A 12-Minute Kettlebell Arms Workout to Fire Up Your Biceps and Triceps

Sometimes, it’s nice to take your time in the gym. Other times you don’t have an extra minute to spare—and that’s where this quickie kettlebell arms workout comes in.

Amanda Ting, DPT, CSCS, a personal trainer at Mark Fisher Fitness in NYC, created the routine below for busy folks who want to hit their biceps and triceps (along with chest and shoulders too)—and be in and out in less than 15 minutes. With this workout, you’ll strengthen your arms for sure, but thanks to its circuit-style programming (where you move from exercise to exercise with minimal rest), your heart rate will stay elevated throughout. That brings us to another time-saving benefit: You’ll work on strength and cardio at once.

This kettlebell arms workout has more to offer, though, than just convenience, an upper-body burn, and a cardio bonus: It’s pretty damn functional. That means it strengthens your body in ways that translate directly to real-life movements (think pushing open a heavy door or lifting something overhead onto a shelf).

In two of the exercises—the floor press and overhead press—you’ll focus on one side at a time, which helps you ID and work on strength differences between them, says Ting. Plus, when only one side is working, this “forces your core to work a little harder to stabilize the rest of your body,” Ting explains. Another surprising benefit of doing these moves one after another is that it trains your ability to efficiently get up from the floor, she adds. “That’s crucial to longevity and mobility in everyday life.”

Ting programmed this arms workout with kettlebells, which also helps make it easy to fit into your schedule. “They’re versatile and fairly portable; you can complete this workout with only one to two kettlebells, making it excellent for most environments where access to fitness equipment is limited,” she says. You can truly do this workout anywhere, like at the gym, at home, at your desk, or even outside, she adds—and still have enough time to make dinner and sneak in an episode or two of your latest Netflix binge.

Ready for a kettlebell arms workout that targets your triceps, biceps, and shoulders? Right this way.

The Workout

What you need: One medium-weight kettlebell for the chest press and biceps curl, and one slightly lighter one for the overhead press and triceps extension.

The right weight will vary depending on your current fitness level and arm strength, but five to 10 pounds is a good starting point for beginner lifters. “The weight should feel challenging by the end of the interval, but not impossible,” Ting says. If you feel like you could keep going long after your work period is over, your weight is too light; if you can’t even get through 15 seconds of the movement or you feel your form starting to break before the 30 seconds are over, your weight is too heavy.

Exercises

• Single-Arm Chest Press
• Single-Arm Overhead Press
• Biceps Curl
• Overhead Triceps Extension

Directions

• Do the following moves in the order listed below. Perform each movement for 30 seconds, resting 10 seconds before starting the next exercise.
• Once you’ve done one set of every exercise, rest for 15 seconds before starting another round.
• Do 3 rounds for a 12-minute workout. You can also do 1–2 rounds as a finisher at the end of your main upper-body workout.

Demoing the moves below are Billy Anslow-O’Rourke (GIFs 1 and 4), doctor of physical therapy and Queens-based group fitness instructor; and Alicia Jamison (GIFs 2 and 3), senior coach at Body Space Fitness and adjunct lecturer at Brooklyn College.

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  Katie Thompson1Single-Arm Chest Press
  • Lie face up with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Hold a kettlebell in your right hand by the handle with an overhand grip, your palm facing forward. The bell should hang against the back of your forearm.
  • Press the weight toward the ceiling, straightening your elbow completely at the top and keeping your shoulder blades flat on the floor. Pause here for a second. The kettlebell and your wrist, elbow, and shoulder should be stacked in a straight line.
  • Slowly bend your elbow to lower the weight back down until your elbow taps the floor. Avoid letting it rest. This is 1 rep.
  • Continue for 30 seconds. Repeat on your other side.
  According to Ting, this move is an excellent alternative to push-ups, whether you’ve got an upper-body injury that makes them uncomfortable, or if you’re simply working up to be able to do them. “Lying on the floor provides extra support to the spine,” she explains, which takes some of the core and back challenge out of it and lets you hone in on the main drivers of the move: your chest and triceps. Your shoulders should feel the burn too.
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  Katie Thompson2Single-Arm Overhead Press
  • Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Hold a kettlebell in your right hand and rest it at your chest, with your palm facing in and your elbow bent. The bell should hang back against your forearm. This is the starting position.
  • Press the weight overhead, rotating your arm so your palm faces out, straightening your elbow completely. Make sure to keep your core engaged and hips tucked to avoid arching your lower back as you lift the weight.
  • Slowly bend your elbow to lower the weight back down to the starting position. This is 1 rep.
  • Continue for 30 seconds and repeat on the other side.
  Pressing the kettlebell overhead works multiple muscles in your shoulders as well as your triceps, and promotes overhead stability, Ting says. “Overhead presses are also great to get us out of our flexed posture that we often have while sitting at a desk,” she adds. As you do this move, make sure your wrist is straight in a neutral position—not bent forward or backward—to prevent wrist pain or strain, Ting notes. “At the top, the kettlebell, wrist, elbow, and shoulder should be stacked in a straight line.”

WATCH20-Minute Total Arms Workout

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  Katie Thompson3Biceps Curl
  • Start standing with your feet about shoulder-width apart and holding one kettlebell up at your chest with both hands gripping the handle and the bell facing up.
  • Slowly straighten your arms and lower the weight so that it’s out in front of your body.
  • Bend your elbows and keep your elbows pressed tight into your sides as you curl the weight up back to your chest. This is 1 rep.
  • Continue for 30 seconds.
  This move focuses on your biceps, the muscles in the front of your upper arms. Building strength here aids shoulder mobility and simply makes daily activities easier, Ting says. It’s important to keep your elbows at your sides or slightly in front of your body, she adds. “Try to keep the rest of your body still so you aren’t relying on momentum from your lower body and torso to curl the kettlebell up.”
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  Katie Thompson4Overhead Triceps Extension
  • Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Hold a kettlebell by the handle with both hands behind your neck, elbows bent and pointing toward the ceiling. This is the starting position.
  • Without moving your upper arms, straighten your elbows and extend the weight directly overhead. Keep your shoulders down, core tight, and elbows close to your head.
  • Pause for a second, and then slowly lower the weight back down behind your head. This is 1 rep.
  • Continue for 30 seconds.
  As its name suggests, this move targets the triceps muscle in the backs of your upper arms. Make sure to keep your elbows as close to your temples as possible during the entire range of motion; this angle helps to recruit all the muscle fibers of the triceps, Ting says. “It also keeps the joints ‘stacked’ with the elbows over the shoulders, so there is less strain on your shoulders.”Related:
  • A 30-Minute Kettlebell Workout That Hits Every Muscle in Your Body
  • 21 Exercises to Try If You’re Looking for an Awesome Arms Workout
  • 15 Kettlebell Exercises That Will Work Every Muscle in Your Body