Movement Variety for Fat Loss: Pulse Squats, Band Pushups and Jefferson Deadlifts [video]

So, one of the biggest things I learned when I did the internship at Results Fitness (arguably, the best fat loss gym in the world), was that – for fat loss – just adding weight to the bar isn't the only progression.  It's not even the optimal progression.

*Gasp!*  I know all of the kettlebell instructors reading this probably just had a heart attack!  But let me explain: It's like how Pavel always talks about "same but different"?  Like switching deadlifts to sumo deadlifts?  Or swings to snatches?

It's kind of funny, because the rest of the fat loss world is doing variety for variety's sake, stupid random workouts, and silly exercise choices to begin with.  But the readers of the Lose Stubborn Fat blog tend to be far more educated, and lean towards the strength side of fat loss workouts: Pushing, pulling, squatting, and hip hinging.

A little bit of variety within the same movement pattern is really good.  And for fat loss, it might even be better:

In fact, for fat loss, it's good to NOT have adding weight to the bar be the only progression all of the time.  Anyone who does strength sports will tell you that constantly banging away at adding weight to the bar is really hard on your body.  At the end of a strength cycle, people feel beat up.

For fat loss, using some of the progressions in the video above are a great way to make the movement harder, without necessarily using more weight: Harder variation, more time under tension, anti-rotational stabilization, changing the strength curve.  All of these are GREAT ways to progress a movement.

My favorite movement variations in the video are:

1. Pulse Squats - Spend more time in the hardest part of the strength curve.
2. Downward Dog Pushups - Got these originally from Eric Cressey (the pitching strength coach) as both a corrective exercise for the shoulder, and as a pushup progression.
3. Band Pushups - Because awesome, obviously.  Actually this one is just a way to add more load to pushups, but it's one of my favorite ways.
4. Jefferson Deadlifts - It's sort of a squat/deadlift combo with a really awesome anti-rotational component.  Jen Sinkler is DEFINITELY the reason that these are back on the scene.  Jefferson Deadlifts were last trendy in the 1890's.
5. Band Squats - Reverses the strength curve of the squat.  Really, really, awesome.

The way to use these is to swap out the standard movement, and swap in these for a month.

So, if the last six months you've been doing: 

1. Pushups
2. Two Kettlebell Front Squats
3. Conventional Deadlifts
4. Pullups

 Then next month you could do:

1. Downward Dog Pushups
2. Pulse Goblet Squats/Pulse Two Kettlebell Front Squats
3. Jefferson Deadlifts
4. Mixed-grip Chinups

And then you could go from there.  After a month doing the variations, maybe you go back to your old favorites.  Or maybe you spend 3 months working the variations.  

Either way, you're working the same patterns that we all know are awesome for fat loss!

Watch the video here: 9 Awesome Movement Variations by Lift Weights Faster

Enjoy!

by Josh Hillis