What 3,333 Workouts Told Us About the Best Kettlebell Exercises for a Full-Body Workout

Earlier this week, a customer wrote:

“Please send me the best exercises for a full body workout.”

We have hundreds of follow-along workouts in our app, a book of 365 exercises, a training site with programs and printables, a blog, and training content going out regularly on social media.

The customer wasn’t asking for another resource. He wanted us to choose for him.

Fair enough.

We love our workouts. But narrowing them down to one collection of the “best” exercises gave us pause.

So, we looked to our data.

Years of Kettlebell Classes, Saved One Workout at a Time

In May of 2016, we started using Canva to create images of our daily workouts. We displayed them on TVs throughout the gym at Seattle Kettlebell Club so everyone could see the exercises, timing, and rounds during class.

SKC was open seven days a week with up to 10 classes per day.  Most were "KettleFIT."

Part of the fun was never doing the same class twice. The exceptions were our baseline testing classes, which we repeated every few months to track progress.

And there was progress. We loved thumbing through members’ files and comparing their test sets and tracking sheets. You could see what weeks, months and years of showing up had accomplished.

One of my regrets is throwing away those totes of files when SKC closed. We had only hours left to get out of the building. At the time, they were another thing we couldn’t take with us. I wish I had them now.

Fortunately, the workout images survived.

We kept creating daily workouts. Through COVID (right up until SKC closed on December 31, 2021, when the building was being torn down and we turned our attention full-time to Pro Kettlebell) and for the hundreds of follow-along workouts we've filmed since then.

That left us with plenty of programming to look through.

The Five Kettlebell Exercises We Use Most

We used AI to analyze the archive. It was thoughtful enough (ha ha) to combine spelling differences and abbreviations, exclude warmups, separate fitness from sport and personalized training plans, and note variations of similar exercises. Left and right sides counted as one exercise, as did repeated appearances within the same workout page.

Across the 3,333 fitness workouts in our review, these were our five most frequently included exercises:

No big surprises there.

These are staples of our classes: versatile kettlebell exercises lifters of every age, condition and experience could practice and progress with over years of training.

Why the Top Five Don’t All Belong in One Workout

But did we put all five in the same workout?

Unless it was kettlebell sport training class, almost never.

These top 5 ballistic kettlebell exercises get a lot done at once. However, they share many of the same demands and don’t cover everything. Take chest-focused pushing and movement from side to side, for example.

That's why 72% of our kettlebell fitness classes include only 2 or 3 of those top five exercises. Our average workout contains around 11 exercise selections.

This is how we approach full-body kettlebell programming for fitness: build around two or three core kettlebell lifts, then look at what our choices leave to cover—squats, lunges, pushes, and pulls, to start.

Where Bodyweight Exercises Fill the Gaps

And you don’t need a kettlebell in your hands for every exercise, either.

We could find a kettlebell exercise for every remaining job. But holding a kettlebell doesn’t automatically make an exercise a better choice. Sometimes a straightforward bodyweight movement fills the gap best because it's an efficient way to accomplish the goal while simultaneously providing a de-load and relief for your hands and forearms.

The bodyweight versions of push-ups, touchdowns, jump squats, mountain climbers, shoulder touches and dozens more that we use regularly make useful companions to kettlebell work.

We’re looking at what each exercise contributes and what gets a break between efforts. That gives us a way to keep the workout moving while distributing the demand.

Try This Full-Body Kettlebell Workout

Here’s a workout that puts those choices together. It contains 11 exercise selections, including two of our five most-used lifts: snatch and clean. The three starred exercises are bodyweight movements.

Before You Start

You’ll need a pair of kettlebells, a timer, and enough clear space to move. Choose weights you can handle throughout the prescribed intervals; you can use different weights for different exercises.

Start with a good warm-up. Allow 5–10 minutes to gradually get moving and prepare for the exercises in the workout.

Complete all rounds of each block before moving to the next. One round includes every exercise listed in that block. Follow the listed rest periods and take additional recovery as needed.

Section 1

One-Arm Push Presses and Suitcase Deadlifts

• Left-arm push press: 30 seconds.
• Right-arm push press: 30 seconds.
• Suitcase deadlift: 30 seconds, using two equal-weight kettlebells.

Repeat for three rounds total.

Single-bell deadlift option: Keep both push-press intervals in every round. During the deadlift interval, use your left hand in round one, your right hand in round two, and perform two-hand deadlifts in round three.

	One-arm push press Watch tutorial
	Suitcase deadlift Watch tutorial

Section 2

Snatches and Touchdowns

• Snatches: 60 seconds, switching arms at 30 seconds.
• Rest: 10 seconds.
• Touchdowns: 60 seconds.
• Rest: 10 seconds.

Repeat for two rounds total.

	Snatch Watch tutorial
	Touchdowns Alternate sideways jumps landing in side-lunges and touch the ground.

Section 3

Reverse Lunges and Push-Up Variations

• Reverse lunges: 20 seconds, alternating legs.
• Rest: 10 seconds.
• Your chosen push-up variation: 20 seconds.
• Rest: 10 seconds.

Repeat for four rounds total—four intervals of each exercise.

	Reverse lunge Watch tutorial
	Push-up variations Narrow, medium, wide, kettlebell

Section 4

Renegade Rows and Goblet Squats

• Renegade rows: 20 seconds, alternating arms.
• Rest: 10 seconds.
• Goblet squats: 20 seconds.
• Rest: 10 seconds.

Repeat for four rounds total—four intervals of each exercise.

	Renegade row Watch tutorial
	Goblet squat Watch tutorial

Section 5

Double Cleans, Jump Squats, and Sit-Up Get-Ups

Perform 10 double cleans, 10 jump squats, and 10 sit-up get-ups, in that order.

Repeat the sequence with 8 of each, then 6, then 4, then 2, taking recovery as needed.

That’s five rounds and 30 repetitions of each exercise. Finish after completing the round of two.

	Double clean Watch tutorial
	Jump squat Jump out of a squat. Land softly.
	Sit-up get-up Watch tutorial

Cool Down and Stretch

Finish with a cool-down and a good stretch. Give yourself time to ease out of the session, let your breathing settle, and stretch comfortably.

Learn the Skills Behind the Workout in Core-6

The skills behind all five of our most-used exercises are taught in our one week online Core-6 Certification (PKTP Level-1). We also teach something essential that doesn’t appear in that top-five list: variations of the rack position. It’s where you catch a swing, set up a jerk or push press, and return between overhead repetitions. It’s doing a lot of work in your workout, even when nobody writes “rack” on the board.

We get into exercise combinations, balanced programming, and the thinking behind our workouts in the Professional Kettlebell Trainer Program.

If you’re interested in learning our approach, visit training.prokettlebell.com now.