Killer Kettlebell TABATA Workout

Killer Kettlebell Tabata Workout is Heather Robertson‘s newest kettlebell workout. I usually don’t get to her workouts this quickly but I needed a short workout this morning to round out my hour and this fit perfectly. I used it to warm myself up before doing a Caroline Givan workout. I would classify this as a cardio workout, not strength training. It is more metabolic weight training using a kettlebell to increase the cardio intensity. It’s not killer as the title suggests or super intense but it is a great little workout to use as an add on or finisher for another workout. Since this workout is set up in tabata format, the structure is 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of recovery. One 4 minute tabata circuit equals eight 20/10 intervals. Heather pairs exercises together for each tabata circuit and you alternate those two exercises for 4 minutes before moving on to the next tabata circuit. There is a counter in the bottom right hand corner of the screen, counting down your intervals and recoveries. During the first two recoveries at the beginning of each tabata circuit Heather previews the next exercise.

Killer Kettlebell Tabata Workout is 22:34 minutes; 3 minute warm up and 2:30 minute stretch. Equipment: kettlebell(s) and a fitness mat. Heather used a 15 pound kettlebell. The kettlebell weights listed below are what I used.

Tabata 1:

1. Deadlift & squat (alternate one deadlift with one squat) (35# KB)
2. Toe taps (place KB on floor on its side, with hands behind head, alternate hop-tapping toes to base of KB)
3. Repeat # 1 & 2 three more times

Tabata 2:

1. Plank reach & kick (KB is sitting on mat in front of you and you are in elbow plank, tap top of KB once each hand, then raise each leg once)
2. Side leaps (KB is on floor, lateral leap over KB)
3. Repeat #1 & 2 three more times

Tabata 3:

1. Squat curl and press (hold KB by handle at chest, bell facing up, squat and hold squat while doing one bicep curl, stand and do an overhead press) (20# KB)
2. Single arm kettlebell swing, alternate arms (20# KB)
3. Repeat #1 & 2 three more times

Tabata 4:

1. Overhead lunges (hold KB by bell in both hands, KB is raised overhead and held there the entire time while doing alternating reverse lunges) (15# KB)
2. Squat & hop (squat and place KB on ground between legs, release KB and squat hop, pick up KB and when you stand, do one upright row) (25# KB)
3. Repeat #1 & 2 three more times

For more info on Heather Robertson’s workouts and other (free) streaming workouts I’ve sampled and reviewed, check out my Streaming page.