Power Monday #22 Holiday Kettlebell Circuit

Can you believe it is December! Crazy how fast these months are starting to fly by, but I am not complaining. Just one month closer to graduating and moving on 🙂 But I still have that bad feeling that January-April will go by sluggishly slow, cold, and stressful. (Not the most optimistic view there, haha). But lets enjoy the rest of the holiday season and the final weeks of 2013 the best we can. Busting out killer workouts is one fun way to spice up the days and keep you energized and ready to go. Last year my grandparents got me a 20lb kettlebell (which I always thought was called a kettleball) for Christmas (I was so excited, haha!). But I hadn’t been using it much until recently. There really are a lot of moves to do with a kettlebell once you learn proper form and technique. They are great for all that functional strength training that your body really needs. If you have never used a kettlebell, it can take some time to get used to, and that is what happened to me. But I am loving them more and more each day. So it is time to share a kettlebell workout on this Power Monday!

I did my 20s Lower Body workout for my lower body strength training Wednesday and Friday last week, but I switched it up and made it even more killer. I did a total of 102 KB swings, 102 Thrusters, 102 BB squats, 102 Lunges (each leg), 102 deadlifts, 102 weighted bridge lifts and 108 jumping lunges (and the bonus round). It was so good!  But what I really loved was the kettlebell swings. I am getting so much better at them, but that is why I am totally falling in love with the KB. Swings can look very intimatdateing since you are swinging a huge weight through the air with your arms outstretched starting from the squat position. But if you use your hamstrings, hips, quads, and core, you will protect you back. Plus I like to bring my KB to eye level, not over head like some prefer (I think it is safer). But besides swings there are tons of other great moves to work the lower body.

Notes:

+ The moves: KB Swings, Goblet Squats, Single Leg Deadlifts, Turkish Get-Ups, Plie Squat Pulses, Narrow Stance Uneven Squats (for these place you feet directly inline under your hips, hold the kettlebell hanging in one hand and squat, pushing you hips back. Switch hands to complete the other side).

+ If you don’t have access to a kettlebell, have no fear! You can use a dumbbell, by holding one end, it acts like a kettlebell!

+ Be safe and honor your body. Rest when needed and stop if you feel sick or dizzy! You know the drill. challenge yourself, but be safe.

Have a great Power Monday! Of course let me know what you think of the workout and if you give it a try 🙂

So tell me:

Did you call kettlebells, kettleballs, or was that just me?

KB Swings at eye-level or overhead?