4 Reasons Why You Should Be Training With Kettlebells & Your Own Body Weight
- jason brownlie
- Sep 21, 2016
- 4 min read
As a busy dad of two girls and a coach running both an online and offline business time is a precious commodity.
However what I have learn't over the years since my overweight days is how to train smarter not for longer!!
And my two go to training tools of choice are bodyweight and kettlebell training, it's hard to believe that you can get such a kick ass strength & conditioning workout just by training on the spot inside 20 minutes a few times a week.
It's these kind of workouts as well as the occasional hill run or hill sprints that keep me lean year round and have enabled me to enter obstacle races and achieve great times and overall rankings.
I don't say any of this to brag, I say all this to show what can be achieved with a smarter training schedule that doesn't dominate your life.
I want to share 4 reasons why you should be incorporating your own bodyweight and kettlebell training into your schedule, even more so if you are a busy time poor man or woman.
Anyway here we go....
1) Is bodyweight training REALLY effective for burning fat and building a leaner firmer body shape?
Bodyweight training is hugely effective in building muscle and burning fat.
Some would even go as far as saying that it was better than actual free weights.
Bodyweight exercises can build muscle rapidly, especially if you keep progressing to more difficult variations of each of them.
As a coach I tend to favour a PHA (Peripheral Heart Action) approach, this method of training can be easily googled.
The science behind PHA training is that this method of training works muscle groups of different extremities, in order to avoid too much lactic acid build up while still allowing you to train hard.
With a simple PHA workout you can perform a circuit and build your fitness fast and literally torch fat, without having to encounter too much muscular fatigue in one area.
Even for advanced fitness enthusiasts or athletes, this style of training can provide a challenging training session and work wonders with developing overall performance.
NEVER underestimate the power of body weight training, the progressions are endless!!!
In fact if you are new to training or haven’t exercised for a while then body weight training is where you should start so that you can build a foundation before progressing on to weighted exercises.
2) You burn more fat in less time
Kettlebell training is different from conventional weight training because it focuses on the body's natural movements, these natural movements leave no muscle untouched.
So rather than exercising just your arms, legs, or back, Kettlebell training works the entire body as a complete unit.
This type of training is very demanding, imagine how much more oxygen and energy is required to fuel 600+ muscles rather than just 1 or 2!
The consequences of this are phenomenal; you can get an incredible workout in just 20 minutes and burn huge amounts of fat compared with regular long drawn out exercise.
3) Increase your metabolism
Your body has evolved to function in certain movement patterns whether it's bending over to pick up a child or squatting down to sit in a chair.
It is these exact movement patterns that Kettlebell training mimics and as you replicate these patterns your body will reward you by getting stronger and building muscle tone fast.
I have never seen such quick gains in muscle tone (leaner/firmer) than through Kettlebell training, and ladies I know what your thinking
"I don't want big muscles"
firstly you don't have the testosterone levels that a man has, so you can’t get big muscles period!
but what the Kettlebell will do is reward you with a nice shapely figure, tightening of trouble areas and defining. How does that sound? Building muscle is very important when it comes to fat loss because muscle is very metabolically active which means it constantly needs energy to maintain size.
The great news is that its favourite source of energy is fat, so the more lean muscle you can develop the more fat you will burn, even at rest!!!
4) Burn calories even after exercise
The "Afterburn" or its posh name, EPOC (Excessive Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption) is another great reason Kettlebells are so effective for fat loss.
Certain intensive exercise, like Kettlebell training, drives your body into the anaerobic zone which causes a metabolic disturbance within the body and in turn creates the "Afterburn" effect or EPOC. Following a Kettlebell session the body has to work hard to return itself back to equilibrium: re-oxygenation of tissues, clearance of lactic acid, glycogen refueling etc.
This process demands energy and this energy comes from....you guessed it, your fat stores. So unlike other forms of exercise you will actually be burning calories after your workout, and for up to 24 - 36 hours after.
There you have it...
4 reasons why you should be training with your own body weight and using kettlebells to achieve the ultimate fitness level, burn fat and to feel awesome.
Jason
Coach @ KEBOfit
Not ready to commit? No problem, you can get my FREE Fat Loss Secrets Revealed Book and join thousands of busy men and women across the globe who are getting back into shape, improving their health and feeling more confident about themselves without turning their life upside down.
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