• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

  • Fitness
  • Workouts
    • Best Shoulder Workouts
    • Best Chest Workouts
    • Best Leg Workouts
    • Best Leg Exercises
    • Best Biceps Exercises
    • Best Kettlebell Exercises
    • Best Back Workouts
    • Best HIIT Workouts
    • Best Triceps Exercises
    • Best Arm Workouts
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Pre-Workouts
      • Best Whey Protein
      • Best Creatine
    • Equipment
      • Best Adjustable Dumbbells
      • Best Home Gym Machines
    • Certifications
      • ISSA Review
  • News
  • Exercise Guides
    • Legs
      • Back Squat
      • Bulgarian Split Squat
      • Goblet Squat
      • Zercher Squat
      • Standing Calf Raise
      • Hack Squat
    • Chest
      • Bench Press
      • Dumbbell Bench Press
      • Close-Grip Bench Press
      • Incline Bench Press
    • Shoulders
      • Overhead Dumbbell Press
      • Lateral Raise
    • Arms
      • Chin-Up
      • Weighted Pull-Up
      • Triceps Pushdown
    • Back
      • Deadlift
      • Trap Bar Deadlift
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Inverted Row
      • Bent-Over Barbell Row
      • Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
      • Pendlay Row
Workouts

The Potency of Kettlebells in Strength and Conditioning Programming

Kettlebells are often used in training by recreational athletes, elite athletes, and sports professionals. New research looked at the actual effectiveness of kettlebell training.

Mindith Rahmat

Written by Mindith Rahmat Last updated on June 3, 2011

Kettlebells are often used in training by recreational athletes, elite athletes, and sports professionals. Strength and conditioning coaches train their athletes with kettlebells to increase muscular strength, muscular endurance, and cardiorespiratory fitness. However, to date there is very little research examining the validity of the use of kettlebells in strength and conditioning programming.

Kettlebells are often used in training by recreational athletes, elite athletes, and sports professionals. Strength and conditioning coaches train their athletes with kettlebells to increase muscular strength, muscular endurance, and cardiorespiratory fitness. However, to date there is very little research examining the validity of the use of kettlebells in strength and conditioning programming.

New research in Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research examined the cardiorespiratory workload of a kettlebell workout. Researchers measured the heart rate and oxygen cost of performing a workout using a 16kg (35#) kettlebell for a duration of 12 minutes.

Ten men were studied and completed an average of 265 kettlebell swings during the 12 minute workout, for an average of 22 swings per minute.

Researchers concluded from measurements taken from the athletes that the kettlebell swings provided a definite metabolic challenge which was enough to to effectively illicit an increase in V?o2max.

Simply performing the kettlebell swings elevated and maintained the subjects heart rate and V?o2max at an average of 87% and 65% of their maximum. According to researchers …

“The American College of Sports Medicine recommends an optimal intensity of 60-85% V?o2max to improve and athletes cardiorespiratory fitness”.

Another study examined the translational effect of kettlebell training to Olympic Weightlifting. Researchers explained that because kettlebells are ballistic in nature they may react similar to Olympic lifts in training.

Ballistic training or power training can be used by elite athletes to develop power and explosiveness. Researchers studied the translational effect of a 10 week kettlebell program to the strength, power and endurance of Olympic Weightlifting.

Researchers tested a sample of 15 athletes using a standard periodization model, with a 2 day per week training program using only kettlebells. Measurements in overall strength, power, and endurance were recorded using clean and jerk 3 rep max, bench press 3 rep max, vertical jump, and a back extension exercise to failure.

Researchers concluded that the kettlebell programming did result in a translation of strength, power and endurance similar to the effects of Olympic Weightlifting. *It should be noted the kettlebell programming produced a highly significant difference in the measurements of the clean and jerk.

Overall this research supports using kettlebells as a potent tool to improve an athlete’s cardiorespiratory capacity, strength, power, endurance, and provide a significant transferability to Olympic weightlifting.

Mindith Rahmat

About Mindith Rahmat

Mindith is a born mover. She has spent her life exploring various athletic disciplines, starting with ballet and modern dance from an early age. She went on to become a E-RYT 500 certified yoga therapist and teacher and discovered CrossFit after the birth of her daughter.

Mindith coached CrossFit at a number of boxes near her home in Southern California, which lead to her involvement in Russian kettlebells and Olympic weightlifting. She has coached a wide variety of populations and cares deeply for women’s health, specializing in pregnancy and postpartum fitness. She is currently studying the principles of Natural Movement and Kettlebell Sport, and is working to complete an additional teacher training in the Taoist art of Yin Yoga with Master Paulie Zink.

Mindith founded Breaking Muscle in 2011. Over 5 million people a month have visited the site, hundreds of thousands of them follow Breaking Muscle on social media, nearly 2,000 coaches have written or appeared on its pages, and there are thousands of free, fully-formed training plans freely available. Breaking Muscle has won numerous awards in the industry and is recognized for pioneering new approaches to fitness and coaching techniques. In 2021, Breaking Muscle was acquired by Barbend. Mindith continues to devote time to her kids, pursue her doctorate in psychology, do research, and teach.

View All Articles

Recommended Articles

Long-haired person in gym running on treadmill
Try These HIIT Treadmill Workouts for Different Goals
Muscular person in gym doing dumbbell curls
The Ultimate Back and Biceps Workout for Every Lifter From Beginner to Advanced
A person doing a barbell bench press.
The Ultimate Bench Press Workout to Increase Strength and Muscle
black and white image of long-haired person performing chin-up
Try These Biceps Workouts Without Weights for Muscle, Strength, and Fat Loss

Primary Sidebar

Latest Articles

9 Best Adjustable Dumbbells for Home Gyms of 2023

10-Year-Old Rory van Ulft Reaches New Milestone Squatting Triple Her Body Weight

Arnold Schwarzenegger Shares His Recent Killer Arm and Shoulder Workout 

11 Best Creatine Supplements For Building Muscle, Cutting, and More

Latest Reviews

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

Best Whey Proteins for Packing on Muscle, Shredding Down, Meal Replacement, and More

Best Pre-Workouts for Building Muscle, Running, Taste, and More

Best Home Gym Machines

Best Home Gym Machines

woman lifting barbell

Be the smartest person in your gym

The Breaking Muscle newsletter is everything you need to know about strength in a 3 minute read.

I WANT IN!

Breaking Muscle is the fitness world’s preeminent destination for timely, high-quality information on exercise, fitness, health, and nutrition. Our audience encompasses the entire spectrum of the fitness community: consumers, aficionados, fitness professionals, and business owners. We seek to inform, educate and advocate for this community.

  • Reviews
  • Healthy Eating
  • Workouts
  • Fitness
  • News

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed

© 2023 · Breaking Muscle · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · Affiliate Disclaimer · Accessibility · About