11 Tips for Women Over 40 to Manage Their Weight

by iGrapez | Blog

Are you a woman who is over 40 years?

There are many factors that you should consider.

You will note that most women who are past this age normally have different challenges affecting their health and fitness.

Some of them usually have diabetes and other lifestyle diseases.

Others are normally overweight.

If you know that you have added a lot of weight in the recent past, you can reduce it in several ways.

This is because too much weight can be detrimental to your health.

The good news is that there are many ideas that can help women over 40 to manage their weight.

The following are 11 tips for women over 40 to manage their weight:

1. Ensure that you sleep for at least 8 hours.

How many hours do you normally sleep?

You will note that some women normally sleep for a few hours.

This might be due to busy work schedules and so on.

This might also seem to be a good idea but it can be detrimental to your health.

Sleep can help to relax your body and thereby enable your body to get revitalized.

Besides enabling you to relax, sleep can help reduce chances of cardiovascular diseases and weight gain.

This way, you can trust that you will be able to reduce your weight in the long run.

This is the reason why you should ensure that you sleep for at least 8 hours every day.

2. Ensure that you exercise regularly.

Sometimes, you might not be able to perform exercises every day.

However, this should not be an avenue for you not to reduce your weight.

You can consider doing regular workouts so that you can reduce the excess fat in your body.

You should do these exercises early in the evening or later in the evening and you can also do these workouts during the weekends.

This can help you burn more calories.

If you have not started these exercises, you can start with simple workouts and increase the intensity of them over time.

This can help you boost your body’s metabolism and eventually manage to reduce your weight.

3. Choose a healthy diet

Your diet can make you gain or reduce your weight.

This is the reason why you should be keen on your diet.

If you are fond of taking processed foods, you might gain more weight over time.

In addition, if you normally like taking foods that have a lot of carbohydrates, you might end up gaining more weight over time.

It is therefore advisable that you change your diet and take a healthy diet.

In this case, you can consider taking a more balanced diet.

This can play a major role in helping you reduce your weight.

4. Take more proteins and fewer carbs.

You can increase the intake of proteins and reduce the intake of carbohydrates in order to reduce your body weight.

You will note that proteins can actually make you gain more muscles.

They actually help in repairing the worn out tissues in your body.

On the other hand, carbohydrates are good but can make you gain more weight.

You can reduce the intake of carbs and take only a small portion of them.

There are many sources of proteins that you can consider and these include eggs, lean meat, beans, nuts and so on.

5. Schedule regular appointments with your doctor.

It is important that you ensure that you are healthy all the time.

You will note that women who are 40 years and above usually have various health issues that need medical attention.

In this case, you should schedule an appointment with your doctor in order to have your blood, pressure and cholesterol levels checked.

Your weight can also be checked.

This can determine whether you have gained a lot of weight or not.

This can help you reduce your body weight and enable you to become more fit and attractive.

6. Measure your progress.

You should not reduce your body weight without tracking your progress.

You should be able to track your progress from time to time.

This can help you know whether you have achieved your weight goals or not.

In this case, you can get a tape measure and take measurements of your waist.

You can also measure your weight and note it somewhere.

Doing this often can help you keep track of your weight loss progress.

This has actually worked well for many women out there.

7. Drink more water.

You are likely to sweat when doing exercises.

You should, therefore, drink more water so that you can be more hydrated.

If your body is dehydrated, it might not function properly.

In this case, you can carry a bottle of water so that you can hydrate your body from time to time.

If you are doing exercises on a sunny day, you are likely to sweat more.

In this case, you should, therefore, drink more water.

This can help boost your body’s metabolism and thereby enable you to lose weight more effectively.

8. Avoid a sedentary lifestyle.

Some women normally like watching TV throughout the day, but did you know that leading a sedentary lifestyle can make you gain more weight?

If you want to manage your weight, you should avoid this lifestyle.

Leading an active lifestyle can help mitigate this problem.

If you normally work in an office, you should walk to specific offices instead of sending emails to your colleagues.

You can even take a walk to your workplace if possible because this can help you to reduce your weight in the long run.

9. Set attainable goals.

Your weight loss goals should be achievable.

They should also be specific.

You will note that if you set unrealistic goals, you might get disappointed.

It is important that you set goals that you can achieve.

You can start with short term goals and then consider long term goals.

This can help you to stay motivated and even manage to reduce your weight.

