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Old Forum Post Your Favorite 5-Minute Kettlebell Routine

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Steve Freides

Steve Freides

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If I have only five minutes to exercise, I will:

Snatch: 100 reps with a light weight with only one hand switch at a pace of 20 reps/minute.

Do this about once every two weeks.

Use a light kettlebell - sets of 10 should be easy, and sets of 20 should be achievable the first time you try it.
If you're not up to 50 per hand, start at 20 and when you're done what you can do with one hand switch, your day is done.   Add 5 reps per hand each time you come back to this routine.
Important Performance Notes:

I know you can do it in less than 5 minutes, and some of you can finish it in under 4 minutes - don't.  If you're doing fewer than 100 reps, feel free to slow the pace to less than 20 reps/minutes.

Use the light weight to perfect your form.  Use the 50 reps per side to strengthen your mind.

Breath hard style, and more than that, exhale as you snap your hips, not as you catch the bell at the top, which is too late.

Take a solid pause, 1 second or longer, at the lockout position of each and every rep.

Play chicken with the bell and your hips at the bottom - hips back at the last minute, reverse direction quickly and drive your hips explosively  so that your torso is completely upright when the bell is waist high, after which it will float to the top and you will catch it crisply, then pause before going on to the next rep.

Please post your own 5-Minute Kettlebell Routine, and please also see my Favorite 1-Minute Kettlebell Workout thread and post your own there as well.

-S-
 
Cl = Clean
FrSq = FrontSquat
GoSq = GobletSquat
2hSw = two hand swings
1hSw = one hand swings

 

All below with no rest  (or as little rest as needed)

1. Why complicate it?
1hSwing, appropriate weight 1L, 1R, 2L, 2R.... 10L, 10R.

2. You really want to do this?
Left: 1x Clean + 1x FrSq, Right: 1x Clean + 1x FrSq , 2xCl +2x FrSq.... 5xCl + 5x FrSq

3. A bit of "rest", a lot of lactic acid.
AMRAPx 10x 2hSw, 5x GoSq, 10x PushUp,
 
My 5 min is 3 sets of 10 swings on the min and a getup with each hand with my 80lb. And I'm toast after that.
 
Here's the easy ones first, just to put them on record:

a) SFG snatch test

b) S&S swings standard

c) 5 minutes of getups

Here's one I really like that I got from a Dave Whitley DVD: Get up to the top position; once there, do a windmill. Bring the bell down, swing to switch hands, then snatch the bell to the top with other hand. Do a windmill, then get down on other side. Repeat all the above in the opposite direction to complete the cycle. Depending on the weight of bell used, one could get through anywhere between 1-3 rounds of  that in 5 minutes. Covers a lot of bases. A friend of mine likes to throw a goblet squat in the middle. Pretty much touches on every movement pattern.

Two hands-anyhow: 1-2 times each side should take up 5ish minutes and gets a lot of work done in a short time.

I have some non-kettlebell ones as well, but don't want to clutter the thread if you don't want those Steve.
 
Well, more like nine minutes:

10 swings left

10 swings right

10 swings left

10 swings right

5 snatches left

5 snatches right

5 snatches left

5 snatches right

10 goblets

10 goblets

10 goblets

10 goblets
 
This is a circuit we did recently that showed me my limits.  Short rests between rounds.
3  rounds 



10 double swings


5 front squats


3 presses


2  rounds



3 presses


5 front squats


10 double swings
 
Or another.
5 rounds



5 Clean & Squat


2 Get-Ups R + 3 presses


2 Get-Ups L + 3 presses
 
Steve, a good thread!

Since we are on the topic of endurance, pick a kettlebell you can hard style snatch 20-25 reps per arm with one arm switch.  Do one all out set,  actively rest for 3min, then repeat.

This is glycolytic power (versus capacity) training, with shorter more intense bouts and long rest periods (repeats vs. intervals). We had great success with this method (typically more than 2 sets though—3-5) in the early years of my old cert and a lot of WTHEs.
 
Same as my two 1 minute routines, below, from the other thread. Just do one, rest 3 minutes, and repeat (or do the other one):

I have two, inspired by Geoff Neupert and Dan John, both done without putting the bells down:

1. 1 double clean + 2 double MP + 5 double FSQ + 5 double cleans (use about 5RM double MP weight)

2. 1 double clean/1 double FSQ + 2 double cleans/2 double FSQ + 3 double cleans/3 double FSQ, etc. (if you can ladder up to more than 5, use heavier bells)

 
 
My thanks to everyone for their contributions thus far.

I will offer my opinion that for a five-minute workout, simpler is more elegant.  So far, my favorites are my own - a single exercise done non-stop for five minutes; Pavel's - a single exercise done for 1 min, 3 min rest, repeat 1 min; SuperJoel's first one of simply doing swings as 1L/R, 2L/R, 3L/R, up to 10; and all three of Jason's, since each is a single exercise done in a simple way.

This doesn't mean you can't post your favorite complexes, just that I happen to find the simpler routines more appealing.

Keep 'em comin', please.

-S-
 
Funny timing for this.  Just this morning I was short on time and had a busy day ahead.  I warmed up with about 2 rounds of the S&S warm up and some short crawls.  Then did this:

10 snatches left

10 snatches right

1 TGU left

1 TGU right

repeat for the allloted time, 5 minutes in this case.

 
 
Several years ago Pavel had written  an ETK supplement with several KB exercises-- one legged DL,rows,squat-flip-clean,tactical lunge,hot potato,figure 8 to a hold and crush curl.

Pick a few or all circuit style without putting the bell down.I'll sometimes throw in sling shots,clean and catch, and helicopter spins and catch for variety.Nice change of pace-works grip,abs,legs and lungs.
 
Kettlebell carry in the rack position. Pick up the kb and walk two minutes with it in the left hand. Put it down. One minute rest. Pick it up and walk two minutes with it in the right hand. Pick a bell 4-5kg lighter than the one you would use for a one minute walk.
 
Thanks to everyone for their contributions so far.

I did a different version of Pavel's suggestion today.  I had only a 20 kg Kettlebell but, since we are on the road, I had to lift early, and my back was stiff from many hours of driving the previous day, I opted  for swings instead of snatches, and also opted for non-stop sets of  10 1h swings, total of 40 as 10L+10R+10L+10R, maximum explosiveness on every rep.  I rested 3:00 then repeated but used the Right arm first.

i really like this - simple, brutal but not so brutal that one can't maintain good form, and I'm sure it's effective.

-S-
 
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