Introduction
Aerobic fitness is recognised by many as the most fundamental aspect of fitness. People generally distinguish a fit individual as someone who has great aerobic fitness levels. Running is arguably the most natural form of aerobic exercise and because of this the treadmill has become the most popular piece of exercise equipment in the majority of modern gyms. However what are you to do if you do not like spending hours pounding away on the treadmill or if running is just not natural to you? Well the good news is that training with kettlebells is worlds apart from running on the treadmill and is another form of aerobic exercise that you can perform.
Fitness training
The latest research suggests high intensity training is a more effective way to improve aerobic fitness compared to low intensity training (1). Therefore exercising for a short period of time at a high intensity is better for fitness than exercising at a steady pace for a prolonged period of time. So unless training for a marathon there is no need to be spending hours and hours running away on the treadmill. However for high intensity training to be effective, the intensity does need to be set very high indeed. Participants are often unwilling to exercise at such high intensity levels especially if they are just exercising to stay healthy, which is one major drawback to high intensity training.
Kettlebells and aerobic fitness