fat loss

Kettlebell Training For Beginners

Kettlebell Training

In my 4 year training hiatus away from traditional gyms, I have learned a lot about strength and conditioning.

I’ve learned that fancy equipment is NOT a necessity, and that a small investment in large ROI (return on investment) tools like the kettlebell are well worth the money spent.

I was introduced to kettlebells through the internet.  Honestly, the first time that I ever witnessed a person swinging a kettlebell was on YouTube while in Detroit, MI.  I have to admit that I was stubborn in my training philosophy then, so I hated them.

“Another exercise fad! That’s insane and dangerous!”

I believe that to be my initial reaction that after watching the video clip.

Kettlebells weren’t a thought in my mind until a year after watching that clip.  What a mistake.

Perform Better and Gray Cook…

While attending a Perform Better conference in Chicago, I decided to listen in on Gray Cook’s seminar as he raved about the kettlebell’s versatility when it came to rehab, strength and power development.  Gray isn’t known for being a fat loss guru, but he made a point to touch on the effectiveness of kettlebell training for burning fat.

One point that Gray made was an experience that he had working with the Indianapolis Colts, having 260-320lb NFL athletes try and walk 50 yards with a 53lb (24kg) kettlebell held in full extension over their head.

Not one guy could do it.

Pound for pound, we are talking about some of the strongest athletes in the world.  Many of these guys can probably press 100+ pounds vertically, yet not one could overhead carry load half of that (53lb) for 50 yards?!?!

No shoulder stability.  Many of these guys were ticking time bombs for injury.  Very interesting.

After Gray’s seminar, I ventured over to the product display table where they had a 20kg kettlebell out for trainers to play around with.  As soon as I picked it up, I felt like I hadn’t trained in years.  The feel of it was so unique.

One short, awkward, off-balance kettlebell workout later that night in the hotel room and I  knew that there was something incredibly valuable about the kettlebell.  The rest is history.

Here are some reasons to love KB’s…

Kettlebell Design…

The weight of a kettlebell is off-center that of the handle, unlike a dumbbell where the weight is evenly distributed on either side of your hand grip.  First impressions after picking up the 20kg bell at the convention told me that I needed to give it a shot.  I purchased a 20kg kettlebell and my introduction to alternative training methods began.

Most of the kettlebells that I recommend purchasing as made of a cast iron mold.  Lifeline and Dragon Door are the two major players, with companies like Perform Better and Art of Strength having a market presence also.

You are going to find two different styles of kettlebell on the market today.

1)  The first is the competition kettlebell and looks like this:

2)  The second (and more common) kettlebell that you will often see is what is known as the “hardstyle” kettlebell.  This kettlebell design was used by the Russian’s to condition their military for years.  Pavel Psatsouline pioneered the kettlebell craze in the Western world in the early 2000’s, and his methods have since grown like wild-fire in popularity.

Here is what the “hardstyle” kettlebell looks like:

Flow…

The flow of kettelbell training is what makes it so addicting.  Virtually every movement in a kettlebell workout is completed in standing position, so transitioning from a 2-handed swing to a 1-handed swing to a 1-arm clean into a vertical press… is actually quite simple.  It’s all about grace and flow while maintaining enough muscular tension to move the bell through space.

Ground based training with constant transitions from movement to movement is total body in nature, and extremely fatiguing.  The indirect core training that occurs as a result of a vertically standing posture is one of the many perks of ground based training.  Muscles are called upon to contribute as they would in a real world situation.

This is functional training.  No gimmicks, just amazing real world carryover from the workout to life.

Relaxed-Tension…

Kettlebell training is a skill and an art.  Creating tension where it is needed yet remaining relaxed is something the is so non-traditional compared to traditional strength training methods.  Sure, you can perform the grunt lifts, but the balance of “relaxed-tension” is something to be marveled at with a kettlebell workout.  Martial artists have known the value of relaxed-tension for hundreds of years.

