does anyone know why kettlebells

Iammelting
Iammelting Posts: 64 Member
edited October 2 in Fitness and Exercise
burns so few calories ? its HARD and you sweat allot but I burn more calories walking to and from the gym than I do in the class. I dont get it .

Replies

  • supertracylynn
    supertracylynn Posts: 1,338 Member
    Are you using a HRM? Tracking calories, I burn about as much running as I do with kettle bells.
  • snookumss
    snookumss Posts: 1,451 Member
    If you aren't using a heart rate monitor, its probably a bad estimate of calorie expenditure for you. If you are, I have no answer!
  • Iammelting
    Iammelting Posts: 64 Member
    Im using my bodybugg to see calories burned and its only 250 for an hour of working hard !! I dont burn alot anyway since Im only 5 foot one but still I burn more walking for an hour
  • gmrgirl
    gmrgirl Posts: 50 Member
    there are a few things:

    1.) kettlebells are often considered strength training and not cardio (which is unfortunate since using them properly has a cardio effect)

    2.) where are you getting your burn numbers? are they from a HRM or similar personally calibrated device? if not, it's likely the burn numbers are off. While the HRM will not be PERFECT, it should be much closer.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,031 Member
    burns so few calories ? its HARD and you sweat allot but I burn more calories walking to and from the gym than I do in the class. I dont get it .
    Almost all strength training burns much fewer calories than cardio exercise. The deal here is that cardio (unless it's HIIT or interval training) doesn't raise your resting metabolic rate and only burns calories while doing the exercise. Strength training raises resting metabolic rate so you attain a higher resting burn.
  • I just started using kettle bells at home. It is hard, but I think it is more muscle building than calorie burning. Everything I have read has said that you burn approx 20 calories per minute.
  • gmrgirl
    gmrgirl Posts: 50 Member
    <deleted for not being coherent > this is not the post you are looking for, move along :D
  • chuckyp
    chuckyp Posts: 693 Member
    I don't know what exercises you are doing and at what intensity, but kettlebells can most definitely be cardio as well as strength training. If you're hitting it hard, it would be realistic to burn over 1000 calories in an hour.
    If you're just doing presses and the like, maybe not so much, but if you're doing a lot of swings and snatches and other dynamic exercises with them, they'll smoke you.
  • Iammelting
    Iammelting Posts: 64 Member
    i would say this is cardio/ kettlebells . Its tough and it does incorporate intervals in it . Must just be me, I dont burn huge amounts of calories no matter what I do.
  • chuckyp
    chuckyp Posts: 693 Member
    Maybe, but you should burn WAY more doing an hour of kettlebells vs. an hour of walking! Something doesn't sound right. Maybe the bodybugg is under-calculating?
  • Iammelting
    Iammelting Posts: 64 Member
    Oddly I seem to burn a very simular amount if Im walking on treadmill, doing zumba, kettlebells or whatever Im always right around 300-350 and hour. Not sure how to get my body to burn more.
    I walk 20 minutes to the gym and 20 minutes home and burn about 200 doing that .
This discussion has been closed.