This simple-looking “cannonball with a handle,” often made of cast iron, is a versatile and convenient training tool. It can be easily transported or stored in the corner of your home, and it can be the centerpiece for brutally effective workouts virtually anywhere, for any goal.

Because its center of gravity is away from the handle, this piece of equipment allows for unique exercises (such as kettlebell swings) and unconventional workouts that can’t always be replicated with dumbbells. Sure, you can execute some of the same exercises, but the cardiovascular work will be greater with a kettlebell, as the off-balanced design recruits more muscle mass. Kettlebell training can also help to improve balance, coordination, and core bracing.

Here are some of the best kettlebell workouts for all levels of lifters and a wide range of goals, be it size and strength, conditioning and endurance, or even fat loss.

Best Kettlebell Workouts

• For Muscle Mass
• For Fat Loss
• For Conditioning
• For Beginners

Benefits of Kettlebell training

Kettlebells appear to serve the same general purpose as dumbbells. They allow you to train for nearly anything, at any time, and anywhere. (1) But, with the center mass being different, a kettlebell is naturally less stable which provides a different training stimulus. Kettlebells will be slightly less efficient for building raw size because isolating muscles can be difficult due to the added stability challenge, but they are highly effective for building muscular balance and coordination. (2)

As such, kettlebells can provide more “functional” workouts and are particularly useful for athletes. Some kettlebell exercises, like the Turkish get-up, take advantage of this total-body benefit to further improve athletic qualities and conditioning. Because more overall muscle is recruited to stabilize the kettlebell, kettlebell training will also increase the demands on your cardiovascular system, making it a great choice for conditioning. (3)

The off-centered weight and distinctive handle shape allow for unique exercises requiring a swinging or arc motion. This provides even more choice in exercise selection and greater training possibilities. Kettlebells can also be used to perform the same exercises you’d otherwise do with dumbbells.

Best Kettlebell Workouts for Muscle Mass

If your priority is building muscle mass, the kettlebell can be an amazing tool. (4) Focus on the most stable exercises, allowing you to use the heaviest weight to provide the best stimulus for muscle growth. A workout should start with big basic, compound (multi-joint) exercises that recruits the most muscle mass when you’re fresh, so that you can use the most weight while focusing on good form.

Then, you can follow with isolation, single-joint exercise to target a specific muscle or improve your mind-muscle connection. These exercises stimulate less overall muscle mass, but are very useful to focus on a single body part.

To progress, stay in the desired repetition range, performing “hard” sets. Improve over time, either by increasing the number of repetitions or, if available, the weight of the kettlebell. Start relatively light when you first try an exercise — allow time for your nervous system and body to master the technique required. Do not progress too heavy, too fast. Remember that muscle building is a marathon, not a sprint.

Upper Body Kettlebell Muscle-Builder

There are several ways to organize a workout or program, so we’ll detail several routines that you can use depending upon your preferences and schedule. The first one is a workout focusing on the muscles of the upper body and utilizes supersets to hit the muscles with a higher intensity in less time.

Single-Arm Kettlebell Row

• How to Do It: Hinge forward at your hips to assume a bent-over position. Put one hand on a flat bench or a wall to increase total-body stability. Grab the handle of a kettlebell with the other hand, brace your core, and pull your elbow past your hip. Don’t allow your elbows to flare out to the sides. Lower with control to a full stretch.
• Sets and Reps: 4 x 8-12 per arm
• Rest time: No rest between arms. No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Kettlebell Bench Press

• How to Do It: Grab a pair of kettlebells and lie down on a flat bench. Squeeze the handles hard and have the ball of the kettlebell resting on your outer forearm. Begin with your hands near the sides of your chest and your palms facing each other. Retract your shoulder blades and press the weight up while exhaling. As you press up, rotate your palms to face forward. Keep your elbows at a roughly 45-degree angle. Lower with control.
• Sets and Reps: 4 x 6-10
• Rest time: Rest two to three minutes before repeating the previous exercise.

Kettlebell High Pull

• How to Do It: Stand tall while holding a relatively heavy kettlebell in each hand at your side. Brace your core and squeeze your lats, then hinge forward by bending at your hips and knees. When your hands are around knee-level, use your hips as a hinge to thrust the kettlebell upward with as much force as you can. Keep the weights close to your body and pull them toward your chest while squeezing your upper back muscles briefly at the top.
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 6-10
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Kettlebell Press

• How to Do It: Stand with a pair of kettlebells in the front rack position  — holding each kettlebell with your palm facing your chest, elbow tucked under your forearm, wrist straight, and your shoulder pulled down. Brace your core and press the weight up until your arm is fully extended overhead, then lower with control to the starting position.
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 8-12
• Rest time: Rest two to three minutes before repeating the previous exercise.

Kettlebell Lateral Raise

• How to Do It: Stand tall with a pair of kettlebells in your hands by your side. Keep a slight bend in your elbows and raise your arms out your sides until they’re almost parallel to the ground. In the top position, the bottom of the kettlebells should be facing the floor. Be sure to “lead with your elbows” — they should always be slightly higher than your wrists. Think about lifting out, not up, to enhance deltoid stimulus and decrease trapezius activation.
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10-15
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Horn Curl

• How to Do It: Stand up straight while holding one kettlebell with both hands, gripping the sides of the handle. Curl the weight by bending at your elbows without moving your upper arms. Make sure your elbows stay in place, by your sides, to really focus on your biceps. Lower to a full stretch.
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10-15
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Kettlebell Triceps Extension

• How to Do It: Stand while holding one kettlebell by the sides with both hands. Raise it over your head and fully extend your arms. Without moving anything but your hands and forearms, bend your elbows to slowly lower the weight behind your head. When your arms are fully bent in a comfortable stretch, reverse the movement. Try not to flare your elbows too much — keep your elbows aimed forward.
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10-15
• Rest time: Rest one to two minutes before repeating the first exercise in the series.

Kettlebell Leg Day

This lower body workout will combine bilateral (two-leg) and unilateral (single-leg) exercises to increase muscle mass while making sure both sides are trained symmetrically. This can also help improve balance and coordination.

The session starts with an explosive movement to really warm-up your knees and activate your nervous system to perform even better later in the workout.

Kettlebell Swing

• How to Do It: Take a shoulder-width or wider stance in front of a kettlebell set on the ground. Hinge forward, making sure to keep your back flat. Grab the kettlebell handle with both hands and pull it backwards until your hands are between your inner thighs. Thrust your hips forward explosively to swing the weight up until it reaches chest- or eye-level. Keep your arms straight. Let the weight go back down between your thighs, without rounding your back. Cycle the movement rhythmically for the desired amount of repetitions.
• Sets and Reps: 5 x 6-10
• Rest time: Rest one minute between sets.

