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PEAK VO2 RESPONSES: INCREMENTAL MAXIMAL INTENSITY KETTLEBELL OR TREADMILL PROTOCOLS?

Abstract

W. M. Silvers1, A. Vahk2, C. Bichler1, P. Hickey1

1Whitworth University, Spokane, WA; 2Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA

Within the kettlebell community, there are suggested kettlebell workouts to elicit maximal aerobic (VO2peak) responses, yet no empirical evidence has been able to validate these claims. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare cardiorespiratory (CR)and metabolic responses of ramped kettlebell snatch (KBS) and treadmill running (TMR) protocols, both intended to elicit VO2peak. METHODS: Seventeen kettlebell sport lifters completed separate TMR and KBS VO2peak protocols at least 48 hrs apart in random order. The TMR protocol consisted of incremental speed and grade increases every minute until volitional exhaustion (~ 8-12 min total). The KBS protocol consisted of incremental snatch cadence increases every 2 min (with a self-selected weight) until volitional exhaustion (~ 6-8 min total). VO2, heart rate (HR), ventilation (VE), respiratory exchange ratio (RER), and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) were continuously recorded during each protocol. Blood lactate was assessed 2-min post-test. Paired t-tests (p ≤ 0.05) were utilized to determine the existence of significant differences between protocols for each dependent measure. RESULTS: All CR and metabolic responses were significantly greater (p= 0.00-0.01) for the TMR protocol compared to the KBS protocol (see Table 1). CONCLUSION: Under these research circumstances, an incremental kettlebell protocol was unable to elicit comparable VO2peakto a running-based protocol. There appeared to be a “terminal velocity” that was reached for the snatch movement at the fastest cadence of the KBS protocol, which limited further increases in exercise intensity. These findings reinforce the existing empirical evidence that kettlebell protocols do not elicit VO2peakresponses.

Additional Files
Table 1.docx (12 kB)
Table 1

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