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There are lots of reasons bodyweight training and cardio go hand in hand. The flexibility of this form of exercise makes it fun, functional and effective. Plus, if you choose the right exercises, you can blast through hundreds of calories per day and fire up your cardiovascular fitness. In this article I’ll be discussing why bodyweight training is such a good cardio option and listing some of the top bodyweight cardio exercises.

The Benefits Of Bodyweight Cardio Training

Bodyweight cardio training has many plus points and I have listed these below:

1. Fun: If you find running on a treadmill or cycling on a stationary exercise bike boring but still want to improve your cardiovascular fitness, bodyweight training is a great choice. Bodyweight workouts are fast, fun and challenging and one of the most enjoyable ways to boost your cardiovascular fitness.

2. Flexible: Bodyweight cardio workouts can be performed anytime, anywhere and for as long or as little as you like. No matter where you are or how much time you have to spare, you can always use bodyweight exercises to get in a cardio workout.

3. Scalable: Bodyweight cardio workouts are very easy to scale and can be adapted as your cardiovascular fitness improves. When you’re just starting out, you can perform the bodyweight exercises at a slow, steady pace and complete a small number of reps. Then as your cardiovascular fitness improves, you can start to increase the speed at which you perform the bodyweight exercises and increase your total number of reps.

4. Low Impact: Certain cardiovascular exercises (such as dancing and jogging) place a large amount of pressure on your joints which then leads to pain, redness and swelling. However, bodyweight cardio exercises are very low impact and allow you to improve your cardiovascular fitness without experiencing any joint problems.

Creating A Bodyweight Cardio Routine

Putting together a bodyweight cardio routine is relatively simple and I have listed exactly how to do it in the section below:

1. Decide How Long You’re Going To Workout: The first thing you need to decide when formulating a bodyweight cardio routine is how long you can workout for. This can be anywhere from 5 minutes to 1 hour, so simply pick a duration that suits you best.

2. Decide How Much Rest You’ll Need: After you’ve decided on your total workout duration, you then need to choose how much rest you’ll need. This will depend on both how long you’re working out and your current fitness levels. For example, if you’re doing a 5 minute workout, you probably won’t need any rest periods. However, if you’re exercising for a full hour, you’ll probably want 5-10 minutes rest during the workout.

3. Calculate Your Total Active Workout Time: Once you’ve completed the two steps above, you then need to calculate your total active workout time. To do this, simply subtract your rest time from your workout duration. For example, if you’re working out for 1 hour and having 10 minutes of rest, your total active workout time is 50 minutes.

4. Choose Some Bodyweight Cardio Exercises You Enjoy: There are hundreds of different bodyweight cardio exercises you can choose from including burpees, mountain climbers, step ups and squat jumps. This article is a great starting point and highlights 35 of the most popular bodyweight cardio exercises. Simply give them a try and choose 5-10 of the bodyweight cardio exercises that you like best.

5. Distribute Your Total Active Workout Time: After you’ve calculated your total active workout time and chosen your exercises, the next task is to distribute this time amongst the exercises. For example, if you chose five cardio exercises and your total active workout time is 50 minutes, then you’ll be doing 10 minutes per exercise.

6. Distribute Your Rest Time: Once you’ve distributed your total active workout time, your final task is to distribute your rest time. How you distribute your rest time will depend on your personal preferences and the total amount of rest time you have chosen. For example, if you’re working out for 1 hour and having 10 minutes of rest, you can have two 5 minute rest periods at 20 minute intervals or five 2 minute rest periods at 10 minute intervals.

Summary

 If you’re trying to fire up your cardiovascular fitness, bodyweight training can help. Just a few minutes each day is all you need to get a sweat on, get your blood flowing, blast through body fat and improve your cardiovascular fitness. So go ahead and start formulating your personalized bodyweight cardio workout today.

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Bodyweight Training & Cardio

Kettlebell training is vast and varied and there are hundreds of different exercises to choose from. As a result, many people who are new to kettlebell training find it intimidating and don’t know where to start. This article will help ease you in to the world of kettlebell training by listing five of the best kettlebell exercises for beginners.

