Geoff Neupert More Kettlebell Muscle
Fito Coulter
The amount of work they perform compared to the amount of time they rest is way more than you think. For example, when I was as college strength coach, one of the best sprint coaches in the world had his 100m sprinters run between 30 and 150 meters. (To put this in context, the other sprint coaches still had their 100m sprinters running miles at a time to build a base.) And they all rested up to 5 minutes between sprints. And they ran at a high intensity (percentage of their best time).
This prolonged muscular tension causes you to burn calories at an accelerated rate through increased muscular fatigue, heavy breathing and part 4 in the 4-step formula, which we'll cover in a minute, but first we need to cover the importance of...
One of the most little known facts in the modern fitness industry is that explosive exercise - explosive muscular contractions, (which occurs in kettlebell exercises like the Swing and Snatch), is superior to traditional slow strength training for burning calories.
The good great news is through proper kettlebell training and strategic eating, you can optimize the ratio between your fat burning and fat storing hormones, tipping the balance in your favor toward your fat burning hormones.
And the really cool thing about lactic acid accumulation is that when it is significantly elevated, your body releases Growth Hormone and Testosterone, both of which are powerful fat burning hormones.
Each are designed to be used as "bolt ons" to your More Kettlebell Muscle programs, or after you're done and you need a change of stimulus so you can keep burning fat and grow some lean muscle tissue to increase your metabolism and burn more fat at rest.
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Here are 10 different barbell complexes I used with the Rutgers Wrestling team from 1997-2000 that helped lean them out while giving them unlimited energy and unstoppable power on the mat. Yours for the taking. ($19.95 Value)
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It's actually TWENTY (20) different programs based on complexes. (If you do them as chains you'll have FORTY different programs.). And by programs, that's EXACTLY what I mean - they're not "workouts" but entire programs.
There are 129 weeks of programs inside "MKM" and that's only if you do them as complexes. Double that if you use them as chains - so 258 weeks - That's 5 years of workouts! (More if you take every 13th week off.)
A: The More Kettlebell Muscle programs are designed to be used with a pair of kettlebells. You could use one, but I wouldn't expect the results to be the same - just not enough work - not enough challenge to the system.
The truth of the matter is though, if you undereat on any of the programs, you'll lose fat. They're just that demanding. KM is a book where I lay out the justification for using complexes, their benefits, and the science that validates their usage.
If you don't associate kettlebell exercises with building muscle, well, that's understandable. The way most people are using them in the gym is as a lightweight way to break a serious sweat, and nothing else. But make no mistake: Kettlebells can be a huge ally in the quest for mass. And, if you're someone who has been relying largely on barbells or dumbbells, they could be exactly what you've been looking for.
As I explained in my article "Grind to Grow: Try Your Squats and Presses with Kettlebells," part of the reason the kettlebell triggers newfound strength and muscle growth is because of its offset shape. It forces the body to stabilize its joints in a different manner from barbells, dumbbells, and other traditional bodybuilding equipment. This forces your muscles to contract in a different fashion than normal, and increases the demand placed upon them.
Want an example? Look no further than the extra depth that every lifter instantly discovers when they front squat with a pair of kettlebells in the rack position, versus a barbell across the back. With this new and increased range of motion comes increased muscular growth in your legs, and strength in your entire torso, from the inside out, including the all-important core musculature.
In this program, you'll have a 4-week phase devoted to each pathway. But in all three phases, you'll utilize just three kettlebell exercises: the double-kettlebell military press, front squat, and swing. That may not sound like enough variety to grow on, but all major movement patterns are covered by these exercises:
You'll perform these three days a week, on alternating days, using an A/B split. An A/B split is where you alternate workouts between Workout A and Workout B. So one week you'll go A/B/A, and the next, B/A/B. It's one of the most effective total-body approaches around.
You should be comfortable swinging these at least to waist height. If you're at all unsure or uncertain about your capability, drop back to swinging one kettlebell. You can use either the two-handed swing or the one-hand swing. More important than which variety you choose is that you focus on making each rep as explosive as possible, like I explained in my article "Kettlebell Explosion: Harness the Power of the Kettlebell Swing."
To perform the workout, clean the kettlebells to the rack position, then perform a set of military presses. Put the kettlebells down and rest momentarily. Then, when you're ready, clean the kettlebells back into the rack position and perform a set of front squats.
Set your timer for 20 minutes. Your goal is to do as many sets of swings as you can, with perfect form, in that time. Again, with rest, don't rush it. Use as much as you need. On workouts 4 through 6, you're repeating workouts 1 through 3 so aim for more explosive swings or more total sets.
To start this phase, determine your rep max (RM) with both the military press and the front squat using your two trusty kettlebells. A rep max is a set where you do as many reps as possible using perfect form. When your form falters at all, terminate the set.
From now on, you are going to work off of percentages of your RM. For example, if your military press RM is 10 and you see "50 percent RM" in the program, you'll do 5 reps. Always round down the number of reps if you hit a decimal point in your math. This will keep you from overtraining, and allow you to keep your force production high.
Clean the kettlebells to the rack position, then perform a set of military presses. Put the kettlebells down, and rest 60-90 seconds. Clean the kettlebells back into the rack position, and perform a set of front squats. Rest another 60-90 seconds before pressing again.
Do an RM test with your pair of kettlebells for the swing. If you're at 10 or over, then use the following program. If not, use these weeks to keep practicing with the one-handed swing, trying to build up to 20 reps per hand, each at chest height.
Set your timer for 20 minutes. Your goal is to do as many sets of swings as you can, with perfect form, in that time. During this phase, rest 90 seconds between sets. On workouts 4 through 6, you're repeating workouts 1 through 3 so aim for more explosive swings, or more total sets if you struggled to keep up the first time around.
Once again, find your RM for the military press and the front squat. You'll do this to measure your progress. Even a small increase in your RM numbers means an increase in strength, so I'd like you to test at the very end of the program as well, after taking a week off.
There's one big difference in these workouts: You'll clean the kettlebells to the rack position and perform a set of military presses, followed immediately by one set of front squats. Then, put the kettlebells down and rest. When your rest time is over, clean the kettlebells back into the rack position and repeat.
This slight variation may not seem like much, but it increases the time under tension you experience and triggers metabolic stress. This is due to the increased time in the rack position and the increased demand on your accessory respiratory muscles.
*Your RM will drop due to fatigue as the sets progress. That's perfectly normal. Your first RM may also decrease between workouts. It does not mean you're getting weaker! It means there is fatigue in your system.
By this point, you should be able to comfortably swing a pair of kettlebells. Do an RM test with your pair of kettlebells for the swing. If you're at 10 or over, then use the following program. If not, keep on practicing with the one-handed swing, working up to 20 reps per hand, each at chest height.
To perform this workout, set your timer for 20 minutes, and try to reach the targeted minimum number of sets in that time. Your goal is to perform 10 sets of 10 reps. A systematic way to approach this is on a 2-minute cycle: 20-30 seconds of work, followed by 90 seconds of rest.
What about ab work?: You don't need to do any direct ab work on this program, unless you really want to. The amount of tension running through and across your abs will already be severe, especially combining the military presses and front squats in the same day.
What about food?: Eating is good. Since this is a strength and muscle program, you need to eat a lot. How much is "a lot?" That depends on where you're starting, and how much you want to grow.
A tried-and-true starting point is to multiply your body weight (in pounds) by 15-20 for total calories. Nutrient breakdown? In my book, you can't beat the time-tested 30/40/30 split of protein/carbohydrates/fat when growth is the goal.
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