Full Body Kettlebell Workout to Failure!

by Marianne  - November 1, 2010

Hi everyone,

Firstly I am sorry I have been missing in action, but I was doing my Extreme Kettlebells Instructors Course all weekend and it was tough going, so I hardly even had time to switch my computer on!! I really enjoyed myself and would highly recommend the course to anyone who loves Kettlebells and wants to learn proper technique and how to put together training programmes for themselves or clients. I will be using the knowledge and skills I have learned in future workouts for sure. If anyone is wanting to do this course then head on over to Optimal Life Fitness and you can see where and when they will have the next course running. The great thing about OLF is that they are branching out across Europe and the world as they now even have a course running in Australia. I Highly Highly recommend their courses! My next endeavour will be their Olympic Weight Lifting Course, as I want to focus on my strength and power!

Now on to today’s workout. This is one I did last week as I didn’t have time to upload it sooner, so it has not been inspired by anything I learned at the weekend EKI course. However, it did pose a new challenge to me as I set about testing my muscular endurance. As a change to setting reps or setting time intervals I thought I would give myself 10 exercises and do as many reps of each as I could in one go until I reached failure! My aim was to keep the workout to 20 minutes as always, and I thought i would manage about 2 rounds in that time, as I do not think much of my endurance LOL! BUT, I surprised myself! According to my Gymboss Interval Timer it took me 18 minutes and 27 seconds to complete one round, that’s right, ONE round! And I was nearly dead by the end of it. So it turned out to be a great training session.

The Workout

Below are my exercises and reps. Notice I didn’t go too heavy with the weight today. This is because I was wanting to see endurance, not strength:

  1. Kettlebell Sumo Deadlift burpee into Vertical Swing (15)
  2. Double Kettlebell Bent Over Rows (21)
  3. KB Reverse Lunges (right) (24)
  4. KB Reverse Lunges (left) (23)
  5. KB Clean and Presses (right) (17 1/2)
  6. KB Clean and Presses (left) (15)
  7. KB Renegade Rows (21)
  8. Double KB Front Squats (19)
  9. KB Push Ups (24 🙂 )
  10. KB Two-Handed Swings (65)

The sweat was lashing off me by the second exercise as this was a tough challenge for me, especially the front squats as I hate them LOL!! I was surprised the most by the clean and presses and the push ups as I didn’t expect to get those numbers.

In my next Kettlebell workout I will be implementing some of the new challenges I picked up from the course, and see what you make of them 😉

Please feel free to leave me a comment and try this workout.  Also stay tuned for my next KB video – once my poor calluses and grip have recovered!! I am just realising I have our KB class tonight :/ But I am going to drag myself out the door anyway as it keeps me focused and fit of course. Give us a shout from the link if you want to come.

So I am off to rest my weary body some more and build my strength for later. Hope you all had a great Halloween weekend!!

Cheers
Marianne



Extreme Kettlebell Strength and Conditioning Workout

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  1. I did this routine yesterday and today, 12 kg yesterday and 8 kg today.
    Yesterday I was below your reps all round and found it hard, but I must admit to stopping the early ones so that I had something left to finish the workout with.
    Today, with 8Kg I went for it, but made some changes: I changed Renegade rows to alternate bent over rows, and kb push ups to ordinary ones, because my 8 kg bells are Jordan iron ones and have very small bases so far too risky for resting on. I managed many more reps today and for the alternate rows I did 100!!!

    Both days I followed this workout with the Tabata from “Sexy Sweat Fest”, but I changed the second mountain climbers for plank climbers, flat then elevated.

    Very satisfying to finish that lot.

    Thank you Marianne.

    Regards, Peter

    1. Wow 100 Rows!!!! 😀

      Nice job Peter. Glad you are making progress and you are mixing and matching different exercises and styles together to make it work best for yourself – that’s what it’s all about! 😀

      1. Thanks Marianne,

        what I forgot to mention about my workouts was that I just did one round…..

        Cheers, Peter

        1. All the same Peter, you are still noticing improvements. Doing more rounds is more to do with endurance, which you can only build up by pushing through those barriers – but ONLY while your form remains intact. I still say, GREAT JOB 😀 100 rows! You could nearly go up a weight I’d say.

