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Kettlebell Fat loss and what program next?

gatorbait

Level 5 Valued Member
Hi all,
Looking for some advice.

Got unhealthy and out of shape in my late 30’s. 1.5 years ago I was 6’4” and 228lbs (total skinny fat/dad-bod) and I started making changes.

Quit shift work job, started walking daily over 12k steps a day, baby crawling 10-15 min/day ala OS, and just trying to eat like an adult 90% of the time. During this time I lost ~ 18 lbs. Then 1 year ago picked up 16kg bell and started “practicing” swings. March did @Geoff Neupert Swing Hard for 2 months and started practicing DKB C&P and FS. Then jumped into The Giant with a pair of 25lb bells. Did 1.0-1.2, then recycled 1.0-1.2 w/ pair of 16kg. During this year weight went down quickly to 196lbs and creeped back up to current 208lbs that I’ve maintained easily for some time. Put on more muscle in my upper body at 40 years old than I ever had when I worked out regularly in my 20’s and early 30’s!

I’m a father of to young children, retired military with some bumps and bruises now working a desk job. I’m just training essentially for longevity and vitality at this point. I’ve really enjoyed the “DO THIS” simplicity of The Giant program and the auto regulation. I’ve felt better at 40yrs old than I did at 30!

I want to keep improving strength and hypertrophy, but I’m at ~20% bf. I’d like to have pretty visible 6 pack by the summer! So I’m trying to decide what I should do next.

I have a pair of 16’s and 24’s and a single 32kg bell. I have many of @Geoff Neupert programs (the ones mentioned above; plus EASY MUSCLE, MKM, STRONG and BURN 2.0, RELOADED, and EXTREME.)

Current single bell C&P RM are 3R and 2L, and single bell Push presses are 6R and 5L.

Next week I’m going to do 3.0 with single bell push presses to break thru to true 5RM. I’m looking for recommendations on where to go from here?

Switch to a cycle of a true fat loss program like Burn 2.0 (longer) or Dry Fighting Weight (Shorter) then back to a strength and hypertrophy STRONG, Easy Muscle, The Wolf?


Or…

Just continue with a strength and hypertrophy program GIANT, STRONG, EASY MUSCLE and just focus on caloric deficit until the 6 pack arrives?

Appreciate @Geoff Neupert for the help on transforming myself thus far, and everyone here’s feedback! Thank you!
 
Any of the "burn" programs (believe there are 3 versions) are solid

But if your goal is simply longevity and movement etc have you tried simple & sinister? You could just alternate between the giant & s&s... Just my opinion though
 
Any of the "burn" programs (believe there are 3 versions) are solid

But if your goal is simply longevity and movement etc have you tried simple & sinister? You could just alternate between the giant & s&s... Just my opinion though

Yes I did S&S in my early 30’s. Solid program. My body just feels better, responds better with the C&P.

Long term goal is longevity. Short term is 6 pack and continued hypertrophy.
 
Hi all,
Looking for some advice.

Got unhealthy and out of shape in my late 30’s. 1.5 years ago I was 6’4” and 228lbs (total skinny fat/dad-bod) and I started making changes.

Quit shift work job, started walking daily over 12k steps a day, baby crawling 10-15 min/day ala OS, and just trying to eat like an adult 90% of the time. During this time I lost ~ 18 lbs. Then 1 year ago picked up 16kg bell and started “practicing” swings. March did @Geoff Neupert Swing Hard for 2 months and started practicing DKB C&P and FS. Then jumped into The Giant with a pair of 25lb bells. Did 1.0-1.2, then recycled 1.0-1.2 w/ pair of 16kg. During this year weight went down quickly to 196lbs and creeped back up to current 208lbs that I’ve maintained easily for some time. Put on more muscle in my upper body at 40 years old than I ever had when I worked out regularly in my 20’s and early 30’s!

I’m a father of to young children, retired military with some bumps and bruises now working a desk job. I’m just training essentially for longevity and vitality at this point. I’ve really enjoyed the “DO THIS” simplicity of The Giant program and the auto regulation. I’ve felt better at 40yrs old than I did at 30!

