Kettlebells have made their way into mainstream fitness in a big way lately. Gyms are starting to have classes, they are popping up in local parks at “boot camps” and now its time to bring this ugly little weight into your workouts too! The fundamental exercise of the kettlebell is the swing. I want to show you how to do kettlebell swings and then explain some details on the form and also why you would use them in your workout.
The basic form for Kettlebell Swings:
So in the video above you’ll notice that this is an explosive exercise. Kettlebell swings are explosive…but safe. You are using your glutes and hamstrings or more simply your “hips” do most of the work. You swing the kettlebell between your legs with a nice tight lower back and bend at the hips with some bend at the knees.
Note: I was bending a bit low, more into a squat. I’m by no means perfect in my form, but feel my form is tight even though I go a bit lower. Just a preference of mine, I allow the kettlebell to swing a little lower and further between my legs. True kettlebell purists will swing it very high up between the legs almost to the point where the weight hits their behinds. As the weight gets heavier, it is more necessary to do this.
The focus should be on pushing the hips or butt back on the swing back and then standing up tall, squeezing the glutes and driving the hips forward to swing the kettlebell up. You should feel a slight stretch or “loading” of the hamstrings. This ensures that the work is being done by your hamstrings and glutes and not a jumping quad exercise. Keep your eyes forward and don’t look down, this will keep your chest more upright and your back from rounding.
The arms are relaxed and letting it swing naturally. Grip is strong. Keep in mind, this is not a squat and lift but more of a hip drive and allow the kettlebell to swing its natural course. You want to keep the movement fluid and in time with gravity. Don’t force the kettlebell up or slow it down too much.
Side note: There are some variations of the swing, like anything. Crossfit tends to swing the kettlebell all the way up overhead. Thats their modification. Some discussion back and forth between kettlebell purists and Crossfitters as led to some interesting debates. I say use the exercise as you see fit for your particular goal. If you are being safe and keeping the basics of the form correct, modify away.
Why use a kettlebell swing in your workout?
Ok, I’ll hit the hot button for you ladies..and some guys. You’ll have “buns of steel!”
All cheesiness aside, this is a great exercise for working your glutes and hamstrings, conditioning your low back and core. This exercise is a great overall endurance and fat burning exercise too. Since you are constantly moving and your whole body is involved its a great calorie burner, perfect for interval training and used A LOT in Crossfit type training.
Some ideas to incorporate the kettlebell swing into your workout:
- Do kettlebell swings for time. (20,30,60 seconds)
- Do high reps. (20-50+) They go fast so you’ll be surprised how many you can do with good form
- Add them in to keep your heart rate up. Great for interval training!
- Use them as a warmup. Since they are using your whole body and get the heart rate up, lighter swings make a great general warmup and also a more specific warmup for deadlifts, squats etc.
So thats the basics of a kettlebell swing with some variations and ideas of how other people are using kettlebells
If you would like to learn from the ORIGINAL Kettlebell Instructor Pavel Tsatsouline check this out: Enter the Kettlebell! Strength Secret of the Soviet Supermen
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Nate, you rock! Thanks for breaking it down so well…
THAT looks like an awesome workout! I like how you talked about your form compared to the “standard” way to do it and why you do it the way you do. There's a lot to be gained by doing things unconventionally (as long as you aren't enticing injury, of course).
I like the way you explain this one! It can be done so wrong, and there are a lot of “purists” like you said who would nitpick, and although form is VERY important on any powerful move, i agree with you that you can modify it to suit your workout and abilities as long as you keep safety and mind and are activating the correct muscles…whewwww man now that was a run-on sentence! Also I really like your site Nate, job well done!