1. Kettlebell Deadlift

The Kettlebell Deadlift is similar to the barbell and dumbbell version of the exercise but due to the dynamic nature of kettlebells, it brings more muscles into play. To perform the Kettlebell Deadlift, follow the instructions below:

1. Place the kettlebell on the ground in front of you.
2. Stand with your feet slightly wider than a shoulder width apart and your toes pointed out slightly.
3. Bend your knees and your waist and then place your hands on the kettlebell handle, making sure that you keep your back straight.
4. Straighten your knees and your waist and then lift the kettlebell off the ground, making sure that you drive through your heels and keep your back straight. As you lift, tighten your glutes, quads and core muscles.
5. Relax your glutes, quads and core muscles, bend your knees and your waist and lower the kettlebell back down to the ground in the starting position.
6. Repeat steps 4-5 until your muscles start to tire but make sure you stop before complete failure to avoid injuries.

2. Kettlebell Front Squat

The Kettlebell Front Squat is one of the best lower body movements you can perform with a kettlebell and helps to develop explosive pushing power in your legs. To perform the Kettlebell Front Squat, follow the instructions below:

1. Place the kettlebell on the ground in front of you.
2. Stand with your feet slightly wider than a shoulder width apart and your toes pointed out slightly.
3. Bend your knees and your waist and then place your hands on the lower side part of the kettlebell handle, making sure that you keep your back straight.
4. Straighten your knees and your waist, keep your back straight, lift the kettlebell off the ground and curl your arms toward your body so that the kettlebell is held against your chest and your elbows are in.
5. Look up slightly, bend your knees and lower your body down toward the ground, stopping when your butt is parallel with your knees and making sure that you keep your back straight.
6. Straighten your knees and raise your body back up, making sure that you drive through your heels and keep your back straight. As your raise your body back up, tighten your glutes, quads and core muscles.
7. Repeat steps 5-6 until your muscles start to tire but make sure you stop before complete failure to avoid injuries.
8. After your final rep, carefully place the kettlebell back on the ground.

3. Kettlebell One Arm Clean

The Kettlebell One Arm Clean is a fantastic full body exercise and once you master it, it will provide you with a solid foundation for other kettlebell moves. To perform the Kettlebell One Arm Clean, follow the instructions below:

1. Place the kettlebell on the ground in front of you.
2. Stand with your feet slightly wider than a shoulder width apart and your toes pointed out slightly.
3. Bend your knees and your waist, raise your left arm out to the side, clench your left fist and loosely grip the kettlebell with your right hand, making sure that your thumb is pointing toward your body and your back is straight.
4. Straighten your knees and your waist, keep your back straight, lift the kettlebell off the ground and curl your right arm toward your body so that the kettlebell is parallel with your right shoulder. As you lift the kettlebell, tighten all your muscles and make sure you keep your left arm held out to the side and keep your left fist clenched.
5. Relax all your muscles except for those in your left arm, bend your knees and your waist and lower the kettlebell back down to the starting position, making sure that you keep your back straight, your left arm held out to the side and your left fist clenched.
6. Repeat steps 4-5 until your muscles start to tire but make sure you stop before complete failure to avoid injuries.
7. Bend your knees and your waist, raise your right arm out to the side, clench your right fist and loosely grip the kettlebell with your left hand, making sure that your thumb is pointing toward your body and your back is straight.
8. Straighten your knees and your waist, keep your back straight, lift the kettlebell off the ground and curl your left arm toward your body so that the kettlebell is parallel with your left shoulder. As you lift the kettlebell, tighten all your muscles and make sure you keep your right arm held out to the side and keep your right fist clenched.
9. Relax all your muscles except for those in your right arm, bend your knees and your waist and lower the kettlebell back down to the starting position, making sure that you keep your back straight, your right arm held out to the side and your right fist clenched.
10. Repeat steps 8-9 until your muscles start to tire but make sure you stop before complete failure to avoid injuries.

4. Kettlebell One Arm Press

The Kettlebell One Arm Press is an extension of the Kettlebell One Arm Clean and a brilliant exercise for building core stability and upper body strength. To perform the Kettlebell One Arm press, follow the instructions below:

