14 Best Crossfit Kettlebell Workouts and WODs (PDF)

Whether you’re male or female, if you want to incorporate kettlebell exercises into your Crossfit training program, you check out this article.

This article has three parts:

• First part: Benefits of doing Crossfit workouts with kettlebell
• Second part: The best Crossfit kettlebell exercises
• Third part: Examples of Crossfit kettlebell WOD

If you find it helpful, you can also download the PDF file that I’ve shared at the bottom.

You may like: The 100 Best CrossFit WOD List With PDF

Benefits of doing Crossfit workouts with kettlebell

Kettlebell workouts are excellent for developing strength, muscle mass, endurance, power, and mobility. You can include them in your Crossfit training to improve your overall fitness.

Here are some advantages of doing CrossFit exercises with kettlebells.

• Kettlebells provide a better grip that allows you to do varieties of exercises efficiently, such as swing, press, snatch, pushup, sit-up, squat, and deadlift. These exercises strengthen the total body and help you achieve your best physique.
• You can do high-intense exercises with kettlebells, such as KB swings, thrusters, push press, clean and press, and snatches. These workouts help you improve your speed, endurance, and cardiovascular fitness, as well as burn significant calories in a quick time.
• Some kettlebell workouts, such as pistol squat, one-arm overhead press, and Turkish get-up, also help improve your balance and coordination. So, to achieve all these benefits, you should do CrossFit exercises with kettlebells.

Related: 12 Week Kettlebell Program PDF (An Ultimate Plan)

The Best Crossfit Kettlebell Workouts

1. Kettlebell Thruster
2. Kettlebell Swing
3. Kettlebell Goblet Squat
4. Kettlebell Sumo Deadlift High Pull
5. Kettlebell Clean and Press
6. Kettlebell Snatch
7. Kettlebell Push Press
8. Kettlebell Sit-up
9. Kettlebell Push-up
10. Kettlebell Walking Lunges
11. Turkish Get-Up
12. Overhead Squat
13. Kettlebell Deadlift
14. Kettlebell Pistol Squat

1. Kettlebell Thruster

Level: Beginner

Muscles Worked: The kettlebell thruster work on various muscles simultaneously, particularly the shoulders, core, back, and legs.

Benefits: Kettlebell Thrusters are one of the explosive total body exercises that helps develop power, strength, and speed and improve shoulder mobility. It also burns significant calories in a short time, boosts muscular endurance, and improves your grip strength.

How to:

1. Holding a kettlebell in your right hand, stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart and toes pointing slightly out.
2. Hold the bell at chest height with your elbow tucked in and close to your side.
3. Lower into a squat until your thigh is parallel to the floor.
4. As you return to the standing position, thrust the kettlebell overhead until your arm is straight.
5. Keep your core and glutes engaged as well as your chest up and shoulder slightly down when you press the bell.

2. Kettlebell Swings

Level: Beginner

Muscles Worked: The kettlebell swings work various muscles throughout the body, especially the shoulder, core, glutes, and legs.

Benefits:

Kettlebell swings are a great full-body exercise that improves strength, endurance, power, and flexibility.

A study published by the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research has suggested that performing KB swings biweekly for six weeks is sufficient to increase both maximum and explosive strength.¹Lake JP, Lauder MA. Kettlebell swing training improves maximal and explosive strength. J Strength Cond Res. 2012 Aug;26(8):2228-33. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e31825c2c9b. PMID: 22580981

It also helps improve your cardiovascular health and aerobic capacity.² Hulsey CR, Soto DT, Koch AJ, Mayhew JL. Comparison of kettlebell swings and treadmill running at equivalent rating of perceived exertion values. J Strength Cond Res. 2012 May;26(5):1203-7. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3182510629. PMID: 22395274.

How to:

• Holding a kettlebell with your hands, stand upright in the shoulder-width stance and arms straight between your legs.
• Keeping your back straight, bend at your hips and let the kettlebell passes through your thighs.
• Using your hamstrings and buttock, drive through your heels and swing the kettlebell in front of you until your hips come forward.
• Keep your head straight and neck aligned with your back during the entire movement.

