I was reading a great article on T-Nation the other day called, Screw Cardio! Four Complexes for a Shredded Physique, and it reminded me of why kettlebell training is so effective for fat loss. Successful kettlebell training elevates your heart rate tremendously, will make you a little nauseous towards the end, and will keep you warm and hungry for hours afterwards. All good signs of an elevated metabolism! I won't go into all the merit's of high intensity training such as complexes in this post, the T-Nation article sums it up nicely, but I will give you guys a snappy little kettlebell complex to do at home. A complex is similar to a circuit in that you do a series of exercises in a row, only you never let go of the kettlebell/barbell/dumbbell. So grab a weight and use it for the entire round without stopping. Then rest for a bit and repeat.
Sample Kettlebell Complex: Take two light kettlebells, do the series of drills without stopping, rest only at the end of the series.
Suitcase Deadlift x 10 reps
Swing x 10 reps
Clean x 10 reps
Rack Lunge x 10 reps
Press x 6-10 reps
Bent Row x 10 reps
Rack Squat x 10 reps
Rack Twists x 10 reps
After this round you should be pretty gassed out, that is fine! Rest for 3 minutes or so between sets but try only 8 reps per drill on the next set. For the third set do 6's, and the fourth set do 4's, then lie down and die.
If you can't complete the prescribed reps on any one drill just do what you can and then move to the next one. The key is to keep the kettlebell moving and elicit systemic fatigue (whole body) not to destroy any one muscle group like a bodybuilder might. This way you will get a greater metabolic effect and thereby burn some ass fat!
This kettlebell complex is just an example of one you could use to burn fat, but the fact is there are endless variations you could try. The only "rules" are that you need several exercises, they need to be done without rest, and you have to work deep into discomfort in order to really burn some fat. Have fun!
I won't go into all the merit's of high intensity training such as complexes in this post, the T-Nation article sums it up nicely, but I will give you guys a snappy little kettlebell complex to do at home.
A complex is similar to a circuit in that you do a series of exercises in a row, only you never let go of the kettlebell/barbell/dumbbell. So grab a weight and use it for the entire round without stopping. Then rest for a bit and repeat.
Sample Kettlebell Complex:
Take two light kettlebells, do the series of drills without stopping, rest only at the end of the series.
After this round you should be pretty gassed out, that is fine! Rest for 3 minutes or so between sets but try only 8 reps per drill on the next set. For the third set do 6's, and the fourth set do 4's, then lie down and die.
If you can't complete the prescribed reps on any one drill just do what you can and then move to the next one. The key is to keep the kettlebell moving and elicit systemic fatigue (whole body) not to destroy any one muscle group like a bodybuilder might. This way you will get a greater metabolic effect and thereby burn some ass fat!
This kettlebell complex is just an example of one you could use to burn fat, but the fact is there are endless variations you could try. The only "rules" are that you need several exercises, they need to be done without rest, and you have to work deep into discomfort in order to really burn some fat. Have fun!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReYPxPKl0Ak