10. Avoid stress.

It is normal to get stressed.

However, you should not allow stress to overwhelm you.

You should instead find ways of mitigating this situation.

You can consider talking to a close friend or seeking the services of a professional counselor.

This can help reduce the chances of weight gain.

11. Be patient.

Your body will need more time to respond to diet and exercises.

You should, therefore, be patient and practice healthy habits all the time.

You should not give up if you find out that you are losing your weight at a slow rate.

You should be patient and wait to see the results after some time.

This might take a few weeks or even a few months.

Conclusion

Consider these ideas today and you will be a happy woman.

These ideas have helped many women in the past.

Try them today and live a healthier lifestyle.

These tips are truly the best.

Could Intermittent Fasting Solve Your Weight-Loss Plateau?

by iGrapez | Blog

Do you have a weight loss plateau to clear in order to achieve your fitness dream?

Intermittent fasting (IF) can be your solution.

This fasting has become a common term in describing various types of eating program and approaches you take to lower calorie intake.

It involves day to day or the weekly fasting cycle.

Therefore, Intermittent Fasting has a lot of scientific reasons referring to various approaches to restrict calories intake.

The methods may include an alternate day fasting that typically includes eating less than 500 calories in a day; like the 5:2 diet.

It may involve 2 fast days of less than 500 calories a day.

Also, a time-restricted feeding, that includes eating just 6-12 hours every day, then fasting for the 12- 18 hours that are left.

Intermittent fasting works well for most people.

If you want to start fasting, it’s advisable to start slowly as you work to your target schedule, which may take weeks or months.

During the night when we are asleep your body is set to be in a fasting mode.

When you wake you break the fasting by taking a healthy energetic breakfast.

Intermittent fasting involves going without taking anything for a longer time than sleep and then taking all your calories at a specific time.

In this article, we are revealing whether This Fasting could solve your Weight-Loss Plateau and how.

It has various benefits when used to reduce your weight.

Intermittent Fasting Benefits

When you decide to use Intermittent Fasting you stand to get various health benefits.

Some of them include reducing calories to increase the lifespan of your body cells.

The Fasting calorie restriction enhances the lifespan of animals.

Limiting food intake also helps in fighting diseases.

Another great advantage of using Intermittent Fasting in your body is to increase the responsiveness to the hormone insulin.

The hormone insulin is always released to respond to the food taken.

The hormone causes the liver, fat cells and muscle to store glucose.

During fasting the blood sugar levels lower, this leads to a reduction in insulin production, hence signaling the body to start consuming the stored energy.

This leads to an immediate body weight loss if the process continues for some time.

Intermittent fasting has various health benefits in the overall body other than weight loss.

Some of them include increased energy, improved mental state, enhanced fat burning, increasing growth hormone production and improved cellular repair.

These beneficial processes combine to promote a healthy weight loss.

Is Intermittent Fasting Good For You?

It’s good to know whether Intermittent Fasting is right for you.

To be specific, there aren’t official test to guarantee whether someone is fit for trying it although there’re some useful general guidelines to consider.

You ought to consider the impact on your lifestyle.

If your Fasting schedule is conflicting with your family’s nutrition requirements or your work, it may be difficult for you to commit yourself to an Intermittent Fasting plan.

In case you are an athlete you ought to consider your nutritional requirements as well as the recovery process.

Finally, for many women, intermittent fasting affects hormonal balancing hence not suitable to some.

Therefore, before starting any Fasting schedule, it’s advisable to visit your doctor for a further health consultation.

Don’t just take it because your friend did, but instead work on the schedule with a purpose and a goal to a achieve.

Ultimately, the best way to find if intermittent fasting can work for you is putting it on trial.

This fasting has various types, hence choosing the right one that fits your needs and your health will give you excellent results.

Some of them include:

1. Breakfast Skipper or the 16/8 Method.

The method involves fasting for 16 hours and then eating the last 8 hours.

The is excellent and appealing to many starters as they can decide to be eating from 4 p.m to midnight every day.

2. Leangains

In this method, women fast for fourteen hours, while men take 16 fasting hours.

It’s similar to Breakfast Skipper although there is a decrease in fasting length in women to avoid altering their hormone balance since females are more sensitive to starvation.

3. Fast Diet or the 5:2 Diet

The method involves eating for five days then cutting down the calories intake in two days.

