Tired of Treadmills? Try Kettlebells!
Regardless of age, weight or athletic ability, aerobic exercise such as walking, bicycling, running, or swimming can help you live longer and healthier. Aerobic exercise improves just about every major system of the body: the cardiovascular system (the heart and vessels), the lungs, the muscles, and ultimately the brain with all the afferent mood changes.
The problem with aerobic exercise is that it can be boring after using the elliptical or treadmill at the gym, but a new study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research reports that kettlebell training can increase aerobic exercise.
Researchers examined the effects of a kettlebell training program on aerobic capacity. Seventeen female National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I collegiate soccer players first completed a graded exercise test to determine maximal oxygen consumption (i.e. to measure aerobic capacity). Participants were assigned to a kettlebell intervention group (KB) or a circuit weight-training control group. Participants in the kettlebell group completed a kettlebell snatch test to determine individual snatch repetitions. Both groups trained 3 days a week for 4 weeks in addition to their off-season strength and conditioning program. The kettlebell group performed 20 minutes of kettlebell snatching with 15 seconds of work and rest intervals). The circuit weight training group performed multiple free-weight and dynamic body-weight exercises as part of a continuous circuit program for 20 minutes. At the end of the study, only the kettlebell group resulted in significant improvements in aerobic capacity. The average increase in aerobic capacity was approximately a 6% gain. Thus, the 4-week high intensity kettlebell protocol, using high-intensity kettlebell snatches, significantly improved aerobic capacity in female intercollegiate soccer players and could be used as an alternative mode to maintain or improve cardiovascular conditioning.So if your tired of running on the treadmill or using the elliptical when doing cardio, pick up the kettlebells instead for a killer workout.
Falatic JA, Plato PA, Holder C, Finch D, Han K, Cisar CJ. Effects of Kettlebell Training on Aerobic Capacity. J Strength Cond Res. 2015 Jul;29(7):1943-7.
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