Kettlebells, circuit training, etc...anyone here use these/do this?

Mike!

Good to see you back in the group.

carry on.

I never liked isolating individual body parts for an entire workout. I find that it gets rreeeaaaalllllllyyyyy  boring. imo, that is part of the reason people have trouble committing to a gym. They get tired of doing X reps for XX sets over and over again. ugh... Anyway, KB's are certainly a great way to add some variety to your workouts. Like others have already asked...what questions do you have?

As a relative newcomer, I would agree, form is everything.  Best to have someone very knowledgeable show you how.  My bike coach had me get one a couple of years ago and do swings.  But that is nothing like what is taught by the Russian kettlebell coaches.  It is a dynamic, energizing workout.

I just spent an hour with a trainer yesterday only using kettlebells.  It helps to have some of different weights, for example we had two each of the 15, 20, 25 and 30 pound ones.  Orange, blue, gray and black if the colors are consistent.  I don't have my workout in front of me right now, but I'll try to grab it today when I'm at the gym and list what we did.  We didn't do the full workout, just focused on learning each exercise and getting the form right.  But I can see how doing this once or twice per week in addition to my regular s/b/r training will be excellent.

I'm not sure if it's standard, but my instructions are to keep my heart rate up while doing this workout with little to no rest between exercises and maybe a 30-60 rest halfway through, conveniently right before the "Turkish get-ups".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbabYc6HZw0

Agreed with the rest, isolation drills get old quick. 

Circuit training gets your HR up, and strong in a short amount of time!  I have a few short (15-20min) workouts that just kill me by the end.

Try this circuit non-stop!

25 Crunches / 50 snatches (25 each side) / 25 push-ups / 50 clean and press (25 each side) / 50 swings / 50 burpees / 50 mountain climbers.

Get in a REALLY good warm up and stretching before.  It takes about 15-20 min for the circuit but you'll be dead!

HA!  You are a beast!  I'm in my 6th week and loving it but no where near that kind of workout.  Just started snatches and doing double cleans and presses and squats with two bells.  (Sorry, still learning the language.)  I absolutely LOVE k-bells.  I can't wait to see what the strength training and paleo do to my time on the bike and run this year.  Can't hurt in the water either. 

Yeah its a TOUGH workout, but suggest you try it, just do the entire thing even if you have to take breaks.  You'll be amazed that you can get through it completely!

Then, since we are all competitive right, you'll want to beat your own time next time around!

Hello

Good thing about kettlebells is that you can use them in a circuit training program as well as in a split program.

Have you tried turkish get ups with a kettlebell? They are fun and you'll feel them for sure.

I would say if you had fun and your body is responding to the circuit training then keep at it. Progress is the key, but if you can have fun doing it isn't it that much better.