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Kettlebell Swing – The Perfect Exercise

Looking for that elusive exercise that’ll help with your posture, your weight, and your strength, all without a steep learning curve? Kettlebell workouts are an affordable and relatively quick way to increase muscle mass, improve mobility and achieve a more toned physique.

The kettlebell can be used in over dozens of exercises, with all of these promising generous rewards in regards to your fitness levels and strength. Kettlebell ab exercises are particularly beneficial; when performing ab exercises with a kettlebell, the body is required to use core muscles in order to maintain balance, resulting in the rapid strengthening of these muscles.

Kettlebell Workout Basics

Choosing a Kettlebell

It is recommended to start with one weighing 8 kg for women, or 16kg for men – although beginning with a lighter weight gives your body time to get used to the exercise, so take this into consideration.

Performing a Kettlebell Swing:

This is perhaps the most appealing kettlebell exercise of all; when performed correctly, it is the ideal exercise for both cardio conditioning and strength.

While it is possible to learn the Swing from online videos, it is best to practise (at least for your first session or two) with an experienced trainer: mastering the use of the kettlebell and subsequently gaining all the benefits it offers requires understanding the correct way to use the tool, and you will gain results much more quickly when practising with someone who has already mastered its use.

Below is a rough outline of how the Kettlebell Swing is performed, to give you an idea of its effectiveness in utilizing muscles throughout the body:

• Grasp the floor with your toes in order to maintain your balance.

• Place the kettlebell about a foot in front of your feet.

• Plant your feet hip-width apart and use both your hands to grab your kettlebell by its handle.

• Lift the kettlebell and swing it between your legs, all the while keeping your back straight. Use your hips to push the kettlebell to about shoulder-height. Correct positioning of the hips is perhaps the most important part of the exercise!

• Keeping your knees flexed, pull the kettlebell back down and through your legs, and repeat.

Perfecting the swing ensures that you will be able to move onto more tricky kettlebell exercises. If you’re worried about injury, rest assured that the kettlebell swing is relatively safe.

The Swing may even be used to help with back injuries due to its unique spinal focus – its pressure is exerted on the spine in the opposite direction to other lifting exercises, meaning it can be practiced by people who have exacerbated their back conditions with other types of weight exercise. When performed correctly, the swing is about as useful an exercise as is possible.

Kettlebell Exercises To Get Started

The Turkish Get Up

Lie on the floor before standing up and then lie down again, all while holding a kettlebell in one hand. It might appear easy, but requires a great deal of coordination, and can be tricky to master.

Squat

Stand with your feet apart, at approximately hip width. Hold two kettlebells (if you’re comfortable with your ability to do so) at shoulder height. Perform a squat as you would without the kettlebell, making sure your back remains straight. If this proves to be too difficult, you can make it easier on yourself by using a kettlebell on just one side of your body.

Rack Walk

Walk quickly for a certain length while holding a kettlebell at shoulder height.

Goblet Lunge

Stand with your feet apart before stepping a foot back and bending one knee into a lunge. Again, it is important to keep your back straight!

Convinced that the Kettlebell Swing is, indeed, the perfect exercise? Now’s time to grab that kettlebell and kick start the process of becoming stronger and improving your fitness!

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