The Best Kettlebell Exercises and Workouts For Fat Loss
If you're interested in burning fat while increasing strength and building muscle, kettlebells are a great training tool. This is particularly true because kettlebells can be used for such a wide variety of exercises and training protocols.
Most exercises that you can do with a dumbbell or barbell, you can also do with kettlebells. You can do squats, presses, bicep curls, chest flys, and many other exercises with kettlebells, even though those exercises are typically done with a barbell or dumbbells. On top of that, there are many exercises that are unique to kettlebells, as well.
In this tutorial, you'll find a list of some of the best kettlebell exercises for fat loss, and I've broken them down into a few different categories: lower body, upper body, core, and weighted carries.
Along with the fundamental kettlebell exercises I shared in my previous article, The Top 7 Kettlebell Exercises, the exercises in this list represent the most important basics, and will help you make the most of your kettlebells.
If you don't have access to dumbbells, barbells, weight benches, or exercise machines, you still have a lot of options with kettlebells. So, if you train at home or have limited equipment, you can still get a well-rounded, full-body workout with a properly-weighted kettlebell or two.
If you add in some bodyweight exercises, which require little or no equipment, you can go a long way with that combination. The best option, of course, is to have access to many different kinds of equipment like barbells, dumbbells, and kettlebells, among others.
Something to keep in mind if you're used to traditional weight training is that you can substitute many different kettlebell exercises right into your usual bodybuilding or strength training program quite easily.
For example, you can do an overhead kettlebell press instead of a dumbbell or barbell press for shoulders. You can also do squats, lunges, and step-ups with a kettlebell instead of doing them with barbells and dumbbells (and vice versa). Basically, if you can do it with a dumbbell, you can probably do it with a kettlebell.
In that vein, kettlebells are a great tool for increasing the variety of exercises you use. And sometimes, the simplest way to make the most of this tool is to do an exercise that you normally perform with a barbell (or dumbbells) with a kettlebell instead.
So, as you look over the exercises listed below, be thinking of ways that you can use the equipment you have on hand for these different exercises.
Lower Body Kettlebell Exercises
Note: Remember that most kettlebell exercises are full-body exercises, even if they focus on a certain area of the body or movement pattern. Also, many of these exercises can be performed with either one or two kettlebells. For example, you can deadlift a single kettlebell with one or two hands. Or, you can deadlift two kettlebells, one in each hand.
Kettlebell Swing - With your arms straight, shoulders stabilized, back straight, and core tight, swing the kettlebell from between your legs to about shoulder level using your legs and hips to propel the weight (i.e. a strong leg drive and hip "snap" into extension). You can find a detailed tutorial on the kettlebell swing here: How to Perform The Kettlebell Swing.
Goblet Squats - Holding the kettlebell against or next to your chest, at approximately shoulder level, squat down as far as you can while maintaining a lengthened spine.
Pause briefly before squatting back up to the standing position.
Note: You can find a detailed tutorial on the Goblet squat (i.e. using a dumbbell, but the technique is the same) here: The Goblet Squat.
Deadlift - With the kettlebell(s) on the ground between your feet, bend forward at the hips and grab the kettlebell with your arms locked, shoulders stabilized, back straight, and core tight - maintaining all of these throughout the full duration of the exercise.
Press through your feet and hinge at the hips to lift the kettlebell off the ground until you are standing up with your legs straight and hips extended. Slowly lower the kettlebell back down to the ground by hinging at the hips while maintaining a lengthened spine.
Single-leg Deadlift - Perform a deadlift, like above, except standing on one foot. Your other leg should be raised and reach behind you to counter-balance as you bend down.
The hand that you use to hold the kettlebell should be opposite of the leg you're standing on. So, if you're standing on your left leg, you should be holding the kettlebell with your right hand.
Upper Body Kettlebell Exercises
Overhead Press - With the kettlebell(s) in the shoulder "rack" position, press it directly overhead until your arm(s) are straight - keeping your shoulders stabilized at all times (i.e. not lifted or shrugged upward).
Pause briefly before slowly lowering the kettlebell back down into the rack position.
Floor Press - Laying on your back, with your arms in tight to your sides and elbows resting on the floor, press the kettlebell(s) up until your arms are straight.
Pause briefly before slowly lowering the kettlebell back down until your elbows touch the ground.
Bent-over Row - With the kettlebell(s) on the ground between your feet, bend forward at the hips and grab the kettlebell(s) with your arms locked, shoulders stabilized, back straight, and core tight - maintaining all of these throughout the full duration of the exercise.
