“You get sweaty, you get stronger, and you’re going to become a little bit more mobile too”

There’s an obsession with superlatives in the fitness world right now. People won’t touch a workout unless it’s “optimal”, and promises a ridiculous return on investment, but few protocols actually live up to their exaggerated claims. Whereas this three-move kettlebell workout actually does, and it’s a lot of fun, as I found out recently.

It’s called “the humane burpee”; a blend of kettlebell swings, goblet squats and press-ups cooked up by legendary strength coach Dan John.

“The humane burpee is the best single-kettlebell workout,” he tells me. “Every quality you want to chase is going to be in there somehow. You get sweaty, you get stronger, and you’re going to become a little bit more mobile too.”

With a highlight reel this appealing, and with me being a fitness writer, I had to give it a go. So I lugged a 24kg kettlebell to my local park and got to work.

Complete 10 rounds of the circuit below (each round, perform one less goblet squat and press-up):

Kettlebell swing x15

Goblet squat x10

Press-up x10

The faster you can complete the workout with good technique, the better. If you’re a beginner, you can start with five goblet squats and five press-ups for a shorter workout. You can also change the weight of the kettlebell to adjust the difficulty of the session, although John says a 20kg or 10kg kettlebell will “adequately challenge” most men and women respectively.