3. Kettlebell Goblet Squat

Level: Beginner

Muscles Worked: The kettlebell squat is a lower body exercise that strengthens the thigh and glutes and helps build sturdy legs.

Benefits: The Goblet Squat is a great exercise to improve your leg strength and stability. It is also good for strengthening the lower back muscles, hips, and glutes and helping develop balance and coordination.

How to:

1. Grab a kettlebell and stand upright with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and feet pointing 5-10 degrees out. Hold the KB in front of your chest with your elbows bent.
2. Keeping your back straight and chest up, lower into a squat until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
3. Driving through your heels, return to the standing position.

4. Kettlebell Sumo Deadlift High Pull

Level: Intermediate

Muscles Worked: The sumo deadlift high pull activates multiple muscles from the upper to the lower body, particularly the legs, shoulder, upper back, and glutes.

Benefits: It is a great exercise to build up explosive power, strength, and endurance. It strengthens and develops posterior chain muscles and helps you improve your CrossFit fundamentals.

How to:

• Holding a kettlebell with your hands, stand in a sumo stance.
• Keeping your back straight and chest up, bend at your hips until the kettlebell touches the floor. Your hands will be straight between your legs.
• Keep your head high and look forward. That’s the starting position.
• Driving through your heels, pull the weight till it reaches your neck.

5. Kettlebell Clean and Press

Level: Intermediate

Muscles Worked: The KB clean and press is a compound movement that hits many muscles throughout the body, primarily the legs and shoulders.

Benefits: The kettlebell clean and press is a great exercise to improve your grip strength, shoulder stability, core strength, and overall fitness. It will also help you become more explosive and improve your cardiovascular fitness and muscle endurance.

How to:

1. Holding one kettlebell in each hand, stand upright with your feet about shoulder-width apart.
2. Bend at your hips until your torso is parallel to the floor, and from there, clean the bell over your shoulders.
3. Now, press the weight overhead until your arms are straight.

6. Kettlebell Snatch

Level: Intermediate

Muscles Worked: Multiple muscles are involved during the kettlebell snatch, such as the quadriceps, hips, gluteal muscles, core, and hamstrings.

Benefits: The snatch is one of the best exercises you can do in your kettlebell CrossFit workout as it builds up power, muscular endurance, and VO2 max, as well as shed many calories in a quick time. It also strengthens and tones the posterior chain and upper body muscles.

How to:

1. Place a kettlebell on the floor close to your feet and stand straight in the shoulder-width stance.
2. Keeping your back straight, lean forward and grab the kettlebell with your right hand.
3. The kettlebell swings back between your legs as you extend your knees and begin to stand.
4. Now thrust your hips forward, snatch/pull the kettlebell and finish it overhead until your arms are straight.
5. Your wrist should be straight when the kettlebell rises to the top.
6. Keep your core and glutes tight throughout the movement.

7. Kettlebell Push Press

Level: Beginner

Muscles Worked: The push press bolsters shoulder muscles as well as engages the core and triceps.

Benefits: The kettlebell push press is one of the most popular and effective exercises for building strength, muscle mass, and endurance. It is high-intense, burns a good number of calories, and maximizes your performance.

How to:

1. Grab one kettlebell in each hand and stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart.
2. Hold the kettlebells at your chest level with your elbows bent and tucked at your side.
3. Lower into a partial squat as it helps generate movement to press the weight overhead efficiently.
4. Thrusting your hips forward, push the weight up until your arms are straight overhead.
5. Now return to a partial squat and repeat for the desired repetitions.

8. Kettlebell Sit-up

Level: Intermediate

Muscles Worked: The KB sit-up works out all of the muscles in your midsection, including the obliques (the side muscles), transverse abdominis (the deep abdominal muscle), and rectus abdominis (the main muscle of the six-pack).

