Your Kettlebell BeachBody Before Summer - Exclusively At Rich Man's Gym

Do you have your beach body yet? If not, do you have a workout and nutrition plan to get there? Perhaps, like so many others, you've still got some chub on your frame from the holidays. The problem with that is now you're starting to panic just a little bit because sooner rather than later you'll be in swimwear at the beach.

It's time to shed the unwanted layer (or layers) and release that chiseled frame to the world.

So, let's not waste any more time trying to figure it out! You need a plan and you need to get started right away!

This article will be about dropping weight and dropping it as fast as possible. We're not looking to pack on a ton of muscle here, but to shred unwanted and unsightly body fat. Time to melt the muffin top! Time to shed the saddlebags. Time to fight the fat!

Hopefully, you will be able to sift through and discard all the junk you've seen on TV about super fast, quick and easy ways to lose unwanted pounds and get down to the most efficient and effective ways to lose weight. You'll need to work hard and stay focused.

Have you ever heard this saying? "You get out of it what you put into it." I heard this for the first time when I was 11 years old at summer camp, of all places. Normally, this applies to an activity or job. This time around, this will apply to what you eat and your body.

Your diet will be the number one factor on whether or not you hit the beach with a six-pack or a keg.

I am going to recommend two books for getting your nutrition on track.

1. The 4-Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss.
2. Perfect Weight America by Jordan Rubin.

Either one of these books will help you shed the pounds and quickly if you follow them.

Which one should I read first? Excellent question! I'm glad you asked that! I'll answer that with a series of questions designed to help you figure that out.

• Are you obese? If you fall into the "obese" category, I will recommend you start with Perfect Weight America. After you've read and followed Jordan's plan, you can then get going on The 4-Hour Body. Technically, obese means your 20% or more over what your normal weight should be. This means that your health IS being affected by your weight. There is no "quick" solution here. You have some work to do and you also have an obligation to those who love you to get this into check. Follow?
• Are you overweight? If you're less than 20% of your normal weight then you too have some work to do, habits to learn and a lifestyle to change. Perfect Weight America is the perfect way to go for you as well. However, after you've dropped some of those excess pounds and you're ready to step it up a notch or you feel like you may have plateaued, feel free to hop on The Slow Carb Diet from The 4-Hour Body.

QUICK DISCLAIMER: Starting with The 4-Hour Body will work for obese and overweight people incredibly well. However, it will require some serious discipline on your part that you may not have yet. By following the program in Perfect Weight America, which is effective and not as restrictive, you will get your mind and body used to the lifestyle changes you are undertaking. The 4-Hour Body addresses the physical and tangible aspects of losing fat and gaining strength and health, but it does not touch on the emotional/psychological aspect as well as Perfect Weight America.

• Are ya' Chubby. Come on, you know who you are and you know what needs to be done. Get a copy of The 4-Hour Body and get to work.
• Just a little left. Same goes for you!

So, what's most important here is that what you eat will be in direct proportion to how you feel and how you look. You can exercise until you're blue in the face, but if you're eating McDonald's hamburgers and mainlining soda pop all day, you're not going to do anything except continue to hurt yourself, feel sluggish and look bloated.

In boxing and many martial arts, the term for conditioning your body is called, "Road Work." The good news here is that your road work will be relatively simple.

The goal is simply to remove unwanted fat and tone the muscle underneath and we need to do it in a safe and effective manner.

Here's what I want you to do:

• High Intensity Interval Training. OK, you may have heard this term before. Now, I'm going to take it to the next level. In a nutshell, it's exercise that goes like this: High Speed, Medium Speed, High Speed, Medium Speed, etc. You can do it on a bike or you can do it on your feet, you can do it with weights or any other way you can think of. That being said, my suggestion for the best HIIT tool will be Two Handed Kettlebell Swings.

Now I also want to toss in another little disclaimer here: If you fall into the obese/overweight categories, then go and get the doc to take a look at you. If you're too proud for that, then remember the wisdom of Master RKC, David Whitley. "Push yourself but don't be stupid!" The beauty of High Intensity Interval Training is that the "intensity" part is based on your perceived exertion level. If you haven't worked out in several years don't come out of the gate like Seabiscuit. Start slow and build up slowly. Got it? Now, where were we? Oh, yes!

