A 20 minute kettlebell workout, one bell

One kettlebell covers more ground than almost any other single piece of equipment. You can hinge, squat, press, pull and carry with it, which is the whole list of things a full body session needs to touch.

Picking your bell

If you are buying one and you can only buy one, most adults are well served somewhere in these ranges. Err heavier for swings, lighter for presses, and accept that one bell will always be a compromise for one of them.

• Newer to training: 8 to 12kg if you are smaller or building back up, 12 to 16kg otherwise
• Training regularly: 16 to 20kg for most women, 20 to 24kg for most men

The test is simple. You should be able to do ten controlled swings with good form and still have a couple left in you. If the bell is swinging you, it is too heavy. If you could do thirty, it is too light.

The workout

Kettlebell swing

This is a hinge, not a squat, and not a front raise. Stand with the bell about a foot in front of you, hinge back at the hips, hike it between your legs like a rugby pass, then snap your hips forward and let the bell float up to chest height. Your arms are rope. The power comes from the hips, every time.

The most common mistake is squatting the weight up and lifting with the shoulders. If your knees are travelling forward and your back is doing the work, lighten the bell and film a set from the side.

Goblet squat

Hold the bell by the horns at chest height, elbows tucked in. Sit down between your hips, keep your chest up, and drive through the whole foot. The bell at the front acts as a counterweight, which is why this is the easiest squat variation to learn without a coach.

Single arm row

Hinge forward with a flat back, brace your free hand on a bench, chair or your own thigh, and pull the bell to your hip rather than your chest. Pause for a beat at the top. If your torso is rotating up with each rep, the bell is too heavy.

Half kneeling press

One knee down, the bell racked on the same side as the down knee. Press straight up, finishing with your bicep near your ear. Kneeling takes your lower back out of the equation and stops you leaning away from the weight, which is what most standing presses turn into once they get hard.

How often to run it

Two or three times a week with at least one day between sessions. Add a rep per set, or a set, before you add weight. When all five sets of swings feel easy at fifteen reps, that is the signal to move up a bell, not to keep adding reps forever.

What to do on the days between

Walk. It is the single most underrated thing you can do between training days, and it needs no equipment or decision at all. If you want a second option, the no equipment full body workout uses different movement patterns, so it stacks well against this one.

Fit Forged suggests workouts, it is not a doctor. Check with a qualified professional before starting a new training programme, particularly if you are pregnant, injured, recovering from surgery or managing a health condition. Stop if something hurts.