This is a kettlebell workout for the outdoors.

Or in the very least a kettlebell workout that shouldn’t be done on your wood or tiled floor because if you are like me you might drop the bell once. Or twice.

Regardless, this is a fun kettlebell workout. Not to mention quick kettlebell workout for those day you…well…don’t want to workout but know you probably should. You know those days.

Yeah, this kettlebell workout is for those days.

Anyway a quick word of caution: don’t fight the bell and pay attention. If you feel it slip let it go and get out of the way. The bell always wins. Always.

Catch Me If You Can – Kettlebell Workout – Michigan

A. Swing-Catch-Squat-Reach
B. Around the Body (Alternate directions)

Set a timer for 30/30 (A/B) intervals and 8 rounds. Feel free to do more or less but I did 8 minutes and it was just what I needed for the time I had. 

Tips: There is point at the top the swing where you feel the kettlebell “float”. This is where you catch it. Also you don’t need to transiotion between moves smoothly. It’s okay to stop the bell after the reach and then start your around the body. It’s also okay to set the bell back on the ground to start your swings after your around the body. You’ll be less likely to bang your knee. Lastly, I noticed near the end I was getting tired and I wasn’t dropping my hips during my squat and instead I was dropping my chest a little. This is easier but it’s also wrong. Be mindful of that.

We filmed this kettlebell workout at Sleeping Dunes National Lakeshore where we climbed the dunes.

It was spectacular.

My moody (now) teenager even enjoyed it. At least for a few minutes.

Well…that’s that. Have you ever dropped a kettlebell during your workout? What do you do when you are having one of those days?  Have you done a kettlebell workout this week?

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

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Journey with our family on the road at Newschool Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States.

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I haven’t picked up my kettlebells for weeks. Truth be told, I’m still struggling with motivation in general but watching this kettlebell cardio circuit that we shot in St. Louis Missoris just may change that.

Maybe.

We loved St. Louis and I loved that we unexpectedly found this park the morning we decided to film the kettlebell workout. I had been asking around if there was a good place to get pictures of the arch (it’s hard to get the entire thing in the frame because it’s so tall) and everybody kept saying not really. I considered doing the workout on the busy square  downtown but it was busy. It may not seem like it but I’m really shy and if possible I like to shoot the kettlebell workouts in more low traffic areas if possible. So I looked at the map again and saw Malcolm W. Martin Memorial Park right across the river from the arch. It was perfect with a great view of the St. Louis skyline and it was quiet! Why didn’t anyone know about this place!

The is a kettlebell cardio circuit. It’s perfect for non-strength days or on it’s own whenever you need a quick but effective workout. Love kettlebells!!!!

Kettlbell Cardio Circuit – Missouri

1. Down Ups – 8
2. Kettlebell Reach – 8
3. Jump Squats – 8
4. Two Handed Row – 8
5. Swings – 8

As many rounds as possible in 8 minutes.

I was trying the two handed row with an underhand grip and I’m not crazy about it as it can put a lot of pressure on the wrist through hyperextension. So if you do that just be aware of your wrist position and make sure they aren’t bending backwards too much. A lighter kettlebell will help this.

___

We finally left Breckenridge a few days ago. It was a bittersweet goodbye. We had an amazing time snowboarding (you can see all of our best pictures here) and being part of a community for four months. It’s going to take a few days to adjust to moving again and getting back on track with my workouts. I’ll write more about it next week because my grandparents are visiting us right no. They came out for my oldest son’s 13th birthday and we want to spend as much time with them as possible.

Alright well I hope you are having a great week! Do you ever use kettlebells for cardio circuits or do you prefer using them solely for strength?

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Keep up with my kettlebell workouts, real food recipes, and more in one of three ways! 1. Sign up to have posts emailed to your inbox. 2. Subscribe to the RSS Feed or 3. “like” Girl Heroes on Facebook. Simple dimple!

Journey with our family on the road at Newschool Nomads as we travel fulltime in RV through the United States

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Typically, I don’t plan where I’m going to do my workouts. I just keep a kettlebell in our truck and hope for the best. Sometimes this works out great and other times….I well….end up lugging kettlebells through a muddy Longhorn pasture.

It’s all part of  being insane the adventure.

As it turns out there was a lovely spot to workout on the levee at Algiers Point in New Orleans. We left a little early on our way to the WWII museum and I did my workout in front of the skyline of one of the most fun cities in America. Then I spent the rest of my dad walking around New Orleans in dirty workout clothes. Awesome. At least it’s better than wearing a dobok around Las Vegas.

