Kettlebell swings tabata. 4 minutes. Every second day. Will raise V02 max at a rate acceptably close to as fast as possible and give a strength adaption that is fairly general. Fat burning is increased both from the metabolic effect from the high intensity work and the increase in muscle mass.
This is minimal in terms of time, the complexity of the routine and materials needed. For the 4 minutes in question it is not minimal. It is more brutally intense than most things you can do short of physical combat.
kettlebell swings are an exercise most people seem to do with poor form. Spinal flexion under load is BAD JUJU. It is possible to do them correctly but I almost never see it.
Spinal flexion? Bending forward? People do that with kettlebell swings? I focus my attention on avoiding the opposite tendency (extension).
All else being equal I expect kettlebell swings to be good for the back (building the neglected supporting muscles so that other activities do not damage it) rather than bad.
another reason I don’t recommend kettlebell swings is the same reason I don’t recommend skip rope to newbies, the intensity is too high. They run out of gas before they can get a significant workout.
another reason I don’t recommend kettlebell swings is the same reason I don’t recommend skip rope to newbies, the intensity is too high. They run out of gas before they can get a significant workout.
I seem to disagree with your advice. It is approximately backwards. Running out of gas is kind of the point. High intensity is the point. Beginners should increase the rest time between high intensity excersions (for example 20 seconds on, 30 seconds off instead of 20 seconds on 10 seconds off). Doing just weights is a massive copout. Especially for beginners whose lack of neuromuscular adaptation ensure that they can’t even perform at their full intensity at raw weight lifting when trying to.
my experience is that people get burned out on cardio intense enough to cause significant improvement but the same is not true of weightlifting.
Beginners for most part physically can’t get burned enough to cause significant cardiovascular adaptation when weightlifting. This is why your workout proposal is quite good as far as a selection of exercises for muscle growth goes but the justification that it is somehow better in the cardio section is a little too eager.
I love weights, these days I do more weight training than running despite the fact that I’m training for a marathon. But choosing weights over high intensity cardio is a tradeoff, not a free-lunch improvement across the board. More muscle growth, more fat burning, much more cosmetic improvement, less cardiovascular improvements (including less VO2 Max). This applies to beginners at least as much as others.
it’s a temporary tradeoff. Trying to do both at the same time would be even more insane for a newbie. I think weight training first is both easier and will make the transition to cardio after a couple months much easier if a person chooses to do that.
it’s a temporary tradeoff. Trying to do both at the same time would be even more insane for a newbie. I think weight training first is both easier and will make the transition to cardio after a couple months much easier if a person chooses to do that.
I would make the same recommendation and add that cosmetic changes, the ‘toughness feeling’ and the comments from others will be a much more powerful reinforcement. The beginners also get much, much more perception of improvement in the initial stages of weight training than with cardio. Nearly all of the improvements are neuromuscluar as the nerves stop sending signals to the muscles that are utterly incompetent but even so ability to lift weights improves dramatically. You can’t do the same thing with cardio; “Lungs! Absorb more oxygen and heart pump and stuff. Capillaries, grow!” is harder than “Opposing muscle groups, don’t fire at the same time, dumbasses!”
I would be completely flabergasted if the rowing machine exerted anywhere near the force on the spine that kettlebell swings do. Rowing machine is low weight low intensity.
I would be completely flabergasted if the rowing machine exerted anywhere near the force on the spine that kettlebell swings do. Rowing machine is low weight low intensity.
I’ll take from this that my kettlebell form must be awesome. I get much less “Warning! Unhealthy back strain may be occurring” from my body from the swings.
agreed, biomechanics are surprisingly variable. Learning what good and bad stress feels like is one of the primary tasks for a newbie.
I’ve always been paranoid in this regard—perhaps erring on the side of holding myself back rather than maximising growth. Even in response to strong social pressure by my gym buddies it goes like:
“Push through it! Don’t be a pussy. One more set!” “No, that twinge of pain isn’t muscular fatigue, it’s in the shoulder somewhere. Mostly harmless right now but it means I stop, now. Next week I’ll train the relevant supporting muscles some more.” ”Nah, you’re being soft. Go! Be a man.” ″Not this time, .”
This is in stark contrast to my response to actual muscle or cardiovascular fatigue, which I’ll push through mercilessly and encourage my gym buddies to push me through even harder.
it’s hard to describe verbally but fairly easy to distinguish as a physical sensation. Injury is a sharp pain, soreness is sort of a dull burning. One should immediately stop from any sharp pain, even if it seems mild, because it will be worse the next day.
