As of late, things have been a bit rough with lots of changes happening. As such, one of the first things to go was my evening workout. I had been doing P90X for a while and got some good results, but time became a scarce resource in my world.

I recall some communications with Dave of Formosa Fitness regarding my workout. He had hinted to me that some kettlebell circuits may offer “more bang for the buck” in terms of caloric burn.  Yesterday, I decided to put Dave’s theory to the test.  Last night, I did 4 circuits of Dave’s Kettlebell Fat Loss Circuit.

Video of the workout:

Dave was able to complete the circuit in a little over 2 mins. I figured 4 circuits would be around 10-12 mins and provide a good workout. Here’s a synopsis of my own workout using a 25 lb kettlebell.

Duration: 25 mins

Heart Rate (Avg/Peak): 138/176

Calories Burned: 526

First off, the results are quite amazing in my opinion! I would say I did about 20 mins of actual working out with some warm-up and cool down.  For comparison, I burned about 850 calories in 60 mins during a P90X Core Synergetics workout, measured with a Timex Heart Monitor.  If I do a straight linear projection, 50 mins of the kettlebell circuit would result in about 1050 calories burned. However, I don’t believe I would be able last 50 mins of the circuit!

My first circuit took about 4 mins to complete. Afterwards, I was winded and took a 30 second break. At the beginning of the third circuit, I was feeling a bit dizzy so I had to take a breather. During this time, I noticed the burn in my quads and glutes and feeling some tenderness in the shoulders, but I pushed through.  By the middle of the 4th circuit, I knew my form was off and my intensity was definitely slowing down. I had to take a full 2 min break before engaging in the last 25 straddle jumps of the circuit.

One thing that really surprised me was how quickly my heart rate shot above 160.  To me, that’s a pretty good indication of training intensity and “working it”.  I’m very happy with the results and plan to ease back into my workout routine slowly.  Plus, I’m a bit sore today in the quads, glutes, inner thighs, abs and shoulders from yesterday’s workout!

Overall, I had a blast doing the workout.  There was enough change and variety to keep my mind engaged on the action at hand. In fact, I had to focus and concentrate less I hurt myself.  I did the workout in complete silence so the only thing I could hear was my breathing.  I’m looking forward to my next challenge of the circuit!