Relaxed-tension demonstrated in the Bottom’s Up Turkish Get Up

Basic movements, huge training effect…

Simplicity will trump everything with kettlebell training.  A steady diet of kettlebell swings, cleans, snatches, vertical presses, bent rows, reverse lunges, turkish get ups and carrying variations will keep you progressing for months both aesthetically and athletically.

Forget about fancy moves from the get go.  Train the foundational movement patterns listed above and you’ll develop strength while consistently decreasing your waist circumference.

A lot of people struggle with sticking to a training regimen because they get paralysis by analysis.  Men’s Health and their trivial information sends people in 10 different directions, which often times causes the tiring spinning effect in a training

Stick to the basics.

 

Stay tuned as I load this blog up with more videos and demonstrations.

Time to move more and sit less people.

Here is a two movement basic kettlebell workout that I still use to this day…

Is a 15 Minute Workout Realistic???

15 minute Workouts

60 minute workouts for fat loss are old news (so it seems).

Heck, in some circles, 45 minute workouts for fat loss are considered yesterday’s methods.

I have thought long and hard about my position on the judging a workout’s effectiveness or quality based on the time it takes to complete it.

While I was in Detroit, Michigan working with high-end athletes, our training sessions would take AT LEAST 90 minutes.

Why 90 minutes?

That is the amount of time it took us to from start to finish, working through this simple template:

1)  Foam Roll

2)  Static Stretch/Mobility

3)  Activation

4)  Dynamic Warm-Up

5)  Explosive (Plyometrics/Jump Training)

6)  Olympic Lifts/Power

7)  Strength/Core (Tri-sets)

8)  Conditioning/ESD (Energy System Development)

Total Time: 90min

This athletic based template was fast paced and continuous.  The breaks between each section were for water or timed rest periods.  Building an athlete requires focused development of a number of different qualities, and this template proved to be rock solid when it came to getting things done in a timely fashion, and most of all… getting results.

Now,  I know that most of my readers are not current athletes.  You may have been an athlete at one time (as I was), but reality is creeping up on you with regard to time available to workout.  It’s ok.  Life happens and we have to make adjustments to accommodate our daily activities.

Some fitness fanatics think that life should be built around your workouts, however, I tend to believe based my own testimonials and my own personal experiences… that your workouts should be designed to fit your lifestyle.

I know that some people are going to take advantage of my last statement, trying to bend the rules to the point where they begin to develop habits of never working out and letting themselves go, but I would hope that most of you choose to maintain a strict training regimen.

In my effort to adapt my workouts around my career and other business ventures, I began to look hard a Javorek’s complex training for fat loss and all around strength and conditioning.

I liked the idea of performing a large volume of work in a small window of time.  Javorek’s complex training is perfect for this as it is ridiculously effective for stripping fat in record setting time (15min or less).

Here are some of the training tools that I have used in the past for a complex:

–  Kettlebells

–  Barbells

–  Dumbbells

–  Suspension Trainers and Weight Vests

KB’s, BB’s and DB’s are what I have found to be the most effective.  You can adjust the loading easily with these training tools to fit your strength and conditioning and experience level and quite honestly… the movements just feel more natural using KB’s, BB’s, and DB’s.  Sometimes you have to go with your gut when you are designing workouts/programs.

Nothing against suspension trainers or weight vests, but trying to adjust the length on a suspension trainer or remove a weight vest while your eyeballs are popping out of your head from oxygen debt isn’t ideal.

For 3 months straight, I tested the idea that I might be able maintain my body composition and performance levels using just one simple complex template.  In the back of my mind, I wondered if I could actually improve my body composition and performance, but I didn’t want to set my hopes too high.

Here is the basic total body workout template overview that I used…

3 months is a long time to use the same general training format, workout after workout.  I have to admit that I worried about developing faulty movement patterns or flat out overtraining from the repetitive nature of the self-experiment.

Move More, Sit Less

Pure Fat Loss, Quick Tips

The original title of this blog was going to be “Move More, Sit Less”.

