Do you recall one of the original promises of kettlebell training?
When the book, The Russian Kettlebell Challenge was launched , one of the selling points was the following -
“Watch in amazement as high-rep kettlebells allow you to melt the fat off your meat -- without the burden of aerobics and dieting.”
It was eye-opening to me because at the time when this was written - around 2001/2, the concept of “high reps to lose fat ” was still prevalent .
And yet, I was doing the OPPOSITE with my clients and myself.
We’d use LOW REPS and still lose a significant amount of fat , while increasing power in the process.
The truth is, BOTH can and do deliver results.
It just varies with the individual.
For example, I got this email from Keith the other day:
“I just completed my second run of Giant 3.0 this morning—this time with a Strength 20kg (started with a 16). At 41, it's my first serious training since my mid-20s and I'm absolutely loving it.
Over the past 8 weeks, I've lost 10kg, gone down two pants sizes, and—for the first time I can remember—actually have visible muscle in my shoulders.”
‘THE GIANT’ 3.0 uses a rep range of 1 to 3 reps per set.
This is traditionally a “neural strength” range - get strong without putting on any muscle .
And yet, quite to the contrary, Keith reports he:
Dropped 10kg (22lbs in 8 weeks - roughly 3 pounds per week)
Gone down two pants sizes
Has visible muscle in his shoulders
How did he pull off that on a STRENGTH program?
[NOTE: Keith didn’t mention any change in diet. Also, he chalked some of this up to “beginner gains” since he hadn’t worked out in almost 20 years.]
Well, it turns out, once again, losing body fat isn’t quite as simple as “eat less, exercise more.”
And getting stronger isn’t quite as simple as “LIFT HEAVIER MORE, BRAH.”
Turns out the TYPE of exercise is critical for your outcome.
Here’s what some of the research shows:
1- Heavy kettlebell workouts actually use up a lot of calories - even in the neural strength ranges.
Lab work on Hardstyle Kettlebell Snatch / Clean protocols found heart rates hovering at 86‑99 % HR max and an expenditure of roughly 20 calories per minute - about 400 to 600 calories in a 20 to 30‑minute workout .
PLUS an extra ± ~150 kcal of “after‑burn” (EPOC - Exercise Post-Oxygen Consumption = elevated metabolism).
2- Load, NOT time, drives anabolic hormone surges
When researchers contrasted light v. heavy load Kettlebell Swings with the same total work, the heavier bell significantly increased the growth hormone (GH) and testosterone (T) spikes -
Even though each set was of short length.
Growth hormone (GH) jumped 6‑20× baseline , priming fat cells to release stored triglycerides.
3- A brief Testosterone (T) bump safeguards and builds muscle
Kettlebells in the ~ 5 RM zone (Keith’s 20 kg) elevate T by 10-15% immediately post‑workout, steering calories toward muscle growth instead of muscle breakdown - hence Keith’s visible shoulder growth.
4- Cortisol pops, then drops, thanks to reflexive stability loading.
Heavy Kettlebell Swing / Clean work does spike cortisol (like almost all high effort exercise), but Budnar 2014, showed it was already back at baseline 30 minutes post set.
Better yet, Migiano 2010, found that unilateral, one-arm protocols like the Clean + Press, drove cortisol below pre‑exercise levels during recovery thanks to their reflexive core stability demand - whereas bilateral work kept it higher.
End result: You torch fat without the lingering “stress‑belly” hormone cloud that long HIIT or marathon cardio can cause .
5 - High effort lifts blunt hunger hormones for hours
Meta‑analysis of HIIT‑style sessions (the intensity zone Giant 3.0 lives in) shows acylated ghrelin drops while PYY and GLP‑1 go up.
This can cut appetite by a few hundred calories without conscious dieting.
So, if you are into the idea of “lifting heavy” and increasing power, but need to burn off some body fat in the process, running ‘THE GIANT’ 3.0 with a single KB might be right up your alley.
Stay Strong,
Geoff Neupert.