My Favorite Unconvential Fat Loss Exercises:

bear crawl video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfQK2PtHJXI

he's doing a pretty fast w/o dumbbells.  Most of the time I like to put dumbbells in my clients hands.  Either way, it's a full body butt kicking.

renegade row video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ggaj8hB0BUY

Given the choice, I actually prefer renegade rows with dumbbells to renegade rows with kettlebells.  Either way, it's a combined push and pull that puts a really high demand on all the muscles of the core.  Your abs, obliques and spinal erectors all have to work together as a team to keep your hips from rotating. 

If you want to have some real fun - try lifting up the oposite foot at the same time you are lifting up the dumbbell/kettlebell.  I wouldn't do this all the time, but it's a fun game to play once in a while.

pistol (one legged squat) video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEBol54EjVE

pistol tutorial:
http://www.beastskills.com/Pistol.htm

Note how he does pistols down to different box heights - that's my favorite way to manage the difficulty of the exercise, to shorten the range of motion.  Most people start off doing pistols to a normal chair or bench height, and work their way down from there over time.

I also like to hold a light weight, 5-25lbs, in my hands while doing pistols.  The counterbalance makes it easier for me to do the exercise without falling over backwards on my butt.

The pistol also has the unique distinction of being the only squatting exercise where I will ever instruct you to round your back forward.  Most squatting exercises you will want a tight, strong arch in your back because that's the strongest and safest position to bear weight.  With pistols I'm never going to put any weight on your back.  Getting harder will be about going lower.  So with no weight on your back, you've got the green light to round forward - but just this once. 

By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds

National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer (NASM-CPT) and Performance Enhancement Specialist (NASM-PES),
Level 2 Russian Kettlebell Challenge Certified Instructor (RKC2)

© Joshua Hillis 2007

   

Comments

[bathory]

I <3 Renegade Rows and One-legged Squats, but man do I ever get gawked at when I do them at the gym, it's as if I have two heads.

Sweet.
-hilary

[Joshua Hillis]

Oh that's totally the best part! Sometimes people don't really 'get' swings when they see them, but pretty much everyone is in shock when they see butt to the ground one legged squats.