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*Quick note: I had every intention of re-filming all of the videos and retaking all of the picture you see below in order to fully be up to date on my training. There is one tweak which you’ll see me point out several times below as a change since a few of the videos. Once my leg is healed, these videos will be replaced.

Oh man, am I excited! Over the coming weeks, I will be doing a series on mastering the most important kettlebell moves and techniques.

While I’ve talked at length about many of these moves and created countless workouts and cues around them, I have yet to really break each down in a way that anyone can pick up the moves.

That’s a shame!

I know that back in the day when I first began using kettlebells in my workouts, I searched tirelessly for how-to guides and breakdowns.

Then, I would get frustrated because it seemed everyone was preaching something different.

Yup… this was one of the very first times I ever picked up a kettlebell. Over 2 years ago!

Dan and I would compare notes of what we found and who we found that were leaders in the industry we could trust. That was a freaking long process!

So let me just tell ya, you can stop searching.

This is the start of the Kettlebell Clinic Series to help you get the real deal training!

Seriously, It’s my goal that if you see a kettlebell, you have the confidence to pick it up and use it for more than just squats and lunges. Use that baby for what it’s there for!

Kettlebell Clinic: The Swing

To kick things off, what do you say we start with the first exercise that comes to mind when someone mentions a kettlebell…

The swing.

Not to mention, if you master the swing, you have one powerful, body transformation move on your hands. When I showed you guys my picture at the ER, I can’t tell you how many people made a comment on my butt.

It’s all thanks to this move. Seriously. I’ve upped my swings and cellulite has gone down and my butt has finally come up.

Learn it. Do it. Get a butt. End of story!

The swing is a ballistic move that really defines kettlebell training.

What’s ballistic mean?

Well, thanks to Wikipedia…

”Ballistic training, also called power training, was first used among elite athletes who were looking for a method to develop explosiveness. The word ballistic comes from the Greek word βάλλειν (ballein), which means “to throw.” In this type of training the athlete accelerates and releases the weight into “free space.” Common ballistic training exercises are bench throws, jump squats, cleans, snatches, and push presses.”

And of course kettlebell swings.

Ballistic moves are rare because not only do they improve cardio health and endurance but build strength, muscle tone, and improve speed simultaneously.

Seriously, few forms of exercises provides this kind of results.

Did you know that you can burn around 20 calories a minute with the swing? That’s huge and extremely beneficial for fat burning.

That’s more calories than you would burn per minute than if you were running a 6 minute mile! Insane. I would be lying if I said I didn’t get into kettlebells initially for their calorie and fat burning potential.

Moving on…

But before we even go into the swing, there are two positions that need to be covered in order to learn the swing.

Step 1: Master Body Positions

At the top of a swing, what position is your body in? Well, it should be a VERTICAL PLANK. Glutes activated, core tight and posture straight.

Have you ever tried a “perfect plank” before?

Here’s a challenge to try, get down on your elbows and squeeze EVERYTHING tight. Tighten the arms as if you’re pulling your elbows towards your knees. Roll the thighs in together as if you’re trying to hold on to a slippery piece of tissue paper. And of course the abs. Squeeze them.

If you make it past 20 seconds, you’re a rock star. These are tough but really help to burn into our brains what a tight plank should feel like.

Plus, its much more doable to practice 20 sec planks instead of minute + ones.

Ain’t got no time for that!

Planks… practice them. Come to love them.

What’s a hip hinge? Pushing the hips BACK and coming down into a position that almost resembles a bow.

This is where the power will come from to move the kettlebell up in order for that plank position to occur.

It is not a squat. I repeat, it is not a squat.

If you walk into a gym with kettlebells, I promise that you will see people doing a squatty swing. You may even see personal trainers teaching this squatty swing, but it’s not correct. It just shows how important it is to learn from a kettlebell certified coach.

Why is this so important?

• A hip hinge saves your back.
• It provides a ton of power to allow the kettlebell to move in a nice arc motion.

A squat… does not.

You can end up causing unnecessary pain and strain to the lower back and instead of an arc, the kettlebell kind of just flops up and down.

No bueno.

This is the hardest part to get down, but once you do, it’s stuck. It becomes a habit. So let’s start building that habit…

• Stand a foot (or so) away from a wall. Keeping the knees slightly bent the entire time, push your hips back so that your butt hits the wall. Squeeze your butt to return to standing. This is a great warm-up even if you have the hip hinge down! Complete a set of 10.
• Practice with a PVC Pipe doing good mornings. Place a PVS pipe over the back of your shoulders as if it were a barbell. From here, push the hips back and “bow down” to complete a good-morning rep. Again, good no matter where you are in your training to warm up the swing muscles!
• Deadlifts. Perhaps the #1 exercise to master before grabbing and swinging a kettlebell. So let’s target the deadlift in a bit more detail. Keep reading.

Step 2: Master A Kettlebell Deadlift

1. Stand with feet shoulder width apart (or slightly wider) on each side of a kettlebell.
2. From here, you’ll push your hips back, weight distributed farther back on your feet, lower the chest down and reach for the kettlebell.
3. The head should be a in a neutral position, not looking up in front of you. This is what I would refilm if I was able to at the moment. Allow your neck to maintain straight alignment with your back. This means your glaze will be down at the ground a few feet in front of you. NOT looking up.
4. From here, activate the glutes (squeeze your butt) and stand up while pulling the kettlebell up with you. Make sure that the arms stay straight, they’re just there to hold the kettlebell… not to lift it.
5. At the top the shoulders should be pulled back, chest up tall and eyes straight forward… in a vertical plank.
6. Repeat the hip hinge once more, this time lowering the kettlebell to its starting position.

Should your knees bend?

Only slightly. If you have to bend them to place the kettlebell on the ground, then don’t go down that far during deadlift reps. Go to where you can keep form.

Deadlift… got it?

Cool, let’s practice with a workout before moving on.

Step 3: Mastering The Start/Stop

–START STOP VIDEO–

Okay guys, this is crazy important to stress.

It doesn’t matter if you’re swinging a 1 pound kettlebell or a 100 pound kettlebell, you treat it the same.

You approach the kettlebell the same and you finish the same.

Why am I stressing this so much?

Make sense?

Cool!

The Start/Stop position is just as it sounds. It’s the position that you begin the swing and the position you finish your set of swings.

The kettlebell is placed in front about an arm’s distance away. The knees are slightly bent, hips pushed back and stance is strong.

It reminds me of a football stance, right?

1. From here you will reach out to your kettlebell, grabbing the handle and leaning the kettlebell towards you.
2. As you do this, “pack the shoulders” by pulling your shoulders back and down to activate the lats (those muscles in your back that run right under the armpits. This is going to create a stable joint and help from rounding the shoulders and the back (which of course could lead to an injury).
3. Hike the kettlebell back, between the legs, close to your girly parts and then place it right back where it started.

You just complete your first mini-swing, congratulations.

One way to practice is to place towels under each armpit and practice the single swing again. Don’t let the towels fall out!

Another trick is to try shoulder push-ups. Make sure to watch the practice workout below for a demo!

Step 4: Mastering The Full Swing

You have all the pieces of the kettlebell swing that you need. Now it’s time to put it all together and string several reps together at once.

A few things to think about as you get started:

• Use the power of your hip-hinge to thrust the kettlebell up. Do not use your arms. They are only there to hold on to the kettlebell.
• Keep the kettlebell close to your crotch. In the lowest position of your hip-hinge, keep your hands close to your personal space. Not only will this allow you to drive more energy into the swing, but you’ll also maintain a stronger, straight posture with your back than if you allowed the weight to move down below the knees. SEE BELOW.
• At the top of the swing, the kettlebell should be anywhere from your belly button to your chin. No higher, no lower. More on this in a moment.
• What about your eyes? At the lower position, your eyes will be focused on the ground a few feet in front of you (because your neck is in straight alignment. At the top, your gaze should be straight again. Because you’re in a vertical plank, remember?

You know the principles, all that is left is to implement everything and make it flow.

Why Not Overhead?

You’ve seen it.

The American Swing.

This is the swing where the kettlebell is taken all the way, straight overhead.

