Exercise Guide

Kettlebell Swing

A hip hinge driven hard enough to float a kettlebell up in front of you. Trains explosive hip extension and doubles as conditioning.

IntermediateStrengthPullCompound
Form
Kettlebell Swing - Start position
Start
Kettlebell Swing - Mid position
Mid
Kettlebell Swing - End position
End

Illustrations by Bryl Lim for Workout Guide, after Everkinetic. Used unchanged under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Details

Primary Muscle

Glutes

Equipment

Kettlebell

Difficulty

Intermediate

Category

Strength

Force

Pull

Mechanic

Compound

Secondary Muscles

HamstringsCoreCardio
How to Perform
  1. 1

    Stand with your feet slightly wider than your shoulders and a kettlebell a foot in front of you.

  2. 2

    Hinge at the hips, grip the handle with both hands, and hike the bell back between your legs.

  3. 3

    Snap your hips forward hard, letting the bell swing up to chest height with straight arms.

  4. 4

    Let it fall back between your legs as you hinge again, and repeat without pausing.

Tips
  • ★The arms are ropes. If you are lifting the bell with your shoulders you are squatting it, not swinging it.
  • ★Finish every rep with glutes squeezed and ribs down - the top is a standing plank, not a lean back.
Explore by Muscle
GlutesHamstringsCoreCardio