If you’ve been grinding in the gym since 1st January, give yourself a big hand for sticking it out – we hope you’re enjoying working out in a less busy weights room. To show that all the hard work is paying off, we recommend setting yourself an end-of-the-month workout to see how much you’ve improved.
Something that challenges your entire body is in order, and while we have plenty of full-body workouts to try, this seven-move circuit from Bradley Simmonds jumped out at us as a great test. It puts you against the clock to see how quickly you can complete five rounds of a seven-move circuit, resting as little as possible between exercises.
It uses two kettlebells, which gives you a smart way to test if your time in the gym has increased your functional fitness. “Using two kettlebells is more of a skill challenge because it increases the level of difficulty so it requires more stability, balance and control,” says Ashton Turner from London’s Evolve 353 gym, referring to the double kettlebell workout he shared with Coach.
Watch Simmonds’ video below to see him demonstrate each move. If anything’s unfamiliar, practise with a light weight first and get someone to check your form. And make sure to limber up – we swear by this gym warm-up routine.
Simmonds suggests women use two 10kg kettlebells and men use two 20kg kettlebells, but adjust the load to your level.. You can also scale the workout by reducing the number of reps or performing fewer rounds if the full five becomes too challenging.
If you think Simmonds’ workout looks excessively tough (and believe us, it is), we have plenty of other kettlebell workouts to consider. This kettlebell challenge requires just one weight, or you could get started with this kettlebell workout for beginners.
If you enjoyed Simmonds’ session, try his upper-body home workout. Or if you’re heading to the gym to improve your performance in ball sports, Simmonds shared these leg workouts for strength and speed, which he’s used in pre-season with Premier League footballers.
