How to Burn 20 Calories Per Minute with the Kettlebell Snatch

Recently an article came out in the A.C.E. magazine, Fitness Matters. A.C.E. stands for the American Council on Exercise. In it is an article by Chad Schnettler, M.S., John Porcari, Ph.D., and Carl Foster, Ph.D., with Mark Anders.

This article reports on a study to done to determine the real effects of Kettlebell training on caloric expenditure. Their goal was to look at the calorie cost of energy and the level of intensity brought on by a 20 minute Kettlebell Workout.

In the study, they first test the subjects on a treadmill to get their baselines of oxygen consumption and heart rate. They also took the subjects RPE (rating of perceived exertion).

After they had their baselines, they then took each subject through a 20 minute Kettelbell Workout known as the MVo2 or Vo2 Max.

Vo2 Max is your maximal oxygen consumption.

The Vo2 Max Protocol for Kettlebells is taken from Kenneth Jay, Master RKC, who literally wrote the book on Vo2 Max training and Kettelbells, called Viking Warrior Conditioning. In this tome of fitness written by a guy also know as the "Dane of Pain", Kenneth details for us in precise detail his research in developing what Pavel Tsatsouline calls, "a foolproof blueprint for achieving Olympian conditioning in record time - while simultaneously improving one's body composition dramatically."

In his research, Kenneth used the Kettlebell Snatch.

The Kettlebell Snatch is a ballistic drill where one swings akettlebell with one hand between the legs and driving with the hipslaunches the kettlebell over head in one crisp, clean movement.

The initial beginnings of the Vo2 Max workout has you spending 5 minutes finding your snatch cadence. In the five minutes, the subject works up to a one minute maximal effort with the kettlebell snatch and then divides that maximum effort by 4. For example if their 1 minute maximum was 24 snatches, then their magic number is 6.

So now, the subjects spent 20 minutes performing 6 snatches in 15 seconds followed by 15 seconds of rest. Switched arms and did it again.

The results of that test showed the following:

The average calorie burn was 272 calories, but that doesn't take into account the calorie burn that comes from the "substantial anaerobic effort."

Aerobically, the subjects were burning 13.6 calories, but anaerobically, the were burning an additional 6.6 calories, which adds up to 20.2 calories per minute!

According to Dr. Porcari, "That’s equivalent to running a 6-minute mile pace. The only other thing I could find that burns that many calories is cross country skiing up hill at a fast pace."

WOW!

Keep in mind, top marathon runners are about at a 5 and a half minute mile.

The researchers say that the big reason for these dramatic results is because the Kettlebell snatch is a whole body endeavor that is performed with great speed and power.  It is also done in an interval style which has always been an effective method of training.

The study also showed that the trainees were working at an average heart rate of 93% of maximum.  That, my friends, is training.  That is a workout there!

So what have we learned here today? Kettlebell training is good work. It is ideal for those on the go with little or no time to train or go to the gym.  It combines resistance training and cardio all in one.  Kettlebell training is not only good for your ticker, but good for over all health, conditioning and strength.