Pull your shoulder blades back and together while flexing your arms at the elbows until your hands reach your ribs.
Pause briefly before slowly lowering the kettlebell back down to a deadhang position.
Note: You can find a detailed tutorial on the Bent-over Row (i.e. using a barbell, but the technique is roughly the same) here: The Bent-over Row.
Renegade Row with Pushup - With two kettlebells placed approximately shoulder-width apart and handles parallel to each other, get into the top of a pushup position with your arms straight, shoulders stabilized, back flat, and your core engaged.
Perform a pushup by lowering yourself down and then pressing yourself back up again. Then using one kettlebell for support, row the other kettlebell by lifting it off the ground and pulling it towards your ribs using your arm, back, and shoulder.
Slowly lower the kettlebell back to the ground. Then perform another pushup before rowing the other kettlebell.
You may pause briefly in each position or make it one smooth motion.
Core Kettlebell Exercises
Turkish Get-up - Laying on your back with a single kettlebell extended overhead with shoulder stabilized and elbow locked, plant one foot firmly into the ground and press through your heel, extending your hip and lifting your shoulder off the ground (on the kettlebell side).
Keep pressing and sitting up until your opposite elbow can support some of your weight, and then press up to your palm - elbow locked. Lift your non-weight bearing foot off of the ground and move it underneath you to a kneeling position.
Remove your hand from the ground and stand up. Reverse the movement to return back to the ground.
Note: You can find some more details on Turkish Get-up technique here: The Top 7 Kettlebell Exercises.
Windmill - With a kettlebell in the overhead "lockout" position and your opposite foot turned out at about a 45 degree angle, hinge laterally at the hips toward your turned-out foot - making sure to maintain a locked elbow, stabilized shoulder, and lengthened spine throughout the whole range of motion - and keep bending down to your side until you can no longer maintain a neutral spine (or until your hand reaches the ground, whichever comes first).
Pause briefly before pressing through your feet and returning to the standing position. Keep your eyes on the kettlebell while performing this exercise.
Russian Twist - Get into a partial sit-up position with your feet either flat on the floor (or lifted for an additional challenge) and your torso at about a 45 degree angle with the ground.
Holding the kettlebell in front of your chest and keeping your hips straight and spine lengthened, slowly twist from side to side with your torso as far as your range of motion will allow.
Do not twist from the head or hips.
Lunge Press - Standing up straight with a kettlebell in the rack position at shoulder level, lunge forward with one leg while pressing the kettlebell straight overhead.
Pause briefly in the lunge position before lowering the kettlebell as you return back to standing.
Weighted Carries with Kettlebells
All of the following weighted carries are performed by walking with the kettlebell(s) held in a certain position. Focus on taking small, quick steps while maintaining your posture. Walk for as long as you can maintain good technique and alignment.
Farmer Walk - Two kettlebells held at your sides with both elbows locked and shoulders stabilized.
Suitcase Carry - One kettlebell held at your side. Do not allow yourself to tilt.
Shoulder Carry - One or two kettlebells held either in the rack position or resting on top of your shoulder musculature (not on bone).
Overhead Carry - One or two kettlebells held in the overhead lockout position.
Kettlebell Fat Loss Workouts
Kettlebells work really well for metabolic conditioning workouts, which makes them a very effective tool for fat loss since you'll get both strength training and cardio adaptations from one training session. Also, since they're both compact and versatile, it makes it easier to transition seamlessly between movements. This makes them an ideal tool for short, high intensity workouts.
Here are three workouts that use a variety of training protocols such as circuits, supersets, and timed sets to help you with your fat loss goals.
Beginner Kettlebell Fat Loss Workout
Repeat the following circuit 3-5 times, with no rest between exercises and 1 minute of rest between each circuit:
- Swing - 12-15 reps (or 80% of max effort)
- Overhead Press - 8-12 reps (or 80% of max effort)
- Bent-over Row - 8-12 reps (or 80% of max effort)
- Goblet Squat - 12-15 reps (or 80% of max effort)
Intermediate Kettlebell Fat Loss Workout
Repeat 3-5 times with 30 seconds of rest between exercises:
Farmer Walk - Perform 1-2 farmer walks until you can't hold onto the kettlebells anymore.
- Lunge Press - 8-12 reps per side (or 80% of max effort)
- Renegade Row with Pushup - as many reps as possible with good technique
- Single-leg Deadlift - 8-12 reps per side (or 80% of max effort)
Turkish Get-up - one set per side for as many reps as possible with good technique
Suitcase Carry - Perform 1-2 suitcase carries with each arm until you can't hold onto the kettlebell anymore.
