Kettlebell Swing

Execution

1. Hinge at the hips, reach out for the handle, pull your shoulder blades down and keep the back flat.
2. Hike the bell back between your thighs like snapping a rugby ball behind you.
3. Exhale sharply and snap your hips forward, squeezing the glutes so the bell floats up to chest height.
4. Keep your arms relaxed, because this is a hip movement rather than an arm lift.
5. Inhale as the bell falls, and wait until your arms touch your thighs before you hinge for the next rep.
6. End the set by letting the bell lose momentum over two or three swings, then park it on the floor in front of you.
7. If the handle slips or the bell gets away from you, push it forward onto the floor and step back; do not try to hold on to it and do not chase it.
8. If the lower back complains, stop immediately and go back to the dowel hinge drill.

Quick cues

• Snap the hips, do not lift the arms.
• The bell passes high between your thighs.
• Squeeze the glutes like shutting a car door.
• The bell floats, your arms just ride.
• Sharp breath out on every snap.

Common faults

• Fault: Squatting down and then lifting the bell with the arms

  Fix: Push the hips further back with the shins nearly vertical, and rehearse the dowel hinge first.

• Fault: The bell swinging down low below the knees

  Fix: Send the bell high between the thighs and drop the weight until that path holds.

• Fault: Leaning back at the top to make the bell go higher

  Fix: Finish at standing with glutes and abs squeezed; chest height is high enough.

• Fault: Dumping the bell on the floor to finish a set

  Fix: Let it slow over two or three short swings and set it down with one hinge.