It’s a more advanced fasting technique where you normally eat in 5 days then reduce calories intake to 600 for men and 500 for women in just two days.

The method is appealing to many people.

4. Alternating Method

The method entails having alternating eating and fasting days.

During the fasting day, you take 1/5 of your regular caloric intake, then consume the usually recommended calories on the feasting day.

The diet is more comfortable to follow since feasting and fasting days alternate.

5. Warrior

It’s the greatest of all, fasting for 20 hours a day then eat just one large meal probably at night.

It’s a very challenging schedule to follow since you need to fit all the major and minor nutrients into one single meal.

The Intermittent Fasting schedules are many so you only need to choose the best for you.

It’s advisable to start with breakfast skipper, also try a method which works well with your work schedule and your hunger levels.

How Metabolism And Genetics Impacts Your
Intermittent Fasting Schedule

During intermittent fasting, two forces do affect your results, the genetics, and your metabolism.

How fast metabolic individuals try to lose weight?

Focusing on calorie intake means a lot to you since you burn everything that you consume quickly, hence this Fasting is good for you to lose weight quickly.

You only take light meals, and your body burns the rest within a short time even the stored fat.

In case of slow metabolism individuals, Intermittent Fasting takes time to work for you since you store energy easily and your process of losing fat is very slow.

You need to be patient.

Your genetics make up impacts on whether you are a fast or slow metabolic person.

The uncoupling genes provide enough information to decide whether you can benefit from Intermittent Fasting or not.

Your genes define your fat burning capacity, metabolic rate, muscle type and recovery time which are essential in Intermittent Fasting.

Conclusion

Weight loss is a process which should be done in a healthy and friendly manner.

Intermittent fasting is one-way of losing weight naturally and shouldn’t be undermined.

This article answers very well whether could Intermittent Fasting solve your Weight-Loss Plateau.

This Fasting really works well, but the techniques require discipline and self-drive to attain your goals.

The Fascinating Link Between Walnuts and Weight Loss

by iGrapez | Blog

The Fascinating Link Between Walnuts and Weight Loss

Is there a link between Walnuts and Weight Loss? The answer is yes. You might also want to ask, can a fatty acid really help you reduce your weight? Well, let’s find out in the next few paragraphs!

The following are the fascinating links between walnuts and weight loss:

Have omega 3 fatty acids

Well, you must know that there are studies that have revealed that not having enough of this essential fatty acid can actually inhibit weight loss. And this essential fatty acid also promotes blood circulation which leads to the enhancement of the fat burning ability as there is increased blood flow to the muscles.

Walnuts benefits include omega 3 fatty acids which provide our body with a wide range of health benefits. Firstly, they are known for their cardioprotective properties. Omega 3 fatty acids prevent our heart from beating erratically, thereby providing sufficient blood circulation and oxygenation to other systems of our body.

Prevent unnecessary clotting

Omega 3 fatty acids are known to prevent unnecessary clotting of the blood inside the arteries. Traveling blood clot or embolus is the most common cause of cardiac attacks in the world.

Also, these essential fatty acids are known to improve blood cholesterol levels by lowering down the LDL (low-density lipoprotein), which is bad cholesterol and by raising the levels of HDL (high-density lipoprotein) or the good cholesterol.

Low levels of LDL means the decreased risk for developing arterial plaques that lead to atherosclerosis. Diabetic individuals can also benefit from the healthful walnuts benefits. A study published in Diabetes Care shows that diabetics who include a daily ounce of walnuts in their diet showed significant improvements in the cholesterol profile.

Improve your health

The walnut tree is regarded as the oldest tree food so it’s not surprising that there are many walnuts benefits for your health. This fact is supported by the archeological discovery of petrified walnut shells. Using carbon dating technology, archeologists were able to date back the walnut shells 8,000 years ago during the Neolithic period.

Roman history also indicated that the walnut is the Royal Nut of their god, Jove, indicating a long and interesting history of walnuts benefits. Originally from Persia, the walnuts were brought into the United States by the Franciscan Monks in the early 1800s and were grown in Central California.

As a matter of fact, ninety-nine percent of the commercial English walnuts supplied in the U.S. today are produced in Central California. Central California is also the major supplier of English walnuts (65%) in the world.

Walnuts benefits may seem hard to obtain because they are hard nuts to crack, but they’re the kind of nuts worth cracking. They are hard on the outside, but they are definitely yummy on the inside. And what makes them even yummier is the fact that the hard nutshell swathes a kernel that’s packed with the essential nutrients needed by our body to function well.

Have higher levels of fats

Generally, nuts have higher levels of fats. A 1/4 cup of walnuts contains approximately 16.30 grams of fat. Nevertheless, don’t fuss. Although walnuts are high in fats, only 1.53 grams of the total fat are saturated fat and the rest are polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats.

One of the walnuts benefits is they are excellent sources of Omega 3 fatty acids. Quarter-Cup walnuts provide approximately 94.58% of Omega 3 fatty acids. Omega 3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated essential fatty acids, in the sense that they can’t be produced by our body, which is why we get them from dietary sources like walnuts.

Not only is omega 3 beneficial for the heart, but it can also be good for our brain, another walnuts benefits. If you take a good look at a walnut, what do you see? You may see that it resembles like a wrinkled brain right? Well, nature didn’t do that to a walnut just for nothing. It was made that way to remind us that walnuts are excellent “brain foods”.

Did you know that 60% of our brain is made up of structural fats? Yes, fats. And in order for our brain to perform its cognitive functions normally, it needs all the essential fats it can get, in this case, Omega 3, from dietary food sources like walnuts. Also, did you know that walnuts benefits stemming from omega 3’s may help prevent neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease?

Sources of protein

If you are worried that walnuts are high in fat, then you should not worry so much because they mostly contain good fats, primarily the omega 3 fatty acids. These good fats are known to help lower the bad cholesterol in the body so do not feel too guilty in having to consume much of the dishes that contain walnuts. It is also important to note that walnuts are also known to be better sources of omega 3 acids since they contain more of this good element compared to other types of nuts.

Reduce the risks of heart disease

There have also been a lot of studies that indicate that walnuts should also be included in the diet of a person who wants to reduce the risks of heart disease. This is because blood vessel elasticity is improved, thus, helping avoid plaque accumulation in the blood vessels.

Although these pieces of evidence show how useful omega 3 is to weight loss people should put emphasis that this essential fatty acid is needed for the body to be healthy. It is true that omega 3 and weight loss are linked but this essential fatty acid can also help reduce heart disease and lower cholesterol.

Contain a substantial amount of calories

Walnuts also contain a substantial amount of calories. This can be very helpful to those who are underweight. They can try including walnuts in their routine diet as it will help them get the required amount of calories. As for those who want to decrease their caloric intake, taking walnuts in moderation is fine.

Conclusion

Walnuts can be eaten as snacks and get you revved up if you want a quick but not messy snack. You can easily buy packages of walnuts and can easily bring them in your bag or purse. Aside from eating walnuts as is, they are also great additions to dishes.

How To Snack Smarter When You’re Watching Your Portions

by iGrapez | Blog

How To Snack Smarter When You’re Watching Your Portions

Eating snacks can be quite tricky, especially if you’re not used to controlling portions, not just with meals but also with snacks. Oftentimes, it’s easy to lose track and overeat on healthy snacks. But it’s not something you can’t fix with smarter ways of eating. Listed below are the 8 tips you can follow for smarter and more controlled snacking habits.

Avoid Liquid Snacks

Whether you like it or not, fruit drinks or any mixed drinks for snacks won’t make you feel full. They may be right portions but finishing it in one gulp or two can really make you grab for another which is bad. The only liquid you should be drinking often is water and only water. 

As much as possible, snacks should be in solid form. Not only do they make you chew, but they also make you feel full much quicker. Just take your time eating and drink plenty of water. After all, crunchy snacks make you feel a little more full than soft ones.

Never Eat While Multi-Tasking

Just like how you eat popcorn in the movies, you just can’t stop eating until it’s all gone; and when it is, you might even grab some from your seatmate, if they’ve still got some left. All the action and talking gets you in a trance that you aren’t so conscious about just how much you’ve already eaten. And that’s really bad. 

Now, this can be a problem for you when you’re watching your portions. There’s a high tendency for you to overeat when you’re watching a movie or doing something else that grabs most of your attention because you unconsciously pop one after the other. So it’s better to eat with focus or not at all. It’s better if you eat before or after you watch that new action movie.

