I Did a Full-Body Kettlebell Routine 3 Times a Week for One Month — Here’s What Happened

As a veteran personal trainer, I’ve been using kettlebells to help my clients achieve their fitness goals for more than three decades.

Programmed correctly, kettlebells build functional strength, muscle mass, power, and endurance, and they’re a fantastic fat-burning tool, too. Studies also suggest that kettlebell training builds aerobic fitness (1).

However, while I am very familiar with most kettlebell exercises, I don’t consider myself “a kettlebell guy.”

Let me explain…

Trainers often associate themselves with one type of exercise, marketing themselves as experts in that area. This influences the clients they attract and the programs they write.

For example, there are functional trainers, core trainers, bodybuilding trainers, mobility trainers, and so on.

That’s not to say these folks are one-trick ponies, but they’ll usually favor one training method over any other. That said, some trainers actively ignore the methods they don’t like, and may even label other types of exercise as ineffective.

In contrast, I’m like a general-purpose mechanic, choosing the best tool for the job. As such, I work with a wide range of clients, from post-natal moms to professional athletes. So, while I use kettlebells, I don’t specialize in them and usually combine them with other forms of training.

I was recently challenged to replace my usual varied strength training routine with full-body kettlebell workouts for a month. This, I was told, was the best way to experience the true power of kettlebell training.  

Never one to turn down a challenge, I jumped at the chance to put kettlebells to the test.

In this article, I share the details of my full-body kettlebell routine and my results after following it for a month.

My Three-Times-A-Week Full Body Kettlebell Routine

Time and energy are your most valuable commodities. Consequently, I built my kettlebell program around compound or multi-joint exercises.

These time-efficient movements provide the biggest bang for your buck by training multiple muscle groups simultaneously, allowing me to keep the workouts relatively short. This approach also maximizes energy expenditure and the conditioning effect of any workout.

I planned on doing the same exercises every time I trained to build familiarity and improve proficiency. However, to avoid boredom, I changed the set/rep scheme from workout to workout. This is a great way to keep full-body workouts fun and interesting without constantly changing exercises.

I also strived to increase the weights week by week, but this was not always possible as kettlebell weight increments tend to be quite big, i.e., 16kg to 20kg.

Whenever I wanted to go up in weight but didn’t feel able to handle the next heaviest kettlebell, I added mid-rep pauses to make the exercise more challenging. Invariably, this increased my strength so I could move up in weight next time.

The workout itself was performed circuit-style, where you do one set of each exercise in turn. This training approach avoids wasting time resting between sets and also makes strength training more cardiovascularly intensive.

Related: What is Circuit Training? The Ultimate Guide to Get Lean

This is the workout I followed for my four-week full-body kettlebell experiment:

	Exercise	Sets/Reps
1	Goblet squat	Workout one – 4 laps of 8-12 reps Workout two – 5 laps of 5 reps Workout three – 3 laps of 15-20 reps
2	Floor press
3	Renegade row
4	Hang clean and press
5	Swing
6	Get-up
Rest: 15-20 seconds between exercises, 2-3 minutes between laps

Why these exercises?

Between them, these movements train all major and most minor muscle groups. While I could have done more exercises, that probably would have been overkill given that each muscle group was going to be trained three times a week.

Armed with my new training plan and feeling excited about the challenge, I began my four-week full-body kettlebell experiment.

Weeks 1-2 – Starting Slow and Building Momentum

I spent the first week of full-body kettlebell training getting used to the exercises and establishing my starting weights. Consequently, my first few workouts felt a little awkward and didn’t go as well as I’d hoped. Transitions between exercises took longer than they should have, and some of the movements felt a little awkward.

Despite this, as week one ended, I was starting to feel more comfortable with the movements and was confident that week two would go more smoothly.  

The following weeks’ training went much better. I had the correct weights and was able to move much faster between exercises. This resulted in far more effective (and tiring!) workouts.

However, as I was only halfway through my four-week program, I made sure that I stopped each set several reps shy of failure and didn’t rush the transitions. Instead, I focused on performing each exercise with perfect form and dialing in my mind-muscle connection.

As week two drew to a close, I started to really enjoy the workouts and was beginning to feel stronger and more confident.

On the downside, I was experiencing some post-workout muscle soreness and felt pretty tired by the end of my final workout. Consequently, I made sure to prioritize rest and recovery over the weekend, so I’d be in the best possible shape for the final two weeks of this program.

Weeks 3-4 – Raising the Intensity and Seeing Progress

By week three I felt ready to increase the weight on most of the exercises. Kettlebell goblet squats and swings were feeling particularly strong, with floor presses and hang cleans/presses not far behind. Renegade rows and get-ups were moving more slowly, though, but these are far more demanding exercises.

Using more weight made each workout more challenging and, consequently, I needed a little more rest between exercises to catch my breath. This wasn’t too noticeable on the 5 laps of 5 days, as low reps are less cardiovascularly demanding.

However, on the higher rep days, my heart and breathing rate soared, delivering an effective cardio workout despite not doing any conventional cardiovascular exercises.

Interestingly, despite the increase in workout intensity, post-workout muscle soreness was less severe, and I recovered faster between workouts. This indicated that I was starting to adapt to the demands of thrice-weekly kettlebell training.

