Anaerobic Anarchy
The humble kettlebell is a marvelous must-have addition to any gym. They’re compact, easy to store, incredibly durable, and you can get a total body workout with just one. You can squat with one, swing, press, row, clean, snatch, or use it as a doorstop. They’re perfect for circuits because moving from one exercise to the next is seamless and takes very little transition time. If I were stranded on a desert island with only one piece of equipment, a kettlebell would easily be the choice. They’re even perfectly shaped to allow you to draw a face on it and give it a name. You should find a kettlebell to be friends with, and then you can do excellent workouts like the one below.
I like to do this circuit on a Monday for several reasons. It’s incredibly intense, so getting it done at the beginning of the week gives me a sense of accomplishment and prepares me to take on whatever the following days offer. Mondays are notoriously known as Internation Bench Day because gym bros must bench on Mondays to maintain gym bro status, so finding a kettlebell should be easy. The actual workout is only 10 minutes long. It will be the most challenging 10 minutes of your day, but there are 1,440 minutes in one day, so you’ll have plenty of time to recover afterward.
The workout consists of two exercises, kettlebell swings, and goblet squats, performed as an alternating circuit, with a rest period between each movement. The best part about this circuit is that you can easily customize it to your fitness level by adjusting a couple of variables. The weight of the kettlebell and the time of your work/rest intervals will allow you to increase or decrease intensity. My most recent workout looked like this:
50lb kettlebell
25 seconds of work, 35 seconds of rest. This interval totals one minute, so you’ll do ten total rounds. Minute one is for swings, minute two for squats, and alternate until you complete ten rounds, whereupon you melt into a pile of your sweat, grateful to still be alive.
The goal with each work interval is to do as many quality reps as possible. During the rest interval, focus on taking deep breaths to recover as much as possible and give maximum effort for the following work set. You’ll know you’re doing it right when your quads feel spontaneously combusted.
The above example is an assertive work-to-rest ratio. If you’re a beginner, 20 seconds of work to 40 seconds of rest would be a better option. Remember, the goal is to work as hard as possible during the work interval and recover as much as possible during the rest interval. The first two or three minutes aren’t bad, but don’t be fooled. It will get much worse.
This is a great workout to track your progress as you become better conditioned. Keep track of the number of reps you do for each round, then try to beat it the next time you perform the workout. You can also change the work-to-rest interval. I recommend going no more than 30 seconds of work to 30 seconds of rest. Any more, and you’ll be compromising your recovery time too much. You also have the option of going up to a heavier bell. These simple adjustments can allow you to make it as hard as necessary.
I would recommend starting with a conservative weight and 20 seconds of work, and 40 seconds of rest if you’re new to this type of training, as the intensity and stress placed upon the legs are immense. I’ve been doing this workout once a week for a few months now and still experience slight soreness each time the following day. Do yourself a favor and stretch your quads, hamstrings, and glutes post-workout.
