The 60 Second Warm-Up

Here’s a fantastic way to get your body ready to lift. And it’ll only take about a minute.


Your general warm-up before lifting should be fast, efficient, and multi-purpose. The “kettlebell march and press” takes care of a lot of what you want out of a warm-up in a very short amount of time.

  • The hinge position of the swing will help to warm up your hamstrings.
  • Reactively stopping the kettlebells in place will switch your core on.
  • The “march” will link your hips and core together (and a lot of people struggle to make that connection).
  • Testing your single-leg balance and the single-arm presses will fire up your shoulders and challenge their stability.

Here’s How To Do It

  1. Set up two kettlebells and step back. Grab the handles with your body in a good hinge position.
  2. Hike the kettlebells to your hips and swing them up until you have them both in a bottoms-up position. Adjust your feet so they’re directly under your hips if they’re not already.
  3. Holding the kettlebells still, lift one leg at a time slowly.
  4. Keeping your legs still, press one arm at a time slowly. Maintain a braced core.
  5. Bring the kettlebells back to your hips and swing them back up again.
  6. Repeat 5 times.

Start lighter than you think; you’ll quickly work out what weight will be the best for you. This is fantastic for a warm-up, but it can also be used as a nice finisher at the end of a session.

This circuit is also a brilliant diagnostic tool. If you struggle with any part of it, take note of that weakness – especially if you struggled to lift one particular leg or press with one particular arm. That weakness will really carry over to your bilateral exercises (squats, deadlifts, bench) and needs to be addressed.

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