102 Kettlebell Workouts

They range from 20 to 30 minutes. 

Why so short? 

So they get done. 

Plus, kettlebells are a “force multiplier” - because of the ballistic nature of exercises like the Swing, Clean, and Snatch, that pass underneath the body between the legs, you can actually do more work in less time.

That means for many people, much more than 30 minutes and form starts to degrade and fatigue sets in, both of which can lead to injury.

For example, if you accelerate a Swing on the way down, you can create or exhibit “virtual force” - the momentary production of more force than the load you’re actually using. 

My weightlifting coach, Alfonso Duran, had me hold a dumbbell while standing on a scale to explain this phenomenon. First, he had me use a “tempo” - a 4 second negative, followed by a 2 second concentric. The number on the scale didn’t change.

Then he had me move the dumbbell as fast as I could. The dial spun quickly to the left as the mass of the dumbbell and my body weighed more due to the force imparted by me on the dumbbell. 

This is “virtual force.”

Former StrongFirst Instructor Brandon Hetzler has measured this “virtual force” on a force plate as being approximately 10X the weight of the kettlebell - over 500 pounds with a 53 pound kettlebell.

That means, instead of producing 530 pounds of force per set of 10 reps (53 pound kettlebell X 10 reps), you could theoretically produce 5300 pounds of force.

This is critically important to understand and apply because the more force you can produce, the more work you perform.

And the more work you perform in any given workout, the faster you'll get the results you're looking for.

Which brings us to a question:

What Size Kettlebell Should You Use?

Men:

    Rookie - 16kg

    Intermediate - 24kg

    Strong - 32kg+

Women:

    Rookie - 8-12kg

    Intermediate - 14-16kg

    Strong - 16-20kg+

Now, on to the workouts...