I ran across a study in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (vol.26.1.Jan.2012) on the Kettlebell Swing and lower back pain, by McGill and Marshall. (There were some other exercises in that study too.) For those who aren’t aware of it, Dr. Stuart McGill is one of the world’s leading spine biomechanicists. So when he publishes something, I look at it.

One of the things he found is that unlike traditional barbell lifting, with kettlebell swings, the loads on the spines are ”inverted.”

Because of the arc-like trajectory of the Swing, there is relatively high posterior shear forces* in relation to compressive forces.

*In “regular speak” shearing force is a force that can tear. Compressive force is just that - compressing material together until it explodes/ruptures.

In traditional barbell lifting, there are higher compressive forces compared to tearing forces.

So what does that mean?

It means, according to the researchers that you should have sufficient spinal stability - and sufficiently more spinal stability to swing a kettlebell than lift a bar.

So what’s that mean for YOU?

1. Compressive forces are traditionally associated with back injuries – herniated discs. Kettlebell Swings have low compression forces, therefore, when done correctly, they won’t hurt your lower back. They’re more “forgiving” than barbell lifting.

2. Shearing forces can still cause back injury, so if you’re swinging your KB and have back pain, stop swinging! Your pain most likely means that you either have insufficient spine stability and/or your technique is incorrect.

3. If you even suspect you fall into category #2, you need to add in some spinal stability exercises and polish your technique.

Speaking of polishing technique, I thought it’d be helpful to revisit the “hip hinge” which is the basis of the kettlebell Swing. Especially since it’s early in the new year and we want to make this year better than last. Plus, continually working the basics or fundamentals is always a good thing because helps correct any errors in the “advanced” exercises.

Here’s a video from the Kettlebell Burn stash that presents a 4-Step Formula for “perfect” Swings. I’ve found that these simple cues really have made a big difference in my Swings and my clients Swings. Plus the feedback I’ve gotten from Burn customers has been great.

And most importantly, it’ll help clean up your Swing technique, which, if you don’t have a spinal stability issue, will alleviate and back pain or discomfort while swinging.

So here’s the video. (Give it a couple of seconds to load…)

Let me know what you think.

Now obviously technique is really important to prevent injuries. And most injuries can be prevented simply by using good technique. The problem is, there’s a lot of “opinion” about what good technique is.

After teaching at RKC’s since 2006, I think I’m pretty qualified to offer an opinion on what “good” technique is, including shortcuts to getting good technique.

Here are 10 more videos just like that Swing video to quickly hone your technique and help you prevent injuries on all the major kettlebell lifts.

Don’t forget to leave your thoughts and comments about the Swing video below.

Let’s face it, for some of us, 2011 was not our best year. If you read the news it looks like it wasn’t the best year for many people by a long shot.

2011 was a great year for me primarily because of the joy we experienced from the birth of our first child – our son Michael.

But I’m looking to make 2012 much, much better – much stronger and I invite you to do the same. The cool thing about the new year is it inspires us and fills us with hope for and to change. What didn’t seem possible on December 1st suddenly seems possible on January 1st.

In that light, here’s how I’m going to make 2012 my strongest year ever and as I mentioned, I invite you to do the same – join me and look back a year from now in amazement at all you have achieved.

There are 5 strategies I’ve been implementing over the past couple of years or so that have allowed me to -

- Start a new business
- Write and get a book published
- Speak nationally
- Allow my wife to stay home and care for our son
- Rebuild my body from years of abuse from training for competition

And, before we move any further, I want to set the record straight – There is nothing special about me at all, other than the fact that God made me unique. If I can do stuff like this – you most certainly can too. God made you unique too with certain skills, talents, and character traits. All you have to do is use them. Seriously, 10 years ago I never imagined I would’ve accomplished what I have. It’s a lot more than I ever thought possible. In 2012 you can do at least as well as I have – hopefully a lot better.

So let’s take a look at these 5 strategies.

1. Be Thankful / Have a Grateful Heart.

I have a confession to make – I used to be a “glass is half-empty” kind of guy. In fact, some days I still am. It’s hard to change unless you go out of your way to do so. Thinking a certain way is really just a state of mind. The more you think one way, the more you will re-enforce that thought pattern. And the more you will engrain those patterns until they are habits. And that’s all you know how to do until someone shows you something different, something better.

Here’s a really neat way I learned how to be a “glass is half-full” guy: Learn to be thankful/grateful.

I heard a guy named Dan Kuschell speak at a conference I attended a couple of years ago. He suggested a series of Top 10 lists to be thankful for.

- Top 10 Things I Am Thankful For Right Now
- Top 10 Things I Am Thankful For In My Business/Job
- Top 10 People I Am Grateful For In My Life

Take these lists and write them down. Don’t worry how long it takes you.

Then do this every day. At the start of each day. It really sets your mind on the right track for each day, no matter what time you have to get up.

When I first tried these, they were really, really hard. It would literally take me 0-30 minutes to get the lists done. They may be for you too. But when I was done, I was amazed at how my attitude had immediately improved. And the more often I did this, the better and brighter my attitude was throughout the day and from day-to-day.

And the cool thing is when my attitude improved, so did my outlook on life, and therefore my relationships improved and I saw more opportunities.

Life just got better and I was able to overcome some of my negative circumstances because I could recognize opportunities that I wouldn’t have before. And also, opportunities came my way that wouldn’t have before. Because after all, who wants to be around a sour puss?

2. Spend More Time With Your Loved Ones.

Here’s another horrible confession for you – for the first 9 years of my marriage, my wife and I rarely ate dinner together. I worked late and then worked out late. I’d get home somewhere between 8 and 10 every night. It was a major source of contention in our relationship. I was just plain selfish and didn’t value her or give her the priority in my life that I should have.

Today is a completely different story. We eat dinner every night, but I/we had to go through Hell to make that happen. I’m glad I did though. And now, I’m changing my schedule again (much easier this time) so I can spend time with our son and we can eat together as a family, now that he’s starting to eat solid foods.

We did this while we were away recently and it brought my heart such joy! There’s no greater joy for me than to spend time with my family now.

Loved ones are a blessing. Spend more time with them now while you still can. Look for the joy in those relationships.

I once heard someone say that on your deathbed you won’t wish you had spent more time at work or watching TV or chasing your dreams of personal glory. You’ll wish you had spent more time with your family and loved ones. Imagine having that kind of regret… It would be awful. I’m doing everything in my power to reach the end knowing that I lived fully and that starts at home.

I challenge you to do the same.

3. Dream More.

I am a Dreamer. Sometimes my dreams don’t turn into “doings” but many times they do.

Dreams keep us alive – they give us hope for a better future. Combine them with a thankful heart / attitude and they arrive much sooner.

I recently fulfilled a dream I had in my heart for over 2 years. I’m still unpacking the significance of it – but it was a very powerful experience. Sure, it involved risk, lots of risk, but I lived it anyway and am completely glad I did. So much good came out of it and so much more has yet to. And I never would’ve experienced that if I hadn’t first dreamed and then risked to actually live my dream.

And that’s another point – some dreams contain an element of risk. Sometimes you’ll have to let go of what you believe to be security in order to experience and live your dream.

And if things don’t turn out exactly as you planned, just remember what one of my former mentors said – “You’re not shot, you’re not dead. Keep pressing on.” (Unless of course you are shot…)

4. Pursue One Dream Relentlessly Until It Becomes Your Reality.

It doesn’t matter what your dream is. Commit to pursuing it. Combine this with your newfound thankful heart / grateful attitude and you stand a great shot of achieving it – and sooner than you think.

One thing is for absolutely certain, if you don’t start the ball in motion towards achieving your dream, you will not achieve it. At all. Ever.

One of my dreams for 2012 is to completely rebuild my body and turn it into a machine. Yeah, I know, might sound cheesy. I don’t care though, cause it’s MY dream.

I want to build upon what I did last year which was to physically prepare for Michael’s birth which I did. This year, as he grows, I want to expand my physical capabilities too. Last year I got my baseline back. This year I want to build upon that foundation.

I’m chasing things like:

- a one arm pull-up
- a triple bodyweight deadlift
- a 1.25x bodyweight press
- a double bodyweight bench press
- a double bodyweight zercher squat
- 100 snatches with the 48kg KB
- a pistol with a pair of 48kg KBs in the rack
- mastering some gymnastic strength exercises
- and sprinting again

I want to not only hit 40 but crush it – being in better physical condition at 40 then I was at 20.

What’s your Big Dream?

5. Seek Out Others Who Can Help You Achieve Your Dream Goal.

The English poet John Donne wrote “No man is an island” yet we all still seem to think that we can or worse yet, must do everything on our own. Supposedly, it’s the “American Way” to “pull ourselves up by our bootstraps” or whatever.

That’s poisonous and wrong thinking.

Nothing is or could be further from the Truth.

If you’re a conspiracy theorist, you might think that those who have been successful and don’t want to share that success actually made that lie up and continue to perpetuate it so they can profit of others’ misfortune. I can tell you as a fact, based on personal experience, isolation and ego-centricity is a great recipe for failure and never achieving your dreams. That’s a great recipe for making 2012 your worst year ever.

Part of seeking others out is being humble and admitting that you don’t know everything. Again, here’s something I’ve had to learn the hard way. I recall a conversation I had about 4 years ago on the phone while sitting in my car outside my weightlifting platform with a prominent coach. We were talking about what I needed to do to be successful now that I was an older Olympic lifter.

Oh how I wished I’d listened to him at that time! My lifting experience might have been different. I might have actually achieved my goals. I know this now because I have started to implement some of his ideas and my body is getting stronger at a faster pace.

Don’t be a fool like I was and reject help.

I have a strong network of like minded friends and mentors who can help me out. And yes, some I have even paid large sums of money to for their invaluable advice. Without it, I wouldn’t have accomplished what I did in the past year.

Speaking of getting stronger at a faster pace, if you’re on the East Coast, (even if you’re not) I’m running a Kettlebell Muscle Workshop on Saturday, January 28th in Virginia. Literally everyone who attends one of these sets PRs and is armed with new techniques to continue to get stronger. (I just read the testimonials from Hardstyle Ventura where I taught an abbreviated version of this seminar – people were blown away by their PRs.) You should come if you want to see PRs. Register here and still get the Early Bird Discount.

Forward Thinking, Dreaming, And Doing

The New Year is not even a full 4 days old. It’s full of bright opportunity for you to achieve all of your strength goals and dreams, or at least get started down that road. All you have to do is dare.

Here are two quotes I leave you with to help you on your quest, your mission, your journey. Write them down. Put them where you can see them and meditate on them daily.

“Who Dares Wins”
– motto of the SAS
(The UK’s Special Air Services, the original Special Forces Unit)

“Do the thing, have the power.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

I’ve got a little secret to let you in on.

My Swing, the Center of the Kettlebell Universe – always felt a little out of orbit, so-to-speak. It just never really felt right.

Not until recently.

It always just felt a little bit – well, “off.”

Like I just couldn’t get that final hip lockout position.

Sure, I could Double Swing a pair of Beasts with ease, but they never felt right.

As you probably know, I’ve been on a bodyweight kick for the last 6 months or so. And because of that time spent on some bodyweight mastery and coordination exercises, I’m happy to report that my Swing feels virtually effortless now. Like it should.

I can finally achieve the crisp hip lockout position.

And I must say that it feels great!

The primary exercise I used was the L-Sit and variations of it.

Here’s a pic -

Classic L-Sit - An Abdominal Killer

The other staple in my training was the L-Sit Chin Up.

(Pictured below.)

The L-Sit Chin Up - Another Ab Killer

These were massively powerful for my body. This is primarily because it was the exact opposite motions that my body was used to. I spent almost all my work moving from flexion to extension. So doing the opposite – moving from extension to flexion really helped me out tremendously. (More so than any joint mobility work I’ve ever done.)

The last exercise I spent a lot of time on was the Parallel Dip, again, most of the time performed with and L-Sit, which makes these monsters particularly demanding for me. Especially since I’ve got a tricky right shoulder, so I needed to get these just right.

So How Do You Incorporate These Bodyweight Exercises?

Really simple – I’d just alternate lower reps sets of moderate sized kettlebell Swings with one of the L-Sit exercises of choice.

Example:

A1. L-Sit Chins x5

A2. 2H Swings x10

Repeat 3-6 sets.

Rest as needed, where needed.

Another Good Kettlebell/Bodyweight Combo Variation To Try

Another good exercise to alternate your Swings with is any form of “Plank” – whether it’s a Yoga Plank (Push Up position), An RKC Plank, or even a Push Up.

Give one of those a shot if the L-Sit exercises seem a little too daunting.

Example:

A. Yoga Plank x 30s

B. 2H Swings x 30s

Rest 1-2 minutes.

Repeat 5-10 sets.

Why This Works

There’s a very simple reason why these bodyweight exercises work to improve your Kettlebell Swing- They activate your abdominals.

Trunk and hip flexion controlled and/or facilitated by the abs is still very freshly imprinted in your CNS, so performing a set of Swings afterwards helps integrate the “new” pattern – using your abs isometrically to tilt your pelvis “up” and “back”. (Quasi-posteriorly.)

This is what is known as “complex training” (Not to be confused with “complexes”). It’s where you insert or pair different skills together in your training session so one feeds the other. In this case, the stronger abdominal activation/recruitment helps make the Swing stronger.

So give one or two of these a shot and let me know what you think.

They make for quick but effective workouts, especially this time of year. And you’ll be making your Swing even better, which of course makes the rest of the kettlebell ballistic work even better too.

Here are some other quick and effective 15-20 minute workouts you can do this time of year too. (And the rest of the year too.)

So it’s already day 5 of December.

Thanksgiving has been and gone. Christmas and Hanukkah are upon us and the new year is just over 3 weeks away.

That means one of two things is going to happen in the next 3.5 weeks –

1. You’re going to slam your life into hyperdrive to get all the stuff done you haven’t finished this year or this quarter, or

2. You’re going to throttle back and coast til January 1st.

Either way is cool if it works for you but both of these approaches have one thing in common -

The need for Energy Management.

There’s just something about this time of year that makes it almost “easy” to slide out of our good habits and into bad ones – or at least not-necessarily-good ones.

Maybe it’s because we’re all tired and some of us are just plain old burnt out from a long year.

Regardless, there’s a really easy way to keep going these next 3 weeks and make sure you don’t wake up in 2012 fatter and weaker than you planned on. In fact, by adopting this “energy management” approach, there’s a very good chance you could end up stronger and leaner than you are right now, by only committing to what ends up being a few minutes a day to your workouts.

Here’s how this’ll work -

1. Pick your favorite exercise – KB or otherwise
2. Pick the most beneficial exercise for you – the one that provides your body with the biggest bang for the proverbial buck
3. Carve out a whopping 10 minutes a day, 6 days per week, and alternate between the 2 exercises.
4. Do this until the New Year when you can more effectively evaluate your goals, needs, wants, and desires.

Here’s how this might look -

1. Favorite exercise – Double KB Clean + Press
2. Most beneficial exercise – Chin Up
3. M,W,F – Double KB Cl+Pr, T,Th,Sa – Chin Up

Now what about sets and reps and weight?

Don’t worry about it.

Seriously.

Just do what you feel like doing on that particular day. “Worry” about it when you get there. Just decide what you “feel” like doing and do it.

Want to just go light? Cool. Do it.

Want do heavy sets of singles? By all means go right ahead.

Want to do one long set and walk away? Sure thing.

The point here is to be able to manage your energy so you can redirect it to other things in the next 3.5 weeks and to not stress out about your workouts but also to not ditch them altogether so you end up paying for it in the New Year.

Want some more ideas or something done for you? No problem – check this out.

Now that’s one less thing to worry about this Holiday Season. Instead, you can concentrate on getting all your work done that you haven’t done or finding the “perfect” gift for that special someone.

Me?

I fall into category 1 – I’m going to be busy catching up on all the stuff that needs to get done before the end of the year. And then I’ll be spending the holidays with my in-laws. They haven’t seen Michael since May. It’ll be good to be with family.

I really appreciate reader and customer emails because it gives me feedback on what you’re struggles are and then helps me provide you with the solution.

Here’s an email I got yesterday from Todd. I’ve posted it in its entirety so you can see the context.

And the reason I’m doing it is because this question is a Gold Mine that will answer so many people’s questions – specifically, why you start a program/workout with one intention, say, to lose weight, and you never reach your goals.

That last part is really important – SO many people embark on a journey and never reach the destination.

And it doesn’t have to be that way. You just need to put a few keys in place and remove a few obstacles. Then it’s pretty much smooth sailing.

Finally, before we dig any deeper, it’s important that we acknowledge how the mind affects the body – especially the subconscious mind – the part that really makes the decisions.

If your rational mind – the part you think is in control doesn’t match the subconscious mind, and therefore your actions don’t match the necessary steps to achieve your goals, this will lead to internal friction, which is probably one of the worst forms of stress we experience.

So identifying potential and hidden roadblocks will help reconcile the rational and subconscious minds by increasing awareness, addressing hidden questions, and answering those questions in the context of our goals.

(If I lost you there – don’t worry – just keep reading. It’ll all make sense as we go through this together.)

So here we go -

“Geoff,

I have been folloowing your e-mails for over a year now and enjoy them – I have learned a lot. I am 49 yo and have worked out all my life. I have been using kb’s for about 3 years now. I started using them wanting to lose some weight and fat – but have had the opposite happen. I have gotten very strong, but have gained weight. Was up to 240lbs. Started doing the eat-stop-eat diet about 2 months ago (I really like it). I got a respiratory infection about 6 weeks ago and could not work out for a couple weeks and then decided to take a break from the kb’s and just did some interval training on the eliptical. So not doing any kb’s for about a month and I have lost 15 lbs. down to 225 (wtf!). I enjoy the kb’s and want to get back doing them but I don’t want to put the weight back on. I was doing different workouts w/ 50 and 60lb. kb’s. What do you think was going on and what type of kb workout should I be doing in the future to continue losing weight and fat?

Todd”

Todd – thanks for writing in.

Let’s break this down into pieces to get a clearer understanding.

1. You started using kettlebells “to lose weight and fat but… had the opposite happen.”

First, I can only infer from this statement that from using kettlebells you gained weight and gained fat.

So, the “weight” could’ve been muscle, especially since you said you’ve gotten really strong.

It could also be fluid build up, which is a result of chronic inflammation.

Chronic inflammation is a result of too much stress. So, incredibly taxing workouts, like many kettlebell workouts, will just place more stress on your body, preventing a system that’s already overworked from recovering. And therefore not getting the weight / fat loss you expected.

The second thing is that some people’s appetites increase from intense exercise. And unless your faithfully monitoring all the calories that go in your mouth, there’s a good chance you were just eating more without being aware of it. I’ve seen that happen quite often when people start using kettlebells.

The third and related thing is psychological – you start working out harder or more or both and subconsciously you give yourself permission to eat more. It’s a simple rationalization that many of us don’t mean to do.

“I’m working out more, so I can eat _______.”

And unfortunately “_______” isn’t usually more salad. It’s more of the calorically dense stuff that puts weight on in the first place.

I’ve seen that happen way too often to people who start using KBs.

2. “Started doing the eat-stop-eat diet about 2 months ago (I really like it).”

I’m not sure if this had anything to do with your weight loss because you don’t say. But since you mention it, let’s both assume that it did.

There are two things going on here -

Thing 1 – You’re eating less calories per week. Over time you’ll see your weight drop. It’s just simple math.

Thing 2 – You actually “really like” the program so you’re more apt to stick with it, thus ensuring your results. And because you’re getting results, you’re liking it even more, helping you stick with it. And then you get more results. It’s a nice little positive feedback loop. And that’s the way it should be.

And because both those “things” are helping you achieve your original goal – weight loss and fat loss, from a hormonal perspective, you’re setting yourself up for success.

You’re getting into a caloric deficit.

That caloric deficit is switching on your fat burning hormones.

And because you’re enjoying the process and possibly seeing results, your reducing the production of your stress hormones, which is decreasing the effects of stress on your body, and restoring the hormonal balance between all of your hormones – bringing you closer back to the baseline we’re meant to live and function in – lean, strong, and healthy.

3. “I got a respiratory infection about 6 weeks ago and could not work out for a couple weeks and then decided to take a break from the kb’s and just did some interval training on the eliptical. So not doing any kb’s for about a month and I have lost 15 lbs. down to 225 (wtf!).”

Ok, here’s the “meat n potatoes” of this post – so you’ll want to pay close attention here.

Respiratory infections are pretty massive bugs. In order to catch something of that magnitude, your immune system has to be working less than optimally.

And the quickest way to suppress your immune system is to be over-stressed.

What’s this got to do with kettlebell workouts?

Hang tight, amigo, we’re getting there. It’s just really, really important you see how this process is so interconnected.

One of the things about getting sick – especially like this – is that if forces you to rest. And rest, is a great antidote to stress. In fact, rest, sleep, whatever you want to call it, is probably the best form of stress-relief there is. (Probably why God created sleep…)

So, you start resting, and you start de-stressing. Not to mention the fact that your body is in “code red” fighting off those nasty little intruders – that infection. This means your metabolism is going to increase. (Running a temperature is a manifestation of this.)

And not only that, most of us, when we’re sick, don’t feel like eating that much. So there’s a natural caloric reduction here too.

So what you have is rest + metabolism increase + less external stress imposed from not working out + eating less food than normal = weight loss.

(This in fact happened to me when I got the shingles. I literally lost 10lbs in one day. Woke up Saturday morning at 205. Got up Sunday at 195.)

Not only that, but Todd, when you started recovering, you felt well enough to do some interval training on the elliptical.

Interval training, especially intense (relative term, I know – different for different people at different times) interval training, has been shown to blunt your appetite.

And not only that, the body does appreciate “novel stimuli” – variety – as a stimulus for change.

So, you got -

An elevated metabolism from fighting an infection +

less external stress imposed on your body from doing hard KB workouts +

change in workouts (novel stimulus) +

blunted appetite from interval training =

weight loss.

Is this making sense so far?

There are a lot of “mechanisms” for weight loss all going on at the same time here – I want to make sure we unpack them all so you can see how this will apply to you…

So back to THE Dilemma -

4. “I enjoy the kb’s and want to get back doing them but I don’t want to put the weight back on. I was doing different workouts w/ 50 and 60lb. kb’s. What do you think was going on and what type of kb workout should I be doing in the future to continue losing weight and fat?”

Todd – you didn’t say what kind of weight it was that you lost. Was it muscle? Was it fat? Was it a combination of the two? Unfortunately, unless you measured you won’t know for sure. But, based on experience, my best guess is that it was a combination of both.

One way to tell if it was fat was simply to see how your pants fit. If they’re looser in the waist, you lost some fat.

And that’s good.

But I’m with you – and at this point I’m going to address everybody in the global sense of the word “you” – I think it’s really important that you continue to use kettlebells for the plain and simple reason that you enjoy them.

Please don’t overlook that.

Enjoying something is HUGELY important in achieving any goal.

(As long as it’s consistent in achieving that goal.)

It means you’re more likely to remain committed to your goal and consistent in doing the things necessary to achieve it.

And because you enjoy what you’re doing, you will in fact, decrease your stress levels.

And again, please don’t overlook that point – because all stress produces adaptation but not always the adaptation that we want.

In this case, you want to lose weight and fat. (I’d just worry about the fat – stay as muscular as possible and lose the dough on top of it, but hey – that’s just me…)

So we need to apply enough stress to the body to get that to happen without over-stressing and accidentally encouraging the opposite to happen – which is probably the reason you gained weight in the first place.

Make sense?

So how do we apply “just enough stress” to the body without getting it to do the opposite?

Simple.

Here are the steps.

1. Think about your recovery first.

I’m a big believer that regardless of how you “feel” – the average person (that’s you and me) doesn’t need to work out every day. Even for stress relief. Sure, there are ways to do that (more on that in a minute) but it’s like walking a tightrope – not much margin for error.

So, make sure you’re getting enough sleep first and foremost. Don’t even think about doing any sort of hard kettlebell workouts if you’re only getting 5 hours of sleep a night.

Seriously. I’ve been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Nothing lives there except injuries. And getting injured increases stress. BIG TIME.

So, get your sleep first.

Skip your workouts if you have to, but help your body rest and recover by sleeping 7 to 8 hours per night. No excuses.

2. Be an Underachiever.

Set aside a period of time you know you can commit to for your workouts.

I used to be infamous (in my own mind) for writing these fantastic periodized workouts for myself that were 6 days a week because that’s what all the champs did for their training.

I never completed any of them. My life got in the way.

The simplest and best (most productive as measured by actual results) weightlifting workouts were the ones written for me by my coach (surprise – how bout that). And they drove me crazy because the were “too easy” – 3 exercises per day, 3 days per week. Maybe 2.5 hours a week of workouts. That’s it. Massive results. But they worked so well I started doing other stuff. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid…

But I digress – we’re talking about you…

So if you know you can “only” fit in 2 hours a week for your workouts, then you know what?

Become an Underachiever.

We’re a society of Overachievers.

This just adds to our stress levels. So do the opposite with your workouts.

You can only commit to 3 hours per week to working out?

(From experience, I bet you’re wrong – I bet you’re overestimating.)

Cut it in half and commit to 1.5 hours per week.

Why so little?

So you can actually do it. Consistently. Routinely. Effortlessly. Without mental anxiety, angst, or aggravation.

By doing so you’ll build the recovery necessary into your workouts so you can actually see the results you say you want.

And because it’s “so easy” to get the workouts into your busy schedule, you’ll actually do them all the time.

And then you’ll be building that positive feedback loop that leads you down the Road to Success -

Easy workouts + very little time commitment + consistency + enjoyment = Results!

And that’s it – just 2 steps.

Why only two?

Simple. So you remember them. And more importantly, don’t have to stress out about remembering them or whether or not you can remember them.

Some Sidenotes On Stress Relief…

Many of us, myself included, like to work out for stress relief. So my training is sometimes some sort of weird combination of training to reach strength goals and alleviating stress.

So I get the fact that workouts are stress relievers. But what I’ve found is that if I program in alternate easy activities for stress relief, I can focus on just training to achieve my strength goals. This works so much better.

(I actually achieve my strength goals sooner – which is a stress reliever itself.)

The simplest activity for me is just long walks on the weekends. A couple of one hour walks make a huge difference in my ability to handle stress. I’ll also toss in a couple of short 20 minute walks with the dog just to clear my head during the week when I need to.

Works like a charm.

Plus the extra activity helps burn extra calories and that helps keep me lean.

You should do the same.

Funny movies are great too.

When was the last time you laughed so hard you either cried or almost pee’d your pants? I’ll bet it’s been awhile.

There’s a story about Norman Cousins, a famous journalist from my grandparents’ generation, of how he cured a pretty debilitating illness by laughter.

So laughter is a great stress-reliever. Laugh. A lot.

Back to the kettlebell workouts…

What Kind Of Workouts?

Ok, so I realize I didn’t specifically answer your question about what kind of kettlebell workout you should be doing to lose fat moving ahead.

This is a simple one.

They should be -

1. Short enough to give you time to recover.

2. Fun – with variety to keep your mind stimulated and your heart engaged.

3. Frequent enough to keep your body stimulated and programmed for progress.

4. Properly designed using principles of Progressive Overload so you can track and see progress.

So that’s how I would design them if I were you.

Except, if I were you, I wouldn’t waste my time trying to design my workouts. That would only add one more thing to the “To Do” list and increase your stress levels.

Instead, I think you should pick up a copy of “Kettlebell Express!” which is my new “book” chock full of kettlebell programs – 49 different ones to be exact.

And the reasons are very simple -

1. They are short and to the point – you’ll workout for no more than 60-90 minutes per week, depending on the program you choose. This gives you time to recover.

And remember - Recovery = Results.

2. There’s a lot of variety in the programs. This means they’re enjoyable. Unless you’re a monk, most of us cannot do the same old kettlebell routine.

For many of us -

Variety = Motivation.

And Motivation = Consistency.

And Consistency = Success.

3. The thinking and programming has been done for you.

Dan John is very fond of the quote – “The client who represents himself in court has a fool for an attorney.” His point is that all of us not only need coaching but will ultimately fail if we don’t for the simple reason that we bring our own biases and blindness to the table.

Which means unless you’re an expert in workout program design, your best efforts are “hit or miss.”

4. And all that means less stress for you.

Remember, Stress Management = Success.

So when you’re looking for a variety of fun, short, time-efficient stress-relieving kettlebell programs (49 of them), click here and grab yourself a copy of Kettlebell Express!. You’ll be very glad you did.

Wrap Up.

So Todd, I think that pretty well answers your question.

I appreciate you sending it in because you brought up so many good points that I know so many people have struggled with, but weren’t aware of all the underlying mechanisms and implications and how each of these things tied together.

And if you (global you – not just Todd) have any comments or questions, leave them below.

Oh yeah, almost forgot – the special promo for Kettlebell Express! ends at Midnight Wednesday night. When you want to stop stressing about which workouts to do to reach your goals, click here.

As promised – here’s the video with the Stress-Relieving kettlebell workout.

The video’s kinda long – but for a very good reason – I wanted to make sure you got the full background of why this workout is going to help you out and how to set it up.

Enjoy!

STRESS.

It’s a KILLER.

And nothing sabotages your workouts faster than unchecked stress.

One day you’re going along fine and the next you hit a brick wall.

You just can’t seem to make progress. And the harder you press forward, the greater your chances of moving backwards and losing so many of your hard won gains.

In the last blog, we looked at some of the symptoms of stress and being over-stressed.

I told you we would cover one workout template to help you “de-stress.”

Upon further thought, I thought I’d cover not one, but three different kettlebell workout templates to reverse the stress process with workouts that you could use.

One of the problems with feeling stressed is that we need an outlet.

Many people actually find that trying to maintain their workouts during seasons of stress, like now – the good ol’ Holiday Season becomes a stress in and of itself. So they’re tempted to quit in the short term only to promise themselves that they’ll pick it back up in the New Year.

These are the “I don’t have time”-ers.

So the workout template for you if you’re one of these people is very simple – you need to use the approach called -

TEMPLATE #1: “Something Is Better Than Nothing.”

You need to commit to simply completing minimalist workouts 5 days per week. Now I know 5 days per week sounds like too much, but notice I said “minimalist.” And by that I mean “minimal time commitment” and “minimal exercise complexity.”

My wife just recently started one of these that I put together for her and she loves it. It allows her to mentally check the box and know that because she is being consistent, she will make progress.

(That’s a KEY point to remember – Consistency Mandates Progress.)

Here’s what one of those workouts could look like:

2 Hand Swings: 10 minutes. As many as possible.
Monday through Friday.
Total workout time per week: 50 minutes excluding warm up.

Why 2 Hand Swings?

Because it’s a major bang-for-your-buck exercise that will make you stronger and better conditioned. Plus it’s simple.

Why 10 minutes?

Because EVERYBODY can “find” 10 minutes to workout. NOBODY is that busy. If you think you are, well, sorry to break it to you my friend, you’re lying to yourself.

Obviously, this is just a template. You can plug any exercise in here that you want if Swings honestly don’t appeal to you. Or you can pick two exercises and alternate back and forth between them on alternate days. That might be good for variety’s sake.

Last month I started a private client of mine on this type of template. The “mission” was basically 2 Hand Swings six days per week until Thanksgiving. Nothing fancy, just short workouts. We started him at a whopping 3×10 (3 sets of 10 reps) every day for a week with the goal of hitting 100 Swings by the day before Thanksgiving.

How’s it working for him?

Beautifully. I just saw him last night and he’s feeling better, he’s less stressed, his posture is better, his clothes fit better, and he’s seeing progress again. This is a great template for him because it allows us to work on some other stuff when we meet. Most importantly for him, he now feels like he’s back in control again.

Why does this work? / Why will this work?

Because it relieves the stress of fitting in your workouts by packaging them into ridiculously bite-sized pieces that your mind/subconscious can get behind with little to no resistance. Anybody can find 10 minutes in their day to work out.

Not only that, because of the frequency of the workouts, it builds consistency, which keeps your momentum, and therefore basically puts your results on autopilot.

TEMPLATE #2: “Doing The Opposite.”

Many times we get stuck in a rut.

We do the workouts we like to do, not necessarily what our body’s need us to do for proper maintenance and performance.

In our kettlebell community we have a bunch of “hard chargers” who really push the “pedal to the metal” a great deal of the time. The problem is when you redline your engine constantly, your engine needs more frequent maintenance otherwise it breaks down.

One of the most common areas we face is Met Con – or Metabolic Conditioning, which primarily consists of ballistics work. While good in the short run, too much of this will burn you out. Bad.

So if you find yourself doing lots of ballistic work right now – Swings, Snatches, whatever – stop.

That’s right – STOP.

Do the opposite.

Spend some time slowing down and working on your grinds.

Do pure strength work.

This is one of the ways I lost 20 pounds this past year.

I have spent the last 15 years lifting as heavy as I could with not much variety in my routine. And in case you’re wondering, kettlebells are not really variety when all you do is Olympic lifting – squatting, pulling, and pushing – it’s really more of the same – the same patterns. So I did exactly the opposite.

I spent a lot of time on bodyweight and the flexion pattern.

This presented my body with a novel stimulus and started to take care of some of the compensations I had built up over the years. (I won’t get into those details cause that’s not a blog post but a book.)

This is a hard concept to grasp – not on an intellectual level but on an emotional level. We all have our “favorite” exercises and workout designs/programs. The ones that are the worst for us are usually the ones that produce phenomenal gains for us and then instead of switching and doing something different – opposite – we keep trying to milk the program and end up going nowhere or hurt.

Case in point – last weekend at Hardstyle Ventura I spoke with a gentleman named David who really loved Kettlebell Muscle and saw phenomenal results after the 12 weeks. So instead of taking my advice in the book and switching to something else entirely different, he tried to milk the program and stay on it. The result?

Two busted shoulders.

So, here’s how you do this yourself.

Look at your program. (You are following a program, aren’t you? If you’re trying to “design” your own you are really spending a lot of time and energy you don’t need to be. Get on a professionally designed one. Seriously. Despite what some may say, there are really a lot of us who know what we’re doing with program design.)

What are you doing the majority of?

Now do the opposite.

Here are some suggestions:

Ballistics? Do strength work.

Strength work? Do some conditioning.

Heavy? Go lighter.

Only KB? Add some bodyweight.

High volume work? Drop the volume, push the intensity. Rest more – a lot more. And use heavier weight.

Long workouts? Do short workouts.

Short workouts? Do shorter workouts.

High frequency workouts – like every day? Cut your workout frequency by 50%. Workout every other day.

Personally, the more I study this, the more I think we ALL need shorter, less frequent workouts. When I look back at my private clients’ training, most of our “work” over the course of an hour block is done in 20 to 30 minutes segments. The rest of the time is spent decompressing from the day and transitioning – transitioning from the day to the workout and from the workout from the day. This of course includes warm-ups and cooldowns.

It just really hard to focus – to really focus on our workouts for more than 30 minutes at a time when the world around us is zooming by at a million miles per hour.

Why does this work? / Why will this work?

What I’ve learned over the years and has been corroborated by really smart guys like Soviet sports scientist, A. Vorobyev, is that the body performs better on contrasts – one type of training load contrasted with something relatively different, yet similar. For example, heavy with light. Fast with slow. (Ballistics with Grinds.)

Remember the key word here – similar. Running 3 miles one day and then maxing out your deadlift the next does not work. It’s counterproductive.

TEMPLATE #3: “Get In, Get Out”

This is really a time-based template.

It’s arguably my favorite. And it’s really good for those of you who find yourself feeling almost frantic at this time of year – or anytime of the year for that matter.

You set the duration of your workout and you do what you want to do within it. So time becomes the limiting factor. This is called “density training” and is one of the smartest, easiest ways to track your progress.

(Charles Staley popularized this over the last decade with his EDT programs and so has Ethan Reeve, S&C Coach at Wake Forest U. And you’ll also notice that Template #1 is organized around time. I really like training this way.)

Another reason I think these are some of the best templates is because it allows you to really focus and be present in your workouts. That of course allows for a much higher quality workout which in turn produces higher quality results, which of course is what we’re all after.

So here’s a density based program called “The Kitchen Sink” because it encompasses everything you can and should be doing at various times of the year. You can actually use this right now with great success.

“The Kitchen Sink.”

Frequency: 3 days per week. Non-consecutive days.
Duration: 20 minutes, excluding 5 minute warm-up
Focus: Everything.

Day 1: Single KB Work Basics

A1. 2 H Swings – sets of 10
A2. Get Ups – sets of 1

Day 2: Bodyweight

A1. Chin Ups – As many reps per set as possible minus 1 rep (leave one in the bank)
A2. Pistols – Play. As many as you feel like each set

Day 3: Double KB Strength Work

A. Double Clean + Press – ladders. 1,2,3,4,5

Yes, these workouts are short. You may feel like you can and should do more.

That’s the point.

That’s one of the biggest lessons I failed to learn early on from my weightlifting coach. You should ALWAYS feel like you could do more after each workout – training session – training lesson.

By keeping each workout purposefully short, you maintain your focus, you maintain your desire, and most importantly, you manage your stress levels and ensure that you can constantly make progress.

And yes, it is exactly the opposite of what most of us tend to do.

Why does this work? / Why will this work?

Probably the biggest reason these types of workouts produce results is -

They bring hormonal balance through increased recovery. As your body starts to de-stress, your body starts to re-optimize your stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. Because you’re no longer killing yourself in your workouts, you won’t risk over-training. Your sleep patterns will improve. And from there your body composition will start to change.

Plus, density training has been shown to increase testosterone levels, which makes it easier to grow muscle and improve strength, which in turn decreases estrogen levels, which can add fat to the body – especially lower body fat and the unmentionable – manboobs. Testosterone in turn has been shown to improve moods which promotes an increased overall sense of well-being, which in turn is a natural way to fight stress, and therefore decrease elevated cortisol levels.

It’s a little more complicated than this, but that’s the 30,000 foot view.

Pretty cool, huh?

I think so.

What To Do Next

Hopefully you identified yourself and your needs in one of those three templates.

I encourage you to put one of them to use – now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Now.

In my next post, I’ll actually post a video of what I think is the all-time best short-term stress-busting, time-efficient workout template of all-time ever. It covers all aspects of stress-relief – psychological, hormonal, and emotional.

Mild exaggeration?

Maybe.

You’ll just have to wait and see.

Regardless, you’ll definitely recognize the benefits of this particular template and how it will apply to certain periods in your life.

In the meantime, leave me your thoughts in the comments section below.

Stress is a funny thing.

I woke up a week ago last Sunday with a weird rash under my right pec that wrapped around my ribcage. When I looked in the mirror, it was running down the right side of my back.

I didn’t know what it was but I thought it would go away because it was probably just an allergic reaction to something I ate. It didn’t. It got worse. My lovely wife suggested I go to the doc’s, which I ended up doing on Tuesday morning. Turns out it was the worst case of Shingles the PA had ever seen. She brought in the doc to confer and he just nodded his head in awe.

Here’s a pic.

Shingles - Fun!

Pretty cool, huh?

Apparently Shingles are a physical response to stress, which was weird, because I wasn’t feeling particularly stressed out. Apparently I was wrong. My body was telling me otherwise. And interestingly, the symptoms were there – I just refused to pay attention. (More about that in a bit…)

Which brings me to the point of this post…

The Holiday Season is upon us.

Thanksgiving is 2 weeks from tomorrow. And Christmas is approximately 8 weeks from this coming Sunday. And apart from being a time of joy and fun, it’s also a season of Stress. Lots of stress.

We have to get our Thanksgiving plans finalized and start preparing for the Big Day. Then we have to immediately shift into Christmas mode and go shopping for gifts and go to parties and finalize travel plans and deal with people we may not want to deal with.

Compound all that with 4th Quarter deadlines and you have a recipe for STRESS and potential workout disasters.

I want to show you how you can avoid both, especially the workout disaster part.

Where Stress “Lives”

We talk about it in terms of “feelings” like being “stressed out” or feeling “stressed” but the crazy thing about it is by the time we actually start talking about it, it might just be too late. The nefarious effects of stress have already started in our bodies.

Here’s what I mean -

See, our conscious minds are kind of like the dashboard of your car. It gives us feedback about what’s going on both inside the car and outside the car. The speedometer tells you how fast you’re going (outside the car) and the oil pressure light tells you that you’re low on oil (inside the car). Likewise, the mind receives input from both the inside and outside – “I don’t feel good” and “She’s smiling at me.”

Our subconscious minds can be thought of as the electrical and mechanical systems that control the car – we know they’re there, we just can’t see them running from the outside. This is the part of the car where everything happens. It’s what truly drives the car. Sometimes this can be thought of as intuition – you know when you’ve got a “funny feeling” about something.

What about our body? Well that’s just like the body of the car – the frame, tires, color of the paint, etc.

But our subconscious is where the stress really lives. And when it rears its ugly head it does so through the conscious mind. It shows up in outbursts of anger or irritability, feelings of sadness, desires to overeat, overwhelming feelings of fatigue, or any unusual thoughts or behaviors.

Now What’s This Got To Do With Your KB Workouts?

Many of us work out to relieve stress. I’ve been there and done that.

But did you know that sometimes – many times – your workouts can be a contributing factor to the symptoms of stress?

It’s true.

You’re need to workout – although stress relieving in the short term, can actually cause you to sabotage your long term goals.

Again, it’s true.

Why?

Because workouts are just another physical stress placed upon the body. And if you’re over-stressed mentally, adding more stress physically, although mentally relieving, is still interpreted by the brain as STRESS.

So what are some symptoms of too much stress?

Well we already quickly covered some of the emotional ones above so let’s cover some physical ones.

- increased belly fat is a classic
- decreased muscularity
- decreased appetite
- increased desire for salty or sweet foods
- increased rashes (shingles anyone?)
- hair loss
- loss of libido and signs of libido
- increased resting heart rate
- increased blood pressure
- increased blood sugar – which leads to -
- increased fat around the midsection in general, including lovehandles
- chronic aches and pains
- fresh injuries
- recurrence of old injuries
- problems sleeping
- memory loss

And those are just some of the cursory physical symptoms of too much stress.

Why Does This Happen?

Two words – Stress Hormones.

Quite simply your stress hormones get out of whack – specifically your adrenaline and cortisol. What follows is a very brief rundown which you need to be aware of because it affects the results you’re getting or not getting, whichever the case may be.

See, when you get stressed out, there’s a part of your brain – your hypothalamus – that sends an alarm signal to your body. In response, your body releases adrenaline and cortisol. (This is called the “fight or flight” response.)

Adrenaline increases blood pressure and signals your body to release extra energy (blood sugar) to overcome the potential threat.

Cortisol also mobilizes blood sugar for energy use, and suppresses the reproductive and digestive systems. On the flip side, insulin is released to deal with the excess blood sugar and to return it the body’s cells for storage.

When you experience too much stress, without relief, including self-inflicted workout stress, your body is placed in a chronic “fight-or-flight” state.

So your sex drive drops and your digestive processes are suppressed and your insulin levels become chronically elevated.

Among other things, this means your body no longer fully digests your food, so it stores it as excess body fat, which is why you see an increase in belly fat and lovehandle fat among other things when you’re over-stressed.

(Remember earlier I said there were symptoms I chose to ignore? One of them was this little deposit of belly fat that seemed like it suddenly appeared overnight and just hung around.)

My point is this – when you find yourself in this state – which believe it or not occurs for many of us this time of year – around the start and through the entire Holiday season – it’s time to change your kettlebell workouts.

Why?

Because they can actually be adding to your stressful environment.

The Two Extremes

Now most of us will do one of two things over the Holiday Season in response to the STRESS we’re feeling -

1. Drop the workouts altogether because we just feel like there’s too much to do and not enough time to get it done. Something’s gotta give and it’s gonna be the workouts – plus, I can always start again in the New Year when things settle down.

OR

2. Increase the frequency, intensity or sometimes both (never a good combination – in fact, it’s just the opposite – a recipe for massive disaster) of our workouts – you know, man, I’m feeling really stressed right now I’m going to go do a bunch of Swings – no wait – Snatches – they’re better for busting stress cause I always feel like I get a real good workout from those and that’s what I need right now a real good workout!

Well if neither of those are good options what is?

Well that’s the subject of my next post.

In it I’ll tell you how you should change your kettlebell workouts this Holiday Season so you can -

1. Relieve stress

2.  Make progress

3. Reverse the “over-stressed” process

And I’ll show you one of the best workout templates (which you haven’t seen) that’s scientifically proven to keep you making progress.

And by “progress” I mean it’ll both help you get stronger and leaner, even during periods of high stress and binge eating like the Holiday Season.

In the meantime, feel free to leave your comments below.

