Tips of the week Kettlebell training session
The kettlebell training session with a kettlebell
Improve your fitness with just one kettlebell and your body weight. Here is the training plan.
This short training session covers all the basic human movements. You only need one kettlebell and the workout can be adapted with sets, repetitions and load to suit everyone. Don't be fooled by the simplicity of this workout:
- 15 repetitions of kettlebell swings
- 5 goblet squats
- 3 push-ups (any variation is possible)
Test the training program by performing 5 rounds without resting between exercises. Work your way up to 20 rounds. 20 rounds is equivalent to 300 repetitions of kettlebell swings, 100 squats and 60 push-ups. That's a respectable workout.
To make it harder, you can first increase the number of push-ups. Next, use a heavy kettlebell. This is an excellent workout that you can do anywhere, anytime and on any surface.
Use these 3 training techniques to burn fat
Perform advanced, finishing sets to burn more calories and free up your muscles
By Nate Palmer
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-use-these-3-lifting-techniques-to-burn-fat
Turn your body into a fat-burning blast furnace by extending the last set of your exercises. These "finishing sets" have always been a staple of bodybuilding because they allow you to perform more reps than a traditional straight set. Recent studies also show that these sets lead to fat loss while fully maintaining existing muscle mass.
Rest-pause training
- On your last set, go to technical muscle failure - the point at which you can't perform another repetition without your form dropping significantly.
- Pause for 15 seconds or 10 breaths.
- Pick the weight back up and go to technical muscle failure again.
- Put the weight back down and pause for another 15 seconds, followed by the final set.
Rest-pause sets are best used on assistance exercises rather than basic exercises because your form can deteriorate on heavy exercises such as squats and deadlifts, increasing the risk of injury.
Back-off sets
Immediately after performing the last set of an exercise, reduce the weight by 30 to 50% and perform as many more repetitions as possible with the new weight, aiming for 15 to 25. As you should already be slightly fatigued from your previous sets, you will not be able to perform as many repetitions with this weight as you would if you were fresher and more rested. Use this technique for main or assistance exercises.
Descending sets
Start with a weight that you have been using for your working sets and perform as many repetitions as possible before you have almost reached the point of technical muscle failure. You should keep 1 repetition "in reserve" to get the most out of this technique.
Immediately after you have completed the last repetition, reduce the weight by 20 to 25% and train again to near muscle failure. Three descending sets are ideal, with the last set being performed to absolute muscle failure with a weight that should be 50% of the starting weight.
Drink 3 to 4 cups of coffee per day
Turns out coffee is actually pretty good for you
From TC Luoma
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/tip-drink-3-4-cups-of-coffee-per-day
Coffee is a bit of a mystery in that we're not sure how it does some of the things it does. At the end of the day, coffee contains over 1000 biologically active compounds. However, one thing seems certain: the more coffee you drink, the better it is for you. In fact, the more coffee you drink, the longer you live.
In 2012, a mortality study of 400,000 people published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that coffee drinkers had a 6 to 16 percent lower risk of death. According to a Japanese study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, coffee drinkers were also 24 percent less likely to die during the 19 years of the study.
The optimal amount seems to be three to four cups of regular or decaffeinated coffee per day, but in a study where 6 cups of coffee were consumed per day, a 33 percent reduction in diabetes diagnoses was observed. Other diseases that are positively influenced by coffee include cancer, the development of fatty liver, alcoholic liver disease, heart disease, strokes, depression, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
Of course, consuming very large amounts of coffee could reverse some of the positive effects. As with most things, moderate amounts seem to work best.
Build your latissimus with these two techniques
Use these strategies to make gains and perfect your pull-ups.
By Lee Boyce
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-build-your-lats-with-these-two-techniques
These pull-up techniques will not only make you stronger, but will also teach you how to perform better quality, more effective pull-ups.
Negative pull-ups
Relearn pull-ups with the help of negative repetitions. If you can't do a single pull-up, a common piece of advice is to start with negative-only pull-up repetitions. Jump or climb to the top pull-up position and then slowly lower yourself down. The same approach can be used when it comes to relearning pull-ups with additional weight.
Let's say you've decided to strap an extra 20 kilos around your waist. There's nothing wrong with using pull-ups with extra weight where you focus on good form when lowering. Simply prevent yourself from falling down like a stone under the weight.
Paused pull-ups
Perform repetitions with pauses to build muscle. Using a pause with complete stillness during bodyweight pull-ups ends the stretch reflex, 'kills' any momentum and creates the perception that far more weight is being moved. Simply pausing in the full extension position (at the lowest point of the movement) can be enough of a change in tempo to provoke a huge response from your latissimus. This technique also increases the time under tension, which can be great for hypertrophy - especially for the muscles of the back.
Alternatively, to make your concentric repetitions (the part where you pull yourself up) more challenging, try pausing at the highest point of each repetition. This will put the contractile strength of your latissimus to the test. In addition, this approach can help you better focus on maintaining latissimus engagement throughout the repetition. Holding for a second at the highest point of each bodyweight pull-up can make all the difference.