For some odd reason, I had a lot of trouble trying to come up with a “clever” name for my little space on the internet, even though I have an OK understanding of how SEO (search engine optimization) works, and the title isn’t going to automatically get my information out to the masses.

So what is the purpose of this blog?  

I had to ask myself that before I started up another blog.  It is so easy to for me to sit in front of my computer and bang out post after post about movement, food, and everything else that has to do with maintaining or regaining control of your mind and body.

I don’t know why, but I am just fascinated by how simple fat loss really can be, yet how complicated we make it.

One interesting thought came up in conversation one weekend while I was up in “God’s Country” (aka:  Hayward, WI).  I was sitting on the deck at my girlfriend’s parents house when the conversation swung to health (for some weird reason everyone wants to talk about health when I am around).  Tom, my girlfriends Dad, mentioned that he felt that people who write about self-help are just in it to make a buck ($$$).

Isn’t she adorable? I think so.

I felt a little weird once her Dad mentioned this (even though I know he didn’t mean anything harm by saying it) as I am currently working on a book that incorporates time tested solutions for fat loss, along with a manual for hockey players (strength and conditioning).  I am not writing the books because I feel that my target audience needs to hear more about health and nutrition, I am writing it because, well, god dammit I want to write it.

For me, it is an accomplishment sort of deal.  I feel like I have a lot to say and I need some sort of avenue to get all of my thoughts out.  What better vehicle than writing a book?  If a business develops because of it… great!  I am an entrepreneur at heart.

 

What qualifies me to write a book?  

I will be blunt here.

I am well read and I have a shit ton of experience working with athletes of all levels, Mom’s, Dad’s, high-profile business owners, low profile average Joes and everyone in between.  I worked with young kids in Detroit during my tenure at a training facility.  That was a true experience in patience and learning to communicate on a whole other level.  I have even trained the trainer on a number of occasions.

If you are someone who really cares about credentials, I have those too (CSCS- Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist).  This certification is through the NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association) which is corrupted and supposedly the best in the industry right now, but honestly, I think credentials are bogus.  You either have experience and continue to grow your knowledge and passion for your field or you don’t.  Don’t let someone fool you with their long list of credentials.  It might not mean shit.

More than anything, I am a walking/talking example of everything that I write about.  That is why I feel comfortable teeing off on methods that I may disagree with or supporting methods that I agree with.  I always used to tell my athletes that I would never ask them to do something in the gym or on the ice that I wouldn’t do or haven’t done as a player myself.

The same goes for fat loss.

 

Why would I recommend someone do something that I haven’t done or would be willing to do myself?

Yea, I have done the 10 minute ice-cold shower to test its effect on fat loss.  Held on for dear life during a legitimate Tabata Protocol.   I have worked through grueling escalating density training sessions… and on and on.

I have tested out intermittent fasting and its effect on my own bodily appearance.

There is more and more buzz about the impact of intermittent fasting on fat loss and improving body composition, potentially even extending life (not entirely sure about this claim just yet).

While I don’t doubt that intermittent fasting is probably effective as hell, I found that it simply isn’t for me.  I cannot function without food.  Mentally, I go to hell.  I gave it an honest chance, and am willing to do so again, but my mental performance suffered greatly.  I’m not implying that I am a food addict, I am saying that I treat food as fuel for energy, which helps me stay focused mentality and prepared physically.

Put simply, intermittent fasting is just not for me.  I eat awesomely nutritious meals and I love it…

Image

Eat. Real. Food.

But that is not to say that it cannot be for you.

This is just an example of many of the interesting topics that you are going to find on this SIMPLE blog.

I am all about simple and effective.

You’ll find that to be true if you continue to stop in and read what I have to say.

If you like what I have to say, by all means continue to come back and visit me.

Add me to your RSS feed so that you can get updates on new blog posts.  Sometimes they will be relevant to your personal situation and sometimes they won’t be.  Regardless, I will always do my best to pump out good information supported by plenty of pictures, videos and links to other resources that I have found helpful over the years.

 

Cheers to squeezing more out of life…

Kyle Garner