By Will Duru | BSc Sport Science | Personal Trainer | 10+ Years Experience
I get asked the same question all the time. What is the one piece of equipment I would pick if I could only use one thing for the rest of my life? My answer is always the same. A kettlebell.
Not a barbell. Not a cable machine. Not a fancy home gym. A kettlebell. It fits in the corner of your bedroom. You can take it anywhere. And if you know how to use it properly, it can train your entire body in one session.
That is exactly what this workout does. I call it Total Body Kettlebell Strength, and it is one of the workouts I am most proud of. Six exercises. One kettlebell. Every muscle group is covered. I have put it on the 12REPS app so everyone has access to the kind of training I give my private clients.
Why I Program Kettlebell Workouts for My Clients
I have trained hundreds of people over the past decade. Some of them train in big commercial gyms. Some train in their living room. Some train in hotel rooms when they travel for work. And the one thing they all have in common is this: they get results with kettlebells.
A kettlebell is not just a weight you pick up and put down. It is a tool that trains four things simultaneously.
Strength. The offset handle means your muscles have to fight harder to control every rep. Your grip, your core, your stabilisers. Everything works overtime.
Endurance. When you do 10 reps in 20 to 30 seconds with short rest periods, your heart rate stays high the entire session. You are building your cardio without doing any cardio.
Coordination. Exercises like the clean to press force your whole body to work together. You have to time the pull, the catch, and the press perfectly. That makes you a better mover.
Mobility. Deep squats, lunges, and deadlifts take your joints through a full range of motion under load. That builds real mobility that sticks. Not the kind you lose five minutes after stretching.
“One kettlebell trains strength, endurance, coordination, and mobility all at once. That is why I keep coming back to it with every client I train.” – Will Duru
I have had clients who could barely touch their toes when we started. After two months of consistent kettlebell work, they were squatting deep with weight on their chest. That is what this kind of training does to your body.
The Workout
This session is rated Advanced on the 12REPS app. But do not let that put you off. If you are new to training, just use a lighter weight and take longer rest periods. The exercises are the same. The form is the same. You just go at your own pace.
Equipment: one moderate kettlebell. Men: 12–16 kg to start. Women: 8–12 kg. Pick a weight that challenges you but lets you keep good form for all 10 reps.
Exercise | Sets | Reps | Rest | Muscles Worked | |
1 | Kettlebell Clean to Press | 4 | 10 | 45s | Shoulders, core, full body |
2 | Kettlebell Front Squat | 4 | 10 | 45s | Quads, glutes, core |
3 | Kettlebell Elevated Push-Up | 4 | 10 | 45s | Chest, triceps, core |
4 | Gorilla Rows | 4 | 10 | 45s | Back, lats, biceps |
5 | Kettlebell Lunges | 4 | 10 | 45s | Legs, glutes, balance |
6 | Kettlebell Deadlift | 4 | 10 | 45s | Hamstrings, glutes, back |
Complete 10 reps within 20–30 seconds per exercise. Rest 45 seconds between exercises. Total session: 30–40 minutes.
Why I Chose These Six Exercises
I did not pick these exercises at random. Every single one is in this workout for a reason. And the order matters too. Let me walk you through my thinking.
- Kettlebell Clean to Press
I always start with the most demanding exercise. The clean press is a full-body movement. You pull the kettlebell off the floor, catch it at your shoulder, and press it overhead. That works your legs, your core, your shoulders, and your grip all in one rep. It also wakes your nervous system up. After your first set of these, your body is ready to work.
Form tip: Keep the kettlebell close to your body during the clean. Tuck your elbow in. At the top, lock your arm out fully, then hold for 1 second before lowering it.
- Kettlebell Front Squat
After the clean to press, your upper body is working hard. Now we shift the focus to your legs. The front squat places the weight at your chest, forcing your core to work overtime to keep you upright. This is one of the best exercises for building quad and glute strength. And because the load is at the front, it teaches you to stay tall and maintain proper posture.
Form tip: Keep your chest up. Push your knees out over your toes. Go as deep as you can. Drive through your heels to stand back up.
- Kettlebell Elevated Push-Up
Now we go to the upper body push. You place both hands on the kettlebell handles and do a push-up. This is harder than a normal push-up because the kettlebell is not stable. Your chest, triceps, and core all have to work harder to control the movement. I love this exercise because it turns a simple bodyweight movement into something much more challenging.
Form tip: Keep your body in a straight line. Do not let your hips sag. Lower your chest all the way to the kettlebell, pause, then push back up.
- Gorilla Rows
After pushing, we pull. That is how I balance every workout. The gorilla row is one of my favourite back exercises. You stand wide, hinge at the hips, and row the kettlebell to your hip one arm at a time. Because you are only using one arm, your core has to fight to stop your body from rotating. That means you are training your back and your core at the same time.
Form tip: Keep your back flat. Pull to your hip, not your chest. Squeeze your shoulder blade at the top of every rep.
- Kettlebell Lunges
Now we go back to the legs, but this time it is single-leg work. Lunges build strength, balance, and they fix any imbalances between your left and right side. Hold the kettlebell at your chest, step forward, drop your back knee towards the floor, and push off your front foot to come back up. Simple, effective, and hard.
Form tip: Take a big step. Keep your torso upright. Alternate legs with each rep.
- Kettlebell Deadlift
I always finish with the deadlift. This is the exercise that ties everything together. It works your hamstrings, your glutes, and your entire back. A strong posterior chain protects your spine, improves your posture, and makes you stronger in everything you do. I give this exercise to every single client I train. No exceptions.
Form tip: This is a hip hinge, not a squat. Push your hips back. Keep your chest up. Squeeze your glutes hard at the top.
Why the Order Matters
I program the exercises in this order on purpose. You start with the most explosive movement when your body is fresh. Then you alternate between upper and lower body, so your muscles get short recovery periods between exercises. And you finish with the deadlift because it is the simplest movement to perform when you are tired. That means you can still keep good form even when your body is fatigued.
This is the kind of detail you get from a real trainer. Not from an app that randomly generates exercises. I think about the flow of every workout I design. Every exercise connects to the next one for a reason.
How to Use the 12REPS App for This Workout
This workout is available right now on the 12REPS app. Open it up, and you will see all six exercises laid out with full video demonstrations. You can watch each exercise before you start so you know exactly what to do.
As you work through the session, log your sets, reps, and the weight you used. The app keeps a record of everything. After a few weeks, you can look back and see if you are lifting heavier, completing more reps, or resting less. That is how you know the work is paying off.
Every workout on the 12REPS app is designed by me. I am a certified personal trainer with a BSc in Sport Science and over 10 years of experience training clients in London. These are the same programs I use with my private clients. No AI-generated nonsense. No random exercises thrown together. Just real training from a real trainer.
My Challenge to You
If you have never done a full kettlebell session before, I want you to try this one. Start with a lightweight. Focus on your form. Watch the videos on the 12REPS app before you begin. I promise you will feel muscles working that you did not even know you had.
And if you are already training with kettlebells, use this workout to push yourself. Go heavier. Cut your rest to 30 seconds. Try to finish every set of 10 reps in under 25 seconds. That is where the real results come from.
One kettlebell. Six exercises. No excuses. Let us get to work.
“The best workout is the one you actually do. And with one kettlebell, you have no excuse not to do it.” – Will Duru
