Here’s why SINGLE Kettlebell Workouts COULD be better for fat loss…

If you’re looking to burn off fat - including stomach fat AND build some muscle mass, thousands of guys have used this program successfully. https://go.chasingstrength.com/burn-sa3/ (It includes a simple, customizable nutrition program to speed up your results.)

But if you “just” want to burn off stomach fat (without adjusting your diet - but not continuing to eat like a pig), this program will do the trick. https://go.chasingstrength.com/kettle...
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Traditionally, I prefer double kettlebellworkouts for… everything.

(Which I guess is why I’m considered “The Double Kettlebell Guy.”)

However, last year, I ran across some interesting research that made me reconsider this stance.

There’s a concept called “reflexive stability” that we discuss in movement restoration.

Reflexive stability is your body’s ability to subconsciously anticipate and react to movement before and as it happens.

2016 research by Jaquish and Alkire demonstrated that increased demands in reflexive stability increase the production and uptake of growth hormone (GH / hGH) by 101%.

GH is a powerful anabolic hormone that aids in the preservation and increase of muscle mass.

And, more importantly for our purposes -

Fat loss.

The study’s authors concluded:

“On the basis of this evidence, interventions that encourage increases in whole body stability firing can be recommended to elicit increases in hGH levels.”

Single kettlebelllifts increase reflexive stability / whole body demand due to their unilateral nature. They’re constantly trying to pull you off balance and out of alignment.

Which is why many times you feel your core muscles working so much more when you’re doing them. And why your balance feels challenged doing things like TGUs.

If we had to put it in some kind of diagram, it would look like this:

Single kettlebelllifts → Increased Reflexive Stability Demand → Increased GH Production & Uptake ⇒ Increased Fat Loss

GH is also implicated in speeding up stomach fat loss.

So, using the single kettlebelllifts to speed up fat loss, including stomach fat - especially if you're lacking reflexive stability - is a smart move.

Especially when you use the right set, rep, and rest schemes to -

[a] Stimulate muscle mass growth

[b] Stimulate (stomach) fat loss

I’m not saying I’m “sold” that this research “proves” that single kettlebellwork is better than double kettlebellwork for you to lose fat. BUT -

It does explain why some people experience better or faster fat loss using single kettlebell programs vs. double kettlebell programs, even though the “external” load is less.

If you’re not sure which you respond to better, I recommend you start with a single kettlebell program.

Especially if you’ve been using double kettlebellwork for a while and your results seem to have slowed down, even stalled. Using a 12 to 16 week period of single kettlebell work could inject new life into your stalled training.

Stay Strong,
Geoff