CGX: K5 series season 1 | Day 2: Upper body workout with abs included!

This is a workout from Caroline Girvan‘s CGX app. For more info on Caroline’s App, see the CGX App page.

Another solid kettlebell workout. This one works your entire upper body but hits your shoulders the hardest. If you are new to kettlebells or haven’t done some of the exercises in this workout with a kettlebell, I suggest reviewing them in Caroline’s CGX form library. Like Day 1, this is one long circuit that is repeated 3 times. However, one exercise moves around each time the circuit is repeated–the rocking push up. So even though you are doing all of the same exercises, each time you repeat the circuit the rocking push up shows up in different in a different place.

This workout is done interval style. Most of the exercises are done for 60 seconds of work followed by 30 seconds of recovery. There is a timer in the upper right hand corner of the screen counting down your intervals and recoveries. During the recoveries Caroline previews the next exercise. There is also a progress bar along the bottom of the screen counting down the workout time as a percentage.

Day 2 Upper Body w/ Abs is 48:10 minutes (this time does not include the optional 3:56 minute warm up or 3:33 minute intro, also optional) with a 1:40 minute stretch. Equipment: kettlebells and fitness mat. Push up bars are optional. Caroline is using 20kg/44 pound, 10kg/22 pound and 8kg/17.6 pound kettlebells. The weights listed below are what I used.

1. Deadstop row (single arm bent over row, place KB on floor at bottom of row) (40# KB)
2. Repeat #1 on other arm
3. Rocking push up (do one push up then push glutes back to heels keeping knees elevated off mat, Caroline is using push up bars, I used DBs)
4. Kneeling single arm press (in kneeling lunge do a single arm shoulder press, KB is racked at shoulder at bottom of press so the move ends up being similar to an Arnold press) (20# KB)
5. Repeat #4 on other arm
6. Clean to press (hold KB in one hand, swing KB up into rack position at shoulder then do an overhead press) (15# KB)
7. Repeat #6 on other arm
8. Reverse crunch for 60 seconds (lay on mat with hands behind head and legs raised to ceiling, lower legs until they are a few inches off mat, raise legs back to start while lifting hips into reverse crunch, keep head/shoulders elevated throughout)
9. (no rest) Small tuck to toe taps for 60 seconds (lay on back on mat w/ head resting on mat, legs are raised with knees bent at 90 degrees, do a reverse crunch bringing knees to chest then lower legs until heels touch floor, keep knees bent at 90 degrees entire time)
10. (no rest) Small tuck for 60 seconds (same as #9 but don’t lower heels to mat)
11. Repeat #1 & 2
12. Repeat #4 & 5
13. Repeat #3
14. Repeat #6-10
15. Repeat #1 & 2
16. Repeat #4-7
17. Repeat #3
18. Repeat #8-10

Finisher: (15# KB)

1. Single arm clean for 60 seconds (hold KB in one hand, swing KB up into rack position at shoulder)
2. (no rest) Push press for 45 seconds (single arm shoulder press using legs to increase power of shoulder press, KB is racked at shoulder at bottom of press)
3. 15 second rest
4. Repeat #1 & 2 on other arm