10 Minutes Cardio & Strength with Kettlebells

Today I'm going to share the workout I did last Sunday. It challenged my endurance and strength at the same time. 

For this workout, you need two kettlebells which I hope you have in your home gym. If not, you can always go to the gym and do the workout there.

In and out in 15 minutes – yes! If you don't think that works, try this workout. Keep the rest periods short, intensity high and see that this short time is really all you need!

Here’s what you need for this workout:

Equipment:

Kettlebells. You will need one kettlebell for the first three exercises–Alternating Hand Swings, Swings + Goblet Squats and Woodchoppers, and two kettlebells for Suitcase Lifts. I used 35 lbs kettlebell for the first three and two 25 lbs for the last exercise.

Time:

This workout will take you between 10-15 minutes, depending on how fast you move and how many breaks you need.

Place:

Inside or out–up to you! Of course, outside is always better. 🙂

Noisiness:

This is a quiet workout that you can do without bothering anyone. You may be huffing and puffing though. I hope you do 🙂

Workout:

You’ll be doing thee rounds of four exercises.

In round one, you'll be performing one minute of each four exercises:

• Alternating Hand Kettlebell Swing
• Kettlebell Swing to Goblet Squat
• Woodchoppers, 10 right, 10 left
• Suitcase Lifts

In round two, you'll be performing 45 seconds each exercise, and in round three, 30 seconds of each one.

See how the four exercises look like:

Here’s How to Do the Exercises:

Alternating Hand Kettlebell Swing

You've probably already done double handed kettlebell swings, the ones we do most often. If not, find the detailed description of this exercise here. You should be able to do beautiful double hand swings before trying single arm or alternating hand swings, because single arm swings are quite a bit harder, requiring more shoulder and core stabilization.

In alternating hand kettlebell swings, you'll start the swing with kettlebell in only one hand. Pick up the bell with one hand, keeping your back straight then swing the weight back between your legs. Swing up, while powerfully pushing the hips forward, and extend the knees and hips. Let the bell swing up to your shoulder level, then switch hands.

Kettlebell Swing to Goblet Squat

In this exercise, you'll going to tie together two awesome full-body movements: kettlebell swing and goblet squat.

Stand up tall, feet about hip-width apart, kettlebell between the heels. Keep the core tight, but don't suck the stomach in. Try to keep it neutral. Pick up the bell, keeping your back straight then swing the weight back between your legs. Swing up, powerfully pushing the hips forward, and extend the knees and hips. Let the bell swing up to your shoulder level. Swing it back between the legs.

Then, lift the kettlebell up to your chest level. Hold it against your chest, then do a full squat. Make sure your elbows are inside of your knees when squatting.

Woodchoppers

Hold the kettlebell from the horns so that the bottom of the kettlebell is up. Keep the back straight and core strong throughout the movement. Touch the outside of your left foot with the bottom of the kettlebell, then move diagonally up, extending your knees, hips and reaching the arms up. Repeat on the other side.

Kettlebell Suitcase Lifts

Have two kettlebells by your each side. Stand up tall. Bend your knees slightly – no need to squat, bend just enough so you can reach the kettlebells. Keep the core engaged, back flat and strong, and lift both weights up. Stand up again, weights by your sides as if you had two suitcases in hands, and extend everything.

Put the weights back down, without rounding the back or dropping the weights – return to the starting position with full control.

Conclusion

Repeat this sequence for three rounds, first a minute of each, then 45 seconds and finally 30 seconds of each exercise. You get a full body workout done in the matter of minutes.

If you did the workout, let me know how it went, and be sure to subscribe to Urban Jane Youtube Channel for more simple at home workout videos!