ShredFast is the high-intensity fitness system that’s been blowing up on social media, combining kettlebells, bodyweight training and full-throttle intervals into the sort of sweat-soaked sessions that look more like a fight camp than your average gym class.

Founded by Luke Powell in 2019, the method has built a serious following – including rapper Slim – around short, brutal workouts designed to challenge strength, conditioning and mental toughness using little more than two kettlebells.

With hard effort and personal accountability central to the brand, ShredFast’s trainers don’t just coach the method – they’re expected to lead from the front. Trainers regularly take on the ShredFast ‘ability test’, and yes, it looks every bit as savage as you’d expect.

The test is split into three phases, with just five minutes of rest between each one. It starts with a burpee gauntlet, moves into a full-body kettlebell complex performed using half your bodyweight, then finishes with a plank hold once your shoulders, lungs and core are already fried.

Think you’ve got what it takes? Here’s the full test.

The ShredFast Ability Test

Complete all 3 phases. Rest for 5 minutes between each phase.

Phase 1: Burpees

Men: 125 burpees in under 10 minutes
Women: 100 burpees in under 10 minutes

Phase 2: Kettlebell Complex

Using half your bodyweight as a minimum load (for example, an 80kg man should use at least 2 x 20kg kettlebells), complete the following complex:

That equals 1 round.

Your goal: complete 5 rounds in under 10 minutes.

Phase 3: Plank Hold

Men: 3-minute plank
Women: 2-minute plank

With almost 18 years in the health and fitness space as a personal trainer, nutritionist, breath coach and writer, Andrew has spent nearly half of his life exploring how to help people improve their bodies and minds.    

As our fitness editor he prides himself on keeping Men’s Health at the forefront of reliable, relatable and credible fitness information, whether that’s through writing and testing thousands of workouts each year, taking deep dives into the science behind muscle building and fat loss or exploring the psychology of performance and recovery.   

Whilst constantly updating his knowledge base with seminars and courses, Andrew is a lover of the practical as much as the theory and regularly puts his training to the test tackling everything from Crossfit and strongman competitions, to ultra marathons, to multiple 24 hour workout stints and (extremely unofficial) world record attempts.   

 You can find Andrew on Instagram at @theandrew.tracey, or simply hold up a sign for ‘free pizza’ and wait for him to appear.