The Extreme Kettlebell Cardio Workout

Keith Weber

Categories: Kettlebell


This is a fun & challenging cardio & strength dvd. I have done most of this one time.

There are 7 workout chapters. You can pick them from the main menu or skip forward from one segment to the next. Total length is 58 minutes. At the beginning of each chapter, Keith takes a moment to explain exactly what you are going to do. He gives very few form pointers. He counts all the reps which is usually 10. He is on a sunny beach & his form looks great.

*Chapter 1: Manmaker: 6 minutes: thrusters, snatches, windmills, swings, and at least one more exercise for 10 reps per side.

*Chapter 2: Upper Body Blast: 8 minutes: windmills, presses, curls, cleans, rows, pushups, upright rows

*Chapter 3: Leg Burner: 6 minutes: variety of kettlebell-style squats & lunges

*Chapter 4: Swing Workout: 7 minutes: high pulls, snatches, & a variety of swings alternated with hot potatoes

*Chapter 5: Slingshot: 7 minutes: sling shot in between presses, squats, swings, etc.

*Chapter 6: Turkish Get Up: 12 minutes: Turkish Getups, overhead squats, windmills, & swings

*Bonus Core Workout/Cooldown: Core Workout is 10 minutes and the Cooldown is 2 minutes: Lots of different core exercises on sandy beach (or mat :)): pullovers, crunches, Russian Twists, partial Turkish Getups, various plank work, and at least two more. For the Cooldown, Keith did a brief abs stretch & then stretches for each leg: hip flexors, hamstrings, & inner thighs – count of ten, repeat, and then switch sides. There are no upper body stretches

I did most of every chapter except Turkish Getup and Bonus Core Workout. I had to take some breaks – this is a challenging workout! I was winded a lot so this is aptly named a “cardio” workout.

I didn’t do the Turkish Getup chapter because I was really tired by the time I got to it. It looks really good, though, and I am looking forward to doing it. It looks like it might have less cardio effect than the other chapters (but there are still some swings in it!). I did stretches and some foam rolling while Keith was doing the core exercises (I often skip core exercises) and then did the lower body stretches with him.

The music is pretty driving most of the time. It varies somewhat between chapters – at least one chapter has music that is a bit calmer. It is sort of techno/dance club/”house music”. I would have preferred different music (I am not a fan of a relentless driving beat) but I can live with it. The video is a little jiggy in some sequences (“artifacts”) but I only noticed this on preview and not while I was doing the workout. Other VFers have said that their dvds were the same, so it that is just the way it is and is not something wrong with just my copy.

I loved the chapters I did. It is a very fun workout! I like Keith’s calm demeanor and I like the counting. I like that he explains what is coming up at the beginning of each chapter. I like that I can mix & match chapters or just use them for short workouts or add-ons. The beach setting is nice. I like it at the end when he says, “Have a good day, I am going to have a cerveza.”

I did not like that there was no joint mobility warm up - each chapter starts right in on a full-effort exercise. I did not like that there were no upper body stretches in the Cooldown.

I bought this from Dragon Door – I couldn’t find it anywhere else.

Instructor Comments:
Keith is calm and does not chatter. Even though he is serious, he still seems to be friendly & enjoying enjoying himself. He is working out alone.

lucia

04/21/2010