Have you ever been to New Orleans? This was my first time and I love, LOVED, it. So did my boys. We actually ended up staying an extra day. You can read about all that we did here.

Now onto the workout!

Louisiana – Full Body Kettlebell Interval Circuit

1. Alternating Kettlebell Clean and Presses
2. Alternating Kettlebell Rows
3. Alternating Kettlebell Snatches
4. Left Single Leg Kettlebell Deadlifts
5. Right Single Leg Kettlebell Deadlifts
6. Kettlebell Toss
7. Lateral Lunges with Reach
8. Hot Potato Squat
9. Kettlebell Swings

I set my gymboss for 9 rounds of 45 seconds of work to 15 seconds of rest. Repeated 1-9 twice for a total os 18 mintues excluding warm up and stretching. I typically foam roll but not after this workout. I had beignets to go eat. Kidding. Sort of.

Here are some possible suggestions for a kettlebell beginner.
– Do 30/30 intervals instead.
– Omit the clean before the press and just hand off the bell between presses.
– Swap out swings for snatches.
–Straight Reaching Single Leg Deadlifts instead of SL kettlebell deadlifts
– Goblet squats instead of potato squats.

Alrighty, we are still in Florida but are headed to Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina. Anyone have any suggestions on what to do??? Or live there and want to hang out?

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

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Good thing my locations are change each week because my outfits don’t. I could only bring so many clothes with me in the RV.

I want to say right off hand that I call these Tabata intervals but since there are 4 of them I didn’t go all out each set so they aren’t true Tabata. Nevertheless this workout kicked my butt and I felt it for days. Days.

Despite the chilly weather, this was a great place to workout. The campground was nearly empty, the sound of the stream was relaxing, and my kids played on the hillside. After we filmed my workout Brent did the workout himself.

Arkansas

Interval #1
1. Push Press
2. Jump Squats

Interval #2
1. KB Toss
2.  Swings

Interval #3
1. Hot Potatoes
2. Split Lunges

Interval #4
1. Mountain Climbers
2. Russian Twist

– Each interval is 4 minutes long divided into 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest which means each exercise is repeated 4 times (8 total work periods). All four intervals add up to a 16 minutes workout. I’m a math genius.  

– For the interval #1 I started with my left arm push presses and the second interval (after squats) I switched to my right arm so each side did 2 intervals each. This was plenty of work. I had considered making it double push presses but halfway through I was glad I stuck with singles.\

We were in Arkansas in December and have finally made it to warmer weather. I’m hoping this will help me get back into a workout routine as they have been…errrr…a bit spotty. That New Year’s 5X5 Challenge? Out the door. I should have made it a 3×3 challenge or skipped it altogether. At this point, I don’t need any more “challenges” in my life. Figuring out life in an RV with two kids, two dogs, and a cat is challenge enough right now.

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

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Check out our family’s adventures at New School Nomads as we take a year long RV road trip through the United States!

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It hard to put into words how much fun we’ve been having on the road. That’s not to say it’s not without its hard days.  I’ve found myself, once or twice, curled up on Brent’s lap crying my eyes wondering what the heck are we doing. The day we visited Carlsbad Caverns National Park was not one of those days. The caverns were, for lack of a better word, simply magical like another world.

It also happens that there was a perfect spot for a quick workout in the park. (I keep a set of kettlebells in the truck just in case. Doesn’t everyone?) The sun was setting and the colors were breathtaking. About halfway through the workout, I saw what I thought was “a piece of trash” blow by only to realize it was actually a skunk!  (I’m easily entertained as you will see.) Here’s a secret. Even though I call him “stinky” in the video, I actually like the smell of skunks. Weirdo.

New Mexico

This is a quick but challenging two part full body workout that can be done “for time”.

Part One 

1. Presses – 5
2. Squats – 5
3. Renegade (or regular) Rows – 5 (each side)

Repeat 3x total

Part Two 

1. Swings – 5
2. Burpees (no pushup) – 5
3. Cleans – 5
4. Jump Squats – 5
5. Swings – 5

Repeat 5x total

LOVED this workout and I’m definitely going to come back to it later. Next up is Texas, where I picked an “unusual” spot for a workout.

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Check out our family’s adventures at New School Nomads as we plan to take a year long road trip through the United States!

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I haven’t mentioned it because I try not to complain to you guys but I have had a pulled hamstring and some serious lower back pain the last few months.  As a result, I had backed off and modified some of my training.  During my Thanksgiving vacation, I took it easy and stuck with light kettlebell work, videos on Exercise TV, (I would sooo love to make an exercise DVD of my own someday!), and lots LOTS of stretching.  All of it paid off because my leg and lower back are now pain free.  (I’m going to try and do a post on getting rid of the pain in my lower back soon.)  So this weekend, I did the first high intensity workout in almost 2 months.

