The Short On Time, Short On Equipment Workout

by Scott Shetler
June 15, 2005

In my last article I introduced kettlebells as a highly effective and highly efficient tool for a challenging workout. In this article I want to show you a way to incorporate them into a circuit-style workout that will hit every muscle in your body and then some!

I hear it all too often. "Scott, I just don't have the time to get to the gym!" "Scott, I have to sit in the carpool line ALL day, you just don't understand." "Scott, blah, blah, blah..." Personally, I am sick of excuses. I would rather my clients tell me they just don't feel like working out, I can buy that. People have no problem finding time to hit the drive-through at McDonalds or catch that late-night rerun of Friends, but when it comes to working out for 20-30 minutes, there just isn't enough time in the day. Spare me your drama! Get yourself a set or two of kettlebells to keep in your spare room or basement, give this workout a try and save your excuses for someone who cares!

The workout is a full-body strength endurance workout that will improve your aerobic and anaerobic conditioning levels faster than you can say "double-quarter-pounder with cheese super-sized please." The goal of the workout is to perform each exercise quickly and with excellent form and control. You want to transition into each exercise as fast as possible as well. Once you complete one full circuit of the exercises rest for 60 to 90 seconds. Perform all the "A" exercises first moving from "A1" to "A2" to "A3" and so on, before beginning the "B" exercises. If you do not have a set of kettlebells just use a pair of dumbbells. They will work fine for this workout. The best thing to do is start with a pair of dumbbells equal to 10-20% of your bodyweight. For instance a 200 pound man would use a pair of dumbbells between 20 and 40 pounds. In my experience most of my male general fitness clients do well to start with a pair of 20 or 25 pound dumbbells. My female general fitness clients usually start with 10 or 12 pound dumbbells.

The beauty of this workout is that it should take no more than 20 to 30 minutes to complete and it will leave you asking yourself, "Why on earth did I take the bald-guy's advice?" Stay with it though, combine this workout with a healthy diet and you will be surprised at what an effective fat-burning workout this is.

Are you ready to give it a go and see what you are made of? Let's take a look at the workout.

The "A" Exercises

The workout is built around two circuits. The first circuit is the "A" circuit. This is the big circuit and will make up the bulk of the workout. The "B" circuit is mainly an abdominal circuit which we will look at in a minute.

The A1 exercise is the push up.
This will be done by holding the kettlebell or dumbbell handles and performing military-style push ups. Be sure to keep your spine in neutral alignment for all the exercises and keep your body tight. Squeeze the glutes like you were "pinching a quarter" and tense up your abs as if you were bracing for a punch to the stomach. This does not mean to "suck the tummy in" like you hear in Pilates class, but rather brace the abs hard.

The A2 exercise is the 1-arm row.
Perform this exercise by spreading your feet a little wider than a normal push up position and balancing yourself on your feet and one arm. With your free arm pull the kettlebell or dumbbell up towards your abdomen and contract your upper back muscles hard. Reverse the movement. Perform all repetitions on one arm before switching to the other.

The A3 exercise is the squat thrust.
I know we are going back to 4th grade physical education class with this one, but it is a great exercise. Simply begin in a push up position, jump your feet up to the bells, and stand up. Reverse the movement and complete the desired number of repetitions.

*Please note: when balancing on the kettlebells the bell may flip over to the side. Be sure to use a kettlebell with a wide enough base (usually the 53lb. bells and up) or use hex-style dumbbells. Remember, safety first!

The "B" Exercises

The "B" exercises make up the second circuit and are focused on abdominal and core development.

The B1 exercise is the Get-Up Sit-Up.
It is best performed with a training partner holding your legs. If you are training alone, simply hook your feet under a pair of heavy dumbbells, a couch, or something else that is heavy enough to keep you in place. Begin the Get-Up Sit-Up by lying on the ground and pressing the kettlebell or dumbbell over your chest. The key is to keep your arm vertical to the ground at all times during the exercise. Next, clench your glutes together to help protect your back, then roll up into a sit-up position. Do this by first picking your head up off the ground, then imagine rolling your spine up into a "C" vertebrae by vertebrae, until your hips are the only thing in contact with the ground. At this point reverse the movement and roll back down, starting with the hips then moving to the low back, upper back, shoulders and finally setting the head down. The goal is to perform 5 repetitions while holding the weight in one hand then switching hands and performing 5 more repetitions.

The B2 exercise is the Russian Twist.
This drill is great for the oblique muscles as well as the abdominal wall. Remember to brace your abs hard and squeeze your glute muscles tight on this one. If you cannot perform this exercise holding a weight to begin with simply do it without resistance until you build up the appropriate strength. Begin this exercise by sitting with your knees bent and your feet on the ground. Put your hands on your knees and lean back until your arms are straight. Try to maintain this torso angle throughout the exercise. At this point pick up your weight, squeeze your glutes and brace your abs. In a controlled movement rotate to one side, then the other. One full rotation will be considered 1 repetition. The goal is to perform 10 full repetitions. Do not sacrifice technique in order to perform more reps! When finishing the exercise always return back to the middle, sit all the way up then set the weight down.

Putting it all together.
Now that you have a better understanding of the exercises, let's take a look at how to build your workout. Try to perform these workouts every other day either Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. On Sunday drink some beer and watch the ball game!

The "Short on Time, Short on Equipment Workout"

Exercise A1. Push Up A2. 1-Arm Row A3. Squat Thrust A4. Clean to Squat-Push Press B1. Get-Up Sit-Up B2. Russian Twist

Sets x Reps 3-5 x 10 3-5 x 10 3-5 x 10 3-5 x 10 2-3 x 5 (ea. arm) 2-3 x 10

Rest Interval 0 seconds 0 seconds 0 seconds 60-90 seconds 0 seconds 30-60 seconds

I hope this workout has given you an option for those days when you can't make it to the gym and you are staring at that pair of dumbbells or kettlebells and wondering how on earth you could get a good workout in with those things. You should be able to complete this workout in under 30 minutes which means you should have enough time to hit that McDonald s drive through and catch that Friends re-run after all!

If you have any questions about this workout please feel free to email me at: scott@extreme-fitness.org.

I would like to thank my client, adventure racer Sean Doughtie for helping me demo the abdominal exercises and my training partner Matt Sikora for assisting Sean in the Get-Up Sit-Up.