If you have been reading my blog for a while, you probably know how much I love working out outdoors. Right now I don't go to a gym at all. As someone who has just recently moved to California, I am all about enjoying the opportunity to workout in fresh air. I will never take the nice weather for granted!
I have proved to myself and to my clients that you don't need the weird gym machines to get in shape. Actually, the majority of the gym machines won't give you the results that you are looking for. They are not supporting the natural moving patterns of our bodies but instead, they may even limit them.
Lifting free weights challenges your body in a very different way, because it makes you to use big muscle groups at once. For example, by picking up a kettlebell from the floor you will not only use your arms but also your legs and back; you have to keep your abs contracted to maintain a good posture and balance.
Kettlebells are a really good piece of equipment at your home gym!
Yesterday I put together a time-saving but still sweat-breaking kettlebell workout. And as I can tell today, it's also quite quad-killing!
The workout consists of four rounds of four exercises, 12 reps in each round. As always, you can modify by doing more or less rounds or more or less reps.
Uneven Loading
I had two different kettlebells in hand: one 15 and the other one 25 pounds. For the exercises that I did with double kettlebells, I alternated left and right hand: One round, I had the heavier in the left, the next round in the right hand.
Having uneven amount of weights on different sides of our bodies is actually very natural if you think about it. There are quite many situations in your life where you carry uneven amount of weight in each hand or each side of your body.
Your two grocery bags are not the same weight; when you hold your child in your arms, there is more load in one arm than in other and so on.
The movements in our everyday life are not too symmetrical at all. That's why putting uneven load to each side of your body can be beneficial also in training. However, it's good to alternate sides.
I took just minimal rests between the exercises and completed 4 rounds in about 12 minutes.
Front Squats: Get your kettlebells to a rack position, having the elbows spread out and the weights resting on your forearms. Keep the weights to your chest level all the time. Stand up straight, feet about hips-width apart, toes pointing forward or slightly out. Come into a deep squat, keeping your knees stable and without allowing them to turn inwards. Your knees should be pointing exactly the same direction with your toes. Come into a squat, then push yourself back up. Repeat.
Russian Swing: Hold a kettlebell with two hands. Lower yourself into a half squat so that the kettlebell is between your legs. Using the power from your legs, quickly thrust your hips forward and powerfully bring the kettlebell up to your eye level. Keeping the back straight throughout the move is extremely important! Note that your arms are not doing a lot of work outside of just holding the kettlebell. This is not an arm exercise but instead, you use your back, glutes, hamstrings and hips.
Kneeling To Standing: Start out with standing, kettlebells in a rack position (see Front Squats). From there, come to your right knee, then left knee. Push yourself back up in the same order – first right, then left leg. Repeat. The next round, alternate the leading leg and start with the left.
Reverse Lunge with Kettlebell Pass: Stand up and hold a kettlebell in one hand by your side. Take a long step behind into a reverse lunge. Between the legs pass the kettlebell to your other hand. Repeat.
Taking workout videos is actually really useful, pointing out some things you have to work on. If you don't have anyone checking your form, you should make videos every now and then to assure your form is good. For example, I see that I still have some work to do on my knee stability or keeping my back more up when doing reverse lunges. Videos can give you some awesome feedback about your performance and form.
Disclosure: This post includes affiliate links, but they are for products that I totally recommend.
What do you do for a workout today?
I am trying a bodyweight workout by Marc Lauren – it’s an app. Also no equipment needed. It’s exhausting!
Yes! Sounds great! I wish more people realized how much it is possible to do with the most important workout equipment, their own bodies!