Part One

Descending Rep Ladders – Pull Up/Clean and Press

Pull Ups 5
Double Clean and Press 5  (12kg/26lb bell)
Pull Ups 4
Double Clean and Press 4
Pull Ups 3
Double Clean and Press 3
Pull Ups 2
Double Clean and Press 2
Pull Up 1
Double Clean and Press 1

Repeat 2x.  Total of 30 pull ups and 30 clean and presses.  Took roughly minutes.  When I couldn’t do a strict pull up (which, sadly, after a month of light work wasn’t long), I switched to negatives.  (Jump to the top of a pull up position and slowly lower yourself.)

Part Two

I set my gymboss on 30 second intervals.

30 seconds of kb swings (20kg/44lb bell)
30 seconds of rest
30 seconds of sparring the bag (kicking the crap out of an imaginary person)
30 seconds of rest

Repeat 10x for a total of 20 minutes.

Oh. My. Goodness.  This was so fun.  Want proof?  The picture at the top?

Posed.

This is what I really looked like!

And I wonder how I pulled my hamstring.

Hope you got in an awesome workout this week!

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

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20 Minute Interval Treadmill Workout

Warm Up
2 Minute 30 Second – Walk at 15% incline.

Workout
1 Minute: Jog – 15% incline
30 Seconds: Sprint or Run – 15% incline (By sprinting I mean faster than your jog but it will certainly be slower than if you weren’t on an incline.  Be careful don’t fall!)
1 Minute: Walk – 15% incline
1 Minute: Jog – 10% incline
30 seconds: Sprint – 10% incline
1 Minute: Walk – 10% incline
1 Minute: Jog – 5% incline
30 Seconds: Sprint – 5% incline
1 Minute: Walk – 5% incline
1 Minute: Jog – No incline
30 Seconds: Sprint – No incline
1 Minute: Walk – No incline
1 Minute: Jog – 5% incline
30 Seconds: Sprint – 5% incline
1 Minute: Walk – 5% incline
1 Minute: Jog – 10% incline
30 Seconds: Sprint – 10% incline
1 Minute: Walk – 10% incline
1 Minute: Jog – 15% incline
30 Seconds: Sprint – 15% incline
1 Minute: Walk – 15% incline

All done!!!!

(Don’t forget to stretch.)

xoxo
j

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For years, I had read references to the “Tabata protocol” but it sounded more like a code of conduct for elite special forces than a way to tighten my butt.  People would rave about how great Tabata was and the skeptic in me would think, “4 minutes…yeah right.”  Finally, I decided I had to see for myself.

Enlist me.  I’ll follow the protocol.

I was sore for days.  The best part was that it was only 4 minutes and those 4 minutes went by really fast because I was focused on the short time segments (and it is just 4 minutes).

Tabata what????  Time segments??? A Tabata workout consists of high-intensity 20 second work intervals  followed by 10 seconds of rest.  You repeat this pattern 8 times for a total of 4 minutes.  I’ll use sprinting as an example.  (I recommend not doing Tabata on treadmill for safey’s sake.) Sprint 20 seconds.  Rest 10 seconds.  Repeat 7 more times (8 total) for a total of 240 seconds or 4 minutes.  You can Tabata almost anything squats, burpees, pull-ups (yeah right), sit ups, push ups, lunges, probably even cartwheels although I’d suspect I’d get dizzy and  break my neck.  I’m going to try Tabata side kicks for extra taekwondo practice.

I  “score” my Tabata workouts by adding the highest and lowest reps out of the 8 intervals.  For example, in one 4 minute session, I may get 18 reps as my highest number during one 20 second segment and 12 reps as my lowest in another 20 second segment.  If I add them together my total “score” would be 30.  The next time I do the same workout, I can try for a higher “score”.

Or not.

Tabata Training was developed by  Dr. Izumi Tabata while doing research at the Japan’s National Institute of Fitness and Sports.  Dr. Tabata and his team were studying the effects of aerobic (with oxygen, i.e., slower steady state cardio) and anaerobic (without oxygen, i.e. HIIT cardio) conditioning.  Those doing in the  high intesity anaerobic test group (Tabata group) saw a 14%  improvement in their aerobic capacity and 28% in their anaerobic capacities.  Those in the 60 minute moderate intensity cardio group showed an aerobic capacity improvement of 9.5% and no anaerobic capacity improvement. Here is an nerdy excerpt from the article published in the Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise journal. (You are probably smarter than me…it took me 15 minutes to understand it.)

