Working out with a kettlebell and using bodyweight exercises is as old-school fitness as you can get. Russians have used kettlebells for centuries to build muscle, improve endurance and burn fat. Calisthenics go back to the Greeks and beyond. While these training methods may be old, they are also workout gold.
Kettlebells
Kettlebells are round weights, roughly the size of a bowling ball, with a handle attached. The handle makes the weight of the kettlebell uneven, creating instability when you use it. This instability makes you recruit your core muscles for balance when you use the weight for any workout, improving your abs.
Bodyweight Exercises
Bodyweight exercises are those you do with only your body's weight as resistance. These familiar exercises include, but are not limited to, pushups, situps, pullups, chinups, crunches, squats and lunges, calf raises and variations of each. You can use these exercise to build muscle, improve muscular endurance and burn calories.
Muscle Workouts
You can build or train your muscles with kettlebell and bodyweight workouts, depending on the resistance and intensity you use. To build muscle, perform the exercises slowly, using muscle to raise, hold and then lower the kettlebell or your body. Don't let gravity drop your body down after a pullup, situp, pushup or other bodyweight exercise to maximize the benefit of the muscle contractions. Use a heavier kettlebell -- one that's close to the maximum you can lift -- for maximum muscle building. Perform three to five reps of deadlifts, squats, lunges and other exercises, then take a break of several minutes. Repeat the same exercise, doing three to five sets before moving on to a new exercise.
Cardio Workouts
To burn fat and improve your cardiovascular system, do kettlebell and bodyweight workouts at a higher intensity using lower loads. The American Council on Exercise recommends creating circuit training workouts using 40 to 70 percent of your maximum intensity. Decrease the amount of weight you use for kettlebell exercises and add more reps, changing exercises after each set. Swinging is a kettlebell exercise that works your entire body while burning calories. Start with the kettlebell between your legs, then swing it upward with both hands, let it drop down, moving between your legs, then repeat. Be careful to use a weight you can control for this exercise so that you don't strain your back. To raise the intensity of bodyweight exercises, perform them faster, decreasing the pause between uplifts and downlifts. Maintain good form and technique when you do these at a higher intensity to avoid back strains.
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