KettlebellPlanet.com

With the holidays upon us it gets tougher to hit the gym on a regular basis, and to make matters worse, culinary temptations are everywhere.

So what is an aspiring hard body to do?

One trick is to sneak in mini body weight or kettlebell workouts that can be done at home. Another one I favour when training opportunities are limited is full body workouts. I did a full body workout today. The goal was to try and set a new personal record in the barbell clean and press, and then to make sure the rest of my body got some work in too. Oh, and it had to be done in under 45 minutes. Impossible you say? Read below.

• Barbell Clean and Press
• warm up with just the bar
• most men should start with 135lbs, then add 20-25lbs per set until you maxed out, but adjust according to your strength levels
• keep the reps low when testing your strength, 5 reps per set at first, drop to 1 rep by the last few sets to save energy
• Snatch Grip Deadlift
• Add 50lbs or so to the bar, then take a very wide (snatch) grip
• 20-25 reps total, break the sets and reps up as you wish, just make sure at least 20 reps are achieved and that it is challenging to do so
• for some reason 20-25 reps broken up across a few sets seems to be a sweet spot for strength and size development
• A1 Standing Dumbbell Overhead Press
• sitting in the gym is for fat people
• 5 x 5
• A2 Dumbbell Curls
• 5 x 5

The barbell clean and press is an all round muscle and power developer, so make them a staple in your training. More so than bench press unless you are a powerlifter. Trust me, working that overhead lifting will develop your upper body like nothing else. The snatch grip deadlift is an awesome drill for building muscle mass. The extended range of motion compared to a regular deadlift forces your muscles to spend more time under tension. This makes you grow! Lastly, I worked the dumbbell presses and curls because these are my weak points, do what you feel needs work. Just stay off the stationary bike!

Once again I cannot over emphasize the effect that clean and pressing as well as the snatch grip deadlift will have on your physique and performance. If you aren't as big and strong as you want to be ask yourself how much you can handle in these lifts. If it is less than your body weight you suck and that is why you are small. Work those lifts, eat a primal diet, and you will get big and strong without looking like the Pillsbury Dough Boy.



Nathan Donahue www.kettlebellplanet.com