As week three became week four, I realized that I was getting a bit bored of doing the same exercises every time I trained. However, the revolving set/rep scheme meant that each workout was different enough to maintain motivation.  

The last few workouts went very smoothly, and I made a point to push each set closer to failure. My workout pace also increased, and I noticed that even the renegade rows and get-ups felt stronger.

So, how did four weeks of full-body kettlebell workouts affect me? Check out the next section and find out!

Results and Impressions from Four Weeks of Full-Body Kettlebell Workouts

I followed my four-week kettlebell program consistently and didn’t miss any workouts. I ate well, got plenty of rest, and made sure that I warmed up before and cooled down after each session.

This all ensured that my one month of full-body kettlebell training produced the best possible results:

Increased Strength:

My training weights increased by 10-20% on all exercises, indicating that one month of full-body kettlebell training made me stronger. All muscle groups responded well to kettlebell training, although I didn’t experience any noticeable muscle growth. In particular, my grip was much improved thanks to the thick kettlebell handle.

Increased Muscle Power:

Power is your ability to generate force quickly, and my kettlebell program included two power-centric exercises – swings and hang cleans. These movements target the posterior chain, which are the muscles used when you run, jump, kick, lift, and throw.

While I didn’t test my vertical jump performance, I certainly felt more explosive the next time I did box jumps. My running speed also increased slightly, which was a welcome if unexpected bonus.

Decreased Body Fat:

Despite already being pretty lean, a month of intensive kettlebell training helped me lose some additional body fat. Fast-paced strength training workouts burn a lot of energy while you’re doing them. They also boost your post-exercise metabolism, further increasing energy expenditure (2).

Improved Conditioning: Even though I did no additional cardio during my month of kettlebell training, my general conditioning and work capacity were higher by the end of my experiment. Circuit training is a well-researched training method and was originally devised as a way to build strength and fitness simultaneously (3).

While I didn’t do a formal test to determine how much fitter I was, my already low resting heart rate decreased by several beats per minute, indicating improved cardiovascular efficiency.

Better Balance and Stability:

Kettlebells, especially when used in pairs, can be unwieldy and awkward to handle. This forces you to control and stabilize the weights. Any unnecessary wobbles can bring your set to an early end, especially during exercises like overhead and floor presses.  

A month of stabilizing some fairly heavy weights improved my stability and balance, which was very noticeable when I eventually returned to conventional training. Dumbbells and barbells felt much easier to control after a month of kettlebell workouts.

Better Mobility:

Four weeks of deep goblet squats, swings, and overhead presses did wonders for my joint mobility.

Contrary to what many people believe, strength training doesn’t make you stiff or immobile, especially if you do exercises that involve a large range of motion (4). I’ve never been ultra-flexible, but I certainly felt more mobile at the end of my month of kettlebell workouts.

Improved Exercise Proficiency: 

The best way to improve your performance in any exercise or type of training is to do it often. You won’t get better at something you do not do! A month of performing the same exercises was like technique bootcamp, and by the end, I felt very comfortable squatting, pressing, and rowing these heavy cannonball-shaped weights.

Closing Thoughts

I really enjoyed my month of kettlebell training. It was a novel experience that produced some noticeable improvements in strength, muscle power, fitness, mobility, and exercise proficiency.

However, as gratifying as my month-long kettlebell bootcamp was, I won’t be quitting barbells, dumbbells, and resistance machines anytime soon.

That’s because while kettlebells can be effective, they aren’t always the best tool for achieving your fitness goals. For example, barbell squats are almost always better for increasing leg strength while incline dumbbell presses are superior for building powerful, sculpted pecs.

As such, I still view kettlebells as just one of the many things that a trainer can use to build muscle, strength, fitness, etc. That said, the best way to determine if something works is to try it for yourself. Not for a day or a week, but a month or more.

Have you tried kettlebell training? Do you just lift kettlebells, or do you use them in conjunction with other types of equipment? Share your thoughts in the comments section below – I’d love to hear from you!

References:

1. Vancini RL, Andrade MS, Rufo-Tavares W, Zimerer C, Nikolaidis PT, de Lira CAB. Kettlebell Exercise as an Alternative to Improve Aerobic Power and Muscle Strength. J Hum Kinet. 2019 Mar 27;66:5-6. doi: 10.2478/hukin-2018-0062. PMID: 30988835; PMCID: PMC6458586.
2. Ramos-Campo DJ, Andreu Caravaca L, Martínez-Rodríguez A, Rubio-Arias JÁ. Effects of Resistance Circuit-Based Training on Body Composition, Strength and Cardiorespiratory Fitness: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Biology (Basel). 2021 Apr 28;10(5):377. doi: 10.3390/biology10050377. PMID: 33924785; PMCID: PMC8145598.
3. Kravitz L. Circuit Training: A Time-Efficient Conditioning Method. University of New Mexico. Available from: http://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/circuits05.html.
4. Alizadeh S, Daneshjoo A, Zahiri A, Anvar SH, Goudini R, Hicks JP, Konrad A, Behm DG. Resistance Training Induces Improvements in Range of Motion: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Med. 2023 Mar;53(3):707-722. doi: 10.1007/s40279-022-01804-x. Epub 2023 Jan 9. PMID: 36622555; PMCID: PMC9935664.

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