kettlebell swings vs running page

[ar0e]

I'm trying to lose 30 pounds of fat and want to add to my exercise routine. Can 25-30 minutes of kettlebell swings serve as a comparable substitute for jogging 2.5 miles a day at a 4.5 mph pace? Can I do kettlebell swings everyday as cardio and do my usual 22 minute full body kettlebell routine 3 times a week? Would this be too much? I'm pretty sedentary at work during the day I'm either in the car or at a desk for about 8 hours daily.

[prodistat]

If you can do 25-30 minutes of KB swings, you must be a machine! The best I ever got was 10 minutes of swings, 20 swings per minute, with a 50 lb KB. How heavy is your KB?

Anyway, your cardiovascular fitness should be excellent if you can do that. Also, you might be getting in too much cardio if you're going that every day. If you start dragging and feeling sluggish, then you're doing too much and need to back off. IMO, you'll probably be okay doing it every day for a few weeks before you start to notice performance issues.

[ar0e]

My kettlebell is 15 lbs, I read that is a good size women to start with.

[FitMountain]

Swings will give you fitness benefits that far exceed what running could do. Time actually working out shouldn't be factored here as swings will depend on a myriad of things (weight, sets, reps, rest time, etc). That being said, swings will tax your glutes and hamstrings so take that into account with your full-body days. You would probably be best served getting a heavier weight and focusing on quality movement over volume.

As I will always say when speaking of KBs - find a qualified instructor!

[Jmb]

I agree that 25 minutes is incredibly ambitious even for cyborg type people. Try the RKC minimum program. Essentially start with 10 minutes of swings. Swing to a comfortable stop then slowly jog until you feel recovered enough for another set. Do this for ten minutes and slowly add longer swing sets and longer duration. The run is not cardio - it is an active recovery.

Also might want to look into the Viking Warrior Conditioning. It is built around the snatch and is effective.

[FitMountain]

Just started VWC myself - awesome stuff!

[Jmb]

Just started VWC myself - awesome stuff!

I did it for a long time and definitely felt good. I can't wait to get back in to it, but I have hada couple hand surgeries I recently so I can't lift too much with my hand. Wa wa waaaaaah.

[Meegeek]

Although my total KB routine is about 25 minutes (3x / week) I don't think I could do 20 minutes of swings. Using a 35 lb KB. I actually backed off the KB a bit as I was building muscle like crazy and not loosing weight. Dropped back to one workout a week, with a lot of walking and 2 sprint sessions thrown in.

[Cayenne]

There is a book, either out or about to be released, by Tracy Rifkeind (sp?), called something like "The Kettlebell Swing" (my imprecise description is enough for you to find it on Amazon or via Google-Fu.) Ms. Rifkeind lost a significant amount of weight and, as I understand, attributes much of it to this movement.

Enjoy !

[Tneah]

There is a book, either out or about to be released, by Tracy Rifkeind (sp?), called something like "The Kettlebell Swing" (my imprecise description is enough for you to find it on Amazon or via Google-Fu.) Ms. Rifkeind lost a significant amount of weight and, as I understand, attributes much of it to this movement.

Enjoy !

It's called "The Swing". I just bought this the other day.

I started kettlebell classes on Monday and boy am I out of shape! I have been so sore that i can't even lift my legs to get off the sofa. I think all the lunges and squats in between swings got me mostly. I'm still working on my form.

They started me with 35lb for swings under 20 reps. I drop my weight to 25lb when going longer.