5 Killer Kettlebell Exercises to Build Lean Muscle Fast
December 4, 2008 by admin · 5 Comments
As a real world fat loss expert who has helped hundreds of people lose thousands of pounds of fat, I know a thing or two about exercise selection. Because of this I am constantly asked what the best exercises are to lose fat AND gain muscle fast.
I’ll keep this as simple as possible for you. The best exercises for fat loss are also the best exercises for muscle gain and visa versa. These exercises all have one thing in common: they provide a UNIQUE challenge to your body AND involve as many muscles in your body as possible.
Both the scientific research and the real world case studies have shown that total body workouts are superior for maximal fat loss and muscle gain. But let’s take this one step further…
Let’s dramatically accelerate results by preferentially selecting TOTAL BODY EXERCISES within each TOTAL BODY WORKOUT! For example, squats are well known for being one of the best muscle-builders with a serious a fat-shredding effect. However, the squat goes from great to UNSTOPPABLE for changing your body for the better when you make it a combination movement by adding a row or press to each squat rep. It’s obvious that you can reap more benefits this way since you have now involved your upper body into the king of lower body exercises.
It’s as simple as the Dream Body Equation below:
Performing Total Body Exercises Within Each Total Body Workout à
More Muscles Involved =
More Calories Burnt + Greater Muscle-Building Stimulus =
Greater Fat Lost + Greater Muscle Gain
I have a true love-hate relationship with the following movements I am about to share with you. Love because of the unparalleled fat-melting, muscle-building results they provide. Hate because they break me every single workout by leaving me in tears while in a pool of my own sweat. In other words, these are not for the weak of mind, body, or soul!
Without further adieu, here is the official top 5 list of my favorite Kettlebell combination exercises in the world for fat loss and lean muscle gain:
Exercise#1- Double Kettlebell Clean + Squat + Push Press Combo
Exercise#2- Renegade Row + Spiderman Pushup Combo
Exercise#3- Kettlebell Snatch + Windmill + Overhead Squat Combo
Exercise#4- Kettlebell Reverse Lunge + Upright Row Combo
Exercise#5- Double Kettlebell Suitcase Deadlift + Jump Shrug Combo
Please remember that these are advanced movements that require coaching before attempting. If you are ready to take that step use the contact form to reach me and receive a free 1-week trial to our Salinas Fitness Boot Camp. Of course it’s now up to you to take your workouts, and your body, to the next level.
Leading the Pack!
John Wolf
http://www.lead-the-pack-fitness.com
Circuit Training Workout For Rapid Fat Loss
December 3, 2008 by admin · Leave a Comment
For most gym-goers, the cornerstone of their resistance training workouts has been performing exercises in a straight set format. What this means is you perform a set, a certain number of reps for a given exercise and then you rest anywhere from 30 seconds to five minutes based on your training goals before repeating this set a number of times based on your goals. For more of a fat loss and lean muscle gain emphasis shorter rest periods are ideal. For more of a strength or power emphasis, longer rest periods are prescribed.
Is there a problem with this format? Well, though straight sets are extremely easy to comprehend for people new to fitness, they are also an extremely inefficient way to order your exercises. In most commercial gyms you’ll typically see someone perform three sets of 10 reps for let’s say the bench press. They pump out 10 reps, go to the water fountain, talk with some buddies, watch a couple of minutes of whatever is on the TV, and then walk back to the bench area to hit up their second set. In general, most people, guys in particular, tend to take about 3-5 minutes between sets. In the case of three sets of 10 on the bench that means it would take up to 15 minutes to complete only one movement pattern (a horizontal push). That means you’d need at least in hour to perform four different exercises!
A much more effective and time-efficient approach to ordering your exercises is utilizing the alternating set format. Here you’ll perform one exercise, rest for a short period of time, then perform another non-competing exercise, rest for a short period of time, and so forth. Alternating sets allow you to work different areas of your body when you would otherwise be resting with the straight set format. Plus, by working another area of your body with a non-competing exercise you allow your body to recover from the previous exercise(s). The result is improved training economy and density: more work accomplished in less time, the cornerstone of any sound fat loss program. There are several ways to perform alternating sets outlined below:
1.) Supersets: Alternate between two different non-competing exercises (e.g. upper body and lower body such as push-ups and lunges)
2.) Trisets: Alternate between three different exercises (e.g. push, pull, and lower body such as push-ups, rows, and lunges)
3.) Circuits: Alternate between four or more different exercises
Though supersets and trisets are excellent alternating set options, I believe circuit training is by the far the best option time and time again. To demonstrate why, let’s examine my favorite circuit training template using timed set intervals:
The 50-10 Five Exercise Circuit: You will alternate between 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for all five exercises in the following 5-minute circuit:
Exercise#1- Squats
Exercise#2- Pushups
Exercise#3- Single-Leg Hip Extensions
Exercise#4- Bodyweight Row
Exercise#5- Front Plank
Perform this circuit up to four times for a 20-minute total body fat burning workout.
Basically, in the same 15 minutes that it took to get in three sets on the bench you could have gotten in three sets of five different exercise for a staggering total of 15 work sets! Plus, the intensity on each exercise will be just as high as in the straight set format because in this five exercise circuit you will have full recovery with over four minutes before you return to any given exercise (just as you did with the straight set format described earlier).
To recap, the key to creating the optimal hormonal environment for fat loss is to perform each exercise with maximal intensity while separated by brief rest periods in order to accumulate a high volume of total body work in the shortest amount of time possible. Circuit training provides for the best of both worlds and is thus simply unmatched for simultaneously maximizing fat loss and lean muscle gain. Use the following template I use with my many boot camp clients for some killer, yet simple fat loss circuits:
Exercise#1- Double-Leg
Exercise#2- Push
Exercise#3- Single-Leg
Exercise#4- Pull
Exercise#5- Core
I’ll be sharing some more great circuit training workouts from my boot camps in the weeks to come 
Leading the Pack!
John Wolf