What does this mean??  It means less time on the cardio machines with better results….YAY!!!!!!!  I came across this article Can You Get Fit in Six Minutes a Week? last week that supports the effects of Tabata training.  I don’t think I’ll be switching to 6 minute a week workouts but it always makes me feel good to read research that supports what I’ve been doing.

Wanna try  a workout with Tabata?  Here’s one or here’s another.

Hugs and High Fives,
jenn

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It’s been a while since I’ve posted a treadmill workout so here ya go.  I like intervals, they make the time go by faster.

20 Minute Interval Treadmill Workout

Warm up
4 Minutes and 30 Seconds : Walk at highest incline.  Don’t hang on to the rails. Use your arms.

Workout
1 minute:  Get off treadmill and jump squat or squat depending on your level of fitness.  (Yes.  The entire minute.)
1 Minute: Walk  or jog –  no incline
30 Seconds: Sprint – YOUR fastest speed.
1 Minute: Walk  or jog – no incline
1 Minute : Get off treadmill and do jump lunges or lunges.
1 Minute: Walk or jog – no incline

Repeat the above sequence (squats – walking) 3 times.  You’re done!!!

If you don’t have a treadmill you can do this at a track or large park.  You can even run around in circles in your backyard.

Almost every workout can be customized to your fitness level.  Can’t sprint?? Then jog.  After a while you WILL be able to sprint.  Can’t do a minute of squats?  Then squat for 10 seconds, rest 20, and repeat.  Work your way up.  You CAN do it.  It’s only 20 minutes and you are worth it.

xoxo
j

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Sprinting is good for you.  Or so I’ve read…

This weekend I decided to go to the local highschool track to get in a sprint workout in hopes of carving my log-like thighs into something more shapely like tubas.  I was disappointed to find the local track surrounded my 8 foot fences and locked.  So I drove to the local city college and found the same thing.  Luckily, I ran into one of the faculty and I asked what’s the deal with all the locks and fences.  She explained “vandals”.  Grrrrrrrrr.  I will refrain from ranting.  Anyway, more determined than ever to do my sprint workout I drove back to the highschool and drove along like MacGyver in my mini-van.  I came across a gate that I thought I could squeeze myself through.  I was right.  “Ha ha!”, I grunted victoriously.  So I did my workout (see below), stretched, and exhausted I got up to leave.  I walked back to the gate where I had easily slipped through and look at the opening in the gate.  Hmmm…it looked smaller. I had fit through that?  I kneeled down and tried to squeeze through.  No luck.  Great.  I starting getting mad thinking someone tightened the chain while I was working out. Because it’s couldn’t have been my fault.  I quickly became sure someone was thinking “I’ll teach that lady a lesson not to use the track when it’s locked.”  Humph.  I think not.  I held my breath and got one leg, my hips, and chest through but my head started to get stuck.  My defiance quickly turned to “oh crap”.  I backed out again.  This was harder than pushing out a baby.  I thought about climbing the fence but my legs were so exhausted I didn’t think I’d make it.  So I decided one last time to try and squeeze myself through the gate.  I got down really low (near the ground) and tested squeezing my head through, praying to God it wouldn’t get stuck.  Sure enough if my head was two inches from the ground I could shimmy it through.  So I backed out and prepared for my escape.  Slowly, I squeezed one thigh through and then inhaled and shimmied my hips through.  My shoulders and other thigh followed.  Kneeling with my face practically scraping the ground I got my head through.  Then I looked back and  saw my cell phone was just out of arms reach on the other side of the fence.  Not really.  Ha!  But, lemme tell ya, that would have just been simply hysterical.  I stood up and looked around for someone hidden in the bushes laughing their fool head off at me.   For a moment, I even thought about twirling around with my middle fingers up in the air giving a general you-know just in case someone really did tighten the chain and was watching.  But then I decided that’s not the kind of person I want to be so I let my Houdini move speak for itself.  

Anyway here is the workout I did and it was awesome.  (Yes I still say “awesome”.)  My hamstrings are still sore.

Sprint Workout

1 lap (400 m) slow jog
4 laps sprinting the straight ways and walking the curves.  (In other words 100 m  sprint alternating with 100 m walks or thereabouts for a mile.)
1 lap (400 m) slow jog 

For fun I threw in 10 sets of bleachers.  

Stretch

If you don’t have access to a track just go to a park and estimate.  I think this is what I’ll do next time.

xoxo
j

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