If you're pressed for time and are looking to get in a hard effective workout in under 30 minutes, here's the plan...

Pick 5 compound exercises. A compound exercise involves more than one joint in motion. For example, a triceps kickback is NOT a compound exercise. A Squat, however, is. See the difference?

So, pick 5 and then perform each drill for 5 minutes and do as many repetitions as possible in those 5 minutes. You'll be resting only 1 minute between rounds.

This scenario came to me as part of the "101 Kettlebell Workouts" ebook by David Whitley. You can get yourself a free copy over at irontamer.com.

The section I'm currently working through in the book is called "30 Under 30." 30 Kettlebell Workouts that can be handled in under 30 minutes. Kettlebells or order a pizza? Me? I'll take the Kettlebell. Now, I'm doing a Hub for every one of these 101 so if you'd like to read up on other workouts, CLICK HERE to start from the top.

The 5 drills for # 11 are as follows:

-Kettlebell Swings

-Kettlebell Goblet Squats

-Kettlebell Clean & Press

-Push Ups

-Kettlebell Snatch

I chose to try this with my 24 kg bell. Hence the sensation of receiving a beat down...

The actual workout took some consideration. Obviously you're not going to be going non-stop through the whole 5 minutes. The object clearly is to get as many reps in as you can while maintaining good form. I've mentioned this before, never sacrifice quality for quantity. This will be an exercise in fatigue management and focus. No music today.

For the Swings I chose to do sets of 10. In the 5 minutes I got 9 sets of 10 or 90 reps.

For the Goblet Squats I decided on sets of 5. I got in 5 sets of 5 or 25 reps. Goblet Squats, when you do them right, work your whole body.

For the Clean & Press I decided on sets of 5 also. Keep in mind that's per side. 5 left, switch, 5 right. 3 sets. 30 total reps.

For the Push Ups, I used the parallel bars as I was training at the park. I just did as many as I could and would stop one rep shy of failure, shake out the tension and get back to it. 50 reps later I wanted my mommy.

By the time I got to the Snatches, 24 minutes had passed and I was also considering a pass. Hall Pass, Pass out, pass my pants, pass the bucket, holy crap I'm worked! Let's do sets of 3 and see if I can hang. 5 sets of 3 and 3. 30 snatches.

Phew! Not a bad first effort.

So for those looking to build strength AND endurance while shredding off the fat. This is the workout for you. 5 drills, 5 rounds, 5 minutes, 1 minutes rest between them. Once you've survived the first workout, you've now got a base line or a benchmark. Next time, your goal should be to get in an extra rep or two. For example, next time I do this, I'll try to do 9 sets of 11 swings or 10 sets of 10 swings. 26-30 Goblet Squats. 32-36 Clean and Presses. 51+ push ups and 32-36 Snatches. Little improvements each time.

This workout structure is great because you can work at you're own pace and fitness level. You can also very easily track your progress. It's simple yet carries enough variety to keep it interesting.

-No Kettlebells? No problem. Obviously, I recommend Kettlebells, but if that's not going to happen, you can do this with bodyweight exercises too like Push Ups, Pull Ups, Deep Knee Bends, Sit Ups and Burpees.

-Complete beginner? No problem. Push ups on your knees, Sit in a chair and stand up, jumping jacks, sit ups, and yoga downward dogs.

-At the gym on your lunch break? Dead lifts, Pull Ups, Squats, Bench Press, Hanging Leg Raise.

-Need bigger Arms? Close grip Bench, Dips, French Press, Underhand Chins, and Barbell Curls.

-What about an MMA or Boxing style routine? Jump Rope, Parallel grip Pull Ups, Push Ups, Sit Ups, & Hit the heavy bag.

The possibilities here are endless. Tomorrow I'll do something similar and report back in #12. Thanks again for following along.

Remember to get your copy of 101 Kettlebell Workouts.

Let me know what you think!