Hello, weekend, you beautiful thing!

I wanted to share the tutorial to the quick kettlebell workout I posted to my Facebook page earlier this week for anyone who’s unfamiliar with the exercises (and, of course, for all of you who don’t follow the blog on the ‘book). This took me just under 15 minutes to complete and was the perfect way to start the day. I was going to take a class at Btone later that night before teaching, but needed to do something before gluing my butt to my desk chair. This did the trick!

Quick Kettlebell Ladder

Equipment I Used:

• 25-lb kettlebell

You’ll go through the following exercises five times. The first round, complete 50 reps of each. Next round: 40; and so on, down to a final round of 10 reps of each. For the side bends, split up your reps (for example, during the first round, you’d do 25 to the right and 25 to the left).

• Kettlebell Swings: Start with kettlebell on the floor between your legs and lift it up to starting position with both hands, flat back, using your legs to lift. With kettlebell hanging between your legs, use your arms as a pendulum, and swing the bell to chest-to-eye level by thrusting with your hips while keeping your core tight as you stand up straight. Swing back down and repeat. Your knees should remain slightly bent, but the main source of movement is hinging at the hips—not so much squatting.
• Figure 8 Squats: Start standing with feet a little more than hip width apart, holding the kettlebell in one hand. Squat down, and as you do, pass the bell through your legs to the other hand, tracing half of a figure 8. Stand up, squeezing that booty and popping your hips forward. Squat back down, finishing the figure 8 shape around your legs as you pass the kettlebell through your legs to the starting hand.
• Standing Side Bends: These are sneaky! The first few reps you’ll feel like you aren’t doing anything, but man are these effective. My obliques were noticeably sore the next day. Stand upright with fieet hip-width apart, holding the kettlebell in your right hand. With your left hand on your hip or overhead (I have mine overhead in the pictures, but it doesn’t matter—do what’s comfortable), lean to the right, lowering the kettlebell towards the floor. Return to starting position using your core (arm isn’t moving or doing any of the work; your torso is where the movement originates). Split up the reps between sides. Round one, you’ll do 25 to the right and 25 to the left. Round two, 20 to each side, and so on.

Lorna Jane Picks

In today’s post I’m wearing the Coco Excel Zip Through and Berry Support Full Length Tight that Lorna Jane so graciously sent me. I was super excited about the top because black zip-ups are such a wardrobe essential—gym, running errands, grabbing lunch on the weekends. I actually lost the one I previous owned so thank you for the perfectly timed gift, LJ! In addition to the items I’m wearing, I wanted to share some of my other favorite picks from the brand (just in time for holiday shopping wink wink).

Keeping It Real Tank // Sabina Stripe Bra // Erica Active ¾ Pant // Cruz 7/8 Tight // Mia Excel Tank Bra Combo

Lorna Jane also sent me their 2015 Move Nourish Believe Diary which is essentially a weekly planner with healthy recipes, workouts and pictures thrown in. To go along with it, LJ has the Move Nourish Believe site that covers all things health and fitness (sort of like an online magazine meets blog)–check it out! In particular, this Beetroot Crust Pizza looks delish and I loved this article comparing cold press juicers to centrifugal juicers.

Enjoy your weekend! If you’re in Boston and looking to get a workout in, I’m subbing tomorrow morning at Btone and there are a couple spots left in the morning classes. Sign up here!

This post is sponsored by FitFluential LLC on behalf of Lorna Jane.