Can Your Shoulders Handle Killer Fat Loss Workouts?

In many ways, your shoulders are going to be the gatekeeper to rockstar hotness.  If your shoulders don't move right, you aren't really ever going to get a really awesome workout.

If you're under 30 years old, your shoulders can probably handle any fat loss workout or kettlebell workout  we throw at it.

If you're over 30, we probably need to do some shoulder maintenence.

Losing Stubborn Fat
= Big Full Body Strength Moves

If you can't do those big movements, your workouts are going to suffer. 

As always, the four kinds of big movements we're after are:

1.) Pushing (dumbbell bench press, pushups, shoulder press, push press)

2.) Pulling (Dumbbell Bent Over Rows, Pullups)

3.) Squatting (Barbell Back Squats, Kettlebell Goblet Squats, Step Ups, Lunges)

4.) Hip Hinge (Kettlebell Swings, Deadlifts, Single Leg Deadlifts)

Pushing movements, especially overhead, require awesome shoulder flexibility and awesome shoulder stability.

Problem is, most people who work at a desk have terrible flexibiltiy and stability in their shoulders.  Badposture stretches and weakens all the good stuff, and shortens and tightens all the bad stuff. 

Sitting at a desk with bad posture is a recipe for:

a.) pain with overhead pressing, or

b.) weakness and mediocrity with overhead pressing.

Now we know that the strongest women are always the hottest. 

And a dude that isn't strong is just sad. 

So weak, mediocre overhead pressing just won't do.  We need to get your shoulders ready for the kind of strong overhead pressing that you're going to see in all of the awesome fat loss workouts out now. 

Really, it doesn't matter if it's Turbulence Training, Final Phase Fat Loss, any Ketlebell Fat Loss program - all of them are going to require you to have awesome shoulders.

Shoulder Stability: Y's, T's, W's & L's

 

 

Detailed Info About Each Movement:

 

Shoulder Flexibility: Pecs and Lats

 

 

Now, after you've gotten really good at the shoulder stability exercises (T's, Y's and W's) and shoulder flexibility (pec stretch and lat stretch) then you can start getting into the really killer shoulder exercises you find in advanced fat loss programs and in kettlebell training.

Here is a video of Neghar Fonooni, RKC2, doing a Turkish Get Up with 64lbs (28kg).  The Turkish Get Up is a phenomenal advanced shoulder stability exercise, and it's a great full body workout that's awesome in the strength portion of your fat loss workouts:

 

How Much?  How Often?

Depends on how tight and weak you are. 

If you're shoulders are fine now: As more of a preventetive medicine kind of thing, then you could do these stretches and exercises once per week.

If you're the average person working at a desk: Do the YTWL's 2 sets of 20 each at the end of every fat loss workout.  Do the stretches 3 x 30 seconds (in a circuit: Pec L, Pec R, Lats - five minutes total) once every day.  Once or twice per week, after a workout, spend 3-5 minutes with each one.

If you are tight, weak, and your posture sucks so much you're slumped forward like Shaggy on Scooby-Doo: Do these exercises and stretches as often as possible.  The YTWL's, you could do 2 sets of 20 each at the beginning and at the end of every fat loss workout.  Do the stretches 3 x 30 seconds (in a circuit: Pec L, Pec R, Lats - five minutes total) 3 times per day, every day.  Once or twice per week, after a workout,  spend 3-5 minutes with each stretch.

The better your shoulders move, the better your workouts are going to go, and leaner you are going to be.  You can have massive personal records in strength, just by getting things to move right.

And remember: The strongest girls and dudes are always the leanest and hottest.

Enjoy!

by Josh Hillis, RKC2, CPT, PES, ZMIS
author of the ultimate fat loss turbo boost: The 21 Day Kettlebell Challenge