Hi everyone,
Before I share this workout, I want to mention a BodyRock comment with you. This is something that I have seen a lot of and I really would like to hear your feedback. This is not me trying to undermine, or belittle, as I am sure that many people have lost weight from doing their workouts that have wanted to. My feeling is, however, that there are many people under a false pretence, or ignorant to the fact that workouts at BodyRock.tv seem only good for getting thinner, like poor Eli who wrote (and as usual got no reply):
“Hi Zuzana, i just wanted to thank you for sharing with us all your amazing workouts and advice… I love doing the workouts and im already seeing results im thin but after two babies i have the nasty pouch 🙁 im following the workouts and losing weight but im not satisfied because im not seeing muscle gain.. i dont wanna be bulky but im just so skinny… should i be taking extra protein?”
This type of plea really pains me, and I have replied on their site before (but it never got approved, and I didn’t SPAM). Why can’t they just tell people that they need to lift heavier and eat more calories to build muscle?! You can eat all the protein in the world, but unless your body sees a use for it (repair of muscles), you will basically poop it out!
I want people to know that my resistance and strength based workouts will go a long way in helping you to build muscle, especially if you are just starting out in using resistance tools like Kettlebells. Increasing the weights will obviously help you progress with shaping and toning the muscles, but you will never get big, because Kettlebells are more for conditioning the muscles, plus you will never use the weights needed to get you big. And don’t forget the need for calories to feed the muscles! Kettlebells have their place in training, but as you all know I regularly preach VARIETY VARIETY VARIETY, as the path to get the best from your body.
Another thing, while I’m on my soap box, please don’t starve yourselves! You can still eat a varied and healthy diet and look good. I’m not as lean as I set out to be, but boy am I happier now than ever! My journey has shown me that wanting to be lean and only lean will lead you down a route of obsessive behaviour, vanity and “control”. Now, I think about ability and strength first, then the rest falls into place! And remember that more muscle you have, the more calories you burn even at rest! If you go all skinny and lose half your muscle, then one day decide to start eating more, then your metabolism will be shot and won’t burn off the extra calories. This = more bodyfat = at best, skinny fat person, untoned and 100 times more likely to crash diet! Who wants that life??? If you want to enjoy what you and your body can achieve, then give it what it needs and enjoy the physical and mental strength lifting and doing! Be sensible, not obsessive with food and you will see how less stress = contentment!
Now for today’s conditioning workout, containing all elements of training, cardio (c), strength (s), resistance (r), stability (st), plyometrics (p) and core activating exercises (cae). Today I decided to make things simple and only use one Kettlebell, 16kg for everything but the swings, when I used the 20kg.
First set your Gymboss Interval Timer for 24 cycles of 15 seconds recovery and 45 seconds effort. Complete 3 rounds of the following 8 exercises. The type of exercise and my reps per exercise are in brackets beside the exercise name:
- KB Thruster (right) (c,r,st,cae, some s) (14,13,11)
- KB Thruster (left) (c,r,st,cae,some s) (13,13,10)
- 2 Sumo Jump Burpee (c,p,r,s,cae) (11,10,10)
- KB Bent Over Alternating Row (r,s,cae) (16,14,15)
- Bench Jump Overs (c,p,cae) (48,51,45)
- KB Vertical Swing Burpee (r,c,s,cae) (11,11,9)
- Lunge Jumps (c,p,st,cae) (23,21,20)
- Two-Handed KB Swing (c,r,cae) (29,28,26)
For some reason I found this really tough today, must be tired because of the really cold weather we’re having here. Hope you enjoy this workout and, as always I appreciate any comments and feedback. I am interested to hear your opinions about the BodyRock issue too. I am aware that they have a lot of fans, but I know of a few cross-over fans to myomytv too, so I would like to hear everyone who has an opinion, and don’t be worried about disagreeing with me, I will hear you out 🙂 It’s just something I feel strongly about.
Cheers everyone
Marianne