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. 2016 Oct 1;9(3):524-535.
doi: 10.70252/XQJM4027. eCollection 2016.

Effect of an Acute Bout of Kettlebell Exercise on Glucose Tolerance in Sedentary Men: A Preliminary Study

Samantha Greenwald  1 , Edward Seger  1 , David Nichols  1 , Andrew D Ray  2 , Todd C Rideout  1 , Luc E Gosselin  1
Affiliations

Effect of an Acute Bout of Kettlebell Exercise on Glucose Tolerance in Sedentary Men: A Preliminary Study

Samantha Greenwald et al. Int J Exerc Sci. .

Abstract

Impaired glucose tolerance can have significant health consequences. The purposes of this preliminary study were to examine whether a single session of kettlebell exercise improves acute post-exercise glucose tolerance in sedentary individuals, and whether it was as effective as high-intensity interval running. Six sedentary male subjects underwent a two-hour oral glucose tolerance test following three different conditions: 1) control (no exercise); 2) kettlebell exercise (2 sets of 7 exercises, 15 repetitions per exercise with 30 seconds rest between each exercise); or 3) high-intensity interval running (10 one-minute intervals at a workload corresponding to 90% VO2max interspersed with one-minute active recovery periods). Blood glucose and insulin levels were measured before (0 minutes), and 60 and 120 minutes after glucose ingestion. Both kettlebell and high-intensity interval running exercise significantly lowered blood glucose 60 minutes after glucose ingestion compared with control. However, there was no significant difference in blood glucose between the two exercise conditions at any time point. In addition, there were no significant differences in insulin concentration between high intensity interval running, kettlebell, and control conditions at all time points. Results indicate that an acute bout of kettlebell exercise is as effective as high intensity interval running at improving glucose tolerance in sedentary young men.

Keywords: Insulin sensitivity; glycemic control; type 2 diabetes.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Study Timeline
Figure 2
Figure 2
Blood glucose concentration (mean ± SE) during a 2-hour OGTT following a control visit, HIT workout, and kettlebell workout. * - denotes significant difference between groups at 60 minutes.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Plasma insulin concentrations (mean ± SE) during a 2-hour OGTT following a control visit, HIT workout, and kettlebell workout.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Mean heart rate (± SE) following each interval during the HIT workout (A) and following each exercise during the kettlebell workout (B).
Figure 5
Figure 5
(A) Blood glucose concentration pre- and immediately post-HIT and kettlebell exercise. (B) Blood lactate concentration pre- and immediately post-HIT and kettlebell exercise.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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