Do you want a build a brickhouse behind that you can bounce coins off? How about building explosive force off the ground? Or injury-proofing your hips and back? Few exercises achieve this as well as the kettlebell swing. Despite its simplicity (or even because of it), the swing has found its way into many professional strength & conditioning programmes, even the ones for professional athletes. You’d be remiss not to feature them in your training as well!

The swing is the first exercise most people associate with kettlebell training and is probably the first one that gets learnt as well, due to its full-body benefits. The movement utilises an explosive contraction of the hips to drive the kettlebell up, while the hands, arms, back and torso work to steady the kettlebell and ensure a smooth path of travel.

In essence, the kettlebell swing is nothing more than a hip hinge movement executed at high speeds. Loading of the movement is handled primarily by the muscles of the posterior chain, like the glutes, hamstrings and the lats. The general setup and first rep are crucial in ensuring that your swing does not break down mid-set.

Ideally, you’d want to take a medium-width stance that’s just outside of hip width, with the kettlebell sitting between your feet. Grabbing it with both hands, start by hiking the kettlebell back, just like how a rugby player snaps a ball. Some people do this from a dead-stop, others by nudging the kettlebell forward a little to generate some momentum – both are fine as long as you don’t compromise your spinal position. Once the kettlebell has passed between your legs, extend your hips and flex your legs forcefully to bring the kettlebell up to chest-height.

Location and equipment courtesy of TripleFit

Like its distant cousin the deadlift, the kettlebell swing is prone to mistakes of a certain nature (i.e. improper hinging pattern). Some individuals (especially those with tight hips and/or hamstrings) end up turning the swing into more of a squatting sequence, where they regress into a vertical plane of movement – squatting down and standing up while relying more on their arms to raise the kettlebell into position.

This is patently incorrect as it takes the hips and hamstrings out of the equation, shifting emphasis to the quads instead. The usage of one’s arms will also limit the amount of weight you’ll be able to use in the swing, limiting its effectiveness. Push your hips as you lower your kettlebell while keeping your weight balanced across mid-foot – that will you in the optimal position to generate force correctly. Done correctly, you will see some bending of the knee as this is required in order for the hamstrings to be properly engaged. However, the knee will not flex the same way it does (moving forward and down) during a squat.

The kettlebell swing can be done heavy (just not super-heavy) for fewer repetitions or with moderate weight for higher repetitions. The latter is excellent for athletic conditioning and overall endurance work, with the total number of repetitions sometimes going as high as 100! You can include them as part of wider General Physical Preparatory work programme, as an accessory movement for deadlift sessions, or even as a substitute for the deadlift itself. Whatever you choose to go with, just start swinging (correctly)!