Benefits: The kettlebell sit-up is an excellent core exercise that helps forge abs and obliques and improve the appearance of your six-pack abs. Having a solid core provides stability to your lower back and helps you perform various CrossFit kettlebell exercises effectively.

How to:

• Grab a kettlebell with your hands and lie on your back with your knees bent.
• Hold the kettlebell over your chest by bending your elbows.
• Curl your body up until you feel the contraction in your abdominal muscles.
• Lower your torso on the floor and repeat for the desired number of times.

9. Kettlebell Push-up

Level: Intermediate

Muscles Worked: The kettlebell grip pushup is a great workout to develop the chest and triceps. It also engages the core and anterior delt.

Benefits: The KB pushup helps sculpt your upper body muscles and improve your pressing movements, such as push press and clean & press. It will also help you put on some muscles and gain overall fitness.

How to:

• Grip a kettlebell in each hand and get into a high plank position with your arms straight below your shoulders and legs straight behind you. Maintain flat black as well. That’s the start.
• Lower your chest as close to the floor as possible and then extend your elbows to return to starting position.

10. Kettlebell Walking Lunges

Level: Intermediate

Muscles Worked: The KB lunges bolster many muscles simultaneously, such as the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes.

Benefits: Kettlebell lunges are a great exercise to work the lower body. They help build strength, power, and endurance in your legs and core, as well as boost your performance where the lower body strength requires more.

How to:

1. To begin this exercise, start by standing with your feet hip-width apart and holding a kettlebell in each hand.
2. Keep your arms straight at your sides and maintain an upright posture by keeping your chest up and back straight. That’s the start.
3. Take one large step forward with your right foot and bend your knees to lower into a lunge position until your rear knee touches the floor.
4. Extend your knees to complete your first repetition.

11. Turkish Get-Up

Level: Intermediate

Muscles Worked: The KB Turkish get-up forges multiple muscles from the upper to lower body. The primary muscles engaged during this movement are the core, arms, and shoulder.

Benefits: The Turkish get-up is an excellent Crossfit kettlebell workout for developing core strength, shoulder stability, and flexibility. It also helps improve your overall posture and mobility as well as helps you gain a better understanding of how the body works.

How to:

1. Holding a kettlebell in your right hand, lie on the floor and keep your right arm straight directly over your shoulder while the other arm relaxed on the floor.
2. Keep your left leg straight, and right leg bent, and brace your core.
3. Keeping your eyes on the kettlebell, begin with lifting your torso off the floor until you get yourself up into a seated position.
4. Extend your knees and stand up upright.
5. Return to the lying position by reversing the movements in order.

12. Overhead Squat

Level: Intermediate

Muscles Worked: The overhead squat is a great exercise for the lower body. It works your quads, hamstrings, and glutes.

Benefits: The overhead squat is one of the best Crossfit kettlebell workouts that has been around for decades. It’s an excellent compound movement that works the entire body and helps you build strength, power, and stability in your hips, legs, core, and back.

How to:

1. Grab a kettlebell in your right hand and stand in the shoulder-width stance.
2. Hold the kettlebell overhead with a straight arm and maintain an upright posture.
3. Keeping your arm straight overhead, perform as many squats as needed.

13. Kettlebell Deadlift

Level: Intermediate

Muscles Worked: The deadlift movement works many muscles at once, including hamstrings, glutes, lower back, core, and upper back. It also helps develop strength in your hips and shoulders.

Benefits: The KB Deadlift helps you strengthen various muscles throughout the body and improves your posture and flexibility. It is also an excellent exercise for improving strength, stamina, coordination, and balance.

How to:

1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding one kettlebell in each hand.
2. Pushing your hips back, slightly bend your knees and lower the kettlebells until they are close to the floor.
3. Pushing through heels, extend your knees as you return to the standing position.
4. Keep your spine in a neutral position, core tight, and kettlebells close to your body throughout the movement.