Get stronger by using deadlifts with pauses
This will teach you to use your latissimus more effectively and it will increase the time under tension for hypertrophy
By Tony Gentilcore | 12/22/15
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-get-stronger-using-paused-deadlifts
Deadlifts with rests are brutal. Basically, it's regular deadlifting where you don't pull the weight to the highest position in one movement, but pause with the bar at mid-shin height for about 2 to 3 seconds. This will teach you to engage your latissimus when deadlifting and also serves to increase the time under tension, which will increase overall muscle growth.
Deadlift with pause
You can't be the hero here and use maximum weights. Instead, it's best to start at around 55% of your 1RM weight and work your way up over the course of a training block. A month-long training block could look like this:
Week 1: 3 x 5 at 55% of your 1RM weight
Week 2: 3 x 5 at 60% of your 1RM weight
Week 3: 3 x 4 at 65% of your 1RM weight
Week 4: 3 x 3 at 70% of your 1RM weight
Lose fat. Maintain your muscle mass. Know how much you should eat.
Use simple math to get your body fat percentage where you want it to be.
By Paul Carter
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/tip-lose-fat-keep-muscle-know-how-much-to-eat
Approach fat loss by focusing on maintaining your muscle mass. Why? Building and losing fat is significantly easier than building muscle. And as long as you're not pressed for time, your best approach is to take as much time as you need so that you can maintain all your muscle while getting lean.
The key is to control your calorie deficit in a smart and well-timed way and adjust your training based on your personal goals. If your calorie intake drops too low, this will lead to low energy levels, a lack of ATP and a lack of glycogen when training at high levels. Don't give up on your body recomposition process because of short term dips in strength. Hand your ego in at the checkroom and realize that you won't feel weaker forever - and you shouldn't feel significantly weaker in the first place if you're doing everything right.
And how do you adjust your diet to eliminate the pitfalls of someone who gives up after a few weeks? It's simple. All you need is some basic math.
Do the math yourself.
- Protein: Eat 2 grams per kilogram of body weight
- Fat: should make up 20% of total calories
The rest of your calorie intake should come from carbohydrates. Once you have determined how many calories should come from protein and fat, give carbohydrates the remaining percentage.
Your starting point for the first week of your "diet" is the amount of calories you need to maintain your body weight. Here's the catch: only consume these calories in the form of high-quality food and don't eat junk food. Your maintenance calorie intake will depend on your age, activity level and genetic factors, but a good starting point is your body weight x 33 per day.
Adjust your calorie intake downwards after 2 weeks if you have not lost weight. If you have lost weight with this amount of calories, stay at this amount for another week. If you lose weight again during this week, then continue with this amount. Your weight loss should not exceed 1.5 pounds per week.
Once the scale stops moving for a week or two, reduce your calorie intake slightly. So if your calorie intake was your body weight x 33, reduce it to your body weight x 30 and repeat the process.
Perform heavy squat stand-ups
Break through plateaus and increase the weight on the bar using this simple technique By Rob King
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-do-heavy-squat-stand-ups
Squat stand-ups are one of the simplest, yet most effective things you can do to get more confidence in your squats and pack more weight on the bar. The execution is quite simple:
- Let's say your 1RM weight for squats is 200 kilos. Work your way up to one repetition with your 1RM weight, but don't perform a full squat repetition. Simply load the bar in the rack with that weight, get under the bar as if you were going to do one hell of a squat repetition and just lift the weight out of the rack. Do not perform a squat. Do not move. Just stand still and hold the weight on your back for 8 to 10 seconds.
- Put the bar back on the rack and increase the weight by 10% so that the bar now weighs 220 kilos - more than your 1RM weight. Take the weight off the rack again as if you were going to perform a squat. Keep your back and core under tension and simply stand upright with the weight. Hold this position for 8 to 10 seconds while keeping all muscles contracted and then put the weight back down.
- Increase the weight again by 5 to 10% when you are strong enough to handle it and repeat the process. Try to work your way up to 15 to 20% above your current 1RM weight for squats.
The benefits
Once you get used to the heavy weight on your back, your normal squat weight will feel much lighter. Standing there with a heavy weight will also make your upper back, trapezius and core work extremely hard. Simply holding a heavy weight in place will get your body to adapt and work hard with very little risk of injury.
Two new ways to build a more muscular trapezius
Give your trapezius a workout with these unique exercises
By Christian Thibaudeau
Source: https: //www.t-nation.com/training/tip-two-new-ways-to-build-bigger-traps
Shoulder lift on the calf machine
- Stand normally in a calf raise machine.
- Raise your shoulders. Hold this position for a full two seconds. This is important as the range of motion in this exercise is quite small.
- Keep your glutes and abs engaged to protect your lower back.
Single arm barbell shoulder raise
- Perform one-arm shoulder raises using a power rack and barbell
- Lean forward slightly to increase the range of motion
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-do-the-one-kettlebell-workout
From Dan John