Kettlebell Sprints

Exercise physiologists separate exercise intensity into three domains, which in increasing intensity are the moderate, heavy, and severe domains. These three domains are separated by the first and second lactate thresholds. We won’t go into the physiology of lactate here, because there is actually a simple and fairly accurate way to know what domain you are in. It involves the talk test. In the moderate domain, you can carry on an fairly intelligent conversation without difficulty. In the heavy domain, you can carry on some conversation, but you probably don’t want to. In the severe domain, conversation is impossible. The heavy domain is something you can sustain for a half hour or longer. The severe domain can only be sustained for a few minutes.

There is good evidence that spending some time in the heavy and severe exercise domains has benefits, including benefits to your brain. We won’t go into the benefits here. The focus of this discussion is, how can you get into the heavy and severe exercise domains?

For our money, one of the best ways to accomplish this is kettebell sprints. A kettlebell spring is about four minutes of all-out swings with a heavy weight. The reason kettlebell swings are suited to heavy and severe exercise is because the swings activate so much muscle mass. Swings activate your core, your back, your shoulders, you thighs, and most importantly the powerhouse, your glutes. Using all this muscle at the same times burns up energy at fast rate, which is what puts you into the heavy and severe exercise domains.

For those who are comfortable with this idea, we recommend that you wrap up a a moderate intensity workout with a four minute kettlebell sprint at the end.