Cardio Swag rocks the bells.

I took my own advice and tried a new workout yesterday.  It was cool, I had a good time doing it, and most importantly, today, I am feeling it (in a good way), so I thought I'd share what I did.  

Kettle-bells I do not have, but I have dumbells, so this first time out, I used a single 30 lb weight.  If I keep this up I may invest in a real kettle-bell. Dead-lifts, high pull-ups, two handed swings, goblet squats, 8 reps each w/ push-ups (10-8-6-4) in-between. That's a set, and it took me about 3 minutes.  It was my first time trying this, so I sometimes had to slow down to maintain form. Even had to restart a couple exercises because I was just doing them wrong. On average I probably rested a minute between sets, and I admit to playing DJ a couple times while finding my motivation tracks. I managed to repeat this routine five times in the alloted time 20 minutes.  

I think that because you are not moving your feet much, the intensity of this workout does not hit you until you complete a set and take a breather. At one point I thought my heart was going to do something out of order, and when I looked at my heart-rate monitor I could see why, it read 180 bpm.  I had no pain or light-head though, so I didn't stop.  My heart rate averaged 157 bpm for the duration of the work-out (20 minutes). We'll see how that progresses. 

This set of four simple exercises (total 40 reps each for me) plus 150 push-ups in 20 minutes was a challenge, and I need to do it again. Over time, I will get quicker, cleaner, and then can add reps (see link), then add weight.  

I went for the intermediate level on this one, and it was a good place to start.  It will be a good compliment to the other things I do.  These are not challenging exercises on their own, the key seems to be in keeping the flow.  In a week I want to be at 6 sets in 20 minutes. I can get there. 

Now if I just need to do a better job cleaning-up my diet. The pursuit of Cardio Swag continues. 

http://www.mensfitness.com/training/lose-weight/the-20-minute-fat-burning-kettlebell-complex