You can 100% get a total body workout with kettlebells that’s as good and in many ways better, than one with barbells and dumbbells. Even if you only have 1 kettlebell.
It’s how I’ve trained pretty much exclusively for the past decade. I can vouch for their effectiveness. They’ve helped me lose 90 lbs of fat, get stronger, and gain muscle just as quickly as I ever did with barbells, dumbbells, and machines.
In this article is a total body kettlebell workout spreadsheet. It’s built upon everything I’ve learned over thousands of workouts. Give it a try for a few weeks to see how kettlebells can help you lose fat, build muscle, and get stronger. With a workout that takes 20-30 minutes from start to finish.
Click Here For Your Copy of This Total Body Kettlebell Workout
“While there are many great things about kettlebell training, one of the biggest benefits is that all of the exercises are essentially total body exercises. This means you get total body strengthening and conditioning with one single tool.” Scott Iardella. BreakingMuscle.com
Total Body Kettlebell Workout With Google Sheets
Below are the tables that list every exercise, set, rep, and rest period for the workout. It’s divided into A and B workouts.
The A workout trains all of your major muscle groups and is focused on increasing your strength. The B total body kettlebell session has you doing higher reps to build muscle and increase your endurance.
You’ll alternate between A and B workout. I’ve made a schedule to follow depending on how many workouts you want to do each week.
I’ve also included links for each exercise to YouTube videos that demonstrate them being done properly.
Get A Copy Of This Full Body Kettlebell Workout Google Sheets
Workout A
Muscles used | Exercise | Sets | Reps | Weight | Rest |
Legs | Goblet Split Squats | 3 | 6 | 6 rep max | 90 sec. |
ShouldersTricepsChest | Standing Overhead Press | 3 | 6 | 6 rep max | 90 sec. |
Back | 1 Arm Kettlebell Row | 3 | 6 | 6 rep max | 90 sec. |
CoreTriceps | Push up pull throughs | 3 | 6 | 6 rep max | 90 sec. |
Triceps | Standing Bicep Curl | 2 | 8 | 8 rep max | 60 sec. |
Workout B
Muscles used | Exercise | Sets | Reps | Weight | Rest |
Legs | 1 Arm Kettlebell Swings | 3 | 10 | 10 rep max | 90 sec. |
ChestTriceps | Kettlebell Floor Press | 3 | 10 | 10 rep max | 90 sec. |
BackBiceps | Alternating KB Rows | 3 | 10 | 10 rep max | 90 sec. |
ShouldersCore | Standing KB Halos | 3 | 10 | 10 rep max | 60 sec. |
Triceps | Standing KB Triceps Ext. | 2 | 10 | 10 rep max | 60 sec. |
Click To Get Your Copy Of This Total Body Kettlebell Workout Spreadsheet Template
Total Body Kettlebell Workout Schedules
Here are 4 ways you can do this workout. If you’re just getting started I recommend starting with 3 workouts a week. You can then add a workout every few weeks as you get fitter until you’re able to do 6 a week.
If you’re already pretty fit, do at least 4 kettlebell workouts a week.
3 Full Body Kettlebell Workouts A Week
Week | Monday | Wednesday | Friday |
1 | Workout A | Workout B | Workout A |
2 | Workout B | Workout A | Workout B |
3 | Workout A | Workout B | Workout A |
4 | Workout B | Workout A | Workout B |
*take 1 day of rest between workouts and 2 days off after your 3rd workout of the week.
4 Total Body Workouts Per Week With A Kettlebell
Week | Monday | Tuesday | Thursday | Friday |
1 | Workout A | Workout B | Workout A | Workout B |
2 | Workout A | Workout B | Workout A | Workout B |
3 | Workout A | Workout B | Workout A | Workout B |
4 | Workout A | Workout B | Workout A | Workout B |
*Here you’ll take 3 days off a week, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday
5 Full Body Kettlebell Workouts Every Week
Week | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
1 | A | B | A | B | A |
2 | B | A | B | A | B |
3 | A | B | A | B | A |
4 | B | A | B | A | B |
*Saturdays and Sundays are your days off.
6 Total Body Workouts Per Week With A Kettlebell
Week | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
1 | A | B | A | B | A | B |
2 | A | B | A | B | A | B |
3 | A | B | A | B | A | B |
4 | A | B | A | B | A | B |
*Sundays are your only day off from training with this schedule
Total Body Kettlebell Workouts – Answers To Your FAQs
How heavy should my kettlebell be?
Use a weight that you can complete the prescribed reps for each set with the last set being a struggle. Once you can do 2-3 more reps per set than what’s written in your workout you can make the work more challenging by increasing the weight. If you don’t have heavier kettlebells you can make the workout harder by resting less between sets or lowering the weight to a count of 5 on every repetition.
How many kettlebells do I need for a full body workout?
You only need 1 but 2 or more will give you more variety when it comes to exercise choices. Every exercise in the workout above is adaptable to either situation.
How long can I do this full body kettlebell workout?
I recommend doing it as written for 1-2 months. This gives you time to practice and become better at each exercise and in turn, improve your strength and fitness. If you want to mix things up afterward you can change up the exercises or the order that you do them. What matters most is that you make sure to train every muscle group at every workout.
How long does it take to see results from kettlebells?
This depends on many factors including how fit you are and whether you’ve done this type of workout before. If you’re new to total body kettlebell workouts or coming back from a layoff you’ll see results faster, within 4 weeks or so.
If you’ve been doing this type of workout for several months or years results may be a little slower to come by and take a few months to be noticeable.
Can I substitute exercises?
Try not to, especially for the first month or so, but if you have to, sure. Just make sure whatever exercise you do follows the same movement pattern and trains the same muscles (i.e. lunges instead of squats or push ups instead of floor presses).
What should I do on days I don’t do a kettlebell workout?
This is up to you. Good options are to rest if you need the recovery time, cardio workouts like jogging or rowing, or do a workout that focuses on improving your mobility. Just make sure you don’t train so hard on these days that your kettlebell workout performance suffers.
Can I do this more than 3x a week?
You sure can. The tables above give you options on how to do it 3,4 or 6 days a week.
What makes a kettlebell workout total body?
When you train all of your body’s major muscle groups (legs, chest, back, shoulders, core, and arms) it’s a full or total body workout. The number of exercises you need to do depends on which you choose. You can get a total body workout with 1 exercise by doing thrusters, Turkish get ups, or kettlebell clean and jerks. In order to give more attention to each muscle group, total body workouts will typically use between 4-8 exercises.
Get Your Copy Of This Total Body Kettlebell Workout & Start Today
If you haven’t already, click here to get a copy of this workout spreadsheet. It’s already filled out so all you have to do is grab your kettlebells and start working out.
I also recommend this article workout on kettlebell workout trackers. It’ll help you learn more about logging and measuring the results of your workouts to help you train better and reach your goals faster.
- Get Stronger Faster with This Full-Body AMRAP Workout - November 2, 2024
- Get Strong, Fast, and Fit with This Twice-Weekly Full-Body Workout - November 1, 2024
- Get Strong and Fit: Train Like an Athlete in Just 3 Weekly Workouts - October 31, 2024