101 Kettlebell Workouts

This little e-book is a very worthwhile 12 Days of Fitness freebie from David Whitley of www.irontamer.com. It doesn't tell you how to execute the basic kettlebell drills so it's not appropriate for someone who's a complete kettlebell novice, but it's great if you know the exercises and just need some help putting them together in a routine that flows nicely. There are straight-set workouts, circuits, ladders, German volume training, escalating density training, kettlebell/bodyweight fusion routines, tabatas and other types of timed sets ... you name it.

On Saturday I did one of the routines, with some tweaks to bring it more into line with what I felt like doing on that day:

Circuit 3x:

Swings, 25x12kg
Burpee deadlifts, 10x12kg
Clean & press, 5 per armx12 kg

Straight sets:

TGU, 2x5 per side x8 kg
snatches, 5x10 per side x8 kg

Today I did one of the ladder workouts:

swings, 30 sec. rest 30 sec.
squats, 30 sec, swings 30 sec., rest 30 sec.
slingshot, 30 sec., squats, 30 sec, swings 30 sec., rest 30 sec.
clean & press, 30 sec. per side, slingshot, 30 sec., squats, 30 sec, swings 30 sec., rest 30 sec.
row, 30 sec. per side, clean & press, 30 sec. per side, slingshot, 30 sec., squats, 30 sec, swings 30 sec., rest 1 min

That's one round, and you're supposed to do 3-5 rounds. I only did 3, but I stuck with my 12 kg bell throughout so I don't feel I was wimping out particularly.

I'd like to try some of the EDT workouts next. Supposedly it's a good way to increase size and strength. The idea is, you pick two exercises for opposing muscle groups, and you perform alternating sets of 3-5 reps using a weight that would allow you to complete 10 reps with good form. You perform as many sets of each exercise as possible in a prescribed period of time, usually 15-20 minutes, and each time you do the workout you try to complete more reps than the time before.

Doesn't that sound awful???

Whitley has two upper/lower split EDT routines and one full-body routine. Not sure which I will try. Probably the full-body routine, except I might tweak it to make it more cardiovascular. As written the routine pairs double military presses with pullups and double front squats with swings (Workout A) and double floor presses with bent rows and swings with pistols (Workout B). I can see the merit of pairing exercises that work opposing muscle groups, but I think it might work even better to pair upper and lower body exercises. I'll try it both ways and report back.