Conor's Challenge: Kettlebell Workouts and Challenges 5
Workout #1: IKU Beginner Workout
Swing: 14kg
Goblet Squat: 12kg
Press: 12kg...
WORKOUT SESSION
IKU™ BEGINNER WORKOUT
This is the highly popular IKU™ Beginner Workout, performed with one kettlebell and 4 fundamental exercises.
Don't confuse the word beginner with "easy", as the workout is perfect for beginners, but that doesn't make this very scalable workout easy.
2026-07-10 Strength Week4 Day B
NOTES: Next week I'll be joining Conor Adair's challenge (work through the kettlebell book volume 5 from iku and start in order and do 1 per week). As a kettlebell beginner I think this is a good way to get my feet wet and my hands dirty with kettl...
2026-07-08 Strength Week4 Day A
NOTES: Good progress this week but started to hit rpe9 on some exercises so won't progress them next week.
IF I continue this block next week. Conor Adair proposed a challenge (Hi all, im wondering if anyone would like to work through the kettleb...
2026-07-03 Strength Week3 Day B
I'm going to keep my progressions slow and boring, about 10% over a 6 week block (about 5 pounds a week for lower body exercises, 2.5-5 pounds for upper body). The reason is that the limiting factor for many older lifters is connective tissue adapt...
2026-06-30 Strength Week3 Day A
Felt well rested, recovered, and strong so I went up in weight on all the exercises. First 2 weeks the RPEs were 6 or 7 so I was going for RPE of 8. The way I estimate my rate of perceived exertion is to keep going on my final set of each exercise ...
Week2 loading was more dialed in on the appropriate weights than Week1. Since most final sets were at rpe8 next week target weights will be the same as this week depending on how I feel that day.
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WARMUP
3 Rounds (10 reps):...
I was doing powerlifting 4 times a week 1.5 hours each MTu ThF (upper, lower, upper, lower). I could tell I was overtraining because I wasn't able to maintain consistency. Sometimes my week would bleed into the following week or I would skip a workout altogether. This is understa...
For powerlifting and kettlebell strength routines I use the One Rep Max (ORM) and Personal Best (PB) to measure progress. To measure progress with my cardio I'll use Pace and Average Watts at a certain average heart rate.
The strength ORM and PB differ between exercises such as...
5x15 2-arm KB swing, 16kg
Cues: Keep back straight, hinge near the bottom of the swing (don't start hinging too soon and following the KB down)
Training for BERSERK
5x5 1-arm L+R long cycle push press, 16kg
Notes: Technique video in study section of BERSERK very helpful. I was d...
Slamball Deadlift and Carry: 4x, 50lb
Note: Good core exercise
8 x EMOM (6 swings + 4 snatches L + R)
NOTE: Paused after every 2 EMOMs to recover from Zone4 heart rate.
...
Vibration plate: single arm suitcase hang, switch arm as needed, 10min, 16kg KB
Cardio: Concept2 Rower 3x5:00/5:00r zone 2,3,4
5min rest periods are active recovery:
10x each arm band external rotation, 50lb band
10x TRX squat...
Beginner so went with light weight 10kg, 5 minute clean and press instead of 10min, 10min active recovery, 5 minute full snatch instead of 10min. Very doable but did work up a sweat.
Next time I'll scale up the weight to 12kg.
Just completed INSANIA! · 20 min · 🔥 · New PB!
WORKOUT SESSION
INSANIA
INSANIA is a single kettlebell muscular endurance test structured in three ten-minute blocks. The first ten minutes are clean and jerk — one switch only counts toward your score, so every rep you can string before switching matters. A ten-minute active recovery follows, giving your grip and forearms a chance to reset before the final ten minutes of full snatch, again with one switch. Your goal each block: complete the full ten minutes and delay that switch as long as possible.
For deadlifts I need to be aware of cadence. Sometimes I'm in too much of a hurry. It should be more of a grind.
For swings I need to be aware of flexor/extensor tension. Sometimes I fall into the hinge.
For the swingclean/press arm switch I need to bend the elbow to bring the KB...
10 rounds x (5 right, 5 left Inner Circle)
10 rounds x (5 right, 5 left Outer Circle)
10 rounds x (5 right, 5 left Shield Cast)
A little sloppy at the last rounds of each exercise. Will work on tightening that up.
...
I'm a beginner so I scaled down from 60 reps to 40 reps and used a 14kg KB. This is an awesome workout for a beginner!
I had been training swingclean and press so sometimes when I should be doing hangclean and halfsnatch I would do the hangclean and do a press. Just something I ...
WORKOUT SESSION
CRAZY
CRAZY is a short, intense single kettlebell cardio workout built around one punishing combo: Hang Clean, Swing, Half Snatch, and Bent-Over Row, repeated for 60 reps inside a 16-minute time cap. Your score is the seconds remaining on the clock multiplied by the weight you used — so moving fast with good form pays off. Switch hands at will and keep the combo tight.
Created daily training workout "Catch The Morning Train". This is a training workout not a sweat workout. My goals are:
1. Improve training consistency
2. Get my hands on a KB daily
3. Focussed improvements to my exercise form
...
Created a workout "Switcheroo Swings" to drill arm switches.
Beginner: 10 x (AMRAP 30s + Rest 30s), switch arms after each rep. Can substitute any single arm kettlebell exercise in for the swings. Good practice for switching arms.
First time through so used a light kettlebell (...