Goblet Squat

• How to Do It: Stand with a kettlebell in the “goblet squat” position — holding the horns (sides of the handle) with the weight resting snugly against your chest. With a roughly shoulder-width stance, squat down as low as your mobility allows. Keep the kettlebell glued to your chest and avoid letting your upper back round forward. Return to an upright position.
• Sets and Reps: 4 x 8-12
• Rest time: Rest two minutes between sets.

Sumo Kettlebell Romanian Deadlift

• How to Do It: Stand with a relatively heavy kettlebell in both hands and widen your stance past shoulder-width. Brace your core and pack your shoulders down. Hinge forward by bending at your hips, barely bending your knees — your legs should almost stay straight. Go as low as possible without rounding your back. Try to feel a deep stretch in your hamstrings. From the bottom position, thrust your hips forward to raise your torso back to the standing position. Squeeze your glutes at the top before repeating repetitions.
• Sets and Reps: 4 x 8-12
• Rest time: Rest two to three minutes between sets.

Front Rack Kettlebell Reverse Lunge

• How to Do It: Hold a pair of kettlebells in the front rack position and stand tall. Take a deep breath and brace your core, then step backward with one leg into a lunge position. Only the toes of your rear leg should be on the floor. Bend your front knee until your rear knee grazes the floor. Stand up by squeezing your glutes and pushing through your front heel. Maintain most of your weight on the front leg during the exercise. Perform all repetitions on one leg before switching sides.
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10-15 per leg
• Rest time: No rest between legs. Rest two minutes between sets.

Calf Raise

• How to Do It: Stand with your toes on a step or a sturdy item higher than floor level (to allow your heels to drop below your toes). Hold a kettlebell in one hand and hold a stable rack, bench, or wall with the other hand for balance. Let your heels sink down as low as you can with control and pause for a second in the stretched position. Push through the balls of your feet to raise your heels as high as possible and pause for a second in the top position.
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10-15
• Rest time: Rest one to two minutes between sets.

Fat-Burning Kettlebell Workout

The kettlebell can be a fantastic and efficient tool to shed as much body fat as possible. The compact weight allows you to quickly mobilize a lot of muscle mass and expend lots of energy. For fat loss training to be as effective as possible, you need to use “cyclic” exercises or movements that you can perform for a relatively longer duration, to sustain the energy expenditure.

As such, aim for each bout of effort to last for a significant amount of time. Don’t use too much weight or get too crazy on the pacing — the effort should not be “too hard” because you need it to be sustainable. With this workout, combined with a fat-loss focused diet, you should be able to shed fat while also improving your base cardio and endurance, as you’ll be working in the aerobic zone of cardiovascular conditioning.

This specific workout is a type of EMOM training — every minute on the minute — which implies that you need to set a timer and begin each exercise at the corresponding start of each minute, for a specific number of rounds. If your cardiovascular abilities are limited, start with four rounds of this circuit. Work your way up to six to eight rounds for maximal fat loss. Exercises will be performed “for time” instead of for specific repetitions.

Alternating Kettlebell Swing

• How to Do It: Stand in front of a kettlebell with a wide stance. Hinge forward while keeping a flat back. Grab the kettlebell with one hand and pull it back until your hand is between your inner thighs. Thrust your hips forward explosively to swing the weight up until chest- to eye-level. When the weight reaches its maximum height, quickly and carefully grab it mid-air with your other arm. Let the weight go back down between your thighs, keeping your back stiff and neutral. Repeat hands with each repetition. If the coordination or alternating hands is too challenging, perform basic kettlebell swings.
• Sets and Reps: Four to eight rounds, one total minute of controlled reps.
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Front Rack Carry

• How to Do It: Stand straight with a pair of kettlebells in the front rack position. Flex your abs, look forward, and start walking with cautious, controlled steps. Brace your core and limit the movement at your hips during the walk. Control the kettlebells and avoid letting the weights bounce as you move. If you don’t have room to walk non-stop, perform a kettlebell march instead: With weights in the front rack position, lift one leg up until your thigh is at a 90-degree angle with the floor, then lower it with control. Switch legs and repeat back and forth.
• Sets and Reps: Four to eight rounds, one total minute of continuous walking.
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Alternating Kettlebell Snatch

• How to Do It: Stand in front of a kettlebell with a wide stance. Hinge forward with a flat back. Grab the kettlebell with one hand and pull it back until your hand is between your inner thighs. Thrust your hips forward explosively to swing the weight up as high as possible, keeping it close to your body. In one motion, straighten your arm over your head and carefully “catch” the weight by dipping your legs as the kettlebell turns onto the back of your forearm. Lower the weight like a shoulder press, then to your side, keeping it close to your body. Switch hands when the bell is in the bottom position. Hinge to repeat the motion. Alternate hands with each repetition
• Sets and Reps: Four to eight rounds, one total minute of controlled reps.
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Kettlebell Sit-up and Press

• How to Do It: Hold a kettlebell with both hands while sitting on the floor with your legs straight out. Press the kettlebell over your head, then lower it back to your chest. Keep your heels on the floor and your legs wide. Slowly lower your upper body to the ground until you’re lying down. Flex your abs and dig your heels into the ground to perform a sit-up to return to the seated position.
• Sets and Reps: Four to eight rounds, one total minute of controlled reps.
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Kettlebell Bob and Weave

• How to Do It: Stand with a kettlebell in the goblet position. Take one foot to the step and descend into a half-squat. Perform a “weaving” or ducking motion with the weight — imagine getting out of the way of a dodgeball coming toward your face. Bend at the waist and keep your torso neutral, don’t round your spine forward. Bring in your other foot and stand up. Then repeat to the opposite side.

• Sets and Reps: Four to eight rounds, one minute of bobbing and weaving.
• Rest time: No rest before starting the circuit over.

Iron-Clad Kettlebell Conditioning

If you want to become a lean, mean, non-stop machine and crank up your cardiovascular and endurance capacities, then these workouts are for you. Kettlebells allow you to work on different aspects of conditioning by providing either steady paced, sustainable exercises or high intensity, lactic-acid inducing burnout sessions.

If you’re a bit rusty, cardio-wise, then the fat loss workout will double as an effective base-building plan. When you feel capable of tackling a more challenging routine, you can replace it with one of these or combine them into your weekly program if you’re hungry for faster cardio gains.

