Sunday, January 17, 2010

It's not like I havent been saying this all along

That is, that you CANNOT BURN MORE CALORIES PER MINUTE THAN YOU CAN WITH KETTLEBELL BALLISTIC TRAINING.

Swings or snatches, take your pick and it seems that now there is "proof" in that the American Council of Exercise (ACE) has done "official" studies showing that one can burn 20.2 calories per minute. Here' the quote from the article, I got this from Josh Hillis's blog post

"Dr. John Porcari, leader of the study, said this. “So they were burning at least 20.2 calories per minute, which is off the charts. That’s equivalent to running a 6-minute mile pace. The only other thing I could find that burns that many calories is crosscountry skiing up hill at a fast pace.”

and who know who they were using for their studies? And what size kettelbell they were using?You can always use a heavier bell. Heck, I have a 56 year old client that was burning 16.7 calories per minute snatching a 12 kg bell for 7 rep sets in his max vo2 training. How many can xcountry ski uphill at a fast pace? and how often can one do this? and how (in)convienient is it.

Nothing, nothing will get the average person in the best shape of their life faster and more safely than kettlebell swing training. Nothing.

Of course it is simple but not easy. I mean, the bell ain't gonna swing itself. And that's the real problem for most people looking to "get in shape". They don't just want something that will work and work fast and safely. They also want it to be easy. Now that just don't happen and I'm glad.

If it was easy then anyone could have it and it would mean nothing. If you are in shape and you are over 23 then you have EARNED IT. And that's good. Nothing's more democratic than training. You get what you work for.
snatching a 12 kg

6 comments:

Diana said...

Why then can't I run a 6 minute mile???
Yeah, kettlebells are hard, but I am more at ease with them than anything else I do.
If I want to run faster, I must run faster! I don't care how fast I run, I just care that I can run. I care that I am healthy.
This is an awesome article, I often wondered how many calories got burned with kettlebells. Now I really have some great ammo to give to my clients!!

Mark Reifkind said...

It's precisely it's simplicity and availability to the average that makes these kb exercises special Diana. It's about increasing work capacity, strength endurance, power,overall endurance and general fitness, NOT a specific skill.
Running fast is a specific skill,ESPECIALLY a pace like 6 minutes per mile which VERY few can do.
Look at the people that can run that fast, they have a very specific body with bodyweights all within a specific range
I know because I could do it and believe me, not everyone can.
It's the same with gymnastics; SO much depends on your body type.
Yet, almost everyone can swing a kettlebell; and, as Tracy has shown, and shows, week after week, the average person can work up to extraordinary workloads in a very short amount of time.
So they can burn as many calories as humanly possible doing an exercise.
And, as your experience with the 16 kg taught you, going up in weight changes everything.It aint easy and it takes time. but it can be done.
The point is, is that if one is only going to do one exercise to maximize fitness, strength endurance and power the kettlebell swing and snatch are it.
Period. end of story.

Diana said...

I totally agree. I could easily be happy with just swinging and snatching, but right now I'm gonna keep my triathlon stuff too. I can honestly see getting tired of doing them, but I don't see myself EVER getting tired of my bells!! They turned me into not only a great physical person, but also a great person "overall".
As Pavel says: "enjoy".........and I do, every moment!

Mark Reifkind said...

Hey Diana,

Listen, the thing I miss MOST that I can't do anymore, even more than gymnastics is to run. I LOVED running.
but in the end it wasnt for me. too hard on the body. kb's , at least imo, is the easiest thing I've even done on my body that gives the best conditioning results.
it's NOT a specific sport( gs excluded) its just amazing, safe conditioning.

kettlebells_n_sunshine said...

After many, many, many cycles of the VO2 snatch cycle workout, I knew that NOTHING could possibly compare with kettlebell training.
I have spent my whole life to get fit, when I was handed a kettlebell everything changed from my body comp to my attitude.
It is the kettlebell that changed my life dramatically and made me get into personal training.
I try to share the kettlebell with all of my clients, happy to report a few converts...
Proud to say that I have earned the HKC, just registered for the RKC in Orlando.

Mark Reifkind said...

K n S

congrats to you for getting your HKC and even more props for signing up for the RKC!

and, as you might suspect, I hear this story ALOT. Kettlebell training changes peoples lives FAST and rarely do you hear about people LOVING their training. I hear that ALL the time when I teach people to swing; they say " I LOVE this!" as they are swinging.

Never heard anyone say that when I taught them how to squat,lol.

205, 215, 217.5,205 x 1 x 6, 190 x 1 x 3, laterals, rear delts bw pushups

 Well this went great. not perfect but the basic premise worked and I'm happy. I was not optimistic at all about this at all given recen...