Commonly seen in Crossfit boxes.

You might think…

“Well, that’s a bigger movement, it looks as if it would work more muscles and burn more calories!”

But it doesn’t.

1. Taking it overhead actually slows the move down and decreases its calorie burning potential. When taking it overhead, you remove your ability to “snap” your kettlebell back down. Instead, you’re having to wait for gravity to do it’s job.
2. You’re also compromising your back. As it comes overhead, the shoulders are easy to give and an arch in the back is even easier.
3. And finally… remember those packed shoulders? By allowing the kettlebell to go overhead, you’re allowing the shoulders to relax out of their packed position. As you get tired, it may become harder to pack them back in during each downward fall. Injury risk just went up.

Need more convincing? Check out this post, Why My Swing Never Goes Above My Chin for an even more in-depth explanation.

Bottom line… forget the American Swing. It’s just not worth it.

Types Of Swings

I won’t lie, doing the same thing over and over and over gets boring.

But of course to get stronger and better, repetition is key.

”Repetition of the same thought or physical action develops into a habit which, repeated frequently enough, becomes an automatic reflex.” -Norman Peale

Luckily with swings, there are actually a few varieties to help change things up but still drill in the habit of form.

1. Normal Swings. What you just learned above.
2. Shadow Swings. These are normal swings on steroids. The idea is that at the top of the swing, you use your strength to push the kettlebell back down as quickly as possible.Reps per minute will increase, your core will become even more engaged and you’ll feel these bad boys fast! For the most part, these are my personal go to swings.
3. Single Handed Swings. Just like they sound. Single handed swings can be done alternating or performing a set on one side and then the other.It’s important to keep the hips square with single swings as you’ll see it’s really easy to rotate the hips outward with each repetition. Using the arm that isn’t holding the kettlebell out and moving it forward as the kettlebell moves forward helps tremendously.

Swing Workouts

Ready to take everything above and put it all into a real workout or two?

— WORKOUT VIDEO —

Overview:

Start off with 10 swings and 10 shoulder dips… Then 10 more swings but only 8 shoulder dips… Continue with this pattern until you finish with 2 shoulder dips. For good measure complete 10 more swings to end the workout!

• The Godzilla Kettlebell Swing Workout
• The Kettlebell Warrior Workout
• Jump N Pass Workout
  

Ouch! My Hands Hurt!

I can’t possibly end this tutorial without covering this:

1. Grip Strength
2. Calluses

Grip Strength

You may find that it’s not your glutes or hamstrings that tire out first, but your forearms from holding your handle.

What’s a girl to do?

I encourage everyone to spend a little extra time developing grip strength so that you get the full benefit of your workout. You don’t want to limit yourself, right?

Swings (duh)

Farmers Carry

Bar Hold

Towel Hangs & Swings

*For towel swings, you simply wrap the towel around the kettlebell just like the bar above and use it as the handle. Wowza!

*This was right after my RKC training. Yours will not be this severe but it clearly shows my calluses. So pretty!

Allow your calluses to form, but as they layer themselves, I suggest using a stone to keep them rubbed down.

Avoid wearing gloves which can make gripping the handle harder and will also slow down the process of making your hands strong.

They may not be pretty, but these calluses will make you a kettlebell badass. Just think, they give your hands personality.

For callus care, make sure to check out this post: Kettlebell Hand Care Tips And Tools.

Last Thoughts

Holy cow, there is a lot to take in here. But I promise, you can take it in and apply it.

Simply work your way down and follow the steps and before you know it you’ll be swinging a kettlebell around like it’s second nature.

All of the elements really come together as one and are connected. Trust your body.

One tip that has helped both Dan and I? Grab a phone and set the video to slow-motion. Record yourself and analyze your form.

Realize that you may not get it right away, but you will. Keep practicing! Oh, and do it regularly.

Doing swings once every few weeks isn’t going to cut it.

And finally, the last and most important tip…

Have fun!

It’s fun to learn new things! It’s exciting. Go with the flow and enjoy the process.

Good luck!

Random question? I couldn’t help but think about it as I posted all the pictures and videos. Purple on purple? What was I thinking! lol.

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