Kettlebell Aerobic Power

Here we want to use a variety of exercises for intense bursts of work and incomplete rest — a form of high intensity interval training or HIIT. This stimulates higher oxygen utilization and addresses aerobic abilities of your muscles. Be sure to use a relatively high intensity to really stimulate the aerobic power, which is the functional capacity of the cardiorespiratory system. So make these periods of work count.

You do want the effort to remain sustainable and aerobic, hence the 1:1 work:rest ratio and the inclusion of exercises that you can perform for long duration sets. Perform 30 seconds of work with 30 seconds of rest on each exercise and repeat the circuit a total of four times to create one “block.” Rest two to three minutes between each block and perform two to three blocks per workout.

 Kettlebell Clean and Press

• How to Do It: Stand while holding a pair of kettlebells. Swing the weights backward underneath you while hinging forward and keeping a flat back. Maintain a neutral spine and stand up explosively to drive the kettlebells up. Keep the weights close to your body and bring them to the rack position. Pause briefly to stabilize yourself and brace your core. Press both weights overhead to lockout. Carefully lower them to shoulder-level, then lower the weights to your sides. Repeat the entire sequence for each additional repetition. 
• Sets and Reps: 30 seconds of work.
• Rest time: Rest 30 seconds before moving to the next exercise. 

Kettlebell Burpee

• How to Do It: Stand up holding a pair of kettlebells at your sides. Perform a kettlebell deadlift to place the weights on the floor — slightly bend your legs and drive your hips back without rounding your spine. Keep your hands on the weights, driving the kettlebells into the floor, and carefully “jump” your legs back to land in a push-up position with your arms straight. Perform a full push-up, lowering your body as far as your mobility allows before pressing to lockout. “Jump” your feet toward the weight and stand up by deadlifting the kettlebells while keeping a flat back. Repeat the entire sequence for each repetition.

• Sets and Reps: 30 seconds of work.
• Rest time: Rest 30 seconds before moving to the next exercise.

Kettlebell Swing

• How to Do It: Take a shoulder-width or wider stance in front of a kettlebell set on the ground. Hinge forward, making sure to keep your back flat. Grab the kettlebell handle with both hands and pull it backwards until your hands are between your inner thighs. Thrust your hips forward explosively to swing the weight up until it reaches chest- or eye-level. Keep your arms straight. Let the weight go back down between your thighs, without rounding your back. Cycle the movement rhythmically for the desired amount of repetitions.
• Sets and Reps: 30 seconds of work.
• Rest time: Rest 30 seconds before repeating the first exercise.

Kettlebell Anaerobic Development

When the intensity is really high, your body will tap into the anaerobic system and use the phosphagen and glycolytic pathway to produce as much energy as possible. This type of training still uses the aerobic pathway for recovery and it will improve your aerobic base, but it primarily focuses on making you more resilient to intense, shorter bouts of exercise and lactic acid accumulation. 

This approach is particularly useful for powerlifters, CrossFitters, and strongmen/strongwomen, as it can help you to sustain very hard work lasting in the 90 to 120-second range while improving glucose storage and utilization. You can use a wide variety of intense exercises, and kettlebells are perfectly fitted for such workouts. For this workout, you want to be pushing yourself hard — aim for 90% of your maximum output. Set a timer to start every four minutes and begin the exercises when it rings. Repeat the entire circuit five or six times.

Thruster

• How to Do It: Hold a pair of kettlebells in the front rack position while standing. Brace your core and squat down until your upper thighs just break parallel. Stand back and use the momentum of your legs to assist you into a smooth transition into an overhead press. Lockout the weights overhead and stabilize your entire body. Lower the kettlebells to the front rack position and repeat.

• Sets and Reps: 5-6 x 12
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Double Kettlebell Snatch

• How to Do It: Stand in front of a pair of kettlebells with a relatively wide stance. Hinge forward, making sure to keep a flat back. Grab the kettlebells and pull them back until your hands are between your inner thighs. Drive your hips forward explosively to bring the weights up, keeping them close to your body as they continue upward. In one motion, straighten your arm over your head and carefully “catch” the weight by dipping your legs as the kettlebells turn onto the back of your forearms. Lower the weights while keeping them close to you, and swing them back past your legs to flow into the next repetition.
• Sets and Reps: 5-6 x 12
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

 Kettlebell Burpee

• How to Do It: Stand up holding a pair of kettlebells at your sides. Perform a kettlebell deadlift to place the weights on the floor — slightly bend your legs and drive your hips back without rounding your spine. Keep your hands on the weights, driving the kettlebells into the floor, and carefully “jump” your legs back to land in a push-up position with your arms straight. Perform a full push-up, lowering your body as far as your mobility allows before pressing to lockout. “Jump” your feet toward the weight and stand up by deadlifting the kettlebells while keeping a flat back. Repeat the entire sequence for each repetition.
• Sets and Reps: 5-6 x 12
• Rest time: Rest the remaining of the four minutes before starting the circuit again.

Kettlebell Workout for Beginners

If you’re new to kettlebell training, here’s a workout to ease you into the flow of using an unfamiliar piece of equipment. This basic full-body workout alternates kettlebell staples and more traditional exercises in a circuit to build complete size and strength as well as familiarity with the unique ‘bell. It’s also a great fit for any newer lifter that wants to improve their fitness.

Kettlebell Swing

• How to Do It: Take a shoulder-width or wider stance in front of a kettlebell set on the ground. Hinge forward, making sure to keep your back flat. Grab the kettlebell handle with both hands and pull it backwards until your hands are between your inner thighs. Thrust your hips forward explosively to swing the weight up until it reaches chest- or eye-level. Keep your arms straight. Let the weight go back down between your thighs, without rounding your back. Cycle the movement rhythmically for the desired amount of repetitions.
• Sets and Reps: 4 x 8-12
• Rest time: Rest one minute before moving to the next exercise.

Goblet Squat

• How to Do It: Stand with a kettlebell in the “goblet squat” position — holding the horns (sides of the handle) with the weight resting snugly against your chest. With a roughly shoulder-width stance, squat down as low as your mobility allows. Keep the kettlebell glued to your chest and avoid letting your upper back round forward. Return to an upright position.
• Sets and Reps: 4 x 8-12
• Rest time: Rest one minute before repeating the previous exercise.

