About this time of year, I typically switching into Kettlebell GAINZ mode. December, January, February, and even March are all great times to focus on building maximal strength and muscle.

Truth is, unless you’re more of a beginner, it’s pretty hard to shed body fat AND get as strong as possible, all at the same time. You’re going to be a lot better served focusing on one goal for a period, then perhaps shifting gears in a couple / few months to focus on another.

Fortunately we have a lot of research that shows us the best way to train to gain muscle. Great news is, you can 100% do it using kettlebells. You just have to be sure to hit each muscle group with the right amount of volume and intensity, work in specific rep ranges, and pay close attention to your rest periods. Take this work out as an example:

#

Holiday GAINZ Kettlebell Workout

1 – PRESSING LADDER
KB Presses (M suggested weight = 35 to 53 pounds; W suggested weight 18 to 35 pounds)
Do four ladders up to 4 reps each.

The pressing ladders will look like this:
C+P right
C+P left
clean, 2 presses right
clean, 2 presses left
clean, 3 presses right
clean, 3 presses left

2 – BURNER – set your timer for 17 minutes, get as many rounds as possible!
3 pull ups (use band assist if needed, OR do 9 inverted rows) –
5 dips (use low bars and foot assistance if needed) –
7 push ups (knees OR toes)
9 KB swings (32k recommended weight – men; 20k recommended weight
– women)

#

If you liked today’s workout, stay tuned – registration for my 28-day Kettlebell Holiday GAINZ Challenge opens tomorrow!

– Forest and the FVT Team @ KettlebellBasics.net