Advanced Kettlebell Fat Loss Workout
Repeat 5 times with 30 seconds of rest between exercises:
- Goblet Squat 10-20 reps (or 80% of max effort)
- Deadlift 10-20 reps (or 80% of max effort)
Complete the following circuit 3 times, with no rest between exercises and 1 minute of rest between each circuit:
- Floor Press - 8-12 reps (or 80% of max effort)
- Renegade Row - as many reps as possible with good technique
- Russian Twist - 8-12 reps (or 80% of max effort)
- Windmill - as many reps as possible with good technique
Kettlebell swing - max reps in 5 minutes, resting only if necessary. This can be increased to 10 minutes for an additional challenge.
Overhead press - max reps in 5 minutes, resting only if necessary. This can be increased to 10 minutes for an additional challenge. You can also substitute the push press or push jerk, or do a combination of all three overhead press exercises for maximum reps possible.
Perform one set of the following carries with no rest between exercises (i.e. perform the overhead carry as long as you can, then immediately transition into a shoulder carry, then immediately transition into a suitcase carry). Rest for 1-2 minutes, and then repeat with the other side.
- Overhead Carry (max effort)
- Shoulder Carry (max effort)
- Suitcase Carry (max effort)
Scheduling Instructions
Since most kettlebell workouts involve elements of strength training and cardio training in one session (i.e. metabolic conditioning), it's easy to get confused when it comes to programming and actually scheduling them in your overall workout plan. You may wonder if a kettlebell workout should replace one of your cardio workouts or strength training sessions; or if it should be done "on top of" your existing fat loss program.
Here are three ways that you can use and schedule these workouts:
- Do these kettlebell workouts as a short-term, stand-alone fat loss workout program (in other words, do this instead of a traditional strength training and cardio workout program, like the one in Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle. These kettlebell workouts would entail all of the training you'd be doing).
- Add these kettlebell workouts onto your existing workout routine.
- Supplement your normal program with a little bit of additional kettlebell training.
If you choose to use these workouts as a stand-alone program, they can be performed 3-4 times per week as a complete short-term fat loss training program (for about 4-6 weeks), instead of a traditional strength training and cardio workout program.
Note: If you intend to train exclusively with kettlebells for much longer than this, you'll want to look into developing a more complete training program to keep you going for the long term.
For longer term training programs, having properly weighted kettlebell(s) will be more important. But even if you don't have the best selection of weights, you can still go a long way with what you have if you focus on effort. For example, if you only have one kettlebell (for example, 16 kg), you may have to mostly-ignore the suggested repetition ranges in the workouts above. Instead, focus on your perceived level of effort and try to stick to the recommended ranges (such as 80% of max).
Now, if you choose to add these workouts as a supplement to your existing fat loss program, the simplest way to do it would be to replace one of your strength training sessions with a full body kettlebell workout. But instead of actually replacing a strength training workout, think of it like "bumping" a strength training workout an extra day or two down the road.
Another way of looking at it is like turning a 3-day split into a 4-day split, with the new 4th day becoming a kettlebell workout. What you want to avoid is simply cramming more work (e.g. a whole extra kettlebell workout) into an already packed training schedule.
Note: if you're having scheduling difficulties, you could also perform a kettlebell workout on a day that you normally just do cardio training. The best times would either be immediately before your cardio workout or at another time of day, ideally with several hours between the two sessions. Just don't do kettlebell training immediately following a cardio session.
Finally, you could simply add some individual kettlebell exercises to your existing strength training workouts. It could be a timed set of kettlebell swings, a few practice sets of Turkish get-ups before your core training, or a "finisher" circuit after your normal strength training sessions.
If you choose to go this route, you can take one or two circuits, supersets, or timed sets from the workouts above and insert them into your strength training workout.
Try to choose exercises that work the same muscle groups that you'll be focusing on during that session (e.g. choose exercises like goblet squats and swings when you're training legs). Also, new and/or technical exercises should be done early in your workouts.
Conclusion
Kettlebells are a fun and versatile training tool that are very useful for fat loss goals as well as strength development. If you learn some of the basic exercises listed above, you'll have a wide variety of options available to you - even if you only have access to a kettlebell or two.
- Swing - 12-15 reps (or 80% of max effort)
- Goblet Squat - 12-15 reps (or 80% of max effort)
Complete the following circuit 2-3 times with no rest between exercises and 1 minute of rest between each circuit: