Soooo… interested in hacking off up to 17 pounds of fat in 30 days using a pair of kettlebells?

Cool.

Tell me why you want to do that and why you should win a copy of Kettlebell Burn EXTREME! in the comments section below.

I’ll be giving away FIVE copies of the complete system. Remember, if you don’t enter, you stand a zero chance of winning your own copy.

My wife, who is an awesome FBS (Facebook Surfer), showed me this video last night and I just HAD to share
it with you.

I was blown away – ESPECIALLY by the ending – so make sure you watch the whole thing.

Seriously – you’re jaw will drop open just like mine did.

Here it is -

It’s amazing, this guy had every reason to just give up, but he didn’t.

He CHOSE to change. He found something that inspired him to do something different and get the results he got – which are nothing short of truly amazing.

Imagine what you could do if you found a really compelling reason to do things differently – to move from where you are to where you really want to be.

I’m betting that you could do something similar to this guy if all you did was really focus for a short period of time.

In fact, I bet if you really put your mind to it you could make a heckuva transformation in your appearance in as little as 30 days.

Speaking of transformations, I’m about to (finally) release “Kettlebell Burn EXTREME!”. In it, I’ll give you the EXACT plan that has allowed some people to lose 10 pounds in the first 2 weeks, over 17 pounds in 28 days, and one guy even got back down to his high school waist at age 46.

Click here to get on the “Early Bird Notification” list.

In my last post we saw that there were two reasons for back pain when performing Kettlebell Swings, according to Dr. McGill’s study in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. They were:

1. Poor technique, which we addressed with the video in the last post, and
2. Actual lower back instability, which we’ll address in this post

What is lower back instability?

It’s simply your body’s inability to properly stabilize your spine under load – any load.

This means your body is unable to create “stiffness” in the muscles around the spine in a coordinated manner to protect the spine from the force of loading. Sure, it’s a little more complicated than that, but I’m not really a “science guy” so if you want to know the in-depth details of the science, buy Dr. McGill’s book, Low Back Disorders for an in depth explanation.

Spinal instability often comes from daily prolonged postures, oh, like… sitting. All day. At your computer or desk or whatever. Sitting promotes a slumped posture which places the lumbar spine in flexion (the whole spine actually for most people) and in turn shuts off the deep abdominal and lower back stabilizers, effectively putting them to sleep (called sensorimotor amnesia) so your body no longer has immediate access to them. Your body then relies on prime movers – muscles designed to move, not stabilize – to stabilize the spine. That’s where bad things happen.

Anyway, there are a ton of resources on lower back pain, etc. for you to google, bing, yahoo or whatever and this post isn’t meant to be an in depth essay or primer on lower back pain, low back mechanics and the such.

What it is meant to be is a “hack” – something that strips away all the noise and gives you a high payoff action you can use immediately.

My favorite exercise for spinal stability to help fix your Kettlebell Swing

It’s really simple in theory but for many it’s very challenging to do.

It’s the Bird Dog.

With of course, my own modifications. (Because I just can’t leave well enough alone.)

Here’s a picture.

The Bird Dog

It’s quite simple to perform. (And yes, you’ll probably notice that this picture looks a little different from pictures of the Bird Dog you may have seen in other places – like there is no stick on my back, etc… I’ll get to that.)

Here’s how:

• Assume a quadraped stance – on hands and knees
• Lift your head up and look straight ahead, not down at the ground
• Simultaneously lift one arm and the opposite leg
• Push your heel as far away from your body as possible without rotating your hip
• Reach as far as possible with your arm
• Imagine there’s a string or a rope connecting your arm and your leg and you’re trying to lengthen the rope by pushing against it from both ends
• Hold for a second or two to prove you’ve got control of the movement
• Place the hand and the knee back back on the ground.
• Repeat. Then switch sides.

I recommend working up to 3 sets of 20 reps per side, with about 60 seconds of rest between exercises. This builds strength endurance in the lumbar stabilizers and strength endurances has been shown to be a preventative mechanism against lower back injuries.

Now, about my exercise “tweaks.”

Depending on your education, you’ll notice that there’s no stick on my back. I don’t believe in using it. In my book, it’s an unnatural teaching cue that doesn’t necessarily produce the desired response – natural movement patterns. The body goes where the head and eyes take it – at least it’s supposed to: Eyes, then head, then body. It’s a natural reflex pattern or synchrony that many of us lose. So I train that along with the spinal stability. I find tucking the chin and pushing the back of the head into a stick while maintaining or trying to maintain the lumbar curves distracting and frustrating. You may disagree. That’s fine by me.

But some interesting things happen when you perform it the way I’m suggesting:

1. You definitely feel your lumbar extensors working.
2. The more you focus on lifting your head and reaching with your limbs, the more you’ll feel your deep abdominals contract reflexively. That’s the key – reflexively. Or automatically in response to the load/movement. And that’s exactly what we want.
3. You’ll feel the glut and the hamstring contract.
4. You’ll feel the muscles of your middle back contract to counterbalance the weight of your head and your arm – those pesky and hard-to-reach middle and lower trapezius muscles.
5. By lifting the head and balancing on your knee, you are simultaneously creating space in your tight hips, which have been overstressing your lower back, and are creating stability as well. Stability and mobility in your hip with one exercise tied in with reflexive abdominal contraction. Sounds just like what we’re looking for. Nice.
6. By keeping the head up, especially by focusing on lifting the crown (top) of your head to the sky, your lats reflexively contract and your shoulder are automatically packed.

So by working the Bird Dog the way I propose, you’re not just working lumbar stability. You’re working a whole lot more at the same time.

And make no mistake, this puppy is challenging for many and probably will be for you. Working up to sets of 20 strict reps, where there’s a pause of the limbs – the leg in extension and the arm in flexion, is seriously demanding. There were times in the past when both my clients and myself have been left huffing and puffing and dripping sweat. That’s because there’s way more going on with the Bird Dog than meets the eye.

Some exciting news you may not know…

By now, many are familiar with the concept of the body being “wired” as an “X”. Cool. But, by training the limbs contralaterally (opposite arm and leg – like the gait cycle), you actually do several things.

1. You increase whole body coordination through increased synaptic connections between left and right hemispheres of the brain. You literally become smarter.
2. You become stronger. Training / loading the body contralaterally naturally trains the core musculature (similar to the crawling/creeping pattern babies use).
3. When you load the opposite hand and foot, you also load the core musculature and simultaneously train the vestibular system, a common and often overlooked place for movement dysfunction. (By actively pulling your foot into dorsiflexion and actively extending your fingers on the hand on the elevated arm and pressing your palm into the floor on the Bird Dog, you’re working your feet and hands.)
4. Training the vestibular system improves your total body coordination by increasing your proprioceptive awareness, or your body’s perception of itself in time and space.

There are many other wonderful things about the body that we are only just rediscovering. And there’s a lot more information to be applied to our training as well.

Unfortunately, I just looked at the clock and I’ve run out of time so I’ll have to make this a topic of future blog posts.

In the meantime, get on that Bird Dog. Work up to 3 sets of 20 – that’s my recommendation.

And obviously, there are some caveats:

1. If you currently have back pain while swinging a kettlebell and it’s not technique (the FOLD didn’t help you) make sure your doc says you’re good to go for the Bird Dog. (That’s my CYA – you like it?)
2. If you’re currently under a Physical Therapist’s care, ask about doing it.
3. Make sure the Bird Dog doesn’t cause pain while doing it.
4. Make sure the Bird Dog relieves your pain while swinging. Check, recheck, right?

About #3 – you may have to reset using FOLD concepts, so revisit the video.

That’s it, gotta run. In the meantime, if you want to know or experience more about the whole “Body is an X” thing here’s something my buddy Tim and I are doing that will immediately improve your kettlebell lifting.

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.