Kettlebell Swing and Push Up Workout
This is a kettlebell swing and push up workout I do when I’m short on time. It’s really simple but so effective. The whole thing takes 20-40 minutes (depending on how many sets I do) and involves only those two exercises.
That’s it. Literally all you need is a kettlebell and an area to do some push ups!
Why I like the kettlbell swing and push up in combination…
The Kettlebell Swing is an effective exercise for the posterior chain. It covers pretty much everything from the back of your head right the way down to your calves.
The Push Up manages to look after most of the rest. Correctly executed, a push up trains the chest, shoulders, core and triceps.
In two exercises, the kettlebell swing and push up workout covers pretty much all of your body!
The Kettlebell Swing and Push Up Workout
Take a start point (I usually use 20 reps of each, but 10 or 15 reps is still a good workout) and work your way down, dropping a rep per set.
- 20 Kettlebell Swings, 20 Push Ups
- 19 Kettlebell Swings, 19 Push Ups
- 18 Kettlebell Swings, 18 Push Ups
- 17 Kettlebell Swings, 17 Push Ups
Continue this all the way down to as low as 1 of each (although if I start at 20 reps I usually stop at 3 – you aren’t going to benefit much more from the extra 3 reps of each with the last two sets!)
Here is a video showing you how it’s done. As this is a demo, I’ve only shown you 10, 9 and 8 rep sets – you get the point from 3 sets, you don’t need to see the whole workout!
To give you a guide of the size kettlebell to use, I usually pick a 16kg or 18kg kettlebell for a 20 rep set and a 20kg kettlebell for a 15 rep set. If I’m doing 10, I’ll go for a 30+kg kettlebell.
For women, I’d suggest a 10-12kg kettlebell for 20 rep sets, a 12-14kg kettlebell for 15’s and a 16kg kettlbell for 10’s.
I always go for a Cast Iron Kettlebell
because I find the plastic ones to be poor build quality and too bulky because the material weighs less. These are a decent quality and are great value for money…
I’ve written before about training simply – that more exercises doesn’t always mean better. Oftentimes adding exercises in to a workout is purely to make it longer, not any more effective. With a kettlebell swing and push up workout, you’re going to struggle to make a workout much more simple!
If you are short on time or simply looking to mix up your training and fancy a new challenge, try the kettlebell swing and push up workout and see how you get on. I can promise you that done properly, you’ll definitely feel a training effect and won’t believe how good a workout you can have without much kit!
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Great workout that I practiced this morning, in the sunshine. I don’t go to the gym, waste of time and money. I prefer training outside. I added skipping rope.
Hi Dan! I’d love to know where you added the skipping rope – I might try it myself!
Great workout! I modified it a bit for me:
Four rounds of…
15 swings @80lbs
30 push-ups
Then closed out with…
100 Squats
Felt pretty good!
Great work, Ryan! That’s a great workout.
You’ll feel that tomorrow!
Hoyles fitness, sorry I never saw your question, I do one set of 20 KB swings, 25 pushups and 50 jumps in rope skipping, all in a circuit, 10 sets each exercise, total 200 swings, 250 pushups, 500 jumps. You will enjoy it. If I am tired no rope skipping.
Sounds like a great workout, Dan! It doesn’t need much kit either, which is always a bonus!
Tried it tonight, great workout took 18 minutes using 24kg kettlebell
Well done, Will! That’s a solid time!
Steve
Been looking for a template for something like this. My home gym/garage is under renovation so I have no room or acces to my rack, barbell, plates, etc. do you think I could run this for a few weeks? I want to slim down too.
Hi Seth – absolutely you could run this and you’d be fine. I’d probably also throw in a couple more workouts depending on the weight of your kettlebell.
One would be 100 alternating kettlebell snatches (50 per side) – try to do it in as few sets as possible followed by 100 plyometric lunges.
Another would be a circuit of… KB Goblet Squat/KB Push Press/KB Single Arm Row/KB Russian Twists x 10 (if you have a heavy kettlebell) or x 20 (if you have a lighter kettlebell). Repeat 4-6 times depending on how long you have.
A mixture of these three will keep you going well!
Steve
I am currently doing this workout with a 24kg bell in 5 sets of 25 swings and 25 pushups, and I am starting to feel the changes in my body, this is an effective, easy done at home, workout, that creates results. I started with sets of 20 swings and pushups but after a month I decided to progress and increase the number from 20 to 25 and it is working for me. This is an exercise routine I would recommend to anyone
Hi Ian!
Glad you’re using it and enjoying the results. The simplicity is the beauty here. In two exercises you hit a lot of muscles!
Keep it up!
Steve