Save Time and Build Muscle With a Kettlebell HIIT Workout 

Why Do It: Kettlebell swings are like the push-ups of kettlebell training; each is the most ubiquitous movement of its subspecies. If you have a kettlebell, or have ever had a kettlebell, you’ve done swings.

This is because the kettlebell swing is the doorway to the world of explosive lifting. Less unwieldy and intimidating than the kettlebell snatch, Strongman sandbag load, or banded sumo deadlift, the swing lets just about anybody see benefits from tossing weight through the air.

How to Do It: 

1. Stand with feet shoulder width apart and the kettlebell on the ground between your feet.
2. Move your hips back and bend your knees as little as possible to grab the kettlebell off the ground.
3. Deadlift the kettlebell.
4. Instead of stopping there and locking it out like a deadlift, pop your hips and use the upward momentum to throw the kettlebell forward.
5. When the momentum dies, allow gravity to move the kettlebell to travel back to your groin.
6. Avoid getting hit in the groin by lowering the kettlebell between your legs.
7. Dynamically reverse direction and throw the kettlebell out again.
8. Repeat.

Why Do It: This is the easiest loaded squat to get just about anybody to do. I’ve loaded goblet squats with sacks of flour, cats, and even a prop goblet (to really drive the point home).

What with the price of grain these days, and the difficulty in finding a compliant cat, I usually recommend just using a kettlebell.

How to Do It: 

1. Hold the kettlebell by the horns directly under your chin.
2. Keep your forearms as vertical as possible.
3. With a tall torso, drop straight down into a squat.
4. Keeping the kettlebell over your center of gravity, stand straight up.

Why Do It: One of our many names for strength training movements derived from the Eastern Bloc, the Russian twist is a sneaky hard ab and oblique exercise. If using your kettlebell is too difficult, you can do these as a simple bodyweight exercise. Just hold an imaginary kettlebell in your hands.

How to Do It: 

1. Lie on your back with the kettlebell on your stomach.
2. Lift your feet, knees, and shoulders off the ground, and hold the kettlebell off your stomach.
3. Twist your shoulders (and your hands) the the left, and “place” the kettlebell just off your left hip.
4. Immediately reverse direction and “place” the kettlebell just off your right hip.
5. Complete all requisite repetitions.

Why Do It: A good lift in its own right, the single-arm clean and press can also be used to build up to the kettlebell snatch. The kettlebell clean and press works both the upper body and lower body explosively; something that can be good for total body power and taxing the cardiovascular system (and throwing around a weight is just more fun than doing endless burpees).

How to Do It: 

1. Start with the kettlebell in your right hand with your arm hanging straight.
2. Think about “jumping” the weight up to your right shoulder.
3. Slightly bend your legs, and think about “throwing” the weight up from your shoulder.
4. Hold the top position with your right arm fully extended.
5. Return the kettlebell to the starting position.

Why Do It: This is basically a single-arm kettlebell thruster, and mimics the bottom portion of a deep kettlebell snatch or Turkish get-up. In addition to working your deltoid, lats, and core, this will light up your aerobic system in a hurry.

How to Do It: 

1. Start with the kettlebell in your right hand in the rack position.
2. Put your left arm out for balance if necessary.
3. Get down into the deepest squat you can while maintaining tension.
4. Explode from the bottom and try to throw the kettlebell through the ceiling (don’t let go unless you actually want a hole in the ceiling).
5. Stabilize at the top for a beat.
6. Drop your right hand back into the rack position.
7. Repeat.

Why Do It: The hang power clean is the king of Olympic lifts for personal trainers who don’t actually want to spend the time needed to teach the Olympic lifts (this may be a population of one; myself).

The single-arm version of the lift may be one of the best kettlebell exercises around. Furthermore, by adding in a force absorption element, alternating rack positions between hands may be even better yet.

You can do this with one kettlebell or two; by using one you get to integrate a “catch” by switching hands, and by using two you get the added difficulty of holding onto a weight with one arm while using the other.

This is for the minimalist, single kettlebell variant.

RELATED: Master the Kettlebell Clean

How to Do It: 

1. Standing with feet shoulder width apart, holding onto a kettlebell with your left hand.
2. “Jump” the weight up to your left shoulder by using an explosive hip hinge/high pull combo.
3. Catch the weight gracefully. The bell will rotate to rest on the back of your forearm.
4. Bring your hand back down to your waist.
5. Release the kettlebell, then catch it with your right hand.
6. Repeat and alternate.