• Slow speed static contraction grinding style weightlifting. I just made that term up. What do you think? Basically, what needs to happen to tone the existing muscle you have is to put that muscle under tension. Your lower body and core will get ample work from the Swings. So to put the cherry on top of your toning, I will suggest The Turkish Get-Up. This progressive movement will put most of your upper body under static tension, enhance overall mobility, strengthen your core and help to injury proof your shoulders.

• Abs. No "beach body" is complete without a nice stomach. Whether it's the ripped 6-pack for the fellas or tone and trim for the ladies. So, number 1, please refer to the diet section for the main ingredient for Abs. Number 2, when you get a copy of The 4-Hour Work Week, you will find two exercises. The first is called the Myotatic Crunch and the second, The Cat Vomit Exercise. The Myotatic Crunch will put the muscle in place and the Cat Vomit Exercise will pull the stomach in and eliminate the "potbelly" look. Tim used these two exercises to shred his midsection like he's never had. You too can use them to shred your midsection assuming you've removed the covering...

Let's take a quick look at how to do these exercises properly. Now please for the love of God, seek the consultation of a Certified Trainer when it comes to Kettlebell Training. Just because Jillian and Trainer Bob make obscene amounts of money helping people drop some serious weight (a noble cause and valiant effort that deserves respect) doesn't mean that the have the slightest clue when it comes to how to Swing a Kettlebell or perform the Turkish Get Up. The biggest winner in that marriage will be your local chiropractor. And the biggest loser here will be you.

Sorry if that comes off harsh, I just find that Kettlebell band wagoners need to man up and take enough responsibility to love their clients enough to make sure they're doing it right and teaching it right.

I'll list the top 4 places in order of my personal preference as far as where to look for good and proper Kettlebell Training.

1. DragonDoor.com and Pavel Tsatsouline
2. Iron Core Kettlebells
3. Art of Strength.com
4. Mike Mahler.com

These sites and individuals have been major influences in bringing the Russian Kettlebell back to America from nearly a 100-year absence. Find yourself following any of these groups and people and you'll do fine.

Let's review the drills real quick but I'll leave it up to you to practice perfect form.

-Kettlebell Swings are labeled under the ballistic category of Kettlebell Exercises because it is explosive in nature and a sure fire way to get rid of unwanted fat. You can get better acquainted with the Kettlebell Swing by reading my Hub: How To Learn The Kettlebell Swing In 10 Minutes. (see link above)

-Turkish Get Ups as I mentioned are a grind. Literally. They require your undivided attention and focus. They should not be rushed. Consider the Turkish Get Up as the hard man's Yoga. If you need to know How To Perform The Turkish Get Up, check out my Hub: How to Perform The Turkish Get Up Hardstyle. (see link above)

Glad you asked!

Your HIIT should be either Jogging and Sprinting at the park or you should HIIT the bike at the gym. I prefer the park myself. Here's a sample workout.

Day 1-

Warm Up: 5 minutes of as many jumping jacks as you can muster without getting "worked"

Workout: Jog 50 yards/Sprint 50 yards repeat 4 times. Next time, add 1 round. work your way up to 10 rounds then go back to 4 rounds BUT jog 40 yards and sprint 60. See the pattern? You can thank me later...

Cool Down: Easy going stretching and some Abdominal work

Day 2-

Warm Up: 5 minutes of Deep Knee Bends and Shoulder Bridges

Workout: 5 Turkish Get Ups per side. Do them anyway. Take as mush time as you need between sets. FYI: You don't need a Kettlebell to do this exercise. Learn it naked (meaning use no weight at all, doing Turkish Get Ups in the park with no clothes on will guarantee your place on National Sex Offender Database guaranteed) Once you have the movement down, try balancing a shoe on your fist, then a water bottle that's half full (again, thank me later) and once you got that down, go get yourself a Kettlebell and get to work!

Cool Down: Light stretching and Ab work.

So there you have it, a no-frills approach to looking good at the beach. Let me know your thoughts and questions! Also, if you try this let me know how it goes for you!