As you know, I’ve been on a tear lately with bodyweight training.

As you also know, I’ve designed a very successful “kettlebell only” fat loss program – Kettlebell Burn.

However, it’s strength may also be a limitation. (*GASP!* He just said his program wasn’t the end all-be all!)

It is only kettlebell work. There’s nothing else included. Just kettlebell exercises. And I know from customer feedback that it works great.

But for some people it doesn’t.

Some people “need” more than just kettlebell work. (They’re what super-coach Louie Simmons calls “extroverts” – they need more training stimulus.) And that’s cool.

One of the best combinations for fat loss is combining bodyweight training with kettlebells.

Much to my dismay, I haven’t designed a fat loss program specifically for them, one that specifically combines the two.

Fortunately, my friend and fellow RKC Chris Lopez has.

I recently sat down and interviewed Chris all about it. You can read Part 1 here on yesterday’s post.

Today, Chris will discuss the proverbial “elephant in the room,” his mistakes as a trainer, how the RKC changed his program design for the better, the “Rule of 165,” and a very interesting take on eating for fat loss without expensive supplements and with a limited budget.

Here’s Part 2 – we’ll pick up with the bodyweight question we ended with yesterday.

GN: Why do you like mixing bodyweight training with kettlebells? What are some of the benefits you’ve noticed?

CL: Bodyweight training, in my opinon, is the PERFECT compliment to kettlebell training. I honestly think that when the training Gods came together to match training modalities, they said that KBs and Bodyweight were all that anyone would ever need.

With a lot of my clients, a lot of the benefits of what I’ve noticed has been mental. I know that clients somewhat enjoy having to put down the kettlebell to superset their swings/snatches with some complimentary bodyweight exercise.

Supersetting bodyweight exercises into the program gives clients that mental break thinking that they are resting because they are not holding the kettlebell.

We’re almost – and I hate to say it – “tricking them” into thinking that they’ve got a break, all the while they are doing more work because they are doing a low impact bodyweight exercise.

From a strength standpoint, I find that a lot of people are lacking in basic relative strength and because of that, the advanced stages of the program incorporate a bodyweight strength based exercise. Nothing will get you moving better, and get you stronger than moving your own bodyweight through space doing exercises like pistols and chin-ups.

GN: You’ve got a very successful kettlebell fat loss program – please tell us a little bit about it. What makes it unique instead of one of those “me too” kettlebell programs?

CL: Back in 2008 I was approached by my good friend, Craig Ballantyne, to become the very first Certified Turbulence Trainer. Craig and I have known each other for close to 8 years now and I was one of his first test subjects on the very first Turbulence Training program.

I’ve seen Craig train clients in the gym and use his methods to get great results. After a while, I started using his non-competing superset and interval training methods on my clients.

Because I live in Toronto and my clients opted to not do interval training on a hill in 40-below winter weather, I started using kettlebell swings & snatches or even full kettlebell/bodyweight circuits for their interval training sessions.

Craig saw this and saw that I knew what I was doing with kettlebells and asked me to write a fat loss program that involved his TT methods but incorporated the use of kettlebells & bodyweight training….and that was the birth of my program, The Turbulence Training Kettlebell Revolution.

GN: Ok, Chris, I’ve got to ask about the proverbial “elephant in the room” – the name – “TT Kettlebell Revolution?” I mean c’mon man, the “kettlebell revolution” started 10 years ago! In fact, I know you upset a more than a few people with that name in 2009 when you launched the first version. What’s so revolutionary about your program?

CL: Ha! I knew this one was coming!

Yes, I know for a fact that a lot of people were upset for several reasons. The “revolution” name was one of them. The fact that I was a virtual unknown and that I didn’t have my RKC designation yet was another. A lot of questions were asked in a very unfriendly way. I don’t even want to know what kind of discussions were going on in the Dragon Door Forums!

Putting the program together, launching it and doing it under the Turbulence Training umbrella was revolutionary for those using Turbulence Training because it was their first introduction into kettlebells.

We recognized a need in the market to put together a program that used kettlebells & bodyweight training that used Turbulence Training Methods of non-competing supersets with interval training sessions that exercisers could use in the comfort of their own homes. That, in of itself, was revolutionary to the initial group that we launched the program to.

After that, and because of the results that we saw with the initial group that we had using the program, the name stuck.

There’s no doubt that Pavel & John DuCane were the pioneers of the kettlebell movement in North America and that guys like you and Brett Jones were responsible for spreading the word and teaching. It’s you guys that were responsible for the REVOLUTION.

This program was a way for us to help get kettlebell training out to the masses and the people that followed the TT methods religiously.

I gotta tell you though, after the launch and hearing all the rumblings about it, I really started to question my validity as a trainer and whether or not it was the right thing to do. One of the natural characteristics of human nature is to have self-doubt and believe me, I had a lot of it.

Then, as hokey as it sounds, I asked myself why I was a trainer and why I was doing what I was doing and realized that the nature of it all came from a good place. I didn’t put the program out to piss off my colleagues and peers, I did it to help people. Plain and simple.

From that point, the only way to prove to people and to myself that what I was doing was legit and that I was the “REAL DEAL” was to get out there be part of the army spreading the word about kettlebell training.

So, I did something that I knew in my heart that I should’ve done years ago when I read about Pavel in Rolling Stone Magazine in 2001 and registered for my RKC.

I’ve never looked back since and plan on doing my CK-FMS next year and then my RKC II.

Everything about the RKC, from its Eastern Philosophy roots to it’s movement-based practice is everything that I believe in as both a trainer and as a person.

Would I have done anything different from that time in September 2009 when we launched the program?

Hell no.

I wouldn’t have gotten to this point – being interviewed by you, a Master RKC and living a great life both physically & mentally – if I didn’t. I’m able to apply my passion to my business because it is part of my life and I wouldn’t trade that for anything in the world.

GN: Great Chris. That makes perfect sense. And I admire you for your convictions. Very cool. OK, Chris, this is version 2.0. How is this different from your previous version? Why is it better?

CL: The first version was pretty intense. In the more advanced phases of the program, I had clients working out 6 days per week alternating days of strength based programming with days of interval training. It was a lot of volume, but nonetheless, we were getting great results.

Then, I noticed something funny. When I would look into the client journals and the success stories that I was receiving, I noticed that most people were really only training 3 to 4 days per week. The 6-day per week model seemed to be a little much for those that were incredibly busy like me.

These clients were getting similar results but training anywhere from 50-66% less than those training the full 6 days per week.

Around the same time, I took off to Disney World for the weekend to complete my RKC certification (it broke my heart, by the way, to leave my wife and 5 kids at home and go to Disney World). Over that weekend, meeting and learning from all the great instructors that the RKC has to offer, I realized that the Simpler is Better approach is the way to go with my training.

So, this NEW & IMPROVED version of the TT Kettlebell Revolution reflects all the knowledge and simplicity that I have learned over the past 2 years. The programming is simpler – not easier, but simpler – and puts a bigger emphasis on movement & strength all within a fat loss programming template.

GN: So my customers and subscribers will want to know how is “TT Ketttlebell Revolution 2.0” different from “Kettlebell Burn 2.0”? How would a “Kettlebell Burn” customer benefit from “TT Kettlebell Revolution 2.0?”

CL: The major difference is the element of bodyweight training.

I come from a school of thought where, if you can’t handle your own bodyweight, you have no business introducing another element of resistance into your training. So the majority of the initial stages of the program is a lot of bodyweight strength training with some foundational kettlebell movements.

I know the RKC recognizes the value of bodyweight strength training. Evidence is the fact that we just introduced the bodyweight pull-up/flexed arm hang test into the standards of attaining an RKC designation.

Those loyal to Burn will get a lot of variation of movement with the combination of the foundational kettlebell exercises and bodyweight exercises in TTKB. TTKB is written from a skinny, wiry guy’s athletic experience and so I’ve taken a lot elements from sport – high intensity bouts followed by short rest periods – with a lot of bodyweight power exercises like burpees, stride jumps and tuck jumps.

I’m also a huge fan of full body abdominal exercises like mountain climbers and Spiderman climbs and am devout follower of Dr. Stuart McGill, so you know I’ll have a lot of his stuff in there as well.

GN: Very nice job highlighting those differences and the benefits of them. OK, more controversy – I’m not a big fan of high reps for much of anything. Although I do believe they have their place in certain situations. I’ve noticed you’ve got some higher rep schemes in this program. Can you tell us why?

CL: Progressive overload. You’ll notice that a lot of the higher rep schemes in the TT Kettlebell Revolution incorporate timed sets mainly because most of the people that use my program only have access to one kettlebell.

So some of the higher rep programming is an additional way to use the overload principle to challenge the exerciser. I’ll ask the client to use their previous performance as a baseline measure for their next workout and so progress will occur if they are able to do one or more reps more than their previous workout.

Another area that I believe higher rep training to be beneficial is in the upper back/postural musculature. I have rep ranges in the 15-20 range for exercises like staggered stance rows because I believe that everyone needs some endurance in those smaller and essential postural muscles to combat all the forward leaning/anterior dominance that we get in today’s “desk-jockey” Western Society.