Kettlebell Clean and Press

• How to Do It: Stand while holding a pair of kettlebells. Swing the weights backward underneath you while hinging forward and keeping a flat back. Maintain a neutral spine and stand up explosively to drive the kettlebells up. Keep the weights close to your body and bring them to the rack position. Pause briefly to stabilize yourself and brace your core. Press both weights overhead to lockout. Carefully lower them to shoulder-level, then lower the weights to your sides. Repeat the entire sequence for each additional repetition. 
• Sets and Reps: 4 x 8-12
• Rest time: Rest one minute before moving to the next exercise.

Kettlebell Row

• How to Do It: Hold a pair of kettlebells with straight arms, brace your core, and hinge forward at your hips to assume a bent-over position. Pull your elbows toward past your hips. Don’t allow your elbows to flare out to the sides. Lower with control to a full stretch.
• Sets and Reps: 4 x 8-12
• Rest time: Rest one minute before repeating the previous exercise.

Turkish Get-Up

• How to Do It: Lie flat on the floor with a kettlebell in one hand near your chest. Press it to lockout and keep your arm straight. Bend your leg on the same side and plant your foot flat on the floor. Raise your torso to sit up, using your opposite hand to brace on the floor — keep your arm locked with the weight overhead. Push through your heels and squeeze your glutes to raise your hips. Sweep your straight leg backward to assume a lunge position. Stand up. Keep your eyes on the weight overhead during the entire movement. Pause briefly in the standing position before reversing the entire sequence.

• Sets and Reps: 3 x 5-8 per arm.
• Rest time: No rest between arms. No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Kettlebell Curl

• How to Do It: Stand with a kettlebell in each hand it. Flex your biceps to curl the weight up — keep a neutral or slightly bent wrist, don’t extend your wrist back. Keep your elbows near your sides. Lower to a full stretch.
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10-15
• Rest time: No rest before moving to the next exercise.

Kettlebell Triceps Extension

• How to Do It: Stand while holding one kettlebell by the sides with both hands. Raise it over your head and fully extend your arms. Without moving anything but your hands and forearms, bend your elbows to slowly lower the weight behind your head. When your arms are fully bent in a comfortable stretch, reverse the movement. Try not to flare your elbows too much — keep your elbows aimed forward.
• Sets and Reps: 3 x 10-15
• Rest time: Rest one to two minutes before repeating the first exercise.

How to Warm-up For Kettlebell Workouts

Just because you’re using a “simple” piece of equipment doesn’t mean you can skip the warm-up. With any workout, a warm-up will prime and activate your body to perform better and minimize the risk of injuries. Your best course of action would be to start with a light cardiovascular activity for five minutes like jumping rope or cycling, then hop into this circuit of exercises.

• Figure Eight: Grab a kettlebell in one hand, take a wider than shoulder-width stance, and squat halfway down. Pass the kettlebell between your legs from one hand to the next, forming a “figure eight” pattern — around the inside and outside of one leg, then back between your legs, and to the other side. Keep doing this until you perform 10 “eights,” then stand up.
• Kettlebell Halo: Begin holding the kettlebell by the horns in front of your face. Lift one elbow to maneuver the kettlebell around your head in a tight circle. Bring it around the back of your head and in front of your face. Repeat in the opposite direction. Do 10 reps per side.
• Alternating Kettlebell Swing: Stand in front of the kettlebell with a wide stance. Hinge forward while keeping a flat back. Grab the kettlebell with one hand and pull it back until your hand is between your inner thighs. Thrust your hips forward explosively to swing the weight up until chest- to eye-level. When the weight reaches its maximum height, quickly and carefully grab it mid-air with your other arm. Let the weight go back down between your thighs, keeping your back stiff and neutral. Repeat hands with each repetition. If the coordination or alternating hands is too challenging, perform basic kettlebell swings. Perform 20 to 30 reps.
• Kettlebell Windmill: Press the kettlebell overhead and take a very wide stance. Slightly angle both feet toward the side supporting the weight. Keep your arms and legs straight as you “hinge” and bend in the direction opposite to the weight you’re holding. Keep you arm locked straight and aimed at the ceiling, and descend as far as your mobility allows.  Steadily stand back up and pause briefly. Repeat for ten reps before switching to the other side.

Swing Your Way to Fitness

Kettlebells are getting more and more popular for a reason. Practical, versatile, and functional, this lifting equipment can help you reach your goals of muscle size, strength, conditioning, or fat loss. Use these tailored workouts to master the flow of kettlebells and add this incredible, time-tested tool to your fitness kit.

References

1. Manocchia, Pasquale1; Spierer, David K.2; Lufkin, Adrienne K. S.1; Minichiello, Jacqueline1; Castro, Jessica1. Transference of Kettlebell Training to Strength, Power, and Endurance. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 27(2):p 477-484, February 2013. | DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e31825770fe
2. Jay, Kenneth1; Jakobsen, Markus D.1; Sundstrup, Emil1; Skotte, Jørgen H.1; Jørgensen, Marie B.1; Andersen, Christoffer H.1; Pedersen, Mogens T.2; Andersen, Lars L.1. Effects of Kettlebell Training on Postural Coordination and Jump Performance: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 27(5):p 1202-1209, May 2013. | DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e318267a1aa
3. Hulsey, Caleb R.1; Soto, David T.1; Koch, Alexander J.2; Mayhew, Jerry L.1,3. Comparison of Kettlebell Swings and Treadmill Running at Equivalent Rating of Perceived Exertion Values. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 26(5):p 1203-1207, May 2012. | DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3182510629
4. Lake, Jason P.; Lauder, Mike A.. Kettlebell Swing Training Improves Maximal and Explosive Strength. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 26(8):p 2228-2233, August 2012. | DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e31825c2c9b

Featured Image: Miljan Zivkovic / Shutterstock

The post The Best Kettlebell Workouts for Beginners, for Fat Loss, and More appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The kettlebell swing is a fundamental skill that is great for beginner to advanced athletes. It has almost magical properties, in that it increases strength in many domains. Part of this “what the hell effect” is related to reversing the momentum of the kettlebell. Athletes even note increases in pull-up strength as a proper swing engages back and shoulder muscles.

In this article, we will discuss the hard-style swing popularized by Pavel Tsatsouline. The Girevoy Sport style swing is a great exercise that relies on efficiency of movement, so that one can perform it for long durations. The hard-style swing relies on putting maximum effort into each rep. It emphasizes explosiveness over efficiency.

In the video below, you can see a proper, explosive kettlebell swing.

