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Crush Your Week: 5 Kettlebell Workouts for Foundational Strength

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Crush Your Week: 5 Kettlebell Workouts for Foundational Strength
Presented by Spartan Training®

Foundational strength is built with natural, dynamic, and functional movements that we all practice weekly or even daily, depending on your lifestyle. Hitting the gym, going to work, sitting down, lifting an object from the ground, and especially competing in a Spartan race all require foundational strength.

This week's five workouts, designed by Spartan SGX Coach Mohammad Jafar, incorporate natural and functional movements such as squats, deadlifts, and the dumbbell push press. These exercises will add kettlebells to focus and build on foundational strength movements (squat, push, pull, lunge, hinge, and carry), stamina, endurance, and full-body muscle conditioning. 

What are the benefits of kettlebell workouts?

Adding a kettlebell to your home gym arsenal can provide you several training benefits, including:

  1. Versatile workouts
  2. Improved core strength
  3. Increased muscular endurance and stamina
  4. Reduced injury risk
  5. Improved mobility and range of motion

01

Workout: Momma Said Squat You Out!

Two unique circuits – one Tabata and one EMOM-style workout that will have you sweating hard! For circuit one, do 4 rounds in 4 minutes total, alternating between 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest. Rest as little as possible between rounds. Rest 1-2 minutes before the second circuit, which is 3 rounds performed in 10 minutes total. Using a kettlebell, perform the required reps of each exercise and rest the remaining time in each minute. Rest 1 minute between rounds.

Circuit I

  1. Air squats
  2. Squat jumps

Circuit II

  1. 10 kettlebell deadlifts
  2. 10 bodyweight Bulgarian split squats (right leg)
  3. 10 kettlebell front squats
  4. 10 bodyweight Bulgarian split squats (left leg)
  5. 1-minute wall sit

02

Workout: Walk the Plank with a Bell in My Hand

Two unique circuits beginning with a 13-minute time capped AMRAP. Do as many reps and rounds as you can in under 13 minutes, with little-to-no rest. Rest 2 minutes before moving onto the second circuit, which is two rounds for 10 total minutes. Perform 30 seconds of work, then rest for 30 seconds. 

Circuit I

  1. 5 kettlebell squat, clean and press
  2. 10 alternating kettlebell plyometric push-ups (each side)
  3. 15 kettlebell sumo deadlift high pulls

Circuit II

  1. Side plank bridge (right)
  2. Reverse plank bridge
  3. Slide plank bridge (left)
  4. Plank hold

 

03

Workout: Hells Bells

Complete the same circuit for 4 rounds with descending rep order. For the first round, perform 21 reps of each exercise. For rounds two, three and four, perform 15, 9 and 3 reps of each exercise respectively. 25-minute time cap.

  1. American kettlebell swing
  2. Shoulder taps (rep count is per side)
  3. Devil press
  4. Butterfly sit-ups

04

Workout: Calling the Captain

Three rounds of a circuit where you'll do 30 seconds of work followed by 30 seconds of rest, repeating for up to 24 minutes. Rest 1 minute between rounds.

  1. Weighted crunches
  2. V-ups
  3. Lying leg raises
  4. Russian twists
  5. Mountain climbers
  6. Alternating kettlebell side bends
  7. Plank up-downs

05

Workout: Fixer Upper

Perform 4 straight minutes of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off for Circuit I. Rest 2 minutes, then perform Circuit II for 3 rounds, EMOM-style (45 seconds of work, rest the remaining 15 seconds in the minute). Rest 1 minute between rounds for Circuit II. 

Circuit I

  1. Inchworm bodyweight tricep dip

Circuit II

  1. Kettlebell push press 
  2. Kettlebell renegade rows
  3. Kettlebell alternating bicep curls
  4. Kettlebell front raises
  5. Kettlebell pullover in glute bridge

Related: The 5 Spartan Rules to Master Your Kettlebell Workouts

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