GN: Ok, great reasoning as well as practical application. Switching gears here, as most people, including you Chris, know, I’m a BIG believer in nutrition for fat loss. I love your ideas on fat loss nutrition. What are your 3 biggest nutritional strategies for fat loss while kettlebell training?

CL: Like I was saying above in my Rule of 165, I think nutrition plays as important, if not a more important role, than intense training.

If you don’t believe me, just take a look at all the senior citizens who can stay lean by just walking and eating a diet full of fruits and vegetables.

GN: Yeah, that’s a great point that’s often overlooked. My dad lost 30lbs in only 6 weeks back in 2003 just after his triple bypass. He changed his diet to the Zone and could only walk. Thanks for bringing that up.

CL: That said, my 3 best nutritional tips are:

1. Eat REAL FOOD. Stay away from processed crap. Eat as close to nature as possible. I’m not a big calorie counting type of guy because, well, I just don’t have the time and most importantly, I’m a parent who leads by example. So, the last thing that I want my 13-year-old daughter to see is me worrying about how many calories my grass-fed hamburger has and whether or not I’m within my “acceptable calorie range for the day”. Instead, if I can show my kids that I’m eating my fruits and vegetables on a regular basis and that we can’t buy you each an iPad because we choose to spend our money on premium beef from a cow that was allowed to graze on a pasture, then I think I’m being a good parent.

2. Drink lots of water. I’m finding more and more with the people that I work with that what they perceive to be hunger is, in fact, THIRST. I think we live in a population that is severely dehydrated and your body needs water to not only function properly but eliminate itself of toxicities (like bodyfat). My rule of thumb is to drink 1/2 your bodyweight in ounces of water. I got that from a book called “Your Body’s Many Cries For Water” by Dr. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj.

3. Eat when you’re hungry. This probably goes against everything that you’ve ever read in any fitness and weight loss book, but I have yet to see any empirical evidence that if you eat 5-6 small meals per day you’ll lose more weight than if you just ate when you were hungry. It seems a little counter-intuitive to me. Eating every 2 hours means that you are constantly feeding yourself and causing an insulin response. If you’ve constantly got insulin in your blood, how is it possible to lose fat? Now, I’m just going on logic and the experience that I’ve had with both using myself and my clients as guinea pigs, but if you eat when you’re hungry, then you’ll find that you’ll eat a lot less and not be obsessed about food. If you’re eating less, then the liklihood of you losing weight goes up. It’s just a matter of recognizing when you truly are hungry or when an external stimulus causes you to think about food. There is a difference and once you’ve mastered and recognized that difference, you’ll change the game of fat loss for yourself.

GN: Those are excellent, Excellent points, Chris. Unlike the much of the mainstream fitness world, I’m a BIG believer in shorter workouts. And it looks from TTKB that you are too. Why do you believe shorter workouts are better for fat loss, especially with kettlebells?

CL: I think the metabolic effect is undeniable with shorter more intense workouts. Truthfully, with a properly structured kettlebell workout, I’d be shocked to see someone go longer than 40 minutes straight without sacrificing quality of movement and form in their exercises.

One of the major reasons why I like shorter workouts is because I’m a realist. As I said above, I first started training with kettlebells because of the restraint on my time. The only way for me to get a GOOD QUALITY workout within a set time was to train with kettlebells and bodyweight. That said, I know that a lot of people are like me – we have kids, we have jobs, we have commitments, we have LIVES – and so we need an effective fat loss solution that fits into our busy schedule. Short but intense kettlebell workouts fit that mould, give us a great hormonal effect and make us feel energized as opposed to some of these high-rep marathon workouts that make you feel like you just got hit by a truck.

That’s another thing about training with kettlebells – and forgive me if I’m off on a tangent – but I don’t think that your workouts should be punishing. I think with the birth of some of these 80% technique, 100% guts and puke workouts (and I won’t mention the name of the workout I’m talking about, but you and I both know), people believe that if you’re not hurting by the end of the session then you’re doing something wrong.

GN: I totally agree. I’m 100% against beating yourself to a pulp in order to achieve results. For many, it produces some short-term and short-lived gains, but for most, it leads to injury and frustration.

CL: Yeah, again, logically, that just doesn’t make any sense. If we are trying to feel better. If we’re trying to move better and improve the quality of our lives, why are we trying to hurt ourselves into submission to get to that healthy state?

When it comes to exercise and health, if people just stop and think – apply the rule of 165, remember that they’re supposed to feel energized and not hurt after a workout and eat real food – not only will they lose fat and gain muscle and strength, but they’ll be a lot happier as well.

GN: You’ve got something special for “Kettlebell Secrets” subscribers. Why don’t you tell us about it?

CL: Yes I do, Geoff. I’m really happy and confident with the work that I’ve done with the TT Kettlebell Revolution v2.0 and after getting people that I really respect review it and give me their feedback (you were one of those people), I know it’s something that will help a lot of people.

So with the new program (the ebook, the Training & Transformation Journal and the demo videos), I’m also offering 3 new programs:

TT Kettlebell Extreme is probably one of the most FUN programs that I’ve ever written and done. It involves some of the best off-the-cuff kettlebell and bodyweight exercises (like handstand push-ups and windmills) and sandwiched in the middle is a brutal Kettlebell-Bodyweight-Hill Training Day that is one of the simplest and brutalist (is that a word?) workouts you’ll ever do.

The KB-Barbell Hybrid Program was specifically designed for those skeptics who know that kettlebell training is where it’s at, but they just haven’t been able to give the gym up yet. This program gives them the advantage of using traditional barbell exercises – sorry, I stuck to my “no bench rule” though – and combines those foundational movements with the best kettlebell exercises to get an incredible strength & conditioning hybrid workout. Athletes – weekend warriors and serious athletes – will LOVE this program.

TT Kettlebell Metabolic Resistance Training (MRT) ($47) – MRT is the latest craze in the fitness industry, but the problem was that most MRT programs incorporated exercises and equipment that you only had access to in a gym. I took the best of the MRT workouts and adapted them for use with just a kettlebell and your bodyweight (and whole heck of a lot of mental toughness). This workout is definitely one of my favourites that I’ve ever written (and experimented on myself).

So you’ll get those 3 workouts, plus the new TT KB Revolution and the Women’s Program and the Getting Started MP3 for $57.

This is something that I’m only offering for your friends, Geoff.

GN: Wow – that’s A LOT of stuff and really cool of you Chris – thanks!

CL: It’s just a way for me to give you a BIG THANK YOU for all that you’ve done to help me, the knowledge that you’ve shared and for the interview.

You’ve really been instrumental in my journey to this point, and I’m truly grateful, so thank you.

GN: Cool – you are more than welcome – glad to have been able to help you out. And thanks for helping my subscribers out with your more-than-generous offer!

Thanks again for your time, Chris. And thanks for leading from the front on the fatherhood thing with 5 kids!

——-

When you’re ready to combine bodyweight training and kettlebells, I recommend you get started right away with Chris’s generous special offer.

You can do so by clicking here.

I spent the last weekend in beautiful San Diego – specifically in La Jolla at Revolution Fitness with my good friends Franz and Yoana Snideman.

Saturday I taught an RKC Recert which went very well.

The RKCs really liked the updated and streamlined teaching progressions.

Sunday, I taught a Kettlebell Muscle workshop.

Everyone there set PRs in multiple lifts – everyone achieved deeper, more controlled Front Squats. Many people set new PRs in the Press, the Double Snatch, and the Jerk.

It was very cool.

But at the end 3 of the ladies came up to me and asked my why they all crashed at the beginning of Phase 4 of “Burn.”

Upon further questioning, it turns out they were making a very common mistake:

They were exceeding they’re recovery capacity.

In other words, they were doing too much and not resting enough.

But how is that possible when “Burn” is only 3 days per week?

Simple.

1. They were doing A LOT more than just “Burn” 3 days a week. One was teaching multiple kettlebell classes every day. All 3 were taking intense kickboxing classes 2-3 days extra per week. So they weren’t following “Burn.”

They were doing WAYYYY more than “Burn.”

2. Upon even further questioning, it turns out that they weren’t as diligent as they needed to be with their eating – they weren’t eating enough. Yeah, weird, I know. But you actually need to eat more than you think to fuel your training/workouts – even on a fat loss program. So by their own admittance, these 3 lovely women weren’t getting the calories they needed to fuel and recover from their training/workouts.

3. Both overtraining and under-eating are actually the 2 best ways to sabotage your fat loss efforts. More is not better. Less is.

I can only assume, because I didn’t ask, was that they might have been a little bored with “Burn.” After all, it’s only kettlebell training for fat loss.

There’s no mixing of modalities like bodyweight or barbells or anything like that.

Funny how timing works out – I just interviewed my friend and fellow RKC Chris Lopez about how to combine kettlebells and bodyweight training for fat loss.

Some people “need” more than just kettlebell training. And that’s fine – we’re all wired a little differently. So it makes good sense that we should address how to effectively mix training methods like bodyweight training and kettlebells in such a way as to not overtrain and continue seeing results.

You really need to read it because Chris exemplifies what it means “not have time” to workout. (He’s got 5 kids and 2 businesses – Yikes!)

