This Turbo Charged workout will build Strength, Endurance, Conditioning, Improve Posture and Shred Fat off your frame post haste. Sound like a nice collection of fitness dividends to earn for your efforts? Then make room for the kettlebell and chin up workout in your training routine.
I thoroughly enjoy training outdoors – especially when I am able to visit one of my favorite places which is the desert- a great setting for this workout. While out in Sedona, Arizona I was fortunate to have access to a wonderful outdoor training area that a good friend put together outside the family home.
I will argue that this simple setup consisting of kettlebells, sandbags, a few mats, a pullup bar, and a little space to roam is better than most of the training facilities I would care to visit when it comes to a productive, fun and motivating training experience. I would get more people to their fitness goals and dream body with this setup than some million dollar, media hyped, techno cattle call gym.
Long, drawn out workouts are not what I like to do nor are they required to get you great fitness results. I have come to value workouts that are relatively brief, intense, easy on the joints and are truly meaningful where the desired result is maximum fitness value in a safe, sustainable manner.
Two to three of these types of brief workouts per week is all you need to perform to get yourself pretty fit to significantly improve your quality of life. Just make sure you learn how to use sound technique and vary the intensity of the training session based on how you feel that day.
This doesn’t mean the rest of the week you do nothing – get out and move around and definitely learn about the underrated and sadly overlooked fitness and health benefits of walking and hiking.
I Will be using a few kettlebells and one of the best fitness tools ever created – your own body- to perform the chin ups. So check out the video and enjoy the scenery.
Here’s the Workout:
3 Double Kettlebell Cleans
Double Kettlebell Overhead Carry
3 Chin ups
These three exercises completed in succession are considered a round
You will notice that I like to choose a challenging weight and do relatively low repetitions throughout the series of exercises and do multiple rounds. This is because your body responds extremely well to these types of workouts since the low reps force you to dial in to your technique – paying special attention to every rep without going to complete muscle failure as opposed to using a higher repetition scheme and less rounds. I find this keeps you fresher, less prone to overuse injuries and trainees are less tempted to use bad technique in order to get their reps in.
You will still get an incredible workout and I have found these types of workouts are way more sustainable and lend themselves to delivering outstanding fitness results. Your mind and motivation is more stimulated since you only have to psyche yourself up to get your 3 repetitions in then rest briefly before performing your next round. By programming the workout like this, the rounds, reps and quality work adds up before you know it and you feel awesome while priming your body to reap great results!
Set the clock for 10 Minutes and do as many rounds as you can in this time frame.
TIPS and GUIDELINES:
Do a proper warmup before jumping into this kettlebell and chin up workout
Pay attention to your surroundings and keep the exercise area clear of any obstructions and be aware of potential hazards like holes before performing this workout by walking and policing the course.
Perform each exercise safely with good form
I designed this workout with the intent that the trainee will use strict chin up form. Please don’t do your chin ups by flailing your knees and torso upwards in a strange, undulating fashion resembling somebody having a hysterical seizure under the chin up bar. I know this style of chin up/pull up is popular in some circles just to say you racked up a lot of reps at the expense of throwing good form out of the equation, but it doesn’t make them legitimate or beneficial.
Choose a walking distance for your overhead carries that will leave you somewhat winded and challenged, yet not send you to complete failure or technique break down. The distance depends on the amount of weight you have overhead. A heavier weight would require less distance before you get challenged and a lighter weight would require more distance to become metabolically challenged. I like to choose a load that I can walk 30 steps or so, but experiment to see what challenges you.
Rest as much as you need between rounds, but keep it challenging
If your form starts to falter – stop and rest a little bit more between rounds to ensure proper technique and safety
As this workout gets easier, challenge yourself by by either increasing the workout duration to 15 minutes, decreasing your rest periods or increasing the kettlebell weight. Experiment, but just change one of these variables at a time.
Regress To Ensure Success
If you are having a tough time performing this kettlebell and chin up workout, then try these regressions to keep you challenged and put you in a position of success:
Use one kettlebell – Do three kettlebell cleans per side then do an overhead carry on your left side walking out, then switch sides and walk back overhead on your right side.
If you can’t do a chin up – Use a chair or box to jump up into the top position of the chin up where your chin is above the bar. Slowly lower yourself down making sure to engage your lats. Jump back up and repeat. You are essentially doing a negative chin up. You will still get a great fitness challenge and benefit and it is a great way to progress to a full chin up which is a true milestone you should work toward.
Check out the video below on performing a negative chin up to see what I mean:
It’s tough to beat the incredible fitness benefits you get when the workout you design and perform is Brief, Intense, Sustainable, Safe And Meaningful.That’s why the kettlebell and chin up workout will enable you to blast fat, build muscle, gain insane levels of conditioning, boost your metabolism and flat-out have you feeling awesome as you accelerate to the body you desire.
So enjoy this great kettlebell and chin up workout & make it part of your training routine-your body will thank you!
I pride myself on being a Baby Boomer who will not go quietly into the sunset since I have learned how to age gracefully powerful by adopting sane eating strategies and by designing safe, sustainable, and incredibly effective training programs. I am a living product of my own advice and don’t recommend anything that I don’t perform myself.
These methods allow me to stay strong and lean, move well and pain-free, keep the nasty fat off and live a high quality healthy life.
Stay Well! Take Action! Be Consistent! Train and Eat Smart! Get Rid of the Drains and Pains in Your Life! Value your loved ones and friends and get out and have some active, safe fun!
Mark Mellohusky
I Eat T-Bone Steaks, Lift Kettlebell Weights and Love Training in the Desert!
Seven Stars Fitness