Grandma is Victorious!

This morning one of my Kettlebell students, Pat, a 64 yr old grandmother performed 100 kettlebell snatches in 4 minutes and 30 seconds using a 15lb kettlebell. During that time she had an average heart rate of 159 beats per minute and burned 14.86 calories a minute at a work capacity of 11.3 METs setting a new personal best. Now that she has achieved 100 reps in under five minutes she will move up to a heavier weight as she continues her quest to conquer 100 reps with the 12kg or 26lb kettlebell.

The kettlebell snatch involves swinging a single kettlebell backward between your legs, then with a thrust of the hips propelling the kettlebell forward in an elliptical arc into an overhead lockout similar to a victory pose. This is what Pat does and she does it with flair. In fact, upon finishing her final rep she held the kettlebell overhead and triumphantly exclaimed "Victory!"

According to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine a healthy 50 year old female should have a capacity of at least 8.2 METs and a 30 year old female should have a work capacity of at least 10.8 METS.

Based on this information one could say that Pat is in pretty darn good shape cardiovascularly for a 30 year old!

Calculating METsTo calculate METs you will need a heart monitor that counts calories burned and records the duration of your workout session. Perform as many hard swings or snatches as possible in 10 minutes, stopping to rest as necessary to ensure good form and safety. Using the data gathered from your heart rate monitor plug the values for Calories Burned and the Duration of your Workout Session into the following formula: 

METs:
Calories Burned per Hour / Bodyweight in Kilograms
or
[Calories burned ÷ ([Minutes+ (Seconds ÷ 60)] ÷ 60)] ÷ [Your Weight in Lbs÷2.2]