Hi everyone,
Feeling like a challenge? Then this workout is for you. Back in Febuary I did my Ultimate 500 Rep Workout and today I thought I would create a new version (with some different exercises) to give me an extreme challenge.
The Workout
The exercises are more challenging because I have included more compound movements which use up more energy. This workout is a time challenge, so I have used my good old Gymboss Interval Timer as a stopwatch today. Back in Feb I only could manage to use my 12kg Kettlebell and an 8kg in places, so this workout was good to show me how much stronger and fitter I have become over the last 8 months as I used my 16kg Kettlebell mostly, and only dropping down to 12kg when I was really fatigued.
Again there are 10 exercises and you need to complete 50 reps of each exercise before moving on. The exercises are :
- 50 KB Thrusters (25 reps each side)
- 50 KB 2H Swings
- 50 KB Reverse Lunges (25×25)
- 50 KB Single-arm Rows (25×25)
- 50 KB Clean and Presses (25×25)
- 50 KB Single-Leg Deadlifts (25×25)
- 50 KB Alternating Swings
- 50 KB Push Ups – eek!!
- 50 KB Snatches (25×25) (watch your weight selection here, remember you’re fatigued)
- 50 KB Goblet Squats
DONE!
My time was 28 minutes and 23 seconds.
See if you can beat me and let me know how you did 🙂
Talk soon
Marianne
Hi I just found your website today and I think its awesome! I was really convinced on buying the equipment they use on BODYROCK TV (dip station, sandbag, medicine ball)but now that I’ve come across your page I’m not so sure anymore:) Could you please tell me how many kettlebells I need to complete my little collection? Like an 8 pound, 12, 14, exp. My fitness goal is not weight loss, I just want to get in shape and sculpt by body. Im 5 foot 2 and weigh 119. Also, will you be putting up videos everyday, or just once a week? Thank you so much for your reply
Hi there Patty, thank you for your comment 🙂 I think for Home Workouts the best equipment is KBs, or even a Sandbag. But I am bias towards KBs of course 😉 For your goals, I would recommend starting with a 14lb and even a 25lb KB. You can start with the 14lber; any lighter is not going to be any use for your goals and will actually be a waste of your money, considering that most females soon progress to 25lbs and beyond within a couple of months. The idea is to progressively overload the muscles and try to get stronger. By getting stronger, you will build a little lean muscle and begin to have more shape to your body. 14lbs might seem heavy just to lift, but you soon find that it is only “heavy” for over-head exercises. 14lbs is quite realistic for you to swing, squat, row, lunge, deadlift etc. In fact I would say that most women can swing 25lbs, once they master the form 🙂 So I would advise 2 KBs to start your collection.
I don’t upload workouts everyday like BRTV (because I have a job as a nurse), but I do try and upload 2 or 3 posts per week (mostly workouts or challenges). However, because I have been building my site for over 2 years now, I have quite a collection of workouts already, so that will keep many new visitors occupied. Much of my training focus here is strength training and challenging conditioning workouts. I also train 2-3 times per week in the gym where I do heavy barbell lifts, pull ups, dips etc. Have you heard of Girls Gone Strong? I am a founder of this group and myself, along with the other 6 girls are trying to encourage more women to train for strength, rather than ONLY aesthetics and fat loss – we think strength (inner and outer) is more beautiful. Feel free to “like” our Facebook page, as there are many updates there from all of our blogs. I am sure you will find all you need to know from us 🙂
If there is anything else you need to know, just ask. I take pride in answering all questions !
Cheers
Marianne
Marianne
… Wow.
Ive always wanted to get into kettlebells, I finally get one and you destroy me first workout… I got 24min, but I also only have a 12kg. I cant imagine doing it with a 16.
Thank you
Nice one Tim! This was a real tough one to start with!! Well done 🙂
Wow – what a kick-butt workout that was! You make Jillian Michaels look like a little school girl! Gotta go – my hands are shaking from the workout 🙂
Hey – thanks! Glad you liked it! Hope you recover 😉
Marianne,
Did this workout today, it was awesome! I wanted a little longer of a workout so I added 1 min of high knee jump rope after every exercise. Kicked my arse! I also used a 30 lb db for quite a lot of it which is a PR for me!!!
Ty,again!!
Ruth
You’re welcome Ruth! Wow, 1 min of high knees?? TOUGH COOKIE 😛
Congrats on the PR too 😀
That was so insane! But I made it through! I did half with the 16kg and the other half with 12kg. I am shaking! I have to say I only did 10 of the KB pushups and did the other 40 on my toes with no KBS. My legs were shaking so bad at that point I just had to go down. Great workout!!! Whoo hoo!
Great work Aimee! You should try it again in a few weeks and measure your improvements 🙂 I dread doing this again – it was tough! Way to go you! 😀
Thanks Marianne,
This is a massive challenge,
I really enjoy this structure of challenge. The 50 kettlebell push ups is solid. I am definately going to give this one a try.
