Work Your Everything Workout - Kersten Kimura Coaching

Today's workout is a full-body workout that got its name after a conversation I'd like to tell you about…

The other day, I was training my client outside near the kids' playground. There were some moms and dads there too, watching their kids playing (and some of them running around and playing with their kids too, which I think is awesome!)

Then, one mom walked up to us and asked,

“Is this a belly workout that you're doing?”

while pinching her stomach, pointing to that area in her body she believed she needs to get more “toned”.

Well, we weren't doing a belly workout. Because If you want to “tone” your abs, it's not going to happen by doing only belly workouts.

You can't melt fat on just that area in your body. You can do as many ab crunches as you want, but if you don't do other, more important exercises, and watch your diet, you won't see that toned belly.

Why We Don't Do Belly Workouts

If you want to “tone” your belly area, a workout that makes you use your whole body, big muscle groups and multiple joints, is more beneficial for you than a purely ab-focused belly workout.

Of course, I do throw in sit ups and planks from time to time into my own and my clients' workouts, but in general, we don't spend a whole lot of time focusing specifically on ab work, unless there's a specific need for it (more on that in a second).

In general, I like to do bigger movements that demand a lot of energy. Demanding a lot of energy also means greater calorie burn, which, at the end of the day, contributes to seeing more muscle definition everywhere in your body, including the midsection area.

Who May Need To Do Ab-Specific Training

Having said that, there are people who may need to pay special attention to strengthening their abs. For example, your sport-specific training may require a lot of core work, or if you're a mom with diastasis recti, you need to do special core exercises that help to heal the ab separation. That can be achieved with some specific ab exercises.

But people who want to simply burn more fat and see better muscle definition, have to remember that we can't burn fat locally just on one area in our body–it doesn't matter whether it's our belly or butt.

“Work Your Everything” Workout

So, in general, I like to do “Work Your Everything” type of workouts instead of special ab workouts. Todays' workout is one of them!

In this workout, you really work everything from your head to your toes. And all the exercises in this workout definitely work your abs as well 🙂

Here’s what you need for this workout:

Equipment:

Kettlebell(s). If you have two kettlebells available, that's great. You can use lighter for Single Arm Thrusters and heavier for Deadlifts. For Goblet Squats, Swings and Ground to Overhead exercises, find which one works better for you.

Bodyweight. The most important piece of your workout equipment 🙂

Time:

This workout will take you about 25-30 minutes, depending on how fast you move and how many breaks you take.

Place:

Preferably outside or backyard, but inside works equally well. You really don't need much room for it.

Noisiness:

There's some jumping, when doing Squat Jumps and Jumping Lunges, so keep that in mind if you're worried about disturbing other people. But even with these exercises, the workout is pretty quiet overall!

Workout:

You’ll be doing five rounds of ten exercises: Some of them with kettlebells and others with just bodyweight.

See how one round of the workout looks like:

Here’s How to Do the Exercises:

Goblet Squats

Stand with your legs about shoulder or hip-width apart. The foot positioning can be slightly different for everyone–your toes can point directly forward or they can turned slightly out. The important thing is that when you squat, your knees should exactly follow the direction of your toes.

The kettlebell is between your feet. Lift the kettlebell up and hold it against your chest. Keep the knees stable (don't let them turn in), core strong, and do a squat. Push yourself back up to your starting position. Again, keep the knees stable and exactly in line with the toes.

Kettlebell Swings

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.

Find the detailed description for kettlebell swings here.

Push Ups

Get into a push up position: Shoulders directly over the wrists and core tight. Bend your elbows so that they're around 45 degrees from your body. Return to the starting position.

The rest of your body should stay in the plank position throughout the movement–don't drop the hips or of lift them up!

Squat Jumps

Stand up tall, feet about hips-width apart. Bend your knees half way to the squat position, then jump up explosively. Land in the half squat position again and immediately jump up again.

Single Arm Thrusters

Stand with your feet about hip-width apart. Hold the kettlebell in one hand in the rack position: The body of the kettlebell (the round part of the weight) should be on the outside of your wrist. Make sure to keep the wrist straight, don't bend it!

Do a squat, keeping the toes and knees in line. Avoid turning the knees in. Push through the heels, stand up and as you do so, push the kettlebell overhead. Then, at the same time as you're returning to your squat, bend the elbow and bring the kettlebell back to the starting position.

Sit Ups

Lie down on your back. Lift the arms up overhead, bend the knees and keep the feet on the ground. Lift your upper body up and bring your arms up to touch the feet.

Deadlifts

The kettlebell is between your feet. Tighten your core, then bend at the hips and knees slightly to grab the kettlebell handle. Don't squat!

Grab the horn of the kettlebell, sqeeze the glutes, activate the core and lift the weight up. Extend through the the hips and knees and stand up. Pay special attention to keeping the core tight and back strong throughout the movement.

Ground to Overhead