HRM accurate for kettle bell exercises?

kodom_123
kodom_123 Posts: 117 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I just wanted to get a quick opinion from some of you more experienced folks :)

So a group of friends and I started doing a kettle bell workout called KettleWorx..it is a great mixture of resistance and cardio. I sweat from head to toe and get really worn out a tthe end of the workout.
I am 5' 4" , 242 #, and 31.

Online I found a site that says that an average person burns around 1200 calories and hour doing Kettle bells. I realize this is probably inflated but man...when I use my HRM it says I only burn around 140 cals for a 30 minute workout (5 min warm up, 20 min workout, 5 min cooldown) I am working harder than most of my gym workouts and sweat way more too...those workouts pull at least 250 or better for 30 minutes. It keeps connection fine and seems to be functioning well. It works well when I do my C25K program.

Could it be because of the fluctuation in HR durring some of the less intense exercises?
I have heard that HRMs aren't great for during resistance...could this be the case for the Kettlebell workouts too?
Or do you think that is pretty accurate?

Replies

  • purplegoboom
    purplegoboom Posts: 400 Member
    I'm 5'5, 200 lbs. I burn about 700 calories doing an hour of kettlebell. I'm not an expert, but the figure your HRM is giving you doesn't seem accurate.
  • C00lCountry
    C00lCountry Posts: 282
    Are you sure it is reading your heart rate while you are twisting and such?
    I had an issue with mine while doing some exercises. Snugged the strap up and moved it a little and all is good.
    It doesn't seem accurate to me either.
    Have you checked where your heart rate is while doing kettlebell?
  • kodom_123
    kodom_123 Posts: 117 Member
    my heart rate seems to stay under 145 even on the really intense stuff. I think it is around 128 - 137 for most of it...which seems really low to me too. On c25k I stay around 135 when walking and am between 155- 175 when jogging depending on how fast I go.

    I will try to snug it up...I have been losing inches and it might have worked loose on top of that. Maybe that will help :) thanks!
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,021 Member
    First, let me warn you that there are a lot of people on this site who know zilch about kettlebell workouts and are completely unaware that they know zilch about kettlebell workouts, so beware of posts telling you that HRMs are useless for this type of exercise. I have found mine to be absolutely valid.

    About the 1200 calories per hour thing ... that was based on a study done by the American Council on Exercise (ACE). They had several very fit and very experienced men and women do heavy kettlebell snatches for 20 mintues. On average, they burned 13 calories per minute aerobically (which is what an HRM measures) and an additional 7 calories anaerobically, as determined by measuring their blood lactate. Do NOT take this to mean that the "average" person doing any old kettlebell workout will burn 20 calories per minute. Most mainstream kettlebell workouts for women do not involve heavy kettlebells or super difficult lifts like snatches.

    Doing repetitive heavy snatches for 20 minutes will absolutely smoke you, and, if you're doing them with great form, you probably would get very close to those 13 calories burned per minute (aerobically), but you would have to be very strong and in excellent shape to be able to do that. I've been training with kettlebells for over a year. I'm currently snatching the 16 kg (35 lbs), and I get 9 to 10 calories per minute on my HRM (a Polar FT7). I feel like it's quite accurate for me, based on the ACE study and the fact that I'm a small female, so there's no way I'd burn the average of several males and females.

    But light kettlebell swings and other types of kettlebell lifts are not going to burn as many calories as snatches on an HRM. You'll get a good post-workout burn from them and increased metabolism because of the strength element, but that's not going to show up on an HRM. I would say 5 calories per minute is probably accurate for you.
  • kodom_123
    kodom_123 Posts: 117 Member
    First, let me warn you that there are a lot of people on this site who know zilch about kettlebell workouts and are completely unaware that they know zilch about kettlebell workouts, so beware of posts telling you that HRMs are useless for this type of exercise. I have found mine to be absolutely valid.

    About the 1200 calories per hour thing ... that was based on a study done by the American Council on Exercise (ACE). They had several very fit and very experienced men and women do heavy kettlebell snatches for 20 mintues. On average, they burned 13 calories per minute aerobically (which is what an HRM measures) and an additional 7 calories anaerobically, as determined by measuring their blood lactate. Do NOT take this to mean that the "average" person doing any old kettlebell workout will burn 20 calories per minute. Most mainstream kettlebell workouts for women do not involve heavy kettlebells or super difficult lifts like snatches.

    Doing repetitive heavy snatches for 20 minutes will absolutely smoke you, and, if you're doing them with great form, you probably would get very close to those 13 calories burned per minute (aerobically), but you would have to be very strong and in excellent shape to be able to do that. I've been training with kettlebells for over a year. I'm currently snatching the 16 kg (35 lbs), and I get 9 to 10 calories per minute on my HRM (a Polar FT7). I feel like it's quite accurate for me, based on the ACE study and the fact that I'm a small female, so there's no way I'd burn the average of several males and females.