He covers 3 things you need to consider when training for fat loss (or anything else for that matter).

And we start to get into mixing kettlebells and bodyweight training.

Here’s part 1 –

GN: Tell us a little about yourself Chris – your background in the fitness industry, etc.

CL: I’ve been in the fitness industry for 14 years now. Like a lot of us “trainer-types”, I was an athlete growing up and started working out to improve my performance in my chosen sports – baseball, basketball and then eventually volleyball. Being not very tall for basketball or volleyball (I’m 5’11”) I became obsessed with vertical jump in my junior and senior years of highschool. That’s where it pretty much began for me.

I had a PE teacher and coach who was a standout volleyball player and could dunk a basketball off 2 feet at a height of 5’8”. He was big on bodyweight training and training to get strong. He was one of the first ones to tell me that if I trained like an athlete, not only would I perform like one, but I would LOOK like one as well. From there, I was hooked. I followed him around. Did push-ups and pistols when he told me to and began to see great results.

From there I went to university (we don’t call it “college” up here in Canada) and studied Human Kinetics. I also played varsity volleyball for a couple of years and used my teammates as guinea pigs to some of my training methods. Back then, circa 1997, the “fitness industry” was still evolving and personal training was still thought of as a luxury that only the uber-wealthy could afford. The strength & conditioning field up here wasn’t something that everyone bought into yet either. Nonetheless, I took the plunge, got certified first as a CPT and then as a CSCS and never looked back.

Between that time to the present I went from doing bodyweight training, to machine training, to bodybuilding style training, to balance-board “functional” training, to Olympic lifting and on and on. Funny, it’s been a full circle, but now I’m back to using bodyweight training and kettlebells (of course) as the foundation for my training practice.

Currently, I hold a BSc HK from the University of Guelph, I have my CSCS designation, I’m the first ever Certified Turbulence Trainer and am a very proud RKC.

GN: Chris, you’ve got a unique personal story about kettlebells – please tell us how you got into kettlebells and what they’ve done for you since your first touched them.

CL: I got into kettlebells mainly out of necessity. Like many folk these days, I’m incredibly busy – I have 5 kids, I run 2 businesses, I coach a competitive volleyball team, I’m an assistant coach with the Canadian National Beach Volleyball Program and I really, really like my wife, so spending time with her is right there on the top of my list. That said, I’m still a coach and a trainer and know that in addition to being strong and fit, I have to look strong and fit as well. The problem was that – given all the things above that I am very passionate about – there wasn’t a lot of time to do “traditional gym workouts”.

GN: That’s a very full plate!

CL: Yeah, I found that if I can train at home, using my own bodyweight and kettlebells, I can get an even better workout than if I spent 15 minutes driving to the gym, finding a parking spot, changing, etc, etc.

So before our 3rd was born (she is 6 now), I started to really get into kettlebells and bodyweight training and the results that I was getting were staggering.

I felt like I could move better, I felt healthier, I was lean AND strong and – going back to the whole reason why I started training in the first place – I could jump higher.

I would use kettlebells at the training studio that I was working out of and people started to take notice and started asking questions (one of those people, in fact, was Craig Ballantyne, creator of Turbulence Training).

I started to regularly incorporate kettlebell swings, snatches and goblet squats into my programming after reading Pavel’s books and articles by yourself, Brett Jones, Steve Maxwell, Mike Mahler and the like.

All in all though, I got into kettlebell training because I didn’t have a lot of time to train. I found that I could get all that I was looking for in 1/3 of the time by just being able to train at home using kettlebells & bodyweight.

GN: Those are fantastic reasons that I think a lot of people overlook. And certainly, if kettlebells worked for you with your busy schedule, they’ll work for anybody.

Why do you like using kettlebells for fat loss and what kind of results have your clients and customers seen?

CL: I think it’s common belief in our world that the Holy Grail of fitness is the ability to burn fat and build muscle at the same time. According to legend, all the stars have to be aligned in order for this to happen – diet, training, lifestyle, stress levels, etc.

Now, by no means am I saying that kettlebells are the way to this “Holy Grail”, but in my 14 years of experience in this industry, I have never seen any other training method work in transforming my clients’ bodies in the least amount of time than when they started training with kettlebells.

Now, keep in mind, that this is just MY experience as a trainer. I’ve trained hundreds of clients in my 14 year career using various different methods. And, no disrespect to those that use other methods, but using kettlebells has become my go-to because it simply works.

Mind you, these days I only really train clients in small groups or privately in their homes and therefore space is an issue. I run a few BYOKB classes and so my clients usually only bring a single kettlebell to our class.

So, I love using kettlebells for fat loss, initially because of its versatility and portability.

You can train anywhere – in your living room, in the park, in the parking lot of a hospital when your wife is in labor (long story) – without sacrificing the quality of getting a great workout.

One of the fad terms these days is “Metabolic Resistance Training” (using resistance training with almost inadequate rest periods to elicit a metabolic response in the body) which, as far as I’ve known, is the essence of what kettlebell training has been for the past 10-12 years.

Using a training method like this has been known to “spare” hard earned muscle while creating a furnace effect in the body that incinerates fat.

All that said, it makes sense to me to use kettlebells to try to get to “the promised land” of fat loss & muscle gain.

GN: What are some major mistakes you’ve seen people make when using kettlebells to lose fat? Give us your top 3 please.

CL:

i. Probably the biggest issue that I’ve noticed is that people see using kettlebells as their “magic bullet” and fail to understand that diet & lifestyle both play MAJOR ROLES – possibly more than the training effect – in the fat loss equation.

If we break things down into percentages with average training session taking 45 minutes, 3 times per week, then we’ve got a total of 2 hours and 15 minutes of TOTAL training time.

There are 168 hours in a week, so training only accounts for 1.3% of the total time that you have in a week!

Therefore, the question that EVERYONE needs to ask themselves if they are trying to lose fat, gain muscle or look better is “What am I doing in the other 165.75 hours (or 97.75% of the time remaining) in my week to help with my results?” I call this “The Rule of 165”.

Training isn’t the be all and end all of looking great. There are so many more factors involved.

Losing fat is NOT EASY – although, the equation to do it is SIMPLE – so once someone recognizes that it is about more than training, then they’ll be in the right mindset to achieve all they can from any good kettlebell program.

ii. Not addressing and/or correcting movement issues first.

A lot of what we teach as RKCs is the ability for our clients to move correctly and efficiently. This is the one thing that I often see neglected by trainers who start out with fat loss clients.

Correct movement is the foundation for ANY training program and something that needs to be addressed FIRST ABOVE ALL ELSE prior to anyone using any type of program – be it strength, hypertrophy, fat loss, whatever.

Without correct functionality and correct movement patterns, without cleaning up form and technique in your foundational kettlebell lifts and movements, clients will end up injured and/or not achieving anywhere close to their potential.

iii. Thinking that being strong isn’t part of the fat loss equation.

After movement, the next issue that people don’t understand is that they need to gain/achieve an appreciable level of strength. This is something that you’ve hammered home for me when we first spoke almost a year and a half ago and something that has been reiterated by the likes of Pavel & Dan John especially.

I think Sr RKC Dan John had the best analogy when he said (and I’m paraphrasing) that strength is much like a glass that you are trying to fill. The stronger you are, the bigger your glass is and therefore the more you can put into it – ie. the easier it will be to achieve your goals if you have a certain level of strength.

So pound for pound, if you’re not very strong (if you’re working with a shot glass), you won’t get as great results as the individual whose got a goblet the size of the beast, if you know what I mean.

I guess the take home is that having a certain level of strength should be something that everyone should be gunning for – from housewives to 80 year old grandfathers.

That doesn’t mean that you have to train for strength prior to everything else. Strength elements can be built into fat loss programs and into programs that build muscle, but they should never be without.

GN: Those are great points that I’d dare say most people fail to take into consideration when using kettlebells or anything else for fat loss. Speaking of which, you have a great fat loss program which we’ll talk more about later and in it, you mix kettlebells and bodyweight training. Why do you like mixing or combining the two together? What are some of the benefits you’ve noticed?

CL: Bodyweight training, in my opinon, is the PERFECT compliment to kettlebell training. I honestly think that when the training gods came together to match training modalities, they said that KBs and Bodyweight were all that anyone would ever need.

With a lot of my clients, a lot of the benefits of what I’ve noticed has been mental. I know that clients somewhat enjoy having to put down the kettlebell to superset their swings/snatches with some complimentary bodyweight exercise.

Supersetting bodyweight exercises into the program gives clients that mental break thinking that they are resting because they are not holding the kettlebell.

We’re almost – and I hate to say it – “tricking them” into thinking that they’ve got a break, all the while they are doing more work because they are doing a low impact bodyweight exercise.

From a strength standpoint, I find that a lot of people are lacking in basic relative strength and because of that, the advanced stages of the program incorporate a bodyweight strength based exercise. Nothing will get you moving better, and get you stronger than moving your own bodyweight through space doing exercises like pistols and chin-ups.

Certainly some great points Chris brought up here for us all to consider. I strongly urge you to evaluate your own training in light of them.

We’ll talk more with Chris tomorrow.