14. Kettlebell Pistol Squat

Level: Advanced

Muscles Worked: The KB pistol squat targets all many muscles simultaneously, such as quads, glutes, hamstrings, abs, and obliques.

Benefits: The benefits of including this exercise in your kettlebell Crossfit workouts because it enhances your ability to control bodily movement, muscle coordination, and flexibility. Having better mobility helps you perform various exercises effectively.

How to:

1. Grab a kettlebell in your right hand and hold it close to your shoulder by bending your elbow.
2. Lift your left foot off the floor and lower into a squat while taking your leg straight in front of you.
3. Driving through your right foot, extend your knee until you return to the standing position.

The Best Crossfit WODs with Kettlebells

Monday – Crossfit Kettlebell Workout #1

Do as many rounds as possible (AMRAP) in 30 minutes with 2 minutes of rest between each round.

Exercise	Reps
Kettlebell Thruster	15
Overhead Squat	10
Kettlebell Push-up	10
Kettlebell Swing	15
15 Kettlebell Sit-up	10

Tuesday – KB Crossfit Workout #2

Perform the suggested reps of each exercise within one minute (EMOM) for 30 minutes.

• Minute 1 – 10 Kettlebell Swing
• Minute 2 – 10 Goblet Squat
• Minute 3 – 10 Kettlebell Clean and Press
• Minute 4 – 10 Kettlebell Sit-up
• Minute 5 – 10 Kettlebell Push-up
• Minute 6 – 10 Turkish Get-up
• Minute 7 – 10 Kettlebell Deadlift
• Minute 8 – 10 One-Armed Overhead Squat
• Minute 9 – 10 KB Sumo Deadlift High Pull
• Minute 10 – 10 Overhead Squat
• Repeat till 30 minutes

Wednesday – Crossfit Kettlebell WOD #3

5 rounds for time (RFT)

Exercise	Reps
Kettlebell Goblet Squat	10
Kettlebell Swing	15
Kettlebell Pistol Squat	5/side
Kettlebell Push Press	10
Kettlebell Sit-up	15
Kettlebell Push-up	10

Friday – KB Crossfit WOD #4

• WOD Type: Chipper
• Duration: 30 minutes
• Rest period after each competed circuit – 2 minutes

Exercise	Reps
Kettlebell Goblet Squat	5
Kettlebell Swing	5
Kettlebell Pistol Squat	5
Kettlebell Clean and Press	5
Kettlebell Walking Lunges	5
Kettlebell Sit-up	5
Kettlebell Push-up	5
Turkish Get-Up	5
Kettlebell Deadlift	5

Saturday – Workout of the Day (WOD) #5

• Type: Tabata
• Duration: 30 minutes
• Rest period after each competed circuit – 2 minutes
• How to perform exercises: Do eight rounds of high-intensity intervals, alternating 20 seconds of work with 10 seconds of rest.

Exercises

• Kettlebell Swing
• Kettlebell Clean and Press
• Kettlebell Snatch
• Kettlebell Sit-up
• Kettlebell Push-up
• Kettlebell Thruster
• Kettlebell Goblet Squat

Crossfit Kettlebell Workouts PDF

---

Also read:

• 20 Best Crossfit Barbell Workouts For Ultimate Strength
• The 30 Best Dumbbell CrossFit Workouts Of All Time
• 10 Best Crossfit Ring Exercises You Can Try Today
• CrossFit Workouts Without Equipment (25 WODs)

References

• 1
  Lake JP, Lauder MA. Kettlebell swing training improves maximal and explosive strength. J Strength Cond Res. 2012 Aug;26(8):2228-33. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e31825c2c9b. PMID: 22580981
• 2
  Hulsey CR, Soto DT, Koch AJ, Mayhew JL. Comparison of kettlebell swings and treadmill running at equivalent rating of perceived exertion values. J Strength Cond Res. 2012 May;26(5):1203-7. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3182510629. PMID: 22395274.