20 minute Kettlebell BootCamp Workout

I've been doing the T25 workout with my husband the last two months, so I haven't dabbled much with other workouts (other than the treadmill), but it's the weekend and I wanted to try something new. I really want to amp up my strength training, but the problem with many weights workouts is that they don't tend to get the heart into cardio workout range.

So, I knew of Ryan Shanahan's YouTube channel where there are some Kettlebell workouts. Mind you, I don't have kettlebells, but I do have free weights. So, I grabbed a 15 and 20 and decided to go for it.

I super liked this workout. It's non-traditional cardio. No running, jumping, or anything that really hurts your knees. It is tough on the wrist/shoulders (by design) since it's lifting weights. That didn't bother me, but if you have any injuries in that area, I thought I'd mention it.

I used 20 pounds for only one of the segments (where you lifted over the head). Otherwise, I stuck with 15 pounds (in one hand). There were a few towards the end where you just hold it straight to the side or straight in front of you and my arms were too tired... maybe with 10 pounds, but I had to just bend my arms on those. But, hey, that's good. I had to really push myself.

So, if you are looking for something that isn't jumping and running to get your heart rate up a little bit, maybe try this. You have to work. Just going through the motions with 5 pound weights isn't going to challenge you. Push yourself with the weight!

My heart rate stats were an average of 136 bpm with 156 as my high; it stayed pretty steady in the middle... didn't go really high and really low. Pretty consistent.