch / Reverse lunge / High pull / Clean, Squat & Press

Saturday – Swing / Reverse lunge / High pull / Clean, Squat & Press

Sunday – Rest

Week 5

Monday – Swing / Forward lunge / High pull / Clean / Squat & Press

Tuesday – Swing / Reverse lunge / High pull / Clean, Squat & Press

Wednesday – Rest

Thursday – Swing / Side lunge / High pull / Clean, Squat & Press

Friday – Snatch / Reverse lunge / High pull / Clean, Squat & Press

Saturday – Snatch / Swing / High pull / Clean, Squat & Press

Sunday – Rest

Kettlebell Exercises Explained

Kettlebell Swing

Kettlebell swing is one of the most important of all the Kettlebell exercises.

Given an option to do just one Kettlebell exercise, it would make the finest choice. So, start by standing over the Kettlebell with feet hip-width apart. Keep the chest up, shoulders back and down.

Now, squat down, grip the Kettlebell looking straight ahead.

With a two handed, overhand grip keeping the arch in the lower back and hips bent until the Kettlebell is between and behind your legs.

Squeeze the glutes, extend the hips and swing the weight up. Bring the weight down by letting it swing back between the legs as you slightly bend your knees as well as the hips.

Further, extend your hips and knees to reverse the momentum as you will immediately begin with the next rep.

Kettlebell Reverse Lunge

This is a single legged exercise that works for the whole body, but it requires a bit of extra balance than other exercises.

Beforehand make sure to be aware of doing a standard reverse lunge. In case if you are not, keep your feet shoulder-width apart. Take a step back and squat down until the knee touches the floor while the chest and head are kept up and high.

Stand back up to the starting position and that’s how it’s done.

For, the reverse lunge with Kettlebells, do the exact same movement but holding the Kettlebells in goblet position.

A position where one holds the Kettlebell upside down with the handle pointing towards the floor. The Kettlebell is grabbed by the horns and kept close to the chest with the elbows tucked in towards the body.

For beginners, this the easiest position to start off and rack position the toughest.

Kettlebell Forward Lunge

The forward lunge is very similar to the reverse lunge.

The only difference is rather than pulling yourself forward once you step backward, you are going to pull yourself backward. Most of the time people find it a little more difficult in comparison to the reverse lunge since the movement needs to be decelerated more intensely than the latter.

Therefore, this exercise can be done with three holding position variations. Among them, goblet squat position is the easiest and rack squat position the toughest.

Unlike goblet position, the Kettlebell is held by one hand with the body of the Kettlebell rest against the forearm and chest. In that case, do keep your favorite body cleansing wipes ready.

Kettlebell Side Lunge

Adding a Kettlebell side lunge to your routine will add another dimension to your training.

Since lunging sideways will place a large demand on the buttocks, quads and also on your mobility. So, hold the Kettlebells with the arms extended and the feet together. Take a giant step to the left. Bend your left knee, keeping it perpendicular to the floor extend the right leg.

Hold the position for a second or two and then return to the starting position to repeat with the right leg.

However, the beginners need to begin by practicing the movements of the basic side lunge before adding any weight.

Once you’ve got a good grasp of the exercise, then start by adding weight slowly, but without going down too deep initially.

Kettlebell Clean

Kettlebell clean is taking a step forward from the swing.

So, if you can’t swing well you won’t be able to clean well. However, for many people, it is just a movement to take the kettlebell off the floor to the racked position. Don’t begin with making the same mistake as them.

This exercise requires a huge neuromuscular movement which is great for burning fat as well as conditioning.

So, place the Kettlebells again between your feet. Bend down to grab the Kettlebell as you push the hips back.

By extending through the legs and hips, raise the Kettlebell to the shoulders at once. As you do so, rotate your wrist and return the weight to the starting position.

And, get ready for another repetition.

Kettlebell Squat and Press

This exercise in actuality is a combination of Kettlebell clean after which you drop into a Kettlebell squat and then finally rise from the ground into an overhead press.

Once you’re ready, get going with the Kettlebell clean exercise into the rack position.

Next, all you need to do is squat down into the hips without leaning forward with the upper body. Stand out of the squat and push as straight upward as possible to use that power from the legs to complete the overhead press.

An overhead press won’t be complete until you reach lockout. Which means to lock the elbows and sink the shoulders down the back. Balancing the weight further will help to maintain the position easily. At the end carefully lower the weight back to the shoulder to repeat.

Since it is one of those exercises which demand all the muscles on the body, be ready to wipe off the sweat with organic body cleansing wipes or two.

Kettlebells High Pulls

This is yet another progressive Kettlebell exercise that builds on from the swing.

Thus, it is among one of the most effective cardiovascular exercises since it is fast and very dynamic in nature. In order to do it, you need to have a good wrist and forearm strength along with Kettlebell control.

Therefore, it becomes important to look out for sweaty and greasy hands that may interfere with the grip.

Keeping chalk and body cleaning wipes handy may help to resolve the issue.

To do this exercise place the Kettlebell in front of you. Keeping the back straight grab the handle, swing the Kettlebell back and then forcefully forward. Right at the top of the motion, pull the Kettlebell towards your shoulder. Keep the wrist straight and horizontal with a high elbow.

Push the Kettlebell back out along the same way and repeat.

Kettlebell Snatch

Finally, the Kettlebell snatch is one of the most mentally and physically rewarding lifts a man can do for a total body workout. It uses everything you’ve got to take the Kettlebell from the bottom of the swing to overhead.

Thus, taking your workout routine to a whole new level.

So, again begin with a single handed swing by taking the Kettlebell up at around head height. Pull it towards you and then push up. Absorb the mass at the bottom of the swing as you throw the Kettlebell out and then repeat the same step again.

Conclusion

By now you might have already realized how accessible and practical Kettlebell training is for all. It can be beneficial for an elite athlete looking for an edge to a person who just discovered fitness for the first time.

But, the real question is when are you getting started?

-John Torgeron