1. Place the kettlebell on the ground in front of you.
2. Stand with your feet slightly wider than a shoulder width apart and your toes pointed out slightly.
3. Bend your knees and your waist, raise your left arm out to the side, clench your left fist and loosely grip the kettlebell with your right hand, making sure that your thumb is pointing toward your body and your back is straight.
4. Straighten your knees and your waist, keep your back straight, lift the kettlebell off the ground and curl your right arm toward your body so that the kettlebell is parallel with your right shoulder. As you lift the kettlebell, tighten all your muscles and make sure you keep your left arm held out to the side and keep your left fist clenched.
5. Straighten your right arm and press the kettlebell up above your head, making sure that you keep your back straight, your muscles tight, your left arm held out to the side and your left fist clenched.
6. Relax the muscles in your right arm and shoulder while keeping all your other muscles tight, bend your right arm and lower the kettlebell back down so that it is parallel with your right shoulder, making sure that you keep your back straight, your left arm held out to the side and your left fist clenched.
7. Relax all your muscles except for those in your left arm, bend your knees and your waist and lower the kettlebell back down to the starting position, making sure that you keep your back straight, your left arm held out to the side and your left fist clenched.
8. Repeat steps 4-7 until your muscles start to tire but make sure you stop before complete failure to avoid injuries.
9. Bend your knees and your waist, raise your right arm out to the side, clench your right fist and loosely grip the kettlebell with your left hand, making sure that your thumb is pointing toward your body and your back is straight.
10. Straighten your knees and your waist, keep your back straight, lift the kettlebell off the ground and curl your left arm toward your body so that the kettlebell is parallel with your left shoulder. As you lift the kettlebell, tighten all your muscles and make sure you keep your right arm held out to the side and keep your right fist clenched.
11. Straighten your left arm and press the kettlebell up above your head, making sure that you keep your back straight, your muscles tight, your right arm held out to the side and your right fist clenched.
12. Relax the muscles in your left arm and shoulder while keeping all your other muscles tight, bend your left arm and lower the kettlebell back down so that it is parallel with your left shoulder, making sure that you keep your back straight, your right arm held out to the side and your right fist clenched.
13. Relax all your muscles except for those in your right arm, bend your knees and your waist and lower the kettlebell back down to the starting position, making sure that you keep your back straight, your right arm held out to the side and your right fist clenched.
14. Repeat steps 10-13 until your muscles start to tire but make sure you stop before complete failure to avoid injuries.

5. Kettlebell Swing

The Kettlebell Swing works all the muscles in your body and is brilliant beginner kettlebell exercise. To perform the Kettlebell Swing, follow the instructions below:

1. Place the kettlebell on the ground in front of you.
2. Stand with your feet slightly wider than a shoulder width apart and your toes pointed out slightly.
3. Bend your knees and your waist and then place your hands on the kettlebell handle, making sure that you keep your back straight.
4. Keep your body in the same position, lift the kettlebell off the ground and swing it back through your legs, making sure that you keep your arms and your back straight.
5. Straighten your knees and your waist, swing the kettlebell forward through your legs and upward until it’s parallel with your chest, making sure that you keep your arms and back straight. As you swing the kettlebell upward, tighten your glutes, quads and core muscles.
6. Bend your knees and your waist, swing the kettlebell downward and back through your legs, making sure that you keep your arms and your back straight.
7. Repeat steps 5-6 until your muscles start to tire but make sure you stop before complete failure to avoid injuries.
8. After your final rep, carefully place the kettlebell back on the ground.

Summary

 With these five kettlebell exercises, you can master the basics, strengthen your entire body and start enjoying all the benefits kettlebells have to provide. So start practicing them today, perfect your form and take the first steps on your kettlebell training

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Top 5 Kettlebell Exercises For Beginners

Kettlebell training is a unique form of fitness training that involves using kettlebells (spherical, cast iron or steel weights that resemble a cannonball with a handle). Unlike traditional weight training with barbells and dumbbells which involves slow, controlled lifts, kettlebell training is faster and more fluid and involves explosive, dynamic movements. This post will provide you with a detailed overview of kettlebell training along with the pros and cons of this form of exercise.

The History Of Kettlebell Training

Kettlebells were invented in Russia during the 1700s and were initially used by Russian farmers to weigh their crops. These Russian farmers noticed that their overall strength also improved as a result of using kettlebells and started to use kettlebells to showcase their strength during festivals.

In the 1900s, the Russian army started to use kettlebells as part of their physical conditioning programs. From the 1940s, kettlebells became a mainstream fitness tool in Russia and Europe and started to be used in fitness competitions and sport.

Kettlebells were first used in the United States in the 1960s. However, they didn’t become popular until 2001 when Dragon Door Publications and Pavel Tsatsouline developed and released the first kettlebell instructor certification program.

