Being in the fitness industry for now over a decade, I’ve come to realize two glaring truths:
1 – Most of the strongest people in the world don’t care about fat loss. Sure, they can deadlift a Mack Truck, but they get winded going up a flight of stairs.
2 – Most people who want to lose fat don’t really care how strong they get. They just want to “tone”. They may think that they’re getting strong because they’re “lifting weights”, but in reality, because of the way most fat loss programs are structured, they’re just doing some form of “resistance cardio”.
But what if you could get stronger AND lose fat at the SAME TIME?
Today, I want to share an article with you from my good friend, Strength Coach and Expert Kettlebell Trainer Chris Lopez, about how you can use his “ninja” trick to get both stronger AND leaner at the same time.
– Forest
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How to Turn Strength Training into Fat Loss Training
by Chris Lopez, SFGII, CSCS
author, Kettlebell Fat Loss Evolution
Sometimes, in order to get results, you need to take a look at what everyone else is doing, and then do the exact opposite.
If your goal is to lose fat, then this holds true more NOW than ever before.
You see, most fat loss gurus these days are advocating doing complexes and circuits of 7 or 8 exercises with 15 reps per exercise and no rest time in between exercises.
My question – as a strength coach and fat loss expert of 15 years is…
Why bother?
You’re barely moving any weight and your form and technique is going to turn into complete garbage by the end.
In fact, doing multiple sets of 15 rep full body exercises is a ONE WAY STREET TO GETTING INJURED.
And because of that, I’m a big fan of lower rep fat loss programs.
Low reps are usually reserved for strength programs so how do you make the transition from low rep strength program to low rep fat loss program?
You use this “ninja” trick:
You cut the rest time between sets … like somewhere between 60-90 seconds or less depending on how many reps per set you’re using.
Most low rep “powerlifting-type” strength programs call for 3-5 minutes of rest between sets.
Unless you have 3hrs to waste in a gym and want to meticulously count your calories, training like that is not going to allow you to lose any fat.
And although that still sounds like a lot of rest compared to the rest of the Tabata/CrossFit/Bootcamp fat loss world, when you’re lifting something challenging (ie. Heavy) and moving it explosively – like you would in a proper kettlebell swing – that 60s disappears in the blink of an eye.
You might think you’d get really tired very quickly with such minimal rest.
You’re right.
You will at first.
But something really awesome happens …
Metabolically, you’re huffing and puffing, but neurologically, you’ll get stronger and stronger.
In other words, even though you might have a hard time catching your breath, you’ll still be able to use good technique to move your kettlebell.
Sure, eventually you’ll get tired, your force production will drop, and that will be the sign when your session is over or it’s time to move on to another exercise.
But the best part is…
1 – You’ll use a ton of energy and stimulate the proper hormonal responses so you’ll burn fat – especially after your workouts, when it matters most.
2 – Your strength will actually increase – something that doesn’t happen in a mainstream fat loss program.
3 – Your conditioning will increase – without you even trying.
It’s a WIN-WIN-WIN.
So why wouldn’t you do something like this?
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AWESOME stuff Chris. Thanks so much for sharing with FVT Readers!!
Chris has a full kettlebell training system – Kettlebell Evolution – based around the principles in this article. He has set up a special “friends of Forest” discount on it for this week, which is VERY cool of him to hook up – so if you enjoyed today’s article, check out the full program below and grab it at a special price:
=> Kettlebell Evolution (special “friends of Forest” discount, this week only)
Thanks, train hard, and talk soon –
– Forest Vance, MS, RKC II
ForestVance.com