Thanks
Hi Marianne I did your 500 rep routine on monday it was a killer. used 16 kg kb all the way through i did alternate the last 4 sets 10 reps at a time love your sets keep them coming thanks paul
Great job Paul, thanks for commenting 🙂 Don’t you worry I intend on keeping them coming 😉
God there is a lake of sweat on the floor after that one!
Did it all with my 16kg in 32mins 44secs, did elevated push-ups instead of Kb ones. Was an absolute killer, especially after a BAD leg workout last night at my martial arts class.
Must admit I like a bit of DOMS the day after, makes me feel like I have worked hard 🙂
Oh I notice that you seem to prefer reverse lunges to forwards ones. Is there any particular reason for that or is it just personal preference?
Think I might order a 20kg in the next couple of weeks 🙂
Steve.
LOL, Steve, good work. I rarely get DOMS – maybe I need to work harder 😀
Reverse lunges aren’t as heard on the knees, that’s why I prefer them.
Funny you mentioning 20’s! Just wait til you see the workout I did yesterday … (which will be up later btw)
M
I did it! My time was 31:17, it’was the first time. I think that I’ll improve it:D!
Thanks Marianne for your workouts, they stimulate me to do better!
I used the 16 kg in every exercises.
Well done!! Great achievement for your first time 😀
Marianne
Hi Marianne,
I did this workout this morning, whew!!!!! what a killer. My time was 38:22. I’m still doing the modification in that I’m using a 25lb dumbell but all in all it works for me. I’m enjoying this type of exercise very much. The hardest I agree are the push-ups. My favorite would be the thrusters. Prior to my discovering your website I did a routine that included thrusters , 25 of them ,so they became somewhat easy for me. I think it’ll be different when I pick up the kettlebells as the weight distribution is not the same as a dumbell.
Since I’ve begun the kettlebell exercises AND the IF I’ve seen a big change in my weight and belly. (DIM too) Thanking you and Andrew for all your help and advice.
Have a great day! 🙂
MinnieV.
Nice work! You might actually find a KB more comfortable doing thrusters, I love that exercise now – because it really gets the heart rate going. Glad you enjoying this.
That’s great that you’re seeing real results now!! A combination of everything is working.
Keep it up 😀
Marianne
Hi Marianne,
could you please let me know what this mysterious “IF” that you and Minnie keep speaking about is? Anything suitable also for a fitness-loving ectomorph like me?
Thanks 🙂
Bianca
Hi Bianca, “IF” is Intermittent Fasting, to help us get lean and mean LOL, I have did an article on it a while ago here. I am not sure that as someone who finds it hard to gain weight, this would be a suitable option, as it involves eating all your calories within an 8 hour window, so it calls for bigger portions. You can check it out though.
Cheers
Marianne
Thanks Marianne. I’ll read your article, but I guess I should do “IE” (Intermittent Eating).
Have a lovely day.
Bianca
LOL Very Good – I like that one 😉
Marianne
oh my, i haven’t done a hard workout in a long time. i did this minus 26 pushups. i just couldn’t do it. i had to use my small KB’s because i haven’t been doing those workouts in so long, i’m weak with that equipment. I only used 8 lbs. My time was about half an hour….. i’m sore for sure
Hey Tempest, it’s been a while since I’ve heard from you. You’ll gain back your strength quite quickly after not doing these workouts, so don’t worry. Thanks for leaving a comment 🙂
Thanks for another great workout Marianne. I agree with the others, you look very lean and very strong. I’m a meso-endo and no way do I look like you lol. I’m curious if you suffer from DOMS much, because you never seem sore despite working out so hard nearly everyday? I find that DOMS, especially after one of your workouts, can make me take a unplanned rest day the day after, and it’s very annoying. Also, sorry if you have mentioned it before, but do you practice Yoga or Pilates ?
Thanks for everything 🙂
Hi Sarah, The only time I really get DOMS is after a very heavy leg session, or when I specifically train my biceps, delts, triceps and back with traditional weights. I never really get sore with KBs or bodyweight. I did Yoga for a while, but didn’t stick with it. Haven’t done Pilates.
Thanks about your comment on how I look 🙂 If I didn’t do the exercise I do, and I ate the way I eat, I would turn into a tub again LOL It’s hard to see yourself as anything different, when once you were 30lb heavier! I do know I have come a long way. If I can do it – anyone can 😀 But that’s not saying that it’s easy.
Thanks again Sarah
Marianne
Thanks for answering Marianne. I really do appreciate the time you take out of your day to give us all great workouts, solid advice, and motivation.:)
Your lucky on the DOMS then. I know some people thrive on that soreness the day after….not me LOL.