I want to keep improving strength and hypertrophy, but I’m at ~20% bf. I’d like to have pretty visible 6 pack by the summer! So I’m trying to decide what I should do next.

I have a pair of 16’s and 24’s and a single 32kg bell. I have many of @Geoff Neupert programs (the ones mentioned above; plus EASY MUSCLE, MKM, STRONG and BURN 2.0, RELOADED, and EXTREME.)

Current single bell C&P RM are 3R and 2L, and single bell Push presses are 6R and 5L.

Next week I’m going to do 3.0 with single bell push presses to break thru to true 5RM. I’m looking for recommendations on where to go from here?

Switch to a cycle of a true fat loss program like Burn 2.0 (longer) or Dry Fighting Weight (Shorter) then back to a strength and hypertrophy STRONG, Easy Muscle, The Wolf?


Or…

Just continue with a strength and hypertrophy program GIANT, STRONG, EASY MUSCLE and just focus on caloric deficit until the 6 pack arrives?

Appreciate @Geoff Neupert for the help on transforming myself thus far, and everyone here’s feedback! Thank you!
I’m a huge fan of Geoff’s work, I recently did The Wolf, wow, it smokes you. If you’re in a deficit it shouldn’t matter, do any of those you feel like. My plan this year is to add more conditioning so I plan to rotate one strength cycle ( Strong with either DKBFS or C&P ) then do a conditioning cycle ( The Wolf, swing hard, pavels Q&D ).


What you’re doing food wise seems to be working so choose what you like.
 
I have a bjj comp in Feb and need to drop 9 lbs. I have tracked calories, used a habit based approach before with varying success. It seems some recent research indicates that the effect of a slowing metabolism is minimal as we age although my experience would tell me as 44 it feels more difficult to drop scale weight.
A game changer for me has been using a calorie tracking coaching app. It basically adjusts calories based on energy expenditure and it’s very effective. I’ve dropped 5lbs pretty easily since early December and I throughly enjoyed the festive period. Secondly I decided to totally decouple training and fat loss/calorie burn etc. I train for strength basically on an ES program. I train in the airborne for heart health.. i don’t adjust reps or add burners finishers etc. If I’m doubt I focus on contacting harder and increasing tension..
Geoffs programs are all gold..The wolf is probably my favourite followed closely by KSKiller.. it’s bloody brilliant..
good luck with your training
 
Hi all,
Looking for some advice.

Got unhealthy and out of shape in my late 30’s. 1.5 years ago I was 6’4” and 228lbs (total skinny fat/dad-bod) and I started making changes.

Quit shift work job, started walking daily over 12k steps a day, baby crawling 10-15 min/day ala OS, and just trying to eat like an adult 90% of the time. During this time I lost ~ 18 lbs. Then 1 year ago picked up 16kg bell and started “practicing” swings. March did @Geoff Neupert Swing Hard for 2 months and started practicing DKB C&P and FS. Then jumped into The Giant with a pair of 25lb bells. Did 1.0-1.2, then recycled 1.0-1.2 w/ pair of 16kg. During this year weight went down quickly to 196lbs and creeped back up to current 208lbs that I’ve maintained easily for some time. Put on more muscle in my upper body at 40 years old than I ever had when I worked out regularly in my 20’s and early 30’s!

I’m a father of to young children, retired military with some bumps and bruises now working a desk job. I’m just training essentially for longevity and vitality at this point. I’ve really enjoyed the “DO THIS” simplicity of The Giant program and the auto regulation. I’ve felt better at 40yrs old than I did at 30!

I want to keep improving strength and hypertrophy, but I’m at ~20% bf. I’d like to have pretty visible 6 pack by the summer! So I’m trying to decide what I should do next.

I have a pair of 16’s and 24’s and a single 32kg bell. I have many of @Geoff Neupert programs (the ones mentioned above; plus EASY MUSCLE, MKM, STRONG and BURN 2.0, RELOADED, and EXTREME.)

Current single bell C&P RM are 3R and 2L, and single bell Push presses are 6R and 5L.

Next week I’m going to do 3.0 with single bell push presses to break thru to true 5RM. I’m looking for recommendations on where to go from here?

