Bulk-up Your Shoulders, Back, Legs and Biceps with One Kettlebell Exercise

October 6, 2020

Gallery: ‘I Tried The 4-Move Home Workout In Daniel Craig’s 007 Training Plan’ (Men’s Health UK)

This session is based on the workouts that PT Simon Waterson used to prep Daniel Craig for his last outing as James Bond. They were based around two supersets, fusing core work and sprints. First, I paired 20 reps of mountain-climber press-ups with 60 seconds of high knees. After three rounds, I moved on to 20 plank-to-pikes with 60 seconds of sprints up my 15m garden, walking back briskly before going again.

My workouts were capped at 20 minutes, three days a week, but I was burst each time and didn’t stop sweating until long after my shower. The HIIT format works by allowing your heart rate to stabilise after each all-out effort, which is where the plank pikes come in handy. Time really slows down when you’re in a plank, so it made the rest before my next sprint seem never-ending.

Sprint Tip

Pump your arms: Because of the way your arms counter your legs, the more you pump, the more your legs will power you forward. Do your best Bond (or Tom Cruise) impression as you sprint.

Plank Tip

Tense your glutes: The muscles of your backside are big. Tense them and they’ll take the pressure off your lower back and make holding up your hips through the sets of plank pikes easier.

1) 1A: Mountain Climber to Press-Up, 3 Sets of 20 Reps, No Rest

Set up on the floor as though in a sprinter’s blocks, with one foot positioned beneath your waist and one back, with your leg straight. Explosively swap foot positions. After two reps, keep your core locked so a straight line forms between your head, glutes and heels. Lower your body until your chest is an inch from the ground then explosively drive up by fully extending your arms. Restart for prescribed reps.

2) 1B: High Knees, 3 Sets of 60sec, 60sec Rest

Jog on the spot while lifting your knees as high as possible. Too easy? Throw in a few jabs while you pump your legs.

3) 2A: Plank to Pike, 2 Sets of 20 Reps, No Rest

Set up in a low plank, resting on your forearms with your elbows below your shoulders (A). Lift your hips and push your head through your arms to raise yourself into the pike (B). Contract your abs and then reverse the movement. Now, go again.

4) 2B: Running Sprint: 3 Sets of 60sec, 60sec Rest

Measure out a distance of around 25m, drop into a sprinter’s stance (A), then go at full pace for the line. Drive your elbows backward and pump your legs (B). Jog back to recover and go again. Try for as many sprints as you can in the minute.

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6/6 SLIDES

Yes, lockdown was meant to be the excuse you needed to stay at home and focus on yourself. But we’d bet that, like most of us, despite your early enthusiasm, stocking your home gym and tuning into Instagram Live workouts, you’re still not quite the Adonis you hoped to be.

a group of people wearing costumes: The Kettlebell Two-hands Anyhow combines curls and a shoulder burn with deep-squat mobility. You’ve got it all to gain

© Provided by Men’s Health UK
The Kettlebell Two-hands Anyhow combines curls and a shoulder burn with deep-squat mobility. You’ve got it all to gain

Fear not – the “kettlebell two-hands anyhow” fuses a biceps curl with the functional deep squats that you need to ensure that mobility and total-body strength are not sacrificed on the altar of T-shirt muscle.

“With the anyhow, everything works through the whole range of motion,” explains Men’s Health fitness editor Andrew Tracey. “Your shoulders, back, legs, biceps – your entire body has to maintain tension throughout the rep.

“Think of each cycle as an individual rep,” he continues. “Aim for quality: I do six or seven reps in 10 minutes, for example.” Each cycle should last for 30-40 seconds. Try three savage, 10-minute sets of this a week and you can expect measurable muscle gain in a month. This is your big ticket.

Stand Tall

Start with your feet at shoulder width, your knees soft and a kettlebell in each hand at shoulder height. Press the weight in your left hand.

Sinking Feeling

Keep your eye on the kettlebell above you and sink into a deep squat, slowly. Watching the weight helps to bring your body down in an upright position.

Arm Yourself

Stay in a squat, your feet flat on the floor. With your left hand still extended, lower the kettlebell in your right, then curl it back up to your shoulder.

Round Again

Stand up, keeping your hand extended overhead. Lower it slowly, press up with your right and repeat on the opposite side for your first cycle.

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