    But light kettlebell swings and other types of kettlebell lifts are not going to burn as many calories as snatches on an HRM. You'll get a good post-workout burn from them and increased metabolism because of the strength element, but that's not going to show up on an HRM. I would say 5 calories per minute is probably accurate for you.

    Thank you so much! this was very informative.
  • tacticalhippie
    tacticalhippie Posts: 596 Member
    Mine varries a lot based on my intensity.

    With warm up/cool down doing a HIIT workout, I can burn 150 in 20 minutes.
    The last JM workout I did, I burned 333 calories in 45 minutes.
    Looking through my list...
    When I did the Lady Spartacus workout, I burned 517 in 51 minutes.

    When I push harder, I like the numbers better :)

    I wish I would have had a HRM when I did the kettleworx program.
  • judajolie
    judajolie Posts: 1
    Whew, kettlebells! love em,

    here's one of my workouts with a gym boss

    swing
    goblet squat
    burpees
    swing
    clean
    clean
    break
    suitcase sqaut
    single arm swing (r)
    singe arm swing (l)
    lunge(r)
    lunge(l)
    swing
    break
    press(l)
    press(r)
    kb hammer (l)
    kb hammer(l)
    pushups
    swing
    plank
    plank

    30 seconds/ straight through.


    for strength, i use double kettlebells, i alternate between two 26 pound kbs and two 35 pound kbs

    and on strength training days i also do 20 minute tabata drills on my muay thai bag along with 300 different crunch variations.

    on my high intensity kb days, i do yoga after wards.

    I am a woman and I do not look like RAMBO ;). lift heavy, train hard! don't be afraid to train doubles! get more bang for your buck! I have been training with kb's for seven years.. it's an art

    also don't be afraid to use creatine!
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    First, let me warn you that there are a lot of people on this site who know zilch about kettlebell workouts and are completely unaware that they know zilch about kettlebell workouts, so beware of posts telling you that HRMs are useless for this type of exercise. I have found mine to be absolutely valid.

    Out of curiosity, you found your HRM to be absolutely valid based on what? Do you have some sort of independent verification? Or you just believe it's correct therefore that is proof positive that it's valid?

    For the OP, kettlebell work can have a tremendous burn rate, but I generally find that kettleworx sells people heavy promises but very light kettlebells. They have women doing 10lb kettlebell swings when 23-35 is what they should be using for that type of work. Weight that is too light will not get you the burn rate that you're expecting. You didn't say what weight KBs you're using but I'll fall out of my chair if it's over 15lbs. That's not a knock against you at all. I'm speaking more about the marketing program that kettleworx uses. It's shady, IMO.

    That said, they have some good routines and without worrying if your HRM is 100% correct, you can do the routines and make adjustments to your calorie plan based on your results. Make an assumption about the calories you need to eat back and adjust more or less based on a combination of how you look and what the scales says. If you're losing 3-4 lbs per week, eat more. If you're gaining 1lb a week eat less. If you're losing 1-2 lbs per week, bingo, stay there. That method works for everybody, every time, and you don't need a HRM for that.
  • sweebum
    sweebum Posts: 1,060 Member
    Does it have a chest strap? Kettlebells burn more than that. I burn about 280 in 25 mins. It's intense.
  • dane11235813
    dane11235813 Posts: 682 Member
    i burn 1200 calories/hour just driving to work in my car so i'm guessing kettlebell workouts burn quite a bit more.
  • kodom_123
    kodom_123 Posts: 117 Member
    I forgot to check back on this lol...

    Thanks for all the replies! Yes it does have a chest strap and Yup...bingo...i started with a 5 LB KB :P Which I gotta tell ya for the arm work was plently for the first few weeks. I could use a heavier one though for the swings. I am up to an 8 for most stuff and a 10 for the swings, squats etc. I started my journey at over 300 LBs so I was extrememly outta shape before beginning KW.
    A friend gave the videos to me and I had never heard of them before she told me of them. I got pretty good results when doing them 3 days a week for 7 weeks. I lost inches left and right and gained lots of strength.
    I was so sore after the first workout I couldn't sit down or stand up without writhing in pain ROFLOL!! Using the toilet was the worst! :P

    So..while I agree for a lot of the exercises I could use a higher KB there are several of the moves I have to switch back to the 5 LB for lol..a lot of the one armed/handed moves in particular.

    I think my HRM has been pretty accurate. I tightened up the strap and even on my runs I have noticed that I have to really have my HR up for a good while before I see a major burn. I can walk/run a total of 45 minutes...My HR gets up to 170 -ish or so when really pushing myself to go my fastest/hardest etc... it stays right around 155 - 160 when I am pacing myself.
    I tried to watch my HRM during my KW workout yesterday...It was between 135- 145 most of the time...if I really pressed it I could get 150..I think I am jsut not pushing myself wuite as hard as I could. And yup prolly if I switched to a heavier KB during swings etc it would be a lot better ;)
  • FlyByJuly
    FlyByJuly Posts: 564 Member
    First, let me warn you that there are a lot of people on this site who know zilch about kettlebell workouts and are completely unaware that they know zilch about kettlebell workouts, so beware of posts telling you that HRMs are useless for this type of exercise. I have found mine to be absolutely valid.

