Kettlebell Cardio Shred is part of Bob Harper’s Inside Out Method series and yet another excellent workout. I love kettlebell workouts but I think I love Bob Harper’s best. He doesn’t have that many—only two and a short 30 minute one that comes with his kettlebells but, as usual, Bob gives you an excellent workout. There is a lot more teaching in his kettlebell workouts than in his other workouts (except the Skinny Rules WODs—those stress form before the WODs begin), but he still gets your heart pumping. The heaviest kettlebell I own is 15 pounds and that is what I used for this entire workout. I have been planning to get a 20 pound kettlebell but still haven’t; however I could have gone heavier for many of the moves in this workout. I still got a great workout with a 15 pound kettlebell.

This workout is cardio + strength—metabolic strength training. He keeps the heart rate up with lots of kettlebell swings and cardio intervals consisting of burpees and high knees. I wouldn’t say that Bob works every muscle group in the body, but he does work most of them. Bob only has one crew member, a woman named Becky. Becky does the entire workout and Bob functions as trainer, showing form, then coaching Becky and focusing on her form. The reps for each move range between 10-15 and for the most part Bob works both sides of your body evenly with the exception of in the beginning when he is teaching the kettlebell clean and press, and windmill, then combines them all into a clean/press/windmill. On the first side of your body that you work, he teaches each part individually before combining. When you move to the other side of the body you go straight to the combined combo. I didn’t like that because the breakdown was done in full sets so, for that exercise at least, you get a lot more work on one side of the body. The remedy for this is that if you do this workout frequently, alternate the side of the body you start with each time you do the workout. Also, Bob does not mirror us. So if he says start with your right side, if you want to mirror him (which I did), you actually start with your left side.

Kettlebell Cardio Shred is 52 minutes long, 5 minute warm up, 41 minute training time and 6 minute stretch. Everything listed below is done on both sides of the body except the moves I put an * next to–those are the moves that are only done on one side of the body (as described above).

Squats

Squat with upright row

Kettlebell swings (first normal two hand, then leg variations followed by single arm swings)

Tricep pushups

One arm rows

Kettlebell swings

Tricep push ups

One arm rows

Kettlebell swings

*Clean

*Squat with overhead press

*Windmill

Burpees

High knee run

Clean/press/windmill

Burpees

Kettlebell swings

Clean/press/windmill

Kettlebell swings

High knee runs

Alternating front lunges passing kettlebell under front leg

Snatch

Kettlebell swings

Alternating front lunges passing kettlebell under front leg

Hip raises/one leg hip raises

Modified Turkish get ups

Hip raises/one leg hip raises

Modified Turkish get ups

Woodchop lunges

Kettlebell swings

Clean and press

Kettlebell swings

Tricep push ups

One arm rows (for some of the rows you are balancing on one leg)

Burpees

Brief stretch

Ab work–this consists of crunch variations, twists with the kettlebell, crunches with overhead kettlebell press, and bicycle crunches

Final stretch