Switch to a cycle of a true fat loss program like Burn 2.0 (longer) or Dry Fighting Weight (Shorter) then back to a strength and hypertrophy STRONG, Easy Muscle, The Wolf?


Or…

Just continue with a strength and hypertrophy program GIANT, STRONG, EASY MUSCLE and just focus on caloric deficit until the 6 pack arrives?

Appreciate @Geoff Neupert for the help on transforming myself thus far, and everyone here’s feedback! Thank you!
Great job, so far @gatorbait!

The answer depends on your time and energy levels.

Little time and need to conserve energy?

Go with 'THE GIANT,' or Kettlebell STRONG! will work nicely.

Little time but more than enough energy?

Use 'EASY MUSCLE' Schedule B or one of the MKM programs.

Have time and energy?

Use any of the Kettlebell Burn programs.

And a high protein diet with a mild caloric deficit always helps for getting leaner.
 
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The reality is it’s all about energy expenditure. Don’t overthink it. The principles are simple.

Eat in a calorie deficit.
Consume about 1 gram of protein for each pound of BW
Move/workout in some way, every day
Make sleep a priority.

That’s it. Everything else is smoke and mirrors.

For me, Fabio’s “hit the target” eating plan along with a combo of rowing; rucking, S&S and Plan Strong worked.

Read atomic habits by James clear if you struggle with behavior change and habit development.
 
IMHO at 6’4” and 208, you could continue to focus on building strength and putting on muscle for now. For one, if you put on 6 pounds of muscle and 1 pound of fat, that’s 17% fat, and so you’ll effectively be “recomp’d” from your 20% body fat. For another, a higher fat free mass generally corresponds to a higher BMR. Plus, abs or no abs, big broad shoulders and back look good on a man.

In addition to whatever program you pick, keep in mind that sleep is the most anabolic thing you can do for yourself. So if you’re staying up late thinking about this crap (as I do) STOP IT and go to sleep. Keep the room cool and dark and quiet. Get a sleep study if you sleep poorly.

If it doesn’t eat in to recovery, and since you specifically mentioned abs, adding ab wheel roll outs might be helpful. Start off with one or two sets of 8 kneeling and progress from there.

Do you drink alcohol? If so, that makes pretty much everything more difficult as well.

Since you were in the military, you may have special risk factors to discuss with your doctor. You could be at risk of thyroid disease, low T syndrome, etc . many of this will make your goals difficult to obtain.

That being said, you’ve got a great testimony of progress and discipline and im sure you’ll reach your goals. You’ve had such good success it makes me think of the DJ quote, “it worked so well I stopped doing it.”

Edit: also keep in mind if dieting is hard the workouts need to be easy. If dieting is easier then the workouts can be harder. Hard workouts typically lead to a big appetite and lower self control and the possibility of eating (way) more calories than you burned.
Good luck!
 
Hi all,
Looking for some advice.

Got unhealthy and out of shape in my late 30’s. 1.5 years ago I was 6’4” and 228lbs (total skinny fat/dad-bod) and I started making changes.

Quit shift work job, started walking daily over 12k steps a day, baby crawling 10-15 min/day ala OS, and just trying to eat like an adult 90% of the time. During this time I lost ~ 18 lbs. Then 1 year ago picked up 16kg bell and started “practicing” swings. March did @Geoff Neupert Swing Hard for 2 months and started practicing DKB C&P and FS. Then jumped into The Giant with a pair of 25lb bells. Did 1.0-1.2, then recycled 1.0-1.2 w/ pair of 16kg. During this year weight went down quickly to 196lbs and creeped back up to current 208lbs that I’ve maintained easily for some time. Put on more muscle in my upper body at 40 years old than I ever had when I worked out regularly in my 20’s and early 30’s!

I’m a father of to young children, retired military with some bumps and bruises now working a desk job. I’m just training essentially for longevity and vitality at this point. I’ve really enjoyed the “DO THIS” simplicity of The Giant program and the auto regulation. I’ve felt better at 40yrs old than I did at 30!

I want to keep improving strength and hypertrophy, but I’m at ~20% bf. I’d like to have pretty visible 6 pack by the summer! So I’m trying to decide what I should do next.

