Try Something New With Kettlebells

Hi everyone,

I was thinking the other day about how I would like to try some new Kettlebell exercises that would push me out of my comfort zone more than usual. And when I say comfort zone, I mean challenge my confidence and ability, and do something I didn’t think I could do.

Although these exercises may not be difficult to some people, I thought my 2 new exercises were very challenging for me.

I devised a full workout incorporating these exercises so at least I knew I would get something out of it, even if the new exercises didn’t go too well.

Overall I think I did a reasonable job.

The new exercises were the Turkish Get Up (squat variation) and the Alternating Clean. Keeping both the reps and the weight low during the TGUs I could concentrate on positioning myself into an overhead squat (with as much dignity as possible LOL). 3 reps each side was taxing enough! Then with the alternating clean, I tried to start it with the KBs in opposite positions (one hanging and one racked), but I couldn’t get the momentum built up, so I started from a double rack position, which was easier. This exercise was actually fun to do, but it requires rhythm and good cardiovascular fitness as it sure gets the heart pumping. I just did as many reps as I could manage with two 12kg KBs.

The Workout

I performed 2 rounds of the 5 exercises below to make it a fat burning and functional workout, to make the most of my time. I just used my Gymboss Interval Timer as a stopwatch to see, out of interest, how long each round lasted:

1. Kettlebell TGU (squat variation) (right) x 3 reps
2. KB TGU (squat variation) (left) x 3 reps
3. Power Jacks x 12 reps
4. Double KB Alternating Forward Lunge with Shoulder Press x 12 reps
5. KB Alternating Cleans (as many reps as possible)

The whole thing took me about 20 minutes.

I hope you will all keep pushing yourselves to try new things to stay out of those comfort zones 🙂

Marianne