How to Design Your Own Kettlebell Workout

Designing your own kettlebell workout can be fun and easy, as long as you follow certain rules and standards. And in order to do that, you need to learn a few things before creating one for yourself. Luckily for you, this article will provide you with the right equipment for creating a kettlebell workout program that will fit your schedule and your needs. So keep on reading until the end, and start designing your own workout right away!

How to Design Your Own Kettlebell Workout


The Basics Components of A Workout Program


A good exercise program is composed of three simple types of movements: the pulls, the pushes, and the lower body. And each of these movements comprises various exercises that will give you several choices for making your workout more challenging and effective.

The Pulls


The pulls are movements that will require you to pull the weight towards your body from any direction - either from below, in front, or above your head. And examples of these exercises are the pull ups and rows.

This type of movement will stimulate primarily your biceps, deltoids, shoulder muscles, and lats, along with other minor muscles located on your back.

The Pushes


The pushing exercises are any movement that allow you to push the weight (e.g. kettlebell) in any direction - either upward, forward, or downward. Good examples are the alternating floor press, the renegade push up, and the kettlebell Arnold press.

This particular movement will stimulate primarily your pectoral muscles, triceps, and shoulders, along with other minor muscles located on your upper body.

The Lower Body


The lower body exercises are basically (obviously) any exercise that will stimulate the muscles of your legs, such as the glutes, quads, hamstring, and calves. One amazing feature of performing lower body exercises is the stimulation of your core muscles. Simply lifting a heavy kettlebell from the ground (i.e. preparing for a KB deadlift) will activate the muscles of your core so that your body will be capable to handle the weight, and prevent the heavy load from breaking your spine.

Examples of lower body exercises are: the goblet squat, deadlift, and lunges.

How To Design Your Workout Based On These Components


Before you design your own program, take a look first at this list of exercises. Make sure to be familiar with them because you'll be using them to formulate your own routines.

Pushes

  • One-Arm Kettlebell Press
  • Alternating Floor Press
  • Leg-Over Floor Press
  • One-Arm Kettlebell Floor Press
  • Renegade Push-Up
  • Bridge Press
  • One-Arm Kettlebell Push-Up
  • Kettlebell Military Press
  • Kettlebell Arnold Press
  • One-Arm Push Press

Pulls

  • Double Kettlebell High Pull
  • Alternating Kettlebell Row
  • Kettlebell Bent-Over Row
  • Renegade Row
  • Kettlebell Windmill
  • Two-Hand Kettlebell Swing
  • Kettlebell Deadlift
  • One-Arm Kettlebell Clean
  • Single-Leg Kettlebell Deadlift
  • One-Arm Kettlebell Swing

Lower Body

  • Kettlebell Goblet Squat
  • Goblet Lunge
  • Goblet Side Lunge
  • Kettlebell Deadlift
  • Goblet Lateral Step-Up
  • Goblet Walking Lunge
  • Goblet Squat with Pulse
  • One-Arm Kettlebell Swing
  • Two-Hand Kettlebell Swing
  • Single-Leg Kettlebell Deadlift

After getting acquainted with them, you're now ready to create your own program.

Step #1

Choose first how many days you want to train in a week. This may alter depending upon your goals, schedule, and willingness to train. No matter how many days you want to exercise, always stick to 2-4 days a week of workout sessions. This will help your body recover from each workout.

Important: Always put a rest day in between your workout session, do not perform a heavy workout in 2 consecutive days. This won't help your body recover from muscular damage!

Step #2

After choosing which days you want to train, then it's time for you to choose among the exercises listed on the table above.

Remember to use the three (3) basic components of a good workout - the pulling, pushing, and lower body exercises. So with that formula in mind, this is how the structure of your program should look like:

DAY 1 - MONDAY

A - Kettlebell Bent Over Row (Pulling)

B - One-Arm Kettlebell Military Press (Pushing)

C - Double Kettlebell Front Squat (Lower Body)

DAY 2 - TUESDAY

A - Alternating Floor Press (Pulling)

B - One-Arm Kettlebell Jerk (Pushing)

C - Kettlebell Goblet Squat (Lower Body)

And so on... depending on how many times you decide to workout each week.

Step #3

The next step is to decide how many repetitions, sets, and weight you should be using.

Repetitions and Sets

The basic numbers to use are: 12x5, 10x5, 6x5, or 5x5, that is, 12 repetitions for 5 sets, 10 reps for 5 sets, 6 reps for 5 sets, or 5 repetitions for 5 sets.

You can alternate any configuration you want as long as you don't use the same formula in two consecutive workouts.

For example:

Day 1 - 10x5

Day 2 - 6x5

Day 3 - 10x5

Day 4 - 12x4

A good rule of thumb is to use a fairly heavy weight. In order to know the exact number, you can perform an exercise using a kettlebell heavy enough that will slow you down during the 9-10th rep (if you use the 10x5 configuration), or 4-6th rep (if you use the 5x5 or 6x5 configuration).

This method is very important because it will stimulate the right amount of muscle fibers, and induce muscle damage (it might sound bad, but it's a good thing if kept within the appropriate range). Once you induce muscle damage, then muscle toning and fat loss will immediately follow depending upon your diet and workout frequency.

Rest Periods

As for rest periods, 20-60 seconds should be the range. However, if you decide to create a fat loss routine, then 20-30 seconds rest is the maximum. Because the lower the number, the more fat you burn.

Step #4

Choose to perform the routine either in circuit or one by one exercise.

This concept is fairly simple. Using circuits, after you perform the first set of exercise A (referring to the example workout above), move to exercise B, and perform the first set of exercise B (remember to take the 20-60 sec. rest period between each exercise). Then move to Exercise C, and do the first set of that exercise. After that, repeat the cycle until you finish the total amount of sets you chose to do for that routine.

As a quick summary, here's how to design your workout:

Step #1 - Choose how many days you want workout in a week.

Step #2 - Choose the type of exercise you want to carry on by keeping in mind to follow the pull, push, and lower body formula.

Step #3 - Choose the sets/reps, amount of weight, and rest periods you want to include (this should be depending upon your schedule).

Step #4 - Decide to perform the routine in circuits or one by one.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Adam_McBenza/1494899
Next Post Previous Post