A workout finisher is a short burst bout of high(er) intensity positioned at the end of a workout. It usually consists of 2-4 exercises, using minimal equipment (or no equipment).

There are thousands ways to design a workout finisher, and I intend to share them all!

Kettlebell swings, push-ups and rowing are timeless exercises. They also happen to make a perfect workout finisher.

Push Ups

Push-ups are an upper body horizontal pushing exercise. They work the chest, arms and core. Push-ups are easy to modify for any level of fitness. Beginner? Elevate the hands, reduce the weight and limit the challenge to the core. Advanced? Add weight to move on to single arm variations. A set of push-ups is seamless to start and end, making them a great option for a workout finisher.

Kettlebell Swings

Kettlebell swings are an explosive hip hinging exercise. I’ve been swinging kettlebells for 13 years and it’s still one of my favorite movements. Swings are a great choice for workout finishers because they are easy to set up, start/stop and train the entire body. Walk up to the kettlebell, grab the handle, swing. Plus when you’re using weights for cardio, I prefer swings because they are more forgiving with technique (compared to barbell cleans, etc).

Rowing

Rowing is one of the best cardio activities a person can do. Rowing is taxing for the entire body. Rowing isn’t as quick to get set up (compared to push-ups and swings). Put your butt on the seat, strap the feet, grab the handle and row.

Push-ups and kettlebell swings make a fantastic pairing. Upper body push with a hip hinge. Grip is preserved for the swings, pushing muscular is preserved for the push-ups, lots of muscle being taxed with two basic exercises.

You could (and I have) combined push-ups and kettlebell swings in an alternating fashion and created one hell of a training effect in about 5 minutes.

Workout Finisher| Swing-Push-Row

Aim for completing 5 rounds using an 8 minute time limit.

In other words, you get 8 minutes to complete 5 rounds, and if you fall short, the workout finisher ends.

Is this workout finisher too aggressive?

Cut the push-up and kettlebell swing reps down to 5. Lower the rowing distance to 150-200m.

Do not be afraid to tweak workouts to suit your fitness level.

You don’t need permission to do this.

Flow and Non-Competing Exercises

The best workout finishers have a good flow/transition between exercises.

Remove as much set up fiddle factor as possible.

The goal of a workout finisher is constant movement. Transition from one exercise to the next until it’s over.

Don’t waste time with exercises that have a long set up time.

Choosing non-competing exercises allows you to give more energy to each exercise and take a total body approach to the finisher.

3-4 exercises is perfect for a workout finisher. Remember, workout finishers are supposed to be the icing on the cake, not the meal.

Non-competing exercises can help with safety. You’ll be tired, but not overly tired in any one movement pattern or muscle group.

Here are a two simple non-competing exercise strategies:

• Upper and lower body exercises

• Push and pull exercises

Non-competing exercises:

• Squats + pull-up
• Lunges + overhead press
• Push-Up + kettlebell swings 😉
• Crawling + loaded carries

⚠️ CAUTION ⚠️

A workout finisher should be brief. By definition, a workout finisher is the ending to a workout, meaning you completed other activities leading up to it.

What might those “other activities” be? 👉 mobility, resistance training, ground based movement, etc.

If a workout finisher drags on for 15-20 minutes… it tells me it’s over-engineered, didn’t do enough quality during the middle of the workout, and set yourself up for unrecoverable fatigue in the coming days.

People make the mistake of biting off more than they can chew. They step up to workouts that don’t account for the days ahead or their current fitness level.

Fitness is a long-term play.

Hundreds of workouts (and diet) will create the body and performance you desire. This is the #truth, depressing for some, but realistic and honest.

Like this workout finisher??? It’s just the tip of the iceberg for options.

Here are some other workout finishers to try.