Bloom to Fit Workout of the Week Episode 8: Swinging on the Minute

Welcome to Episode 8 of the Bloom to Fit Workout of the Week series.

With the 21 day kettlebell swing challengein full swing right now (bad pun), I thought it would be cool to put together a simple little kettlebell workout for you to conquer this week.

In this episode, you’ll be working with one of the most powerful exercises on the planet: the kettlebell swing.

Again, I encourage you to use a modified version (either a regression or progression) if you need to. Challenge your limits but always make sure you’re listening to your body and acting accordingly.

Let’s begin.

B2F Workout of the Week Episode 8: Swinging on the Minute

Total time estimate to complete the workout: 20 minutes

What You’ll Need:

For this workout, you’ll need one kettlebell, a timer, and a bit of space.

Before your workout:

It is essential that you do a proper warm-up before you start the workout. This will prep your body for the intense nature of the metabolic workout. Your warm-up should consist of the following

• A few minutes of light aerobic activity,
• Corrective stretches (optional),
• A series of mobility movements.

For details on how to structure a good warm-up, see the Perfect Warm-up Series.

The Workout

This week’s workout is Swinging on the Minute.

Set your timer to 10 minutes. At the start of every minute, perform 20 kettlebell swings. Whatever is left of your minute after your 20 repetitions are complete is to be used as rest.

As an example, if it takes you 35 seconds to do 20 swings, it means you have 25 seconds of rest before your next set begins. If it takes you 45 seconds to do 20 swings, you only have 15 seconds to rest.

Your objective is to complete all 10 sets in the allotted time. You can do your swings quickly and have more time to rest or slow them down and have less time to rest. Use your time to your discretion but make sure your 20 swings get done before the next minute starts. Good form is mandatory for each repetition.

You will total 200 swings for this workout.

Here’s what the workout looks like:

Click play to watch the video.

After your workout

When your timer is done, start your cool-down session.

DO NOT sit or lay down. You need to gradually reduce your heart rate. Walk around taking deep breaths, do jumping jacks, or jump rope for a few minutes until your heart rates comes down.

Once your heart rate is normalized, finish your workout by going through a series of static stretches. You can click here for a full list of static stretches you can use.

Important muscles to be stretched for this specific workout: hamstrings, quads, calves, glutes, hip flexors, lower back. 

Progressions and Regressions

There are a number of ways you can make this workout harder or easier, depending on your current fitness level and limitations. 

Regressions

Here are ways you can make the workout easier:

• Use a lighter kettlebell,
• Do 10-15 swings for every minute,
• Shorten workout to 5 minutes.

Progressions

Here are ways you can make the workout more challenging:

• Use a heavier kettlebell,
• Do 25-30 swings for every minute,
• Extend workout to 15 minutes.

Extra Notes

I did this workout for one of my days of the 21 day kettlebell swing challenge. It started off rather easy as my work to rest ratio was roughly 1:1 (35 seconds of work, 25 seconds of rest), but it got progressively more challenging as the workout went on. By my 8th set, my work to rest ratio was roughly 40 seconds of work, 20 seconds of rest and my forearms wanted to fall off. Overall, great workout!