Through the 10K Kettlebell Swings Challenge my cardio efficiency has definitely improved. I’ve got the usual love/hate thing with cardio. I don’t want to stand on some machine and I’ve never been able to run, not even when I was a kid. I have climbed the stairs in my building but I get tired of the stuffy stairwell. I’ve always wished I could do that jump rope that looks effortless the way some people do it but try as I might, I’ve never been good at that! I have a jump rope made from an airplane cable so missing means potential foot amputation.
I love swings for high-efficiency “Kettlebell Cardio”! The greatest benefit is the advantage kettlebell swings have over any other kind of cardio. Running, stairs, elliptical, spin bikes–all you can do is put in the time. You can try to go faster and work for longer but you’ll still be moving just your bodyweight.
The Kettlebell Advantage: Increasing the amount of weight you are moving! Brilliant! The metabolism is so misunderstood; the misinformation that goes around is incredible! One of the variables that will contribute to determining your calorie burn is the amount of weight you are moving. This is the reason for one of the most maddening traits of the metabolism: The more mass you are moving, the higher your calorie burn will be. Therefore, a heavier person will burn more calories. But as that person loses weight, their calorie burn will drop!
Before this fact bums you out too much, wrap your head around this! As you improve your conditioning and lose weight, your capacity to work harder will improve. When I weighed 340lbs, I might have been burning a lot of calories per minute but I couldn’t do anything for very long. Like REALLY not long at all!! Now of course, I walk for miles, I can swing a kettlebell SIX HUNDRED times so, at half my former weight, do you think I’m burning more calories now?
In my forthcoming book, 100 Lbs Off, I will cover the Mysterious Metabolism and get you straight on the facts!