    Out of curiosity, you found your HRM to be absolutely valid based on what? Do you have some sort of independent verification? Or you just believe it's correct therefore that is proof positive that it's valid?

    For the OP, kettlebell work can have a tremendous burn rate, but I generally find that kettleworx sells people heavy promises but very light kettlebells. They have women doing 10lb kettlebell swings when 23-35 is what they should be using for that type of work. Weight that is too light will not get you the burn rate that you're expecting. You didn't say what weight KBs you're using but I'll fall out of my chair if it's over 15lbs. That's not a knock against you at all. I'm speaking more about the marketing program that kettleworx uses. It's shady, IMO.

    That said, they have some good routines and without worrying if your HRM is 100% correct, you can do the routines and make adjustments to your calorie plan based on your results. Make an assumption about the calories you need to eat back and adjust more or less based on a combination of how you look and what the scales says. If you're losing 3-4 lbs per week, eat more. If you're gaining 1lb a week eat less. If you're losing 1-2 lbs per week, bingo, stay there. That method works for everybody, every time, and you don't need a HRM for that.

    DavPul...I like what you're saying. I started out with Kettleworx and you're exactly correct (tho I didn't know it at the time) about the heavy promises and light kettlebells!

    However, I'm glad that the Kettleworx infommercial was slick enough to pique my interest and get me into kettlebells.
    Thanks for your input. I appreciate it!
  • sjeannot
    sjeannot Posts: 143
    I was just wondering about htis because I went and did a search to find out how much you burn doinga kettlebell circuit. All the sites I visited says 400 calories per 20 minute workout. I did about 30 minutes. Is it really acurate to say that in 20 minutes, I burned 600 calories doing the circuit? The funny thing is, I visted about five different sites abd got the same results. Just curious. That seems like a lot ot burn even though my body felt it and I perspired a lot in that short span of time. Yet, I only used ten and fifteen pounders.
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,021 Member
    First, let me warn you that there are a lot of people on this site who know zilch about kettlebell workouts and are completely unaware that they know zilch about kettlebell workouts, so beware of posts telling you that HRMs are useless for this type of exercise. I have found mine to be absolutely valid.

    Out of curiosity, you found your HRM to be absolutely valid based on what? Do you have some sort of independent verification? Or you just believe it's correct therefore that is proof positive that it's valid?

    For the OP, kettlebell work can have a tremendous burn rate, but I generally find that kettleworx sells people heavy promises but very light kettlebells. They have women doing 10lb kettlebell swings when 23-35 is what they should be using for that type of work. Weight that is too light will not get you the burn rate that you're expecting. You didn't say what weight KBs you're using but I'll fall out of my chair if it's over 15lbs. That's not a knock against you at all. I'm speaking more about the marketing program that kettleworx uses. It's shady, IMO.

    That said, they have some good routines and without worrying if your HRM is 100% correct, you can do the routines and make adjustments to your calorie plan based on your results. Make an assumption about the calories you need to eat back and adjust more or less based on a combination of how you look and what the scales says. If you're losing 3-4 lbs per week, eat more. If you're gaining 1lb a week eat less. If you're losing 1-2 lbs per week, bingo, stay there. That method works for everybody, every time, and you don't need a HRM for that.

    Read more than just the first paragraph of my post. I have found that my HRM figures for MY kettlebell workouts are valid based on MY results as compared to the ACE study I wrote an entire post about.

    I don't do Kettleworx workouts. I train using programs designed by RKC instructors, and none of them involve kettlebells lighter than 12 kg/26 lbs, even for snatch protocols.
  • roymun60
    roymun60 Posts: 6 Member
    I am fairly new to kettlebells, only started about June 2013, I turned 65 in May 2013, I love kettlebells, you can do light workout 2x8kg bells, or heavier workouts with whatever, I use a 16kg bell for that. I have done an hour snatches with an 8 kg bell and it is a reasonable workout, I have also done 10,500 kettlebells swings in 27 days using the 16 kg bell, I did these at 500 per day with some days off in between in 100 reps x 5, this made my heart rate go to 162 after each set, according to the h/r site that is 100% h/r/ for my age. Just recently (2 Days ago) I did the snatch challenge with my 16kg bell, i did this in 3 ten minute lots, that is 6 snatches, with one hand and a 15 sec rest, and 6 snatches with the other hand and 15 second rest, (12 per minute), after each 10 minutes I was wasted, I took a 4 minute break between each 10 minute set, to bring my h/r down. I have run a lot in my years, but have never done such an intense workout as K.B. swings or snatches. I am inclined to believe, if you use a heavy weight for your size, gender and age you will burn a lot more calories and shed more fat, and build more muscles, in a shorter time than any other exercise. The good part is there is so many different exercises you can do with a kettlebell, than mindlessly lifting weights, or pounding your joints to submission with hours of jogging/running

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