Kettlebell Fat Loss Workout Mistake #7 - Neglecting S______

Strength-Based Fat Loss Programming:

Here in the Northern Hemisphere it’s almost beach/pool season.

And that means you want to have the confidence to take your shirt off or wear your trunks without shame instead of looking like the Michelen Man or shaped like a Christmas tree.

Which brings us to Fat Loss Mistake #7 in our series of the Top 10 Kettlebell Fat Loss Workout Mistakes.

Many people ramp up their “cardio” or their “conditioning” when they’re trying to lose fat.

This can be a BIG MISTAKE because research shows us that extra endurance activity can increase cortisol levels.

And, as we’ve talked about at length, most people who are 20 to 30 pounds overweight already have high circulating cortisol levels…

… Which is one of the reasons they “can’t lose weight.”

They’re trapped in a vicious cycle.

You can learn more about that here if you’d like.

And as they increase their “cardio,” they tend to -

NEGLECT STRENGTH TRAINING.

They either stop it altogether or dial it back way too much.

The problem with doing that is twofold:

[1] Strength training uses your “energy hungry” Fast-Twitch muscle fibers

… So you burn (more) calories strength training.

Plus, you maintain the muscle you do have, and can even build more.

(Recall - muscle is your “metabolic machinery.” It, plus your organs, burn calories. You can’t create more organs, but you can create more muscle. And therefore speed up the number of calories you burn at rest, during exercise, and after exercise.)

Therefore, if you don’t train for strength, you’ll lose strength, and probably muscle. Especially if you’re doing “extra cardio.”

[2] You’re too tired from extra cardio / conditioning to do any meaningful strength training…

… So you skip it, or “Halfway Herbert” it, which at best keeps the strength you have, but usually at worst, makes you lose what you worked so hard to gain in the first place.

A 2010 Danish study found that those who did 60 minutes of cardio a day burned less fat and lost less weight than those who did 30 minutes of cardio a day.

Plus, they were more tired.

By contrast, the 30 minute / day group had lots of energy and developed a positive outlook on life.

So, IF you’re going to “increase your conditioning” to burn off body fat, it has to have a “strength component” to it.

(Which is one of the many benefits of using kettlebells for your conditioning.)

It must include the following:

[1] High effort

[2] Overload

[3] Quality Control

(Here’s an example of that kind of program.)

“Geoff, can I COMBINE strength & cardio to speed up my fat loss?”

Yes absolutely.

The simplest way to do that is to do your strength work first, THEN follow that up with your conditioning, like you do in this program.

I’ll leave a link to one of my most popular programs in the description below that uses this method.

Are there other ways?

Yes.

And perhaps we’ll dive deeper into them in upcoming videos.

Until then, remember -

If you’re trying to lose fat, keep your strength training as the cornerstone of your program.

Or make sure your conditioning program has a strength bias.

Stay Strong,

Geoff