Kettlebell swing exercise: Muscle worked, Health Benefits, How to Do?

The kettlebell swing exercise is an important exercise that helps to improve your core, gluteal, hamstrings, quadriceps, back muscles, deltoids, and arms muscles. It also helps to improve balance and posture, even for elite sports people. When you perform a kettlebell exercise, your posture becomes fully functional and powerful.

What is a kettlebell swing exercise?

This is the basic ballistic exercise used to train the posterior chain like broad jumping. This exercise involves moving the kettlebell bell in a pendulum motion in between the knees to anywhere or eye level to fully overhead and can be performed either it will be done with one hand or two-handed. There have many exercises you can do with kettlebell .kettlebell comes in a variety of sizes and weights. The kettlebell swing is also known as the Russian kettlebell swing.

Which muscles are used to perform the kettlebell swing?

• Gluteal muscle
• Hamstring muscles
• Quadriceps
• Erectors
• Trapezius
• Rhomboids
• Deltoids muscle
• Abdominals muscle

Health benefits of kettlebell swing exercise.

• Helps to Build a muscle mass.
• This exercise provides you with a full-body workout.
• Helps to boost your cardio fitness.
• This exercise may help you lose weight.
• Helps to strengthen weak muscles.
• This will be easy on your back.
• Helps to build functional strength.
• Helps to Improve your posture.

How do kettlebell swings in perfect form?

• For this exercise, you have to stand straight with a shoulder foot width apart.
• Put a kettlebell in front of you. Now contract your core muscles, squeeze shoulder girdle and keep your arms straight now hold the kettlebell in both hands.
• Slightly flexed your knees shift your body weight onto heels and push your hip backward. then move forward from the hips, contract your core muscles and glutes as you move your hip to help you to swing the kettlebell up to chest height, with both arms straight.
• Your upper body should be relaxed when you swing the kettlebell. the kettlebell should be swinging from the shoulder, not from the arms. move hip backward when the kettlebell comes down. Kettlebell swoosh back in between your thighs.
• Do the movement with heels, hips, and with shoulders.
• Your hands should be an action like a pendulum when the kettlebell swing.

There have different Variations of a Kettlebell Swing exercise.

Hip Hinge With Broomstick

How to do it?

• If you want to do hip hinge perfectly then grab a broomstick.
• For this variation you have to stand tall with feet slightly wider than the shoulder distance, toes move outwards, knees slightly flexed.
• Core muscle contracted and trunk should be straight. broomstick should be connected with the same point throughout the exercise. broomstick hold with both hands at back side it will be touched to neck back and glutes.
• Now you have to bend forward from your hips until your trunk is parallel to the floor.
• Hold at this position for 5 to 7 seconds then go up.

Single-Arm Kettlebell Swing

How to do it?

• This variation is performed in the same manner as the double-arm swing, but in this, you only use one arm at a one time.
• This helps you to develop unilateral shoulder stability and anti-rotational core muscle strength, both of which can help to improve coordination and decrease the likelihood of injury due to muscle imbalances.

American Kettlebell Swing

When you are mastered in the traditional kettlebell swing then you can progress to the American version of the kettlebell swing.

How to do it?

• The American kettlebell swing moves the weight overhead versus stopping at shoulder height instead of thigh.
• This variation needs a great range of motion of the shoulder joint. for this variation, you have to use lighter weight.
• Do this variation the same as a standard kettlebell swing but in this, you have to move the kettlebell overhead.
• If you have any shoulder injury then you should avoid this exercise.

There have different Alternative exercises of kettlebell swings.

The kettlebell swings are a convenient way for utilizing numerous muscle groups at one time, it can also little bit risky, especially if you are not used to them. These alternatives exercise helps you to hit the same muscle group to minimize the injury.

• Barbell hip-thrust
• Cable Pull Through
• Sumo Deadlift High Pull
• Sumo Deadlift High Pull
• Romanian Deadlift

Box Jumps Barbell hip-thrust

How To do it?

• Take a padded bench or box and you have to sit in front of it with your legs extended out in front of it and put a barbell across your hips.
• Your upper back should be against the padded bar and flex your knees to close your feet to your glutes.
• Your heels should be pushed downward and your hip should be upward until it is fully extended.
• Now lower your hips under control and do this same movement again for 10 to 15 repetitions of 3 to 4 sets.

Cable Pull Through

How To do it?

• For this exercise, you have to attach the rope to the cable machine and place it at the lower site.
• You have to stand over the rope handle, your back towards the pole, you have to hold the rope in both hands, your feet should be shoulder hip-width apart with your arms straighten, knee slightly flexed, and spine should be neutral. hinge from the hip and lower down the chest towards the floor until you feel the tension in the glutes and hamