This is a workout from Caroline Girvan‘s CGX app. For more info on Caroline’s App, see the CGX App page.
This was a long metabolic strength workout. Between the warm up and the workout, it is 75 minutes! I was worn out at by the end of this and my shoulders were fried. I feel like my weights for the exercises were all over the place. For some of them I could definitely have lifted heavier had I been using dumbbells but a kettlebell is held differently plus for some of the exercises she adds in a swing and rack, which recruits a lot more muscles into a basic move. I could have made it more intense had I used my 35 pound kettlebell for all of the swings, but at one point I started feeling a slight tweaking in my low back during one of the swings when I was using the 35 pound kettlebell so I immediately backed off and the next time the staple swing was repeated I used my 25 pound kettlebell. When we repeated the circuit I returned to the 35 pound kettlebell for the first 2 staples and my back was fine but I didn’t want to push it so I used the same weights I did the first time through the circuit for everything. Anyway, this is an excellent but very long total body kettlebell workout. It will have to be reserved for days I do not work. But when I return to it I will hopefully be able to use my 35 pound kettlebell for all of the swings.
The exercises in this workout are done interval style: 60 seconds of work followed by 30 seconds of rest–unless it is a lower body exercise. In the case of a lower body exercise, you will do the exercise for 60 seconds then immediately do 30 seconds of kettlebell swings. Then you get your 30 second rest. There is a timer in the upper right hand side of the screen counting down your intervals and recoveries. During the recovery Caroline previews the next exercise. There is also a little bar at the bottom of the screen that counts down the entire workout time as a percentage.
If you are not familiar with kettlebell moves, the CGX app has How To videos for the kettlebell swing, the snatch, the clean and the press. You should definitely review the videos before doing this workout.
1 Hour Kettlebell Full Body is 63:11 minutes (this time does not include the optional 11:39 minute warm up and 1:54 minute intro, also optional) with a 3:15 minute stretch. Equipment: kettlebell(s) and a fitness mat. Caroline is using a 16kg/35 pound and a 10kg/22 pound kettlebells. The kettlebell weights listed below are what I used.
- Goblet squat for 60 seconds (hold KB by bell) (40# KB)
- Double hand kettlebell swing for 30 seconds (staple) (35# KB)
- 30 second rest
- Sumo squat for 60 seconds (legs are wide with toes turned out) (40# KB)
- Repeat #2 (staple) (35# KB)
- 30 second rest
- Single arm bent over row (40# KB)
- 30 second rest
- Repeat #7 & 8 on other arm
- Static lunge (stationary lunge, Caroline holds one KB racked at shoulder of front leg) (25# KB)
- Repeat #2 (staple) (25# KB)
- 30 second rest
- Repeat #10-12 on other side of body
- Uneven push ups (one hand is on the floor and the other hand rests on the KB)
- 30 second rest
- Repeat #14 & 15 with other hand resting on KB
- Rear step lunge (reverse step back lunge, hold KB by handle at side, same side hand as front leg) (25# KB)
- Repeat #2 (staple) (25# KB)
- 30 second rest
- Repeat #17-19 on other side of body
- Single arm overhead shoulder press (20# KB)
- 30 second rest
- Repeat 21 & 22 on other arm
- Clean to squat (single arm/swing KB between legs then rack KB at shoulder and squat) (20# KB)
- Repeat #2 (staple) (25# KB)
- 30 second rest
- Repeat #24-26 on other side of body
- Clean to press (hold KB in one hand, swing KB between legs, at top of swing rack KB at shoulder and do one single arm overhead press) (20# KB)
- 30 second rest
- Repeat #28 & 29 on other arm
- Repeat #1-30
Finisher: (3 minutes; no rest/recoveries)
- Uneven squat for 30 seconds (squats with KB racked at one shoulder) (20# KB)
- Repeat #1 w/ KB racked at other shoulder
- Push press for 30 seconds (start with KB racked at one shoulder, do a single arm overhead shoulder press but use legs to add power to the press) (20# KB)
- Repeat #3 on other arm
- Double hand kettlebell swing for 60 seconds (25# KB)