Key Kettlebell Swing Components

There are key points to remember in the kettlebell swing:

• Hinge, don’t squat: The swing is a simple exercise that is done wrong in so many popular media sources. It is not a squat movement, but a hip-hinge movement. That means that the hips go back (hinge), and the knees only bend slightly (they bend fully in a squat). Think about this position as a jump. If you try to jump forward as far as possible, the bottom position is the same position that you use at the bottom of the kettlebell swing.
• Be explosive with the hips, not the arms: The swing is a ballistic movement. If you think of a bullet fired out of a gun, it receives all of its power initially and then relies on momentum to get to its destination. The same goes for the swing. The hips provide the explosive power throwing the kettlebell up in the air and the arms are there just for the ride. Do not worry about how high the kettlebell goes. Your goal is to let it float up once the hips have used up their power.
• Protect the back: Do not let the kettlebell pull the lower back into a bad position at the bottom of the swing. Pull your shoulders back and down to engage your lats. I like to approach the kettlebell like a gorilla with my arms out. By keeping my upper back tight, I provide more protection to my lower back.
• Location on the downswing is important: Ensure the kettlebell passes between your legs on your upper thighs. As Dave Whitley says, it is like playing chicken with your man or lady parts. Wait until the last second to hinge back and let the kettlebell go between your upper thighs. If you find your forearms hitting your lower thighs, you are putting too much strain on the lower back.
• Use the right weight: If you are proficient with your swing, a heavier weight will build more explosive power. A 24kg (53lb) kettlebell for men and 16kg (35lb) kettlebell for women will work fine for most people. Stronger men can use a 32kg bell (70lb), and stronger women can use a 20kg bell (44lb). Adjust the weight according to your experience and proficiency with the kettlebell. The key is to be explosive, so don’t jump too high in weight yet.

Troubleshooting the Swing

There are some common problems that we see in beginners. The first issue is that people tend to either squat too much or don’t bend the knees at all (like a bird drinking water). I often have people kneel and then sit back on their feet.

This will position the person for what they want to do with the swing. As mentioned above, it is like a jump. One does not start a jump from a full squat nor without bending the knees. It is mostly the hips going back with a slight knee bend.

A Tool for Every Athlete

The kettlebell swing is one of my go-to exercises for all athletes, beginner to advanced. It is simpler to teach than Olympic barbell movements and it provides overlapping benefits (strength, speed, and explosiveness). It also fits the middle ground of building strength and burning fat.

By adjusting the weight, we can train elite deadlifters or fitness models. One of the most underrated features is how it builds the glutes. Strong glutes have aesthetic properties, but also protect the low back from injury. By doing a proper kettlebell swing, we reduce the chance of low back injuries.

For an easy program using kettlebell swings, try this hybrid conditioning program. It utilizes the kettlebell swing to build power, strength, as well as burn fat. The kettlebell swing may not be the only tool, but it provides many benefits that it is one of my go-to tools.

What else can you do with that kettlebell?

2 Tools to Relcaim Your Overhead Position

The post Back to Basics: How to Perform the Kettlebell Swing appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Daniel: “What was it you were doing on those stumps over there?”
Mr. Miyagi: “Called Crane Technique. If done right, no can defense.”

Daniel uses that un-defendable kick to finish Johnny off in the big tournament at the end of the movie.

You Are Responsible for Each Swing

The most underused and misunderstood exercise an athlete can have in his or her arsenal is the kettlebell swing. The usefulness of this one move cannot be understated. Like the Crane Technique, the kettlebell swing “if done right, no can defense.” But the effectiveness of the exercise is determined by your approach, your standards of performance, and your technique on every rep.

Consider a 405lb back squat. The weight itself demands respect. If your technique gets sloppy with that much weight, you will likely fold like a pretzel. With the kettlebell swing, however, most every weight you will swing will be “light” in comparison to the weight of a heavy back squat. There’s no such thing as a 1RM kettlebell swing.

Therefore, the responsibility lies with the user. You can swing a 24kg bell for ten reps and get next to nothing from it. I see it all the time with some of my athletes who are trying to get in and out of the gym without much effort. But in the hands of an operator who is trying to get the absolute most out of ten reps, those 24kg swings can redefine nearly every aspect of that person’s strength, power, speed, and explosiveness.

The 10 Commandments of the Kettlebell Swing

The following “commandments” are mostly my own. I assume the reader understands the basic fundamentals of this exercise: a hinge, not a squat; ballistic, not a grind; Russian, not American.

I am a proud member of the RKC leadership and wholeheartedly believe in the Hardstyle Russian swing. But I’m going to try not to rehash every piece of what we teach at one of our certifications. There will be a little crossover, but more importantly, the ideas given are more of the nuanced cues we’ve developed at my shop over the past twelve or so years.

Commandment #10: Have the Right Attitude for Swings

My wife is an absolute athletic freak. It’s upsetting in the sense that everything comes easy to her. A lifelong volleyball player with a full ride scholarship who played overseas, she swings a golf club like a pro, throws a football like a dude, and can find position in any lift without trouble. The first time I taught her a pistol, she saw it, paused to think about it, and did it as if she had been practicing the exercise her whole life.

But she hates to swing. She dreads every time we swing together (and we swing five nights a week out in front of our garage). She has made up her mind that doing these next hundred swings is going to be the hardest thing she’s ever done, and therefore it is.

Change your attitude about your swings. Tell yourself you love to swing before you reach down to grab the bell. Get excited about it. Lie to yourself until it becomes the truth.

Commandment #9: Start From the Ground Up

Your feet connect you to the ground and are the lifeblood of each rep, so they need to feel completely balanced and have some degree of tactile certainty.

I won’t take a stance on what shoes you can and can’t wear, but your feet need to have an intimate relationship with the ground. Most disciplines insist on either bare feet or something as minimal as possible so this partnership is not at all obstructed. Because I have performed so many swings, I could probably swing in clown shoes standing on two pogo sticks. But most of us have not committed themselves to this exercise to that degree.

“If you can get yourself to redline on every rep, in every set, the swing will be iconic in your development. You will max out conditioning, fat loss, speed training, explosiveness, and power.”

Make great footwear decisions. Less is more if you are a newbie. If you choose shoes that completely sedate your ability to feel the ground, make a change.

Commandment #8: Use Your Big Toe for Balance

The position of your big toe is rarely taught or addressed. We typically talk about the heels when we teach swings. “Drive the heels down and line the shins up with the calcaneus so the force is directed straight down.” The only time the toes are mentioned is when the lifter actually picks them up off of the ground and the coach corrects it.

