The Kettlebell Dumbbell Relay Workout for Strength and Endurance

Get out of the gym! Unless you've got a big open warehouse with wall to wall mats and no rules, there is nothing like getting out of the building to work out! Here is a great workout to get your heart rate elevated and challenge your slow & fast twitch muscle fibers.

You will need:

Kettlebells; dumbbells; rocks; or any combination of these. You will need enough to complete 3 or 4 rounds.

Each round consists of 3 laps, minimum 3 rounds. You will start with the lightest weight, and get heavier each lap.

Place all the dumbbells, kettlebells, or rocks at one end of a field or one end of your backyard. You will want about 30 yards to work with to perform the laps. Laps consist of moving to the end of the distance with the weight, dropping it, and sprinting back.

*Each lap should have at least three progressively heavier sets of dumbbells, kettlebells, or both. Add extra weights if your conditioning is up to it.

Round 1:
Pick up dumbbells or kettlebells in each hand, and clean to shoulders, walk quickly to the end of the lap, dump and sprint back. Keep going until all the weight is moved to the other end. Round 1 done. 30 seconds rest. ***If you are using the lighter rounds to warm up, add an extra lap at the beginning.

Round 2:
Pick up weight in each hand and lock your arms overhead, keeping shoulder muscles active. Walk quickly to the end, set the weights down, and sprint back. Round 2 is finished when all the weight is moved to the opposite end (where round 1 started.)

Round 3:
Lock weight out overhead in both hands again. Keep a tight groin and midsection, and active shoulder muscles. Perform arms overhead lunges to the end of the course. Sprint back after leaving weights.
When all the weight is moved, it's time to take it back.
Clean weights overhead if you can, or rack on shoulders, and walk with strong, quick steps to the beginning of the course. Start with heaviest weight and move down.

Make sure that the third lap of each exercise round has a weight that is challenging to keep up. If nothing that heavy is available, add extra laps or rounds. Rest as little as possible between rounds, about 30 seconds, and try to get the best time. Challenge each other if you're doing this workout with a partner.

Here is another challenging kettlebell workout routine you can do with two people. For this workout we will take three traditional kettlebell exercises and combine them with some strongman training.

While partner #1 is doing one half of the workout, partner #2 is doing the other. #1 keeps going until #2 is finished, then they switch. For added incentive, if someone fails to keep up, they have to do a penalty round after the workout. For every failed round, add 30 seconds of overhead lockouts with two kettle bells.

So, #1 does these three exercises, one per round, for a total of three rounds. (If more rounds are done, just do a different kettlebell exercise or repeat the first three.)

Round 1: Kettle bell swings. (One or two handed.)

Round 2: Kettlebell snatch. (One hand.)

Round 3: Kettlebell clean and press (two hands.)

While this is going on, #2 does:

Round 1: Kettle bell farmers walk. (Dumbbells if necessary.) For three laps, as described in the first relay workout. Adjust the distance as necessary; it should be challenging.

Round 2: Lunge Walk, no weight. (Walking lunges for three laps, or adjusted distance.)

Round 3. Bear Crawl, 3 laps or adjusted distance.

For this workout, don't rest between rounds. Go for the fastest time possible!