How To Burn Maximum Calories In 20 Minutes

In this week's workout of the week I will show you how to burn maximum calories in 20 minutes using only 2 kettlebells (You can use 1 kettlebell is that's all you have). 

There's no secret, kettlebell complexes... heck, complexes in general have been around for a really long time, so I'm not really revealing anything new here. *But* the nature in how you execute the workout will likely be something you've never experienced before.

What is Complex Training, Why It Should Be A part of your practice, and How to implement it

Complex training combines both  strength training, plyometrics, and sometimes sport-specific movements (and when I say sport-specific movements, I'm not talking about using weights in actual athletic movements, like swinging a weighted golf club, or even shrimping with a kettlebell).

The typical flow of a complex is like this, an intense strength exercise like pressing, squatting, or deadlifting, followed by a plyometric (explosive jumping like movements, or even a short sprint) exercise. 

There is generally 2-4+ exercises strung together to form the complex.

Why Complex Training?

Complexes activate both your type IIa and IIx [fast twitch] muscle fibers (These are the fastest muscles in humans).

These fast twitch muscles contract quickly and with a greater amount of force than oxidative [slow twitch] muscle.

These muscles also burn a ton of calories but, they can only sustain short bursts of activity before the muscle contraction becomes painful and slows down (often incorrectly attributed to a build-up of lactic acid). 

Example muscles: 

• Glutes
• Hamstrings
• Lats (large back muscle that runs from your underarm to your waist)

Strength exercises like: presses, squats, and deadlifts, activate your type IIa  muscle (type IIa are intermediate muscles compared to the larger type IIx) fibers while the plyometric exercises (explosive jumping movements) activate your type IIx fibers. 

Plyometrics are typically body weight oriented movements like depth jumps. But for most people, traditional plyometrics  are not appropriate, safety is likely the biggest factor. 

When is comes to plyometrics or jump training in general, you're more likely to get injured coming down and not on the actual jump. So what's the next best option?

Enter the Kettlebell Quick Lifts

The kettlebell quick lifts such as: swings, cleans, snatches, and jerks are what we call sub-maximal plyometrics. They are easier on the joints, don't require you to leave the ground, and allow you to burn maximum calories. ​

Here are a few benefits of the quick lifts:

• Improved cardiovascular health and conditioning
• Coordination and balance
• Reduced back pain (generally caused by prolonged sitting) by opening up and releasing your hip flexors
• Rapid fat loss (through a high caloric expenditure... aka: they burn maximum calories)