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Kettlebell Swing

A hinge done fast. The bell is thrown by your hips, not lifted by your arms.

• Full body
• Kettlebell
• Weight and reps

What it works

Glutes and hamstrings drive the movement explosively, with the trunk, lats and shoulders working to control the bell. Done for higher reps it is also a genuinely effective conditioning exercise.

Setup

1. Put the kettlebell on the floor about a foot in front of you.
2. Stand with your feet a little wider than your hips, toes turned out slightly.
3. Push your hips back, reach forward and grip the handle with both hands. Your back is flat and your shoulders are pulled down and back.
4. Tilt the bell towards you so the handle points at your shins, and squeeze your armpits tight.

The movement

1. Hike the bell back between your legs, above knee height, as though passing a rugby ball behind you. Your forearms should contact your inner thighs.
2. Snap your hips forward hard and stand up tall, squeezing your glutes.
3. That hip snap throws the bell forward. Your arms stay relaxed and simply guide it.
4. Let the bell float up to somewhere around chest height. It does not need to go overhead.
5. Let it fall, push your hips back as it passes your knees, and go straight into the next rep. Breathe out sharply at the top of each swing.

Common mistakes

• Squatting instead of hinging: if your knees are travelling forward and your hips dropping down, you are squatting the bell up. Push your hips back instead.
• Lifting with the arms: the arms are ropes. If your shoulders are burning, your hips are not doing their job.
• Letting the bell drop too low behind you: it should pass above your knees. Below that and your back takes the load.
• Not finishing the hip extension: stand fully upright and squeeze your glutes at the top. Leaning back is not the same thing.
• Going too heavy: a swing is about speed. If the bell is moving slowly, it is too heavy to be doing what the exercise is for.

Variations and alternatives

The Romanian deadlift trains the same hinge slowly and under load, and is worth learning first. The deadlift is the heavy version of the pattern. Single arm swings add a rotational challenge and expose side to side differences.

If a movement causes pain rather than ordinary training effort, stop and speak to a qualified professional. Programming context for this lift is in how training programs are built.