Kettlebell Training Basics

Kettlebells are traditionally measured by pood although many US manufacturers do produce kettlebells that are measured in pounds an kilograms. A pood is the equivalent of 16kg or 35lbs.

There are four basic styles of kettlebell training which are outlined below:

1. Hardstyle: Hardstyle kettlebell training is based around powerlifting and Gōjū-ryū karate training. In particular it focuses on the ‘kime’ technique which involves high acceleration and high tension at the correct moments during the kettlebell exercises followed by relaxation. The principle behind hardstyle kettlebell training is that most sports and life situations demand rapid switches between relaxation and tension and this style of training maximizes both.

 2. Girevoy: Girevoy (also known as fluid style or sport style) is the style used in competitive kettlebell lifting. It involves completing as many kettlebell repetitions as possible within a 10 minute timeframe. Since the kettlebell cannot be placed on the ground during the 10 minute period, Girevoy movements are smoother than hardstyle movements and more emphasis is placed on endurance.

 3. CrossFit: The CrossFit style of kettlebell training is based around hardstyle but does make some major modifications to certain lifts. Many of these modifications have proved controversial and are believed to be dangerous and place unnecessary strain on the body.

 4. Juggling: Juggling is the least popular style of kettlebell training and involves releasing and catching the kettlebell while spinning and flipping it around the body.

The Benefits Of Kettlebell Training

Kettlebell training is very unique and because of this it has a huge range of exclusive benefits which are highlighted in the list below:

 1.Balance: Performing kettlebell movements tests your center of gravity to the max and helps to develop a strong sense of balance.

 2.Cardiovascular Fitness: Kettlebell training is very fast paced, blasts through a substantial 1,200 calories per hour and is a great tool for improving your cardiovascular fitness.

 3.Coordination: Lifting and swinging kettlebells requires you to utilize multiple areas of your body at the same time and gives your coordination a huge boost.

 4. Core Stability: All kettlebell moves strengthen the core muscles in the center of your body which has a positive impact on your posture, reduces chronic pain and much more.

 5. Efficiency: Kettlebell workouts are intense and target multiple areas of your fitness at the same time. This makes them one of the most efficient fitness tools for boosting your fitness in the shortest amount of time possible.

 6. Fat Loss: As mentioned above, kettlebell training burns off 1,200 calories per hour which equates to losing an impressive 0.3lbs of body fat an hour.

 7. Full Body Conditioning: Unlike traditional weightlifting exercises which target specific muscle groups, kettlebell exercises work all the muscles in your body and allow you to fully condition every single one.

 8. Fun: Due to its challenging, dynamic and versatile nature, kettlebell training is never boring and you’ll find that every single workout is fun and enjoyable.

 9. Functional Strength: Kettlebell exercises are very practical and replicate day to day activities. As a result, they help to develop a functional type of strength that can boost your performance in everyday life.

 10. Grip: Kettlebell exercises constantly work the muscles in your wrists and are one of the best tools out there for developing a solid grip.

 11. Versatility: Kettlebells are very versatile and can be used to improve sports performance, enhance your balance, boost your cardiovascular fitness, strengthen your muscles, tone your body, lose weight and much more.

The Disadvantages Of Kettlebell Training

Despite its long list of benefits, there are some drawbacks to kettlebell training which are discussed in the section below:

1. Injury Risk: Although kettlebells are generally safe when the proper form is applied, performing kettlebell exercises incorrectly puts you at a very high risk for lower back, shoulder, hip and knee injuries.

2. Learning Curve: Kettlebell training has a steeper learning curve than most other forms of exercise, so you do need to get a qualified professional to train you how to use them properly and take the necessary time to master the proper form.

3. Expense: If you’re planning to do kettlebell training at home, it can be expensive. Kettlebells are non-adjustable, so you need to buy new ones as your strength improves. Some of the heavier kettlebells cost $100+, so acquiring a full set can be very pricey.

4. Not Suitable For Beginners: If you’re looking for a type of exercise to begin your fitness journey, kettlebell training is not it. It requires a certain level of fitness experience and has a steep learning curve.

Summary

 I hope this article has helped you learn more about kettlebell training and how it can benefit you. While it does have its drawbacks, if you have some fitness experience, kettlebell training is definitely worth a try. It can be used to achieve a wide range of fitness goals and the unique nature of kettlebell training makes it much more enjoyable than many of the alternative fitness options out there.

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What Is Kettlebell Training?