“Challenge Me” is back to kick off the week with Aimee’s Kettlebell Conditioning Workout!
Aimee had nicely designed a couplet-style kettlebell workout followed by a Killer Tabata at the end. This workout will work on strength as well as conditioning and it also contains some great skill exercises too. If you are wanting a full body blast that will help burn fat as well, then this is a great mix of Aimee’s and my favorite exercises 🙂
So happy to have a new camera btw – let me know if you notice any difference, good or bad 🙂
The Workout
My version of the workout is slightly different to Aimee’s original, only because I felt I wanted to focus on some other things and I was unsure of what some of the exercises described were, so I filled in the gaps. Hope you don’t mind Aimee 🙂
Aimee also said there were 2 couplets, but I must have misunderstood the design because I counted 4 :-/ Now my maths skills are renowned for being rubbish on a good day, so please feel free to correct me if I have got it wrong LOL!
The workout I did, looks like this:
Set your Gymboss Interval Timer for 6 cycles of 15 seconds rest and 45 seconds effort and complete 2 rounds of each couplet below before moving on to the next:
My weights and reps per exercise are in brackets.
- Goblet Squat (20kg) (18, 16)
- Windmill R+L (used 16kg in R1, but regressed to 14kg in R2, as I knew my form wasn’t the best) (4, 5 – both sides)
- Double KB Sumo Deadlifts (2 x 24kg) (17, 15)
- Single Arm KB Swing R+L (16kg) (R – 25, 24, L – 26, 24)
- TGU R+L (16kg) (both sides – 1.5 reps both rounds)
- Tactical Reverse Lunges (16kg) (22, 21)
- Single KB Arm Row R+L (20kg) (R – 13, 11, L – 12, 11)
- Vertical Swing Burpee (20kg) (7, 7)
Now reset your Timer for 8 cycles of 10 seconds rest and 20 seconds MAX effort and complete 4 rounds of the following 2 exercises. I changed these from those Aimee suggested, because I HATE snatches :-/ sorry – I will start practicing them some day, but not in a Tabata 😛
- Heavy Two-Hande KB Swings (24kg)
- Side to Side Step Ups
Done!
Now for a little hindsight – I would honestly recommend taking the windmills and TGUs out of the intervals and placing them as a starter/priming exercises. So instead, replace the Windmills with Military Presses and the TGUs with maybe 2 exercises like the Plank Climber, burpees or T-Push Ups etc.
The reason I think this, as explained in the video, is because these are what I view as higher skill exercises they require more control over speed, so the focus is not on max reps but, quality reps. That being said, 45 seconds did not give me time to complete enough quality reps to gain benefit from the exercise, especially the TGUs. I should have changed this before I did the workout, as I suspected it would be an issue, but things always make more sense in hindsight.
Other than this, I really enjoyed Aimee’s workout inspiration 😀 Thank you for suggesting it!
That’s me for today everyone. I welcome your feedback below. And, check out Aimee’s version too, because some may prefer the snatches over the swings 😛 I don’t, sorry Adam!! LOL
Right, I’m off!
See you soon.
Marianne
Hi! I have been visiting here daily since I found your site! Thank you so much for being so generous with your knowledge. In the last year I have changed my diet and lost 60 pounds…… I have used hiking, walking, golf and swimming for my exercise. After listening to many fitness podcasts and reading blogs I have incorporated interval training into my fitness schedule. I love kettlebells! They are fun and I already see results! So, my first kb was from a local store, the handle is not completely smooth, low quality. I just ordered some cap kb and used them today……the handle is larger than what I am used to but they are really nice quality. What is the proper fit one should have for the grip on the kb handle? I was capable of swinging with no problem….. It may be the increase in weight that felt awkward too. Thanks again for such an amazing learning tool! You rock !!!
Cheers from super hot and humid Kentucky!
Shannon
Thanks Shannon, sounds like you have been making great progress 😀 You are amazing, really !!
The KB handle thing, shouldn’t be an issue, if you find the exercises comfortable to perform. The roughness thing is the worst part! The thicker the handle the more it will work your grip strength, so it mightn’t be a bad thing, having these handles. It may cause the one armed exercises like the cleans, snatches and some swings to be more tiring for your grip, but it will also help build it up.
If you do get a rough handle and they are steel or iron KBs, you can and should sand them down before use. Even just buying KBs from new, they should be sanded to wear away some of the anti-corrosion coating.
Hope this helps.
Keep up the great work Girl! 😀
Marianne,
Thank you so much for all of the hard work that you do. I actually found your site through Bret and I have to say- DAMN GIRL..You kill it!
I would love to speak with you about the pitfalls and victories of blogging the way you do. I am a coach and nutritionist in Arizona and am just getting started with blogging. I have a friend who has been working on putting together a blog design for me that isn’t just workouts but focuses on total wellness.
If you have time to chat, let me know. Via e-mail is wonderful!
Thanks again for the amazing workouts, it is great to see another female working hard and getting great results!
Hi Marianne,
This workout was tough, but really great. I tried to make a few changes according to your advice, but i ended up turning the workout into a real monster! I subbed the windmills for military presses and in round 3 I did a combo of dynamic push up burpees (my new fave exercise), russian twists and reverse tactical lunges. I squeezed 5 mins of TGUs in between the main part of the workout and the tabata.
This workout really cheered me up as I’ve been having a bit of a fat day. This was just what I needed to make me snap out of it, so thanks to you and Aimee 🙂
Wow Emma! Talk about taking things up a notch 😉 Nice! But sounds so tough. Must try those burpees soon!
Cheers
Marianne
Mariane… i little confused…usually when i search online for exercises they tell u to do it for that many weeks…how can we do your exercises…should we do it for 3 weeks / 3 times a week,,i duno how to make a routine…should i pick 3 different exercies and follow them for 3 or more weeks,,,
please tell me,,,i love KB exercises but i m kind of confuse. hope to hear from u soon
Hi Buggie 🙂
The way I work my own routine is I do 2 – 3 of these workouts per week, mixing strength and conditioning with KBs, then I do additional strength work in the gym. There are no hard and fast rules, I would actually rather say to someone to aim to workout 3-4 times per week with good intent ie – putting great effort, form and attention into your chosen workout. The beauty of these workouts is that they can be mix n matched – so you may compliment them with other types of training, or just on their own – for as many weeks as you wish. Choose workouts of changing intensity to prevent plateaus.
No need for it all to become complicated or confusing, better it be fun and easy to follow, as and when suits you.
Hope this helps. Just I don’t have a programme, nor do I follow one. Some others do though. It might be an idea to register at the Forum and post a thread on what programmes others follow and how my workouts come into it?? Just a thought 🙂
excellent routine to maintain muscle tone and strength, I think.
🙂