  2. I don’t know what was into me today and I’m kind of embarrassed at the same time proud to admit it but I did this workout today and I thought to myself I think I’ll do two rounds(WRONG!!) So I did one round but still wanted to do some body weight work so I did Smoking Buns and Guns, and then here’s when it got a little stupid and I will hate myself tomorrow BIG! I thought I would tackle a few sets of pullup/chinups. I got to about 20(in sets of 5) and then remembered Melissas ETK 75 pullups and thought I think I’ll just see how many I can do. Guess what! I did 75! I could barely do 1 a month ago. But seriously just implementing your workouts and the one with the pullups mainly have helped huge! I’ve been using the recent one you had posted it was Strength and Conditioning Extreme home workout and trying that once a week on top of just what Melissa had mentioned every time you pass the bar do a few works a ton! Thanks so much Marianne for your great attitude and inspiration, I know I went overboard today, I will hate myself tomorrow but for today it feels good!

    1. THAT’S AMAZING AIMEE!!!! 😀 😀 😀 Seriously, well done. 75 pull ups!! Hope you’re not too sore. Can’t believe you did that AFTER a workout too! Nice job 😀

  3. Hi Marianne,

    This this one tonight with 2 6kgs and 1 20lb KBs. I just have started using 2 KBs and your workout is a great way to watch my form and sweat. I can’t jump due to low back issues but was able to increase the reps doing a substition exercise. Sumo squats and burpees really started the heart pumping! Really did work up a major sweatfest and loved it. I did make the full 3 rounds. Thanks so much for the inspiration.

    1. Maria, it’s great that you didn’t allow your back issues stop you from trying! I am glad you hear you completed the workout regardless. This goes to show you can still substitute some of my suggested exercises and get a great workout!! Thanks!

      Marianne

  4. I did cardio last night. I will get my 2 KB tomorrow and I will try one of your older kettle bell workouts.

    This one I will leave as my goal, but I really am excited to try Out this madness you call a workout. I love challenges.

  5. wow,this workout was a toughie.
    most everything my #’s were close to the same as yours however i was using two different size of KB’s. 8 lbs, and 15 lbs. i only did 20 2 handed swings because my arms were jelly……… love it.

  6. Pingback: Kettlebell Fat Loss Workout Program | Loss Fat Reviews
  7. You are a little bit crazy 😉 but it is really inspiring. that hurt, and I was just watching. need some catching up to do if I am going to follow your workouts.

    1. I must have to be a little crazy to do this LOL, but it’s fun too 😉 You’ll soon catch up! I’ve made great gains in the last few months I never expected – so it will happen, just wait 😀

  8. Ps, don’t know where that added stuff showed up in my comments.
    Using iPhone rather than computer to do this. Weird.

  9. What I mean by incorporating both is cardio a few days & kettlebells a few days.
    I feel that kettlebells does both. Any help will be greatly appreciated. As I was writing, good luck with your classes. One can tell how far you’ve come along. It shows in your phenomenal strength and how you’ve changed physically.
    Enjoy the day!

    1. Hi Minnie, thanks for you question. I think the best way to allow your body to be in the best conditions to burn fat is to provide a variety of training each week. Kettlebell training provides both resistance and cardio, but I also recommend other resistance training too. Compound lifts like squats, deadlifts and strength training, like pull ups etc are excellent ways to change your body composition. I would never recommend just one way of training. There’s nothing wrong with traditional cardio, but HIIT is the best for fat burning. It all depends what you enjoy too. No point in forcing yourself to do training you hate, as you will be less likely to stick with it long term. So, pick types of training that keep you interested and challenged.

      Keep that body guessing – like I always say, variety is good. Mixing KBs and bodyweight training or your cardio training will keep things varied too. Keep the workouts full body and the diet good and you will see results.

      I have really noticed the biggest difference since I started IF and more strength training.

      Thanks again for your comments and ads LOL

      Hope this helps.

      Marianne

      PS Are you noticing any difference in your body fat % and muscle mass?

  10. Hi Marianne,
    Wow, this looks like a great workout. I’ll try it either tomorrow morning or later this afternoon after I’m done with my cardio. I have a question for you. How would one fare better burning fat, the kettlebell workouts such as the one you just did or incorporating both during a weeks time as a routine? I know that doing both would yield faster results but….. If I did just kettlebells would it be as beneficial? Thanks for your help. Also keep up the g

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