Get a Smaller Bowl 

Now, this might seem a little weird but it definitely works. Think about a bowl so small, you just force everything to fit inside it. When you’re watching your portions, a small bowl can help it make look like it’s already a lot; but in reality, it’s just the right amount. With smaller bowls, you first start to trick your mind that you have more than enough for your meal.

Smaller bowls also don’t tempt you to add more just to fill it in because you simply have no more space. A smaller bowl and a huge amount of discipline will definitely help you control your portions. After all, they’re snacks and not meals, so they’d most probably be more appropriate for bowls. 

Choose Chewables

Not those vitamins you hear on TV or see on ads, but snacks that make you chew and chew non-stop until it gets finished. But not just that, you need to thoroughly chew your food. According to lots of studies, chewing much more slowly helps trick your brain that you’re full. 

The best chewables that lets you chew thoroughly are nuts, namely almonds, cashews, and peanuts, crunchy vegetables like celery, fruits like apple, and kale chips. These kinds of snacks have that crunch to keep you chewing until they’re fine bits and piece. What a great way to trick your brain while enjoying a good crunch.

Get that Fiber 

If you’re the type who gets hungry easily, you should definitely have fiber in your snacks. One study showed that having fiber as snacks also helped them lose weight. People also felt fuller with these type of snacks. Additionally, your bowel movements are also better. Win-win, right? 

Perfect examples of high-fiber snacks are oatmeal, sweet potatoes, kale chips, prunes, bananas, apples, mangoes, and strawberries. Vegetables like broccoli, beets, carrots, and spinach are also great sources of fiber. Beans and legumes are also a great source of fiber. Nuts, too, are also rich in fiber. Mix and match these foods for a vibrant-colored snack. 

Stick to Your Eating Schedule

There are just those times where you start to feel like you’re hungry. But are you really? A key to a successful diet is to stick with your eating schedule. If you eat way too early or way too late after the scheduled time, the tendency is you’re not going to follow your portions or even your diet.

To avoid this kind of mess, you can set up alarms to remind you that’s it’s snack time. When you feel like eating earlier than that, try to fight off the urge. This develops into a good habit that’s pretty hard to resist in the long run. Just remember that discipline will get you somewhere.

Go for Combo Snacks

Just a bit of everything can be overwhelming enough to make you feel full. A mix of a few proteins like almonds and peanuts with two or three pieces of crackers finished off with a few grapes can be a well-balanced yet diverse snack that could also be fun.

The differences in texture and sizes of these snacks can be a joy ride for your palate each snack time. You can also try mixing up high-low combinations like a good portion of avocado plus some kale or sweet potato chips can do the job. Regardless of what combination you choose, mixing the different foods relative to your portions will also keep your snacks interesting.

Rest Up

It may seem like this isn’t connected to smarter snacking but it is. In fact, it has a significant effect on your snacking habits. If you lack rest, you’re most likely to eat more than you should; ruining your diet, altogether. You can either have a higher tendency to eat more during unusual times or not eat at all. Lack of sleep also leads to lack of appetite because you’re just more focused on when you can get a good night’s sleep.

Lack of sleep can also give you stress that ultimately leads to stress-eating. You trick yourself into thinking you deserve more food than more sleep. So as much as possible get more hours of sleep than calories. You don’t want to ruin your diet and your sleeping patterns, right? 

Conclusion

All of these tips all require one thing: discipline. Regardless if you’ve followed all these tips, you still need to be disciplined enough to watch over what you eat and how much you’ve been eating. Good habits for good health.

9 Reasons the Keto Diet is NOT For You

by iGrapez | Blog

9 Reasons the Keto Diet is NOT For You

The Ketogenic Diet popularly known as Keto diet is known to be one of the best ways to lose excess fats from the body. It has proven to work out for most people, but this doesn’t mean that it is meant for everyone. Before beginning the Keto diet, you should consult either your nutritional doctor or health practitioner on whether you are fit to be on a keto diet or not.

This will save you the impending health disaster waiting to happen as soon as you embark on the diet. Below are some of the 9 reasons that signify that keto diet is not for you.

1. If you are a pregnant mother

Pregnant mothers are often required to have enough calories both for their sake and the sake of their babies. This means that you cannot be on keto simply because the main aim of the diet is to reduce your calorie intake so that your body may undergo ketosis. You should make sure that you avoid the diet and continue your calorie intake. A normal weight woman is required to consume about 1,800 calories, and yet a ketogenic diet requires you to consume only 20g to 25g. This is little than the stipulated amount. It may thus end up causing problems with your pregnancy.

