Exercise your whole body using just one single arm or kettlebell!

We asked several t-nation authors the same question, and below you'll see what they said.

You only have one medium sized single arm or kettlebell. What kind of workout do you put together?

Andrew Coates - strength coach

Here's a simple kettlebell complex that will do the trick. It'll work your upper body (push-ups and pull-ups), your lower body (exercises that engage your knees and hips), and it'll be a shot for your conditioning.

• Overhead kettlebell presses: practice 30 seconds with each arm, or a minute with both if the kettlebell is too heavy.
• Reverse goblet lunge: alternate sides.
• Kettlebell pull-ups: 30 seconds each side.
• Kettlebell swings.

Practice each exercise for 1 minute, then take a one minute break when you've alternated them all. For an effective workout, do the entire five-minute complex 3-4 times.

Dr. Sam Spinelli - physiotherapist, strength coach

For most exercisers, by making an exercise harder, they mean cramming multiple discs onto a large axle. However, if you don't have access to either, it won't be possible.

The following workout focuses on a single medium-sized single reel, with each exercise having a different addition scheme.

1. The one-handed market

This exercise exercises the thighs, hips, back and shoulders. If you try to make the barbell move faster with the same weight, you will get more stimulus from the exercise.

Keep the single arm close to your body, pull your elbow high and aim for an explosive movement from the bottom. It's not an overhand throw.

Not that the overhead is a bad exercise, but it's easier. If you want to make a low weight exercise harder, you need to fire it from the bottom, not push it out.

Practice 2-3 sets of 5 reps with each arm and rest 90-120 seconds between sets.

2. Goblet skater squat

I love the classic squat, but a medium-sized one-handed squat simply won't be enough weight for most people.

Instead, go for a single-leg variation to exercise each quadriceps separately. I like to use the goblet hold because it acts as a counterbalance and forces you to keep your hips more forward, shifting the load to your quadriceps.

If this is hard for you, lower yourself slowly, use your other leg to help you up, or hold onto something for balance. Even a variation with support can be effective and put strain on your legs.

Practice 3-4 sets on each leg and always finish 1-2 reps before failure. Rest a few minutes between sets, but only very briefly when switching legs.

3. Combo floor press and stretching

Push the one-handed arm out perpendicularly, but lower it as if you were doing a lunge.

4. Thrust on one leg (elevated)

If you want to destroy the back of your body, the key will be to incorporate some type of hip flexion. Deadlift variations are best for this, but it won't be entirely possible with one small one-arm deadlift. However, a decent range of motion for a single leg thrust can be pretty tough.

It's all about range of motion and overall challenging movement pattern. Elevating your leg and shoulders will allow for a good stretch, which will aid hypertrophy. Even a low loaded weight will require a good effort here.

Lower low and take a break at the bottom to make the exercise harder. Then lift up to full range of motion.

5. Pullover in bridge position

It can be a challenge to train with a small single-arm lat pull-up effectively, especially if you would focus on classic pull-ups. However, we're going to focus on one of the basic functions of the lats, namely shoulder extension, and manipulate the lever along the muscle.

Keep your arms extended to make the exercise harder. The bridge position will change the angle in the shoulders, and the flexion and extension will be more focused on the lats.

6. Russian twist with a stop

If you've ever practiced squats with a pause, you know that stopping momentum and generating power from a deep position is difficult enough even with light weight. We'll use the same method here for your oblique abdominals.

Here is an example of a training session:

• A1. Single arm deadlift: 3 sets of 5 reps per side
• A2. Goblet skater squat: 3 sets of 5 reps each side
• A3. Floor press and lunge combo: 3 sets of 8 reps on each side
• A4. Thrust on one leg (elevated): 3 sets for maximum reps
• A5. Pullover in bridge position: 3 sets with a big stretch
• A6. Russian twist with stop: 3 sets for maximum reps

Rest 90-120 seconds between sets and focus on brilliant technique before adding more.

Brandon Hodler - strength coach

We should make do with a 15-25 pound one-handed barbell.

Warm-up:

You can warm up on the treadmill or any other exercise, but after the first sweat we'll get more specific. With one single arm, do the following 4 exercises in 2-3 sets and in a circular fashion.

• Ankle swings: 10 on each side
• Goblet squat: 20 seconds on each side
• Goblet squat to hamstring extension: 5 times
• Goblet squat to lay down: 5x

Training:

The primary goal is to practice all the basic movement patterns (push, pull, squat, hip flexion) so that it is effective even with our limited weight. We will focus more on unilateral exercises, as we don't have enough weight for others.

• A1. Squats with jump and pause: 5x5
• A2. Scissor lunges: 3x5, 60-90 seconds pause
• B1. Skater one-arm pull-ups: 3x10 each arm
• B2. Floor press one-handed: 3x10 each hand, pause 60-90 seconds
• C1. Back lunges: 3x10 each leg
• C2. Goblet squats: 3x5, pause 60-90 seconds
• D. 1-2 sets, pause as needed

Christian Thibaudeau - strength trainer

When I was competing in weightlifting, I often used a modified Javorka one-arm complex. It was a light-weight warm-up for me, but it also had a positive effect on my muscles and conditioning.

The complex combines the following exercises, with no breaks in between. Everything is practiced with the same axis, which is not even folded. I practiced 6 repetitions of each exercise.

• Lifts from the vis with a market grip
• Lifts from the vise with a repositioning grip
• Front squats with barbell overhead (in military press position)
• Good morning
• Front Lunges

You can use the same concept with a medium sized single arm or kettlebell.

I would train one complex for the upper body and one for the lower body. Why split it up? You'll be doing everything twice (all exercises will be one-handed), so a full-body complex would be too long. It would be easy to lose motivation or focus in the middle. Some people might even run out of breath.

In complexes by Maple, you usually do 6 reps, but there you have the luxury of being able to change the load. With one single arm, 6 reps might be too light, so I prefer to give you a range.

Don't go to failure with either exercise. It should be hard, but the reps should maintain a high quality.

Upper body complex (6-12 reps per exercise):

• Single arm repositioning and expression
• Single arm chin-ups
• One-handed thrust from the vise
• One arm shoulder shrug (slight trunk tilt)
• One-arm extensions in forward bend, elbow out
• One arm extensions in front bend, elbow close to body

Lower body complex (6-12 reps for each exercise)

• Squats with lunges
• Static lunges, left leg
• Static lunges, right leg
• Split squats, left leg
• Split squats, right leg
• Barbell squats
• Goblet squats

Videos (no squat with lunge, my ceiling was too low)

The difference between a lunge and a split squat? In a split squat, you go perpendicular down. So, at the bottom, the knee of the front leg will be at about a 90° angle. In a lunge, the knee of the front leg will move forward.

Alternate between top and bottom and do both sets 2-3 times.

Here is an example:

• Upper body
• 2-3 minutes pause
• Lower body
• 2-3 minutes pause
• Upper body
• 2-3 minutes pause
• Lower body

As you get stronger, and some of the complexes get too easy, increase the number of reps. Once you get to 12 reps in all exercises, shorten the pauses between complexes.

The goal (and not many people reach it) is to do 3 sets of each complex with almost no breaks.

This workout will give you a stimulus to grow your entire body. It will also improve your fitness, shed fat, and even improve power and explosiveness.

Source: ww.t-nation.com - Train Your Whole Body With One Dumbbell
Authors: t-nation editors
Translated by: Jaromir Uhlir