Hey!
Today's workout is seriously so simple that if you have a single kettlebell at home, you really have no reason not to do it.
That's, of course, if you like workouts that are short and intense, as opposed to long and steady, and that make you sweat like crazy, as opposed to feeling like you didn't do much at all. I like it short and sweaty!
There's something really good in breaking a sweat, and it's recommended to do so at least once a day. It's like going to sauna. You sweat out the bad stuff. You give your body a chance to breath again. But I don't have a sauna here. So I have to workout. The best combination? Workout + sauna. And then, jump into ice cold lake. Us Northern Europeans do that.
Have you tried it? My husband who was born and raised in Hawaii tried jumping into ice cold water last time during our trip to Estonia. Honestly, I wasn't sure he was going to do it, but everyone else did so it didn't leave him much choice 🙂 It was a freezing February night, which in Estonia means about -15 C (5 Fahrenheit) which is actually pretty average and not even close to the coldest temps we get there in the middle of the winter, so I had a reason to be proud of him.
If you're not exactly sure what I'm talking about, here's how the sauna “ritual” goes: You go into sauna where the temperature is about 80 C (176 Fahrenheit), sit down and wait until you start sweating. Once you get really hot, you run out from sauna and jump into snow, lake or sea, whatever you have close. You're not supposed to swim or hang out there for too long, you basically just jump in, stay there for about ten seconds, and then run back into hot sauna again.
And that's the best part! Once you're back in hot sauna, you feel like there are a million little ants are running on your skin. It feels really great. Then, you wait until you get hot again and repeat it one more time. I like to get in water at least twice, because you get the best feeling after the second time.
Of course, if you've never done anything like this before, you may try it first in summer when the water in lakes is much warmer compared to minus million degrees in winter. The contrast between really hot sauna and chilly lake is still pretty big, even in summer.
Done In 10 Minutes Kettlebell Workout
But from sauna back to the kettlebell workout that I wanted to share with you today…
I did this workout myself the other day and because I really liked it, we also did it at my bootcamp classes on Monday and Wednesday. Of course, at the bootcamp we also did some other exercises for warm-up, plus a crazy push up challenge that I get back to you about soon. But this kettlebell workout that was part of the workout really takes you about 10-20 minutes.
I did it again today and each round took me 2 minutes to complete. I did five rounds and finished in ten minutes and I was done!
Here's the workout:
You'll be working one side at a time. I typically start with right side, then switch to left. The key is not to put the kettlebell down in between the exercises, so you should do all three exercises with right arm first and then put the kettlebell down to switch sides.
See the video:
Here are the exercises:
5 Single Arm Thrusters: Holding the kettlebell in a rack position, do a squat. Pushing through the heels, stand up and as you do so, push the kettlebell overhead.
After you're done with your 5 reps, don't put the kettlebell down! Do all three exercises and rest and put the kettlebell down for a second when you're switching sides, but not before.
10 Push Presses: Hold the kettlebell in a rack position. Slightly bending your knees, push and press the kettlebell overhead.
Still keep the kettlebell up! You can switch sides soon 🙂
15 Swings: Gently bend your knees and swing the kettlebell back between your legs. Powerfully push the hips forward as you swing the bell up to your eye level–no need to go any higher than that.
That's it! Now, repeat all the three exercises on the left side. Do five rounds with both right and left side.
Conclusion
Break a sweat once a day, even if it's just ten minutes!
Even five is good, which is why I invite you to join my Facebook group where we do a quick 5-minute morning workout every Wednesday. Join us to start your day with lots of positive energy!
Have a great weekend!
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