Don’t worry about the exceptions, worry about elaborating that slogan. How can you tell whether the feeling is in a muscle? What does “sore” mean? pain the next day?
Kettlebell swings tabata. 4 minutes. Every second day. Will raise V02 max at a rate acceptably close to as fast as possible and give a strength adaption that is fairly general. Fat burning is increased both from the metabolic effect from the high intensity work and the increase in muscle mass.
This is minimal in terms of time, the complexity of the routine and materials needed. For the 4 minutes in question it is not minimal. It is more brutally intense than most things you can do short of physical combat.
kettlebell swings are an exercise most people seem to do with poor form. Spinal flexion under load is BAD JUJU. It is possible to do them correctly but I almost never see it.
Spinal flexion? Bending forward? People do that with kettlebell swings? I focus my attention on avoiding the opposite tendency (extension).
All else being equal I expect kettlebell swings to be good for the back (building the neglected supporting muscles so that other activities do not damage it) rather than bad.
any movement away from neutral spine under load.
another reason I don’t recommend kettlebell swings is the same reason I don’t recommend skip rope to newbies, the intensity is too high. They run out of gas before they can get a significant workout.
I seem to disagree with your advice. It is approximately backwards. Running out of gas is kind of the point. High intensity is the point. Beginners should increase the rest time between high intensity excersions (for example 20 seconds on, 30 seconds off instead of 20 seconds on 10 seconds off). Doing just weights is a massive copout. Especially for beginners whose lack of neuromuscular adaptation ensure that they can’t even perform at their full intensity at raw weight lifting when trying to.
my experience is that people get burned out on cardio intense enough to cause significant improvement but the same is not true of weightlifting.
Beginners for most part physically can’t get burned enough to cause significant cardiovascular adaptation when weightlifting. This is why your workout proposal is quite good as far as a selection of exercises for muscle growth goes but the justification that it is somehow better in the cardio section is a little too eager.
I love weights, these days I do more weight training than running despite the fact that I’m training for a marathon. But choosing weights over high intensity cardio is a tradeoff, not a free-lunch improvement across the board. More muscle growth, more fat burning, much more cosmetic improvement, less cardiovascular improvements (including less VO2 Max). This applies to beginners at least as much as others.
it’s a temporary tradeoff. Trying to do both at the same time would be even more insane for a newbie. I think weight training first is both easier and will make the transition to cardio after a couple months much easier if a person chooses to do that.
I would make the same recommendation and add that cosmetic changes, the ‘toughness feeling’ and the comments from others will be a much more powerful reinforcement. The beginners also get much, much more perception of improvement in the initial stages of weight training than with cardio. Nearly all of the improvements are neuromuscluar as the nerves stop sending signals to the muscles that are utterly incompetent but even so ability to lift weights improves dramatically. You can’t do the same thing with cardio; “Lungs! Absorb more oxygen and heart pump and stuff. Capillaries, grow!” is harder than “Opposing muscle groups, don’t fire at the same time, dumbasses!”
You recommend the rowing machine? When you consider kettlebell swings bad? This is bizarre and totally backwards.
I would be completely flabergasted if the rowing machine exerted anywhere near the force on the spine that kettlebell swings do. Rowing machine is low weight low intensity.
I’ll take from this that my kettlebell form must be awesome. I get much less “Warning! Unhealthy back strain may be occurring” from my body from the swings.
agreed, biomechanics are surprisingly variable. Learning what good and bad stress feels like is one of the primary tasks for a newbie.
I’ve always been paranoid in this regard—perhaps erring on the side of holding myself back rather than maximising growth. Even in response to strong social pressure by my gym buddies it goes like:
“Push through it! Don’t be a pussy. One more set!”
“No, that twinge of pain isn’t muscular fatigue, it’s in the shoulder somewhere. Mostly harmless right now but it means I stop, now. Next week I’ll train the relevant supporting muscles some more.”
”Nah, you’re being soft. Go! Be a man.”
″Not this time, .”
This is in stark contrast to my response to actual muscle or cardiovascular fatigue, which I’ll push through mercilessly and encourage my gym buddies to push me through even harder.
Details of good vs. bad physical stress is probably worth a post.
“Sore muscles good, sore anything else bad”. But then there are all the exceptions to both, bah.
How can you tell whether or not you’re heading for trouble during a session?
it’s hard to describe verbally but fairly easy to distinguish as a physical sensation. Injury is a sharp pain, soreness is sort of a dull burning. One should immediately stop from any sharp pain, even if it seems mild, because it will be worse the next day.
Don’t worry about the exceptions, worry about elaborating that slogan. How can you tell whether the feeling is in a muscle? What does “sore” mean? pain the next day?