The big toe plays a major role in any movement requiring balance. And since the swing moves your center of gravity front to back versus up and down like in most lifts, balance is critical. When I engage my big toe and press it into the ground during swings (without shifting my weight forward), my stability and balance go through the roof. The sense of control increases, and this inevitably translates into my ability to produce power.

Commandment #7: Create Space in the Knee

Lock your knee out while sitting at your computer desk. You’ll feel the vastus medialis oblique fire and get the sense of hitting an anatomical wall. Now, do the same thing, but this time visualize your heel pushing further away from your knee. Think about lengthening the distance from your knee cap to your heel. Can you feel it?

That millimeter or less of space that you create when you use this technique will pay off in spades down the road. You never want to slam your knee while it’s locked, but I’m afraid that is what most people do. Instead, think of getting taller from the bottom up. It will reduce a lot of shearing forces that the knees are normally subjected to and will put another 100,000 miles on them for the future.

Commandment #6: Ensure Your Hips Arrive First

In a textbook swing, the hips, knees and abdominals are all supposed to lock or link up at the exact same time. I know this. But for the purposes of this drill, I want you to think about bringing your hips forward so fast and hard that they arrive first. They won’t, so to all of you smarty-pants out there: pipe down. The hips need to be highly active, and the intention behind this drill is to develop speed and crispness. Therefore, your hips arrive first.

Commandment #5: Cramp Your Glutes

This is an RKC cue, but it’s one that we typically glaze over quickly. I typically teach this cue by bringing my athletes together in a group and saying:

“Squeeze your cheeks together as hard as you can. Now add ten percent. A little bit harder… more… more… ten percent more…”

Usually they will begin to wince and become uncomfortable. When you finally let them release it, they will tell you they could feel the muscles of their butts begin to cramp. You need to experience it to know what I’m talking about.

Commandment #4: Pull Your Lower Abs Up

Because most of us have done millions of crunch/sit up variations, we have no problem engaging our upper abs. But many of us have difficulty activating our lower abs. In the swing, think about pulling your lower abs up as your glutes lock into position. It might take a little time, but when you do – wow. The entire abdominal wall locks into place.

Commandment #3: Pack Your Shoulders Down

This is an important cue. Packing the shoulders down as your arms rise up directs hip and leg energy to the kettlebell. One fast way to facilitate the shoulder pack is to cue bending the handle. Think about slamming the shoulders down the moment your hips engage. You will immediately feel the bell respond.

Commandment #2: Keep Your Neck Aligned

Remember your neck is a part of your spine, and keeps your spine straight. I will shamelessly plug my last article on this one, but in all seriousness, this could be the number one cue. Do not let the head move independently from the rest of the spine, regardless of position. For a thorough investigation of this cue, check out my last article titled, Pack Your Neck for a Safer Spine and Stronger Swings.

Commandment #1: Swing as Hard as You Can

Many of the above cues facilitate this first commandment. Here’s the deal. I work with over 500 athletes each day, and I am constantly harping on them to swing as hard as they can. Most of them are either too afraid or too inexperienced to actually go hard. They think they are swing as hard as they can, but in reality, they aren’t.

“Do not let the head move independently from the rest of the spine, regardless of position.”

This problem reminds me of when Daniel thinks he’s hot stuff and begins to mess with Miyagi while they are training. He asks:

Daniel: “What do you think, Mr. Miyagi?”

Mr. Miyagi: “I tell you what Miyagi think! I think you dance around too much! I think you talk too much! I think you not concentrate enough! Lots of work to be done! Tournament right around the corner!”

Imagine being electrocuted. Envision how intense the contractions will feel before your soul is ejected from your meat suit. Swing that hard. Make your eyes bug out. Rip your hamstrings off the bone. Shatter your teeth from gripping down so hard. Swing as hard as you can. If you can get yourself to redline on every rep, in every set, the swing will be iconic in your development. You will max out conditioning, fat loss, speed training, explosiveness, and power.

If you haven’t noticed, I’m pretty passionate about the swing. It’s a total game changer when it is done well. Put these ten commandments into action to supercharge your technique.

More on the kettlebell:

• All You Need to Know About Getting Started With Kettlebells
• Can Kettlebells Improve Jumping and Balance?
• 2 Kettlebell Exercises to Create Incredible Trunk Power
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

Photo courtesy of Andrew Read.

The post The 10 Commandments of the Kettlebell Swing appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The problem with removing choice is you often end up with a single tool or exercise that works well for a time – until suddenly, it doesn’t. Humans aren’t designed to do just a few things, insects are. The moment you start to head down the path of specialization with sport training or exercise selection you start to risk injury and burnout from the lack of variety.

But then again, sometimes all those choices can lead you to overthink your training. More choice often equals more time spent second guessing yourself as to what you should or shouldn’t be doing. Whittling away choices can be quite liberating.

The Kettlebell Swing Isn’t Everything

This is one of the times kettlebells come into good use. Kettlebells can be an amazingly varied tool that you can use for everything from corrective exercise to strength and power. With so many possible options, don’t buy into the swing being the center of the kettlebell universe. Swings may be the best place to start learning how to use kettlebells, but with so many choices available you’re just hurting yourself in the long run by reverting to this one exercise.

The mistake most people make with strength training is to go directly to loading. They focus only on the quantity – how many, how heavy, how fast – and forget that without movement quality you’re really just an accident waiting to happen.

Let’s use the most commonly performed kettlebell exercises to show a smart progression to loading.

Step #1: Developing Range

Normal range of motion for hip flexion is a toe touch. When I look around at many of the people who come through the doors at RPT, I see the majority unable to perform this simple test. So the first thing has to be the development of adequate range.

I like taking the best from all worlds rather than being dogmatically tied to one line of thinking. The Jefferson curl would be one of the first exercises I would pick to help develop a normal ROM toe touch.

The FMS has a fantastic drill that forces the body to learn how to hinge – a necessary requirement for swinging. So we add the FMS toe touch progressions with both the heels raised and with the toes raised for even faster progress. A set of ten reps in both positions works well here.

Step #2: Teaching the Hinge Pattern

Once we develop range, the next thing to do is teach the hinge pattern. The deadlift fits perfectly here – if you can’t do it slowly, you won’t be able to do it fast. However, if you’re in a minimal setting and don’t have the luxury of having an FMS screen done, you need to make sure that your movement and strength on both sides is symmetrical. So what we really need is a unilateral deadlift, not a bilateral one. The advantage of the single leg deadlift over the normal deadlift is that it teaches better rooting and upper body stability as the demand is higher.

