Minimising equipment use and still getting the most out of your efforts is a big part of fitness. After all, you need to be able to use whatever you have available to maintain your fitness levels. Consider this: You can get a staggering number of workouts done with just a pair of kettlebells!
In previous stories, we have covered why they are an excellent addition to any routine you follow. Their sheer versatility means longer workouts can be accomplished even if you are using just one. If you plan to add something to your fitness equipment, we highly recommend the kettlebell.
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Here are six workouts that can be done using just one of them. Remember that the weight of the kettlebell depends on your strength and lifting capabilities, but anything from 8-12 kg onwards should be challenging. The six workouts are divided into two full body workouts, two leg workouts, one core workout, and one shoulder stability workout. This way, you can choose to do them in whichever order that works for your routine.
The workouts range from moderate to difficult, but since most of them are time-based you can adjust the difficulty level by increasing or decreasing the rest period.
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40-minute full body workout: If you are someone who would like to change your fitness routine and are looking for a new challenge, Daniel PT’s 40-minute workout is a perfect mix of bodyweight and kettlebell exercise done in a 45-seconds-on, 15-seconds-off format. The exercises are interesting, and he keeps all the muscles working throughout for a comprehensive workout.
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35-minute legs workout: Here’s another challenging workout. Caroline Girvan’s 35-minute workout is another 45-seconds-on, 15-seconds-off routine, which has some of the best leg exercises: from staggered squats to Bulgarian lunges and one-and-a-half rep sumo squats. You don’t have to be at an advanced level for this, so for beginners, an easy weight will also make you sweat.
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Shoulder stability with kettlebell bottoms up: The kettlebell bottoms up is a stability move with multiple benefits like better grip, core activation, and mind-muscle connection. This video teaches the first few steps towards the bottoms up training, a term which refers to the position of the kettlebell in these exercises. E3 Rehab makes some fascinating videos on physiological issues and this one is worth following and incorporating into your daily warm up.
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30-minute beginner full body workout: The best part about this video is that you can get to see both single kettlebell and two-kettlebell versions of some of the exercises. Juice & Toya have gathered 957k subscribers because their workouts are refreshing and easy to do, but still challenging. This one is specifically a beginner’s workout but with a higher weight, it can become quite tough to do.
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15-minute intense leg workout: “We are focusing on your hamstrings, quads and glutes,” says the creator of the video Pavel Krotov. The workout follows a 40-seconds-on, 20-seconds-off format, and starts off with a really good combination exercise which he calls the ‘dead clean to lunge’. He follows that up with a thruster and by this point you know why it’s called intense. But as it’s just a 15-minute exercise, you will get the most optimal use out of your efforts.
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Kettlebell ab workout:Alex Crockford’s videos are known for his excellent selection of exercises. He mixes the classic ones with newer ones in his routines and it’s a good balance for those who dabble in both. He mentions the reps in the video which makes it easier to follow along and even do a couple of extra rounds. Some of the exercises, like the half get-up, and the around-the-world taps are worth adding to your daily routine.
Pulasta Dhar is a football commentator and writer.
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