2. In case you have an eating disorder

When dealing with a ketogenic diet, one of the most important factors is to maintain your food quantities. This means that you will be on a strict diet which includes cutting out too many carbs as well as eating a specific amount of proteins. Your fat intake should also be monitored closely so that you don’t end up eating excess or fewer fats. The worst part about the keto diet if you have eating disorders is that you may end up eating more than you should thus increasing your weight or you may eat less than required and stop ketosis.

3. Once you discover you don’t eat meat.

If you know you don’t consume meat either because you are a vegetarian or a vegan, then you should not attempt keto diet. This is because you will have a problem along the way. Most foods in the ketogenic diet contain meat. This means that you will have to consume a lot of both red and white meat to survive ketosis and reduce weight. If you start excluding meat from your ketogenic diet, then you will be cutting off a huge part of the most important macronutrients needed for ketosis. This will start having an impact on your health after a while.

4. If you have a high insulin level in your body.

Every human body has two very vital hormones. This is the insulin hormone and the glucose hormone. It is important that you maintain their levels without compromise. This is why if you realize you have high insulin in your body, you should stay away from the Keto diet. A ketogenic diet will worsen your condition since it often raises the levels of insulin by minimizing that of glucose. High level of insulin often leads to obesity and other health diseases that can turn severe.

5. Once you discover you have low fats.

Having adequate fat in your body is very important for a number of processes. High fat rate, on the other hand, tends to increase your chances of developing heart disease and high blood pressure. You should thus make sure that you have the right amount of fats in your body before you begin your keto diet. Make sure you consult your medical doctor about your body’s fat rate and if it is low, keep off the keto diet.

6. Those who are used to high-intensity workout.

Exercising while on the keto diet is highly recommended. This is because you not only get to lose your weight but also shape your body. What is not recommended is getting involved in a high-intensity workout which requires too much energy. This will require you to let go of the diet for your body to be able to adjust and function optimally. 

7. Menstruating women.

The last thing your body needs while on a keto diet is stressful conditions. This is because they tend to cause either hormone imbalance or trigger a certain health problem. Menstruating women are categorized to be undergoing a stressful and normal biological process meaning that they are not required to be on a keto diet at any point of the process.

8. Individuals who have insomnia or sleeping problems.

One of the main requirements for your body to undergo ketosis is adequate rest which is mostly characterized by sleeping. This makes the body to work optimally while burning the excess fats. This means that if you have sleeping disorders, you will not be able to have enough rest during ketosis. This will end up reducing your chances of having safe ketosis and burning fats at a good rate. You should thus keep off the keto diet.

9. If you are breastfeeding.

Just like Pregnant women, lactating mothers also require all nutrients in the body for them to undergo a safe lactation period. Remember that the nutrients will be transferred to the baby via the milk and so if there are no adequate carbohydrates the baby might not have enough strength required to function optimally. A lactating mother should thus ensure that she maintains eating a balanced diet that doesn’t lack any nutrients especially any of the macros. Since the keto diet lacks carbohydrates, she should not have it.

Conclusion

As much as the ketogenic diet is one of the most effective ways of losing weight that is not harsh but natural, not everyone is cut out for it. The above groups of people have been known to be at risk if they undertake a keto diet. This is because their bodies are either undergoing a process that cannot handle the keto diet or are just generally don’t have the required components to allow them to initiate ketosis successfully. You are thus advised to check up with your medical doctor or fitness practitioners before you start a keto diet.

10 Cardio Kettlebell Workouts That Will Crush Calories

by iGrapez | Blog

10 Cardio Kettlebell Workouts That Will Crush Calories

Kettlebells are similar to dumbbells used in fitness centers and boot camps for physical strength endurance training and other incredible workouts. They use explosive movements that stimulate abdominal contractions. So, while you are building stamina, you are also working out your abs. Here are 10 effective Cardio Kettlebell Workouts That Will Crush Calories

1. Kettlebell Cleans

To do cleans, first stand straight and space your legs out apart at about shoulder width. Rest your set of kettlebells in between your feet. Next, bend down slowly at an angle to pick up the bells using a backhand grip while at the same time ensuring your back is straight. Raise the bells explosively by going to a standing position and pulling them up, and then around your shoulders. Finally, perform the reverse motion to place the balls down.

