Thanks to Forest Vance, MS, SPT, RKC for this great guest post!

I’m going to call myself out: I’ve been guilty of trying to come up with some pretty stupid exercises (though probably never any as bad as this one):

Early in my training career, I think I had this idea in my head that the crazier the exercise I could come up with, the better and cooler trainer I would be. As I’ve learned and gained experience with what works and what doesn’t, I’ve come to realize that focusing on the basics, and executing them perfectly, is often far much more effective for most fitness goals.

The RKC certification experience I recently had really reinforced this concept. The RKC system is built on getting the ‘basic’ kettlebell movements down perfectly: the Swing, the Get-Up, the Squat, the Clean and Press, and the Snatch.

Keeping this idea in mind, I’d like to share a kettlebell circuit I’ve used with great success in both learning and practicing the basic kettlebell moves as well as building a fantastic level of strength and conditioning.
The circuit is structured as follows:

Swing x 12-20
Get-Up x 1-3 Each Side
Squat x 12-20
Clean and Press x 3-6 Each Side
Snatch x 5-10 Each Side

Repeat 2-3 times without rest

The way I’ve used this workout myself and with clients is to use it for a period of four to six weeks, gradually increasing the total reps and sets.

For example, one could start the first week of the program with the minimum amount of reps and sets. The second week, one could add a couple of reps per set. Add a couple more reps per set the third week.

The fourth week, drop the reps down a bit and add another set to the rotation. Start increasing the reps again the fifth week. By the sixth week or so, you should end up doing the maximum amount of reps and three sets of each exercise.

Being able to go through this circuit three times, using the maximum amount of reps per exercise, and resting a minimal amount should only take you fifteen minutes or so and is a tremendous test of strength endurance.

Keep in mind, proper form should be the number one priority here. Dragon Door has some tremendous resources to get you where you need to be and teach you how to do these exercises properly. Make sure you know how to do all of the exercises perfectly before you start upping the intensity .

I’ve also had good success combining this workout with a couple times a week of ‘regular’ weight training. If you’d like to see another article that I’ve written about incorporating this circuit into a more traditional strength training program, please click here (we’ll have to insert the link to my blog post here).

Forest Vance, MS, CPT, RKC is a boot camp instructor, personal trainer, blogger, and author of the newly-released book and DVD set No Gym? No Excuse!

If you’d like to hear more from him, check out his free e-course filled with more workout ideas, diet tips, motivation, and more

PS Check out Part II of the article here!