YOUR SUPER-QUICK WORKOUT routine doesn’t have to be limited to a boring series of pushups, situps, and (if you’re feeling adventurous) burpees. If you’re short on time and you have a pair of kettlebells, you can take on this challenging—but devilishly engaging—five-minute Double-Bell Hell workout that trainer and Harlem Kettlebell Club gym owner Jah Washington designed for Men’s Health senior editor Brett Williams, NASM.
You won’t just work up a sweat for sweat’s sake when you give this session a go. Washington structured the workout to be filled with different types of kettlebell movements—like cleans, rows, presses, and lunges—that will challenge you to use your whole body in different ways. You’ll perform overhead presses for your shoulders, rows for your back muscles, lunges and squats for your legs, and swings for your whole posterior chain. Even better, you’ll break out of the sagittal plane (front-to-back movements), which is where we typically use our bodies in many common exercises (like the squats, lunges, and presses) and into the frontal plane (side-to-side movements) with the lateral lunges, giving you a chance to mimic real world actions to build functional strength.
Washington designed the workout using the every minute on the minute (EMOM) protocol, which means that each round is a race against the clock. You’ll start the timer, then complete the prescribed number of reps. Any time left is your opportunity to rest, but you have to be ready to move fast, since the next minute means you have to do it again for another round. This particular routine pushes beyond the typical EMOM parameters—the fourth round stretches for 1:15, as you up the reps—but that just makes it even more diabolical. It’s only just over five minutes, after all. Why not give it a try?
The 5-Minute Double-Bell Hell Workout
For the first 3 rounds, perform 4 reps of each movement, then rest for the remainder of the minute. For the fourth round, bump your reps up to 6 per movement and set the clock for 1:15. In the final round finisher, you’ll perform the superset for as many reps as possible for 1 minute until the clock hits zero.
- Bent-Over Row
- Gorilla Clean
- Forward Lunge Clean
- Lateral Lunge Clean
- Reverse Lunge to Overhead Press
Final Round Finisher
- Kettlebell Swing
- Goblet Squat
Brett Williams, a fitness editor at Men’s Health, is a NASM-CPT certified trainer and former pro football player and tech reporter who splits his workout time between strength and conditioning training, martial arts, and running. You can find his work elsewhere at Mashable, Thrillist, and other outlets.
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