2. Kettlebell Squats

Place your bells on the floor directly in front of you, and slightly within shoulder width. Using a forehand grip, bend down with your back straight and grip the bells, slowly pulling them up and around your shoulders. Make sure at this point the bells are at chest level. The actual exercise is to squat down and up with the bells at that position and height. The key thing is to ensure your back is straight at all times.

3. Kettlebell Swings

To do kettlebell swings, put just one bell on the floor directly in front of your right hand. Pick the bell up normally with a forehand grip and go into a standing position, holding your bell in between your legs and below your groin. Swing the ball back behind and under your legs with your right-hand firm on the grip and your left hand grabbing it slightly for support.

As the momentum swings the bell back up, use your force to push the bell higher to your chest level, keeping your hands straight while doing so. Follow the momentum and swing the kettlebell back down and under your legs, this time switching hands.

4. Kettlebell Jerk

This involves exercising one arm separately. Stand straight and spread your feet up to the length of your shoulder. With one arm, lift a kettlebell gradually up to the level of your ear. Raise it once more until it reaches your head and then squat. All the way, make sure that the arm and hand in motion correspond to the body. Make the last jerk and repeat the procedure.

5. Kettlebell Overhead Press

Pick up your kettlebell and bring it into the rack position, close to your body ensuring that your wrist stays straight and that the bell is resting in the ‘V’ made by your forearm and bicep. Brace down hard through your core, (think that someone is about to punch you in the stomach), squeeze the kettlebell handle as hard as you can and drive the kettlebell overhead.

During the press, you will rotate your hand so that in the top position your palm will be facing away from your body. At the top make sure that you lock out the elbow and that your shoulder is locked down and back. The kettlebell can be directly over the shoulder, or slightly behind, but not in front of the body. From here you need to keep your core braced, and reverse the movement and hand rotation coming back to the rack position.

6. Kettlebell Renegade Rows

With the regular 1 arm kettlebell row where you have one leg on the bench, renegade rows and their variations require you to use your entire core to keep your lower back straight and stable.

7. Kettlebell rack position

Start in the rack position, the same as mentioned above for the overhead press. You will need to brace your core like never before on this exercise, squeeze the KB handle tight and then start your descent.

8. Kettlebell Hard Style Breathing

This type of breathing is done when you use powerful and explosive movements while using kettlebells. During the exercise, you breathe in while swinging the kettlebell between your knees and breathe out when you use an explosive movement of your hip to swing it back to your chest height. This type of hard breathing is used to improve the power of movement.

9. Kettlebell Soft Style Breathing

Soft style of breathing is done while performing the classic style of kettlebell exercise. You do not use explosive movements while performing this exercise. Hence, it requires you to exhale while you swing the kettlebell down between your legs and inhale while you swing back the kettlebell to your chest height.

As your lungs get compressed during this downward movement, you exhale and when you swing back to your standing position, you inhale. So, this type of breathing matches your movement. It is better to use a lighter kettlebell for improving strength endurance while doing soft style breathing.

10. Boot camps using kettlebells

At a boot camp, you are encouraged to use kettlebells for burning calories, increasing movement and increasing endurance. As the exercises are performed in the open here, you feel more motivated. Also, at boot camps, all the exercises are done in groups. So, you feel inspired by your peers and strive to put in your best effort.

Trainers in a boot camp motivate you to use kettlebells for flexibility. Since multiple muscle groups are used while performing kettlebell exercises, you are encouraged to do these workouts.

Conclusion

Above all, kettlebells give you something that you normally can’t get from most weight based routines – functional strength. Functional strength is defined as a strength that can be used in everyday situations, not just to show off one specific move. Bench pressing 200 lbs is very impressive, don’t get me wrong, but it only provides a limited range of motion for those muscles that you’re working on. Adjust the angle just a little bit and you’re back down to 50 or 75 lbs.

With kettlebells, the specific types of workouts give you a range of functional motion while you increase your strength. More importantly, each exercise brings a variety of muscle groups into the routine rather than isolating specific muscles. The result is that your body works better as a single unit, rather than a conglomeration of individual pieces that don’t fit in with one another. Simply put, kettlebells are the ultimate muscle maximizer exercises because they allow you to maximize every different type of strength without limiting your range of motion. This makes these perfect for athletes who need to focus on strengthening their entire body.