Hi – you’re back for more!

Yesterday, I gave you Part 1 of my 3-part series, Swing into Shape: 4 Weeks – Summer Fit.

Click here if you missed it.

Check out Part 2 below – the step by step program for you to follow, including video demos of everything you need to know.

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Intelligent Program Design

In four or five weeks, you’re going to perform 10,000 proper kettlebell swings. These will be split across 20 workouts. You’ll do 500 swings per workout. Between sets of swings, you’ll perform low-volume, basic strength exercises. You will train 4-5 days per week, for less than 1 hour. Train 2 days on, 1 day off, and repeat. Men will use a 24kg kettlebell (53 pounds). Women will use 16kg (35 pounds).

This is a stand-alone program. If you feel you’re able to do a second workout in the same day, you are ‘under-belled’ – you’re either not going heavy enough or not training with maximal effort.

Warm Up

Perform the simple, quick and highly effective Results Health & Performance Foam Roller Self Myofascial Release Routine followed by either of RHP’s Two Dynamic Mobility Warm Up Routine 1 or Dynamic Mobility Warm Up Routines.

Foam Roller Self Myofascial Release Routine

Dynamic Mobility Warm Up Routine 1

Dynamic Mobility Warm Up Routine 2

These activate and strengthen classically weak muscles and lengthen typically tight muscles. You’ll fire up your nervous system, feel more mobile and supple and reduce aches and pains so you’re primed to train.

The Swings: Clusters, Sets, and Reps

Use an undulating rep scheme to reach 500 total swing reps per workout:

Set 1:  10 reps

Set 2:  15 reps

Set 3:  25 reps

Set 4:  50 reps

You’ve now completed 100 reps or one cluster. To complete your total of 500 swings, repeat the cluster 4 more times. Between sets, add a low-volume strength movement.

The Strength Movements

Use a strength movement with low volume between sets of swings. The best exercises are:

1. Barbell Overhead Press

2. Dip

3. Kettlebell Goblet Squat (use the same ‘bell you swing with)

4. Chin Up

Other acceptable choices to perform the session at home with no equipment (other than your trusty ‘bell):

1. Kettlebell Overhead Press(use the same ‘bell you swing with)

2. Press Up (Classic, Kneeling or Incline)

3. Kettlebell Goblet Squat (use the same ‘bell you swing with)

4. Kettlebell Bent-Over Row (Alternating Single-Arm, or Both Arms – use the same ‘bell you swing with)

The above four exercise modifications (well, three, because everyone should goblet squat) are also great if you struggle with any of the initial exercises. It’s the dips and chin-ups for most people.

Ladies.

Keep calm.

These movements will not make you bulky or big. In a way, I envy you. Great things happen to a lady’s physique and confidence if you train intelligently, combining strength-based movements with total body metabolic resistance interval training (a fancy way of saying innovative cardio, without having to stand there bored on a machine for an hour). If you train correctly, the way your body is naturally designed hormonally means that you will burn fat from the areas you don’t want it, and keep toned muscle in the areas you want it.

It’s almost impossible for women to gain large amounts of muscle, unless you enjoy guzzling human growth hormone instead of green tea.

Think of it this way.

At some point in your life you’ve probably seen guys you know trying to ‘bulk up’. And fail, epically. If it’s hard enough for blokes, who have much higher levels of testosterone and human growth hormone, to gain muscle, you following this program designed to maximise fat loss and retain toned, shapely muscle in the areas you want it, will NOT make you bigger. Quite the opposite, actually. It will fire-up your fat burning metabolism, because active lean muscle is the fat burning engine of our bodies.

The strength movement modifications I’ve provided also allow anyone to perform this program. It’s normal for women initially to find dips and chin-ups hard (though ladies I train build up to them in time).

Use a 1-2-3 rep scheme for most movements. Here’s an example using the press:

• 10 Swings
• Press 1 rep
• Rest 30 – 60 seconds
• 15 Swings
• Press 2 reps
• Rest 30 – 60 seconds
• 25 Swings
• Press 3 reps
• Rest 30 – 60 seconds
• 50 Swings
• Rest 90 seconds – 3 minutes

• For the 1-2-3 rep lifts, use your five rep max weight.

• For the dip you’ll need more reps (same for all other exercise modifications; Kettlebell Overhead Press, each Press Up variation and Kettlebell Bent-Over Row). Use a 2-3-5 rep scheme for any of these.

• If you choose to do the program 5 days per week, on one of those days you’ll only do the swings. Leave out the strength work between rounds. If you train 4 days per week, you’ll use the strength movements every workout.

Rest Periods

After each round of 10, 15 and 25 reps, rest 30-60 seconds. The first cluster will be easy and you can plough through it. In the later clusters, you’ll need up to the full 60 seconds for grip strength recovery.

After each set of 50, rest will extend up to 3 minutes. During this post-50 rep rest period, perform a ‘corrective’. Stretch anything that needs it, like the hip flexors. Do a mobility movement of choice. Some good options are:

1. Hip Flexor Mobilisation

2. Wall-Ankle Mobilisation

3. Side-Lying Extension-Rotation

4. Scapular Wall Slides

Progression

Time your workouts. Each week you should be getting faster. Your time in workout #20 should clobber your time in workout #1, because you’ll need less rest between sets. Each week, I reduced 10 seconds off each rest period after the 10, 15 and 25 rep sets of swings (so by week 4 I was resting 30 seconds). I also reduced 30 seconds off each rest period after the 50 rep set of swings (so by week 4 I was resting 90 seconds). For the strength lifts, the goal is to use a weight that’s challenging on the first workout and easy by the last workout.

Sample Program

Here’s what the un-modified program looks like.

By the end of the workout, you’ll have completed 500 swings and 30 presses.

By the end of the workout, you’ll have completed 500 swings and 50 dips. (Remember, for dips you’re using a 2-3-5 rep scheme, not 1-2-3 as you do in other lifts.)

Day 3: Off

By the end of the workout, you’ll have completed 500 swings and 30 goblet squats.

By the end of the workout, you’ll have completed 500 swings and 30 chin-ups.

Day 6: Off

Day 7: Off, or begin the cycle again.

If you begin the cycle again because you want to use the program 5 days per week, remember to do only the swings during one workout per week.

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So, you now have the full exercise plan section of the Swing into Shape program, laid out in easy steps with video demos for you to follow and get great results for the next 4 weeks.

Thanks for reading; if you like it, ‘like’ it and share with people you know would benefit and be interested.

Tomorrow, check back here on the blog or on the Results Health & Performance social media pages (Facebook and Twitter) for the final Part 3 of the Swing into Shape series. We top the program off with easy diet and nutrition guidelines that will make the difference. You also get instructions on how every single one of you can complete this program in the gym, at home (benefiting from a special offer on home workout equipment if you don’t have the minimal equipment you need already) or with no equipment at all, apart from your kettlebell.

If you can’t wait that long and want to get your hands on all 3 parts of the Swing into Shape series right now, click here to download the entire manual completely for free. This includes full program design, video instructions, easy diet and nutrition guidelines and a special offer on home workout equipment if you need it. You can benefit from Results Health & Performance’s partnership with renowned gym equipment supplier, gymequipment.co.uk.

Rich