When sustainable results that deliver tangible advantages in the real world are a must, it’s necessary to carefully chose what exercises you invest your time and effort in. With all of the options out there in the realm of fitness and weight training, making best choices can be overwhelming. Never to fear, I will make it simple for you. To deliver:
- An attractive, lean, sculpted body
- Real world high performance fitness that translates across many activities
- Low bio-mechanical requirements and easy learning curve…
Look now further than the hex bar deadlift and kettle-bell swing.
Why the hex bar deadlift and not the barbell deadlift? Simple, the hex bar is easier to learn and easier on the joints. Why the kettle-bell swing and not a barbell power clean or snatch? Same reasons. Unless you are a competitor in powerlifting/weightlifting/cross-fit etc. I no longer see the point of dong the riskier, harder to learn barbell versions of these lifts. Time matters, and long learning curves along with higher rates of injury equals less time getting the results.
Athletes and non athletes, old and young, can be quickly taught high to hex deadlift and swing. They are primal movement patterns, one a high tension strength move (the yin), the other a high power explosive move (the yang). Each is scalable to any level of ability and can be programmed to pursue any goal.
Want to build muscle? Hex Bar Deadlifts performed in the german volume/soviet bear approach of:
- Selecting a weight you can perform 10 perfect reps with and:
- Perform 10 sets of 5 with it on 90 second rest intervals (due diligence for details)
This will deliver big time (provided your nutrition matches) quickly and safely.
Burn fat & build stamina?
- Select a kettle-bell 1/3 the weight used in your soviet bear routine and
- Perform swings in sets of 20, work/rest fashion, for 15 minutes
I could go on, but the point to hammer home is if you train for results outside the gym, these two lifts will deliver the most return on your investment of time and effort with the least risk of injury. As always, the hidden key to minimizing risk of injury is fascial integration: Click the image to find out why.