I have a pair of 16’s and 24’s and a single 32kg bell. I have many of @Geoff Neupert programs (the ones mentioned above; plus EASY MUSCLE, MKM, STRONG and BURN 2.0, RELOADED, and EXTREME.)

Current single bell C&P RM are 3R and 2L, and single bell Push presses are 6R and 5L.

Next week I’m going to do 3.0 with single bell push presses to break thru to true 5RM. I’m looking for recommendations on where to go from here?

Switch to a cycle of a true fat loss program like Burn 2.0 (longer) or Dry Fighting Weight (Shorter) then back to a strength and hypertrophy STRONG, Easy Muscle, The Wolf?


Or…

Just continue with a strength and hypertrophy program GIANT, STRONG, EASY MUSCLE and just focus on caloric deficit until the 6 pack arrives?

Appreciate @Geoff Neupert for the help on transforming myself thus far, and everyone here’s feedback! Thank you!
IMO, the keys to achieving your goals are (1) diet and (2) compliance with your diet, not exercise. You need to do a lot better than “eat like an adult 90% of the time.” Good luck!
 
I’m a huge fan of Geoff’s work, I recently did The Wolf, wow, it smokes you. If you’re in a deficit it shouldn’t matter, do any of those you feel like. My plan this year is to add more conditioning so I plan to rotate one strength cycle ( Strong with either DKBFS or C&P ) then do a conditioning cycle ( The Wolf, swing hard, pavels Q&D ).


What you’re doing food wise seems to be working so choose what you like.
I would second the motion on this. Strong is a long and boring (albeit incredibly effective) program… if you focus on the end goal you will do well with it.

The Wolf is literally like taking a blowtorch to your body fat… I had good success using the two back to back in 2021…. It was so good it made me wonder why I went away from it, so I’m on week 2 of strong phase 1, again.
 
I’ve found S&S to be a great way to lose fat + gain muscle.

1. Fat loss is mostly diet, S&S doesn’t cause me to raid the fridge
2. S&S load volume can be waved with lighter weights but higher reps

Best of luck. Let’s get those 6 packs and do some laundry.
 
IMO, the keys to achieving your goals are (1) diet and (2) compliance with your diet, not exercise. You need to do a lot better than “eat like an adult 90% of the time.” Good luck!
I agree 100% but would add that, to use an extreme example, a 140 pound man, trained or untrained, has less room for dietary errors than a 210 pound well trained muscular man.
 
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IMO, the keys to achieving your goals are (1) diet and (2) compliance with your diet, not exercise. You need to do a lot better than “eat like an adult 90% of the time.” Good luck!
I echo you, however I have a different interpretation of eat like an adult. I am interpret that as eating whole and processed food. In that case it is more than enough. And I keep the “processed” as quite a broad definition. Then it helps a lot. I am on a strict whole foods diet, and barely hit 90%. And I lose weight and I eat quite healthy. Fish, eggs, chicken, meat, fruits, legumes, vegetables. No butter. Olive oil as the only source of oil that I eat, I use avocado oil to grill. Although it sounds easy, I think I can only hit 90% barely, which is quite a success. 10% of my calories are from milk, protein shake, some forms of unstoppable cheating like literally a bite of a bread or cheese or very limited Alcohol.
 
I agree 100% but would add that, to use an extreme example, a 140 pound man, trained or untrained, has less room for dietary errors than a 210 pound well trained muscular man.
That is the second most important point in any fat loss program I believe after “what” you eat.
 
I’ve found S&S to be a great way to lose fat + gain muscle.

1. Fat loss is mostly diet, S&S doesn’t cause me to raid the fridge
2. S&S load volume can be waved with lighter weights but higher reps

Best of luck. Let’s get those 6 packs and do some laundry.
This is a very good advice and very practical. I am not following this exactly however I have a very solid dietary discipline on a hypertrophy program, but it is not sustainable. Every now and then I want to quit. It is indeed chasing two rabbits I know. We will see. The best fat loss approach in long run might be a solid GPP…
 
Spend longer in the fasted state, cut out wheat and sugar, train fasted. One or two meals a day with some 2xKB grinds and you'll be a new man in no time.
 
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