King Grub
2010-03-20, 10:31
In recent years, kettlebells have re-emerged as a popular training modality for the conditioning of athletes. We sought to quantify the aerobic challenge of one popularly recommended kettlebell workout. Ten college-aged men (age = 20.8 +/- 1.1 years, height = 179 +/- 3 cm, body mass = 77.3 +/- 7.7 kg, &OV0312;o2max = 52.78 +/- 6.22 ml.kg.min) completed a graded exercise test to exhaustion for the determination of &OV0312;o2max. Two to 7 days later, subjects completed a kettlebell exercise routine consisting of as many 2-handed swings as could be completed in 12 minutes using a 16-kg kettlebell. During this exercise bout, subjects' expired gases were collected and analyzed for the determination of &OV0312;o2, and heart rate (HR) was continuously measured. Percent HRmax and %&OV0312;o2max achieved during the kettlebell exercise were compared with each other using a paired t-test. Subjects completed 265 +/- 68 swings during the 12 minutes and achieved an average &OV0312;o2 of 34.31 +/- 5.67 ml.kg.min and an average HR of 165 +/- 13 b.min. The average %HRmax (86.8 +/- 6.0%) during kettlebell exercise was significantly higher (p < 0.001) than the average %&OV0312;o2max (65.3 +/- 9.8%) that was achieved. Continuous kettlebell swings can impart a metabolic challenge of sufficient intensity to increase &OV0312;o2max. Heart rate was substantially higher than &OV0312;o2 during kettlebell swings. Kettlebells provide a useful tool with which coaches may improve the cardiorespiratory fitness of their athletes. However, HRs achieved during continuous kettlebell exercise are significantly higher than actual &OV0312;o2.
J Strength Cond Res. 2010 Mar 17. Oxygen Cost of Kettlebell Swings.
http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/secure/pages/purchase.aspx?an=00124278-900000000-99273
J Strength Cond Res. 2010 Mar 17. Oxygen Cost of Kettlebell Swings.
http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/secure/pages/purchase.aspx?an=00124278-900000000-99273