Just picking your brain again…I have noticed I am stronger on my right than my left, so if I do a lunge back with a shoulder press for eg, I will only be able to do 12 reps on my left but 15 or so, on my right. Do I need to balance this out somehow, or does it not really matter? I’m also curious what your flooring is in your workout room. It looks like carpet through my computer, but maybe not. What flooring would you suggest in a workout room that makes any jumping moves safe on the joints ? I know Gyms use spring type floors but on my budget, that’s not going to happen 🙂
Thanks again 🙂
Hi Sarah,
Everyone has a dominant side (stronger, better balance and coordination) and the only way to balance it out is to do what you’re doing. Train using unilateral exercises (dumbbells, KBs etc rather than a barbell where your stronger side would take the work away from the weaker side), start the exercise off on your weaker side first. As you fatigue the weakness will be more apparent. If you train your left first you’ll have more energy.
Sometimes this imbalance is thought to be a neurological issue. When you’re right handed, its only natural that your mind to muscle connection is stronger on the right side. Experts recommend using your weaker side in daily life to do things like open doors, lift objects, turn on faucets, and everything else you can think of. If you worked on becoming ambidextrous, your muscle strength will balance out. But this isn’t necessary unless it’s really bothering you.
The worse thing to do is to give more work to your weak side to “catch up”, as you may risk over training it in the process and end up having the opposite effect 🙁
My flooring is heavy duty rubber matting, like you get in a weights room. Underneath is carpet and wood (as it’s an upstairs room). I think carpet is fine to workout on as long as you have good gripping shoes (you don’t want to get a carpet burn – oach), If you have wooden or laminate floors, then you could buy some interlinking foam flooring to workout on. I couldn’t use this on carpet because the softness of the carpet would undo the links if I stood on it. The foam flooring isn’t too expensive either.
I think whether a floor is safe on joints for jumping isn’t an issue, I think it’s more about how you control your landing, if you know what I mean. On a harder floor I soften my landing more to compensate etc.
I hope this helps
Cheers again
Marianne
This is tomorrow’s workout…looks great, as do you!!! I know the push-ups and snatches will be hard on my shoulder, but I’ll modify as necessary.
Thanks Marianne for the great workout.
Hi Marianne, I’ll try this good work out and I’ll let you know how much time I did it take!:)
Hi Marianne,
first of all, you really look so lean! You look like a perfect ecto-blogger to me! So stop pretending you’re a meso-endo.
Anyway, just how strong are you? How can you manage those thrusters with the 16 kg KB? And also the push-ups: I am still having a hard time doing 10 in a row, and from the knees (much easier than the “normal” ones).
In any case, great workout: I’ll be trying it lowering the reps and of course with my lighter weights.
I also wanted to say that I found it very useful (in your previous two videos with the glute raises and hyper-extensions) to also see the links to other videos in which you show a different variation of the same exercise.
Cheers/ciao
Bianca
You’re welcome Bianca. As always nice to hear from you.
I am definitly a meso-endo – if you’re on facebook you should friend me (Marianne Kane) you will see pictures of a larger me there LOL
Thanks again, enjoy the workout 🙂
Marianne
Marianne!!!! That was insane! I was just doing some C&Presses this morning with the 16 and I could barely do 3 let alone 25 !!! This was a killer workout and really shows how strong you really are. I want to do this workout now but I know that I will be lucky to even do it with my 12kg!
Very impressed!
I am a little put out this morning as I just realized that I have gained this summer (around the middle) not slimmed down! My arms and legs have more definition but NOT my abs.
Anyways, keep up the INCREDIBLE work!
Heather
Hi Heather,
Thanks. I didn’t manage all 25 with the 16kg, I dropped down to the 12kg for the last 10 reps on my right side and 12 on my left. But it’s better than I managed back in my SPARTA 300 workout were I could only do about 5 reps and only 2 on my left! It won’t take you long to build it up though. I never thought I’d manage that many. My forearms were on fire though LOL
Don’t worry too much about the weight, it could be water retention too remember. The mid-section is always a little tempermental, after a weekend of eating rubbish mine looks so bloated and swollen :/
Hope you’ll still give this a go 😀
Cheers
Marianne
Hey Marianne
I finally got around to doing this one! Killer! I only used the 16 for swings and even had to drop from my 12kg to the 20lber for the C&P’s and thrusters and goblet squats. I see alot of foam rolling in my immediate future! Great workout. I’m sorry that your plans didn’t workout for now… things always happen for a reason!
TTYS
Heather
Hey Heather, well done with this one. The clean and presses are tough! Though I’ve just bought some 14kg KBs and they are great for those exercises that a 12 is just too light for, but I can’t manage all the reps with the 16. I bet if you go back to this workout in a couple of months you will see a big difference in your strength Heather. The first time I ever did thrusters in my Tight Buns Workout back in June, I could only do about 5 reps with a 12kg and then I had to drop to a 10kg! And now I can do well over 10 reps with a 16!! I never thought I would ever have this strength 😀 This time last year I was off sick from work for 4 months in so much pain I could hardly even walk – I’m so lucky to have the health I do now 🙂
I believe things have worked out for the best for now.
Cheers
Marianne
Marianne,
I am a guy and this looks challenging for guys too. I am going to attempt this workout today and I’ll let you know how it goes!