Thursday, December 03, 2009

12-Minute Kettlebell Workout

Craig Ballantyne here, with a quick Kettlebell Workout update.

I was flipping through the December 2009 of Men's Health issue, and a little exercise brief caught my eye.

The magazine reports on a study done by a guy named A. Koch, who reported that doing a 12-minute kettlebell workout helped subjects increase their VO2 max.

Now to be honest, I haven't been able to track down the study, and I think it hasn't been published yet, but here's what Men's Health recommended, and you can easily do this at home.

For your 12-minute Kettlebell workout, the magazine suggested doing as many kettlebell swings as you can in 12 minutes.

Obviously you won't be able to go 12-minutes straight, so you might do 20-30 reps in a row, then rest 15-30 seconds, and repeat as many times as you can in 12 minutes.

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NOTE: If you are a beginner, I recommend starting with 6 minutes, rather than 12 minutes, otherwise you will be way too sore the next day and you'll be pissed at me.

So be conservative.

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Anyways, in each subsequent workout, you want to do more reps in 12 minutes than you did in your last workout.

You always want to be improving your performance, hitting a personal best, and by doing that, you will improve your physique.

In addition, you can also do this 12-minute workout with Kettlebell Squats (for beginners), or Kettlebell Snatches (advanced).

What a great way to do interval training at home without fancy equipment.

And while the magazine did not report on fat loss, I'm willing to bet those subjects burned a lot of belly fat.

So...

there you go. Simple. Fast. Effective.

That's the power of the kettlebell,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Creator, Turbulence Training  

PS - If you want a complete done-for-you Kettlebell Workout program...

...then I recommend you check out the program created by Kettlebell expert and Certified Turbulence Trainer, Chris Lopez:

=> Kettlebell Fat Loss Workouts

And check out his video of how he uses kettlebell workouts at home where he trains with his kids.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

12 minutes of swings, sounds familiar. . .

Faizal S. Enu said...

Craig, I expect better from you.

Mike Provost RKC said...

12 Minutes of Swings...yeah, it's called the "Program Minimum" from "Enter The Kettlebell" by Pavel Tsatsouline, published in 2005. I second Faizel's comment.

Anonymous said...

What's a Pavel? Craig invented kettlebells!

Jordan Vezina said...

Dude, why are all the kettlebell hucksters from Canada? First Shanahan, now this.

specialk said...

Kettlebell swings, eh? Which muscle do they work? Will they make me feel the burn? Cos I'm not interested in anything that's not a really HIGH INTENSITY BUTT KICKING workout, if you take my meaning.

Eric Moss RKC said...

i don't see a problem with it. first of all it isn't the program minimum. it is simply do as many swings as you can in 12 minutes and try to beat your old record. the only things the 2 have in common is that it is 12 minutes long and involves swings. and even then there wasn't a specific reason for 12 minutes...read page 72. no mention of getups, no mention easy jogging or shadow boxing in between. no mention of its use in the context of a program.

if you follow my blog (ericjmoss.com) you know i don't shy away from battles from the competition. i just save the fights for the people who have it coming

Faizal S. Enu said...

Yeah, it is not the Program Minimum, but it is DOE Man Makers.

At least give credit is you use someone else's work.

Just because active rest is not discussed does not mean you don't have to credit the source.

Anonymous said...

www.dragondoor.com
Go to the source for kettlebell info. don't be fooled by the hucksters.

Anonymous said...

15-30 swings for a beginner?- This article was written on a napkin, in a bus, overhearing someone else talk about his experiences, or maybe in the toilet. Google "12 minute swings", and you'll find all the footnotes and information you failed to mention. Why even write an article if it's not researched?.

Philo Adis

Sandy Sommer, RKC said...

Here's my issue. Most kettlebell internet programs or DVDs for that matter offer no instruction. Even when they do you get no feedback from a coach. There is really no good reason to start trying to use a kb if you are trying to teach yourself. Stick with dumbbells or get some instruction from a certified Kettlebell instructor, not a personal trainer (in 99% of the cases)