Step #3: Maintaining Packed Shoulders

The next step in developing a sound swing is being able to maintain packed shoulders while the joint angle changes. The suitcase deadlift reinforces everything we learned about the hinge in the single leg deadlift while forcing the shoulders to stay packed.

Step #4: Putting It All Together

The final step in this process should be performing the swing, as it is a speed and power version of the deadlift.

Here’s a fun way to put it all together:

• 1 set of Jefferson curls with feet flat (10 reps)
• 1 set of Jefferson curls with toes and heels raised (10 reps each side)
• 1 set of single leg deadlifts (5 reps each side)
• 1 set of Jefferson curls with toes and heels raised (10 reps each side)
• 1 set of single leg deadlifts (5 reps each side)
• 1 set of Jefferson curls with toes and heels raised (10 reps each side)
• 1 set of single leg deadlifts (5 reps each side)
• 1 set of suitcase deadlifts (5 reps each side)
• 1 set of Jefferson curls with toes and heels raised (10 reps each side)
• 1 set of single leg deadlifts (5 reps each side)
• 1 set of suitcase deadlifts (5 reps each side)
• 1 set of one-hand swings (10 reps each side)
• 4 sets of one-hand swings increasing the weight on each set (Reps of 15, 12, 9, 6 each side)

Finish with 5 – 10 minutes of back bends, Jefferson curls, and brettzels to loosen up the back and posterior chain.

If you want bonus points, substitute a kickstand suitcase deadlift instead of the normal suitcase deadlift to train the body in a split stance too.

This Workout Covers It All

This simple workout covers all the underlying movement skills of hip flexion and extension, midline stability, anti-rotation, and shoulder stability, as well as training the body in two of three lower body patterns (single leg and bilateral stance).

A well thought-out training plan won’t just go for the jugular with set after set of monotonous swings. Instead it will weave its way through similar but different movements to challenge the hips for both mobility and stability, as well as the shoulder’s ability to stay packed while the joint angle changes.

And at the end of the training session you’ll have a better swing and a body that moves better thanks to the variety you trained with. By patterning the movement and gradually progressing, you’ll have overcome all the common flaws in the swing.

More on training with kettlebells:

• All You Need to Know About Getting Started With Kettlebells
• Kettlebells as a Cardio Tool: Yay or Nay?
• The 5 Deadliest Kettlebell Sins
• New on Breaking Muscle Today

The post The Kettlebell Swing Isn’t Everything (But This Workout Is) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Through the years, I heard horror stories of people “training” with kettlebells a few times and then stopping after becoming injured. But recently, I decided to stop listening to the stories and, instead, listened to experts who were and are successfully applying kettlebell training.

In this article, I am sharing my findings and personal experiences as I journeyed into kettlebells. Included is my process of shopping for and finding expert training. My goals were to:

• Rehabilitate decades-old injuries
• Break out of physical weaknesses
• Find a suitable method of cross training to support my long-distance trail running and professional yoga practice

Getting Started

I chose to begin my kettlebell training with a long-time MMA advocate, Special Ops trainer, and someone for whom I have an immense amount of respect. He sustained a significant neck injury from a helicopter crash in 2008. The road to his recovery was long and included physical therapists, occupational therapists, yoga, and chiropractic treatment. He believes that applying proper kettlebell training was responsible for his dynamic recovery.

In a one-on-one session, my friend taught me proper handling of the bell and the key concepts to avoid injury. As a beginner, developing proper handling habits and alignment are crucial to avoiding injury and building functional strength.

“From the time someone picks up the kettlebell to the time he or she sets it back on the floor, awareness and biomechanics are essential, regardless of the size of the bell.”

From the time someone picks up the kettlebell to the time he or she sets it back on the floor, awareness and biomechanics are essential, regardless of the size of the bell. We need to practice the right way – every time. Repetition builds muscle memory, and because we are using the bells to build strength and improve posture, every movement counts for or against us. So, even if you have previous experience with strength training, it’s good to start with a lighter weight.

Momentum and leverage facilitate the movements of the bell. When you begin swinging these weights, they can literally destabilize you and pull you out of balance. Practice feeling for when the bells when move away from the midline of your body. The midline is an imaginary line, also known as the sagittal plane, drawn down the center of your body, from head to toe. It separates the left side from the right and traces from the crown of your head, between your eyes, center of your nose, down your sternum, and all the way to your pubic bone.

S is for the sagittal plane.

The body is strongest in its center. Doing movements off center by as little as two inches from right or left of the midline makes the kettlebells feel heavier and require greater muscular exertion on your part. To minimize unnecessary torque on muscles and joints, use these three key concepts:

1. Keep the knees soft with a slight bend
2. Contract the glutes during pelvic thrusts
3. Pull the shoulders back

It is common for people working out in a mainstream gym to observe someone else using kettlebells and, in moments of curiosity, imitate what they see without first receiving proper training. Do yourself a favor – hire a qualified kettlebell trainer. You will have a better appreciation for the weights, quickly add strength, and learn how to minimize strain.

How to Avoid Injury

Kettlebells can be used for isolated muscle strengthening, but they are more widely used for integrating muscle groups for whole-body exercises. When movements are synchronized, this creates fluid and closed-kinetic chain exercises.

Two muscle groups highlighted in kettlebell work are the shoulders and glutes. The deltoid group facilitates the handling and swinging, and the glutes contract to create strong alignment for the fluid swing. In the beginning, all these movement patterns can feel jerky. In time, your strength and movement will become balanced in your anterior, medial, and posture deltoids. The combination of strength and body awareness will produce a better rhythm with the swing. The deltoid group is also used in pushes, pulls and presses, while recruiting additional support from the chest and upper back.

Shoulder and glute engagement with a kettlebell swing.

But don’t ever forget the glutes. The glute muscle group provides the staging point for working with the kettlebell. A trainer at a local kettlebell-specific gym pointed out that I needed to contract my glutes during both the squat and pelvic thrust. Using glute strength during these two movements protects the low back from strain and ensures the torso is supported during spinal extension.

How Training Kettlebells Is Changing My Body

After five weeks of consistently training two classes per week, I have seen and felt magnificent changes. This regimen has been incredibly helpful for both my running and yoga practice. In addition, my shoulder injuries from over a decade ago have diminished. While I still periodically feel twinges or strains, I attribute this to having a weak connection to my glutes and that I am breaking compensation patterns from old injuries.

