Kettlebell Workout

I don't really know if what I do is correct or not - but I log a one hour workout as 30 minutes low impact aerobics and 30 minutes strength training.

You burn a ton of calories with the kettle bell. Just doing kettle bell swings for 15 min I can burn 300 calories. Since you are doing a class I would guess you could burn more.

Get a Heart Rate Monitor!!! That way there is no guessing.

I would be careful with using that 1200 number...when I did a kettlebell class at my gym I burned usually about 375-450/hour depending on how hard i was pushing myself that day.

My Polar FT4. It was always in that range, just depending on how hard the workout was. I usually used a 15 or 25 lb kettlebell depending on the activity, but those are pretty consistant numbers with others I have seen as well, just don't want you to estimate way too high!

I have recently used a HRM during a kettle bell class. The monitor said I burned 587 calories. The class was 50 minutes long, including warm up and cool down. I rarely got out of breath, but was covered in sweat the whole time. I checked by HRM a few times right after doing the swings and it was pushing 165, but the between sets it would get down to the 130's and 40's.

Hope this helps.
CW: 220

The "kettlebells burn 1200 calories per hour" theory is based on a study done by the American Council on Exercise. They took a group of males and females, had them do kettlebell snatches (much harder than swings) for 20 minutes, and the resulting aerobic burn + anaerobic burn (which your HRM is not going to measure) was about 20 calories per minute. That's 1200 calories per hour, but there are a lot of variables to be accounted for, like age, sex, weight, fitness, what size bell you're using, etc.

Swings still burn a lot of calories, though. I wrap up all my workouts with 10 minutes of swing intervals, and when I'm really pushing it (20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest for 10 minutes, alternating between 12 kg and 16 kg), I burn about 160 calories, according to my HRM (heart rate between 165 and 185). That is my aerobic burn, and that's all I record in my exercise diary because, without measuring my blood lactate levels, I have no real way of knowing what my anaerobic burn is.

Beware of people who will tell you that an HRM is not accurate for kettlebell training. Those people are assuming, incorrectly, that kettlebell ballistics like swings and snatches are upper body exercises. HRMs are perfectly valid for ballistics. My HRM stats align very well with the aerobic burn stats produced in the ACE study mentioned above.

bump

I can't speak to calories with data, but I strongly believe the 1200 per hour estimate (that's an hour of swings/snatches, not 1/2 hour with 1/2 hour of screwing around. But I'll say a few things.

I was Army for 9 years. My ankle got hurt badly, which means I can't run. After my 3rd surgery, I shot up to 310 (I'm 6'8"), and that was an inactive, flabby 310 with a 44 waist. In 2009, my brother got me a 35 pounder, a video and the "Enter the Kettlebell" book by Pavel (RKC guy). I started the "program minimum," which was 12 minutes of swings twice a week and 5 minutes of get ups twice a week. By the end of the first few four months, I was 265 and wearing a 40 waist, with NO OTHER EXERCISE. I could not eat before these workouts, which to me, is the measure of a cardio workout! I set my app at losing 1 pound a week, and yet, in 16 weeks, I lost 45 pounds, never exercising more than 15 minutes at a time. Do the math. The KB's were burning HUGE numbers of calories. I fully believe 1200 per hour is accurate, assuming the weight is heavy enough to make it tough to get through 20 reps at a time with good form.

Today, I'm nearly done with the "rite of passage" program (largely presses, snatches and swings). I am a hard 257 (but still need to lose about 15 pounds of fat - I eat about 3500 calories a day). I'm the strongest person I know (except the brother who got me the first bell). My BP is 105/65. My HR is typically mid 50's at the doctor's office. I wear 38 pants, just like I did when I was 235 and on active duty in the Army at age 20 (I'm 40 now). And remember, I have severe limitations with my busted up ankle. I can't run or even walk very far.

Let me say this. At first, trying to grunt out 175-200 swings with the 35 in 12 minutes, my HR was extremely high (no HR monitor). At least as high as running sprints (I only take 30 second breaks). Now, when I do swings, I'm moving 80 pounds for roughly 250 reps in 15 mins. My HR is very, very high during these workouts. God knows how high. Anyone who says this isn't "cardio" is either a moron, isn't using enough weight, or has a very skewed sense of what "cardio" means.

This is the most hardcore, effective and painful exercise I have ever seen. It's also the only "workout" I've ever not hated. If the goal is fat loss, development of lean strength and general health (not muscle mass or beach muscle), you will NEVER find anything better. Just make sure you do it right, do it heavy and keep it safe.