Viking Warrior Conditioning @ 34.8 calories a minute!

Earlier this morning I performed my first "Fast Tens" workout with two 24kg kettlebells. The Fast Tens workout is designed to ad muscle mass. 

Today I performed 4 sets of double clean and presses for a total of 30 reps alternated with 4 sets of 2 sets of Snatch + Front Squat combinations for a total of 20 reps per side.  It was tough, but the rest periods were 90 seconds giving me plenty of time to recover between sets.  

As I  rested I contemplated the conditioning segment of the workout to come, the VO2 max kettlebell snatch protocol developed by Master RKC Kenneth Jay.  This is a simple and sinister workout consisting of one technique, the hardstyle Kettlebell Snatch, that has to be experienced to be believed. The more I  think about it the more nervous I  get, but I also look forward to the challenge.

The Kettlebell snatch is by far the most efficient calorie burning technique in the RKCs arsenal. To perform a Kettlebell snatch you must rip the kettlebell up from a hanging position to an overhead lockout. This move is done quickly, moving the kettlebell the maximum possible distance, in a very short amount of time. The hardstyle snatch requires you to actively accelerate the kettlebell on the downswing therefore adding virtual weight to the movement which taxes your grip and forces a stronger muscular contraction as you reverse the movement for the upswing. It requires the activation of muscles from your toes to your hand and when done for reps, with a respectable weight can cause you to hack up a lung. The move is simple, effective and satisfying. For me there is nothing like the feeling a launching a heavy kettlebell overhead and catching it, motionless in the overhead lockout like some sort of victory pose.

Today I performed 20 minutes of Kenneth Jay's VO2 max protocol  with a 24kg kettlebell.  It calls for me snatching the kettlebell overhead for an extended period of time, at a specific cadence with a pre-determined work to rest ratio. This was my second week into the protocol with the 24kg.  My cadence is seven reps in 15 seconds, followed by 15 seconds of rest, then I repeat the procedure with the other arm, and repeat, and repeat for as long as I can tolerate it. My goal is to achieve 40 minutes in this manner.   One of the special feature of this protocol is that it has me working at 100% of my top speed for 15 seconds at a time.  So, when I eventually build up to 40 continuous minutes I will be working at 100% for a total of 20 minutes! 

Here are the results

Date: 04/06/2009
Body weight: 174 lbs

Duration of Session: 20 minutes

Actual Duration of Work: 10 minutes

Calories Burned:  348 Kcals = 17.4 cals/min. and  34.8 calories per minute of work

Average Heart Rate: 170 bpm

Maximum Heart Rate: 181 bpm

Reps: 280   (280 reps x 53lbs = 14,840 lbs)

So... that's 17.4 calories per minute. If you consider that ten minutes out of the twenty it took me to complete the workout were actually my rest periods then that means I burned 348 calories in only 10-minutes of actual work for an average of 34.8 Calories per minute!    34.8 Calories a minute sounds like a fluke, but I assure you it is not. I use a top of the line Polar FT80 heart rate monitor calibrated for my age, gender and weight. Last week I performed this same workout for 15 minutes, here are the results:

Date: 04/01/2009

Body weight: 174 lbs

Duration of Session: 15 minutes

Actual Duration of Work: 7.5 minutes

Calories Burned:  236 Kcals   =   15.73 cals/ min or 31.46 cals per minute of work

Average Heart Rate: 164 bpm

Maximum Heart Rate: 176 bpm

Reps: 210   (210 reps x 53lbs = 11,130  lbs)

Either way, 34.8 or 31.46 is a lot of calories per minute, not to mention that this is the kind of workout that will leave me in oxygen debt for a while and result in my body continuously burning calories for more than 24 hours after the workout is finished.  Furthermore, the workout is just plain fun in a Zen kind of way... you just into a zone and repeat the same technique...over and over and over and over.  To top it off, this is the kind of workout  I will get better and better at, performing up to 4 sessions a week, eventually achieving 40-minutes per session,  then moving on to a faster cadence, and then on to starting over with a heavier kettlebell.  I can't imagine a harder workout or better technique for oxidizing fat while building endurance, building pain tolerance and will power.  

If you are interested in learning more about this protocol I  suggest you read the book "Viking Warrior Conditioning" by Master RKC Kenneth Jay. If you want to learn how to perform the Hardstyle kettlebell snatch I suggest you look up your local RKC and schedule a session!

Enjoy The Pain  .... Like a Viking!