“When movements are synchronized, this creates fluid and closed-kinetic chain exercises.”

How to Get Started Safely With Kettlebells

1. Accept Being a Beginner – Allow your nervousness as a beginner to build a foundation of respect for the bell and the trainers. Don’t be another kettlebell casualty.
2. Find a Respected Trainer – Ask around for recommendations of qualified and highly reputable kettlebell-specific gyms or trainers. I found placing a post on Facebook to be a helpful first step.
3. Be a Good Student – Go in to your first session with the mindset to learn and be coachable. I personally had to let go of thinking that I first needed to be knowledgeable about this activity.
4. Make Every Movement Count – The trainer during my one-on-one talked and demonstrated the importance of making every movement count, every time. It is part of our human design to move efficiently and with as little energy as possible. We can become haphazard and develop bad training habits by repeating improper posture or biomechanics.

Making Kettlebells Work For You

The benefits of kettlebells can vary from person to person. People use kettlebells to lose weight, strengthen, rehabilitate injury, improve range of motion, and increase flexibility. Many of the people I spoke to about kettlebells use the classes and exercises to support their main activity or sport, such as Brazilian jiu jitsu, running, and hockey.

If you are curious about how kettlebells can help you improve in your fitness or sport, I highly recommend trying it out. Search for a reputable trainer and give a class or training session a try. There are hundreds of kettlebell exercises and great trainers to help.

Read more about kettlebell training:

• All You Need to Know About Getting Started With Kettlebells
• 7 Exercises to Optimize Shoulder Health with Kettlebells
• The Kettlebell Swing: Why It’s the Perfect Exercise
• What’s New On Breaking Muscle Today

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Training Kettlebells: Why You Shouldn’t Be Scared appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

RELATED: The Origins and Explanation of “Hardstyle” Kettlebell Training

Let’s see if we can break down this effect and why it happens by comparing one kettlebell movement, the swing, to other non-kettlebell movements.

Deadlift – Highly Similar

Andy Bolton, the first person to deadlift 1,000 pounds, uses kettlebell swings to improve his “maximal hip drive, speed, and aggression.” The hip hinge in the swing looks similar to how the deadlift is locked out at the top. I have heard of many people who trained for months before a kettlebell certification who also added a great deal of weight to their deadlift (one rep max and higher reps).

“The hip hinge in the swing looks similar to how the deadlift is locked out at the top.”

In the video below, kettlebell expert Lauren Brooks demonstrates the swing next to a deadlift. The hinge of the hips follows almost the exact same pattern. The big difference is the kettlebell swing is a ballistic movement (one explosive pop of the hips), whereas the deadlift (at heavier weights) is a continuous grinding motion.

Squat – Not So Similar

I have seen kettlebell swings in some popular media outlets showing the person squatting down to do a swing. That is not the swing we are discussing. The Hardstyle swing is a hip hinge, where the hip joint changes its angle more rapidly than the knee joint’s angle. In a squat, the knee and hip angle change simultaneously.

Take a look at coach Jeff Kuhland in the picture below showing the proper hinge and squat. The ending position is very different as there is much more angle in the knees in the squat.

Left: Squat; Right: Hinge.

But just because the movement is different does not mean the swing can’t help your squat. The explosiveness that comes from the swing builds the posterior chain muscles, which are important in the squat. Researchers Jason Lake and Mike Lauder found that kettlebell swings helped squat strength in collegiate level athletes by almost 10%. The low bar back squat utilizes more of the posterior chain muscles and may be benefitted by the swing more than the front squat.

“[J]ust because the movement is different does not mean the swing can’t help your squat. The explosiveness that comes from the swing builds the posterior chain muscles…”

Jumping – Highly Similar

Sometimes it is easier to ask people to get into the hip hinge position by asking them to set up for a standing long jump. People naturally hip hinge as they are asked to jump. As Andrew Read explained, the kettlebell swing has been shown to improve vertical jump by about 20% in collegiate level athletes. The kettlebell swing is certainly valuable for building explosive strength and it may substitute for plyometric movements.

Olympic Movements – Some Similarity

Scott Iardella asked me and many of his podcast guests a great question: “How is a swing hip hinge different from a clean or a snatch?” Some of his guests said it is not different and some said it is. Danny Camargo’s description of the Olympic movements seemed to seal the final answer for me.

Danny is a long-time Olympic lifting competitor and coach. He describes the hang clean (the snatch is the same) as an explosive hip hinge where the hip movement is blunted in the power position and the person moves to a more (thigh-dominant) vertical jump. The video below with him narrating explains it well.

One research group, led by Pasquale Manocchia, found that a ten-week swing protocol significantly improved clean performance. In their 2010 study, participants gained an average of 30kg on their clean. These subjects were of varying athletic abilities and one or two individuals could have skewed the average. A 2013 study with a larger group still found significant increases at a more modest 13kg (still great for a ten-week cycle).

“On the surface, the swing seems to translate to jumping and the deadlift, but research shows it also improves the squat and Olympic movements.”

Thus, while the kettlebell swing may not be the exact same movement as the clean or snatch, it can still build strength. For someone who is serious about Olympic lifting, the differences in technique are important and I would recommend focusing on only Olympic lifting technique to better performance.

Take Home

The “What the Hell Effect” exists because people are surprised kettlebell movements transfer so well to increases in strength in other exercises. On the surface, the swing seems to translate to jumping and the deadlift, but research shows it also improves the squat and Olympic movements. What the Hell?

RELATED: The Kettlebell Snatch: A Swing That Ends Up Overhead

There are many other exercises that show similar effects, such as pressing strength going up from doing Turkish get ups. There are many great kettlebell programs available and I hope you find a program that brings about a What the Hell effect for you.

References:

1. Lake, JP., and Lauder, MA.,“Kettlebell Swing Training Improves Maximal and Explosive Strength:” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 26 (8): 2228–33. 2012. doi:10.1519/JSC.0b013e31825c2c9b.

2. Manocchia, P., et al., “Transference of Kettlebell Training to Strength, Power, and Endurance.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 27 (2): 477–84. 2013. doi:10.1519/JSC.0b013e31825770fe.

3. Manocchia, P., et al., “Transference of Kettlebell Training to Traditional Olympic Weight Lifting and Muscular Endurance.” Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research 24: 1. 2010.

Photo 1 courtesy of Craig Marker.

Photo 2 courtesy of Jeff Kuhland and Breaking Muscle.

The post The What the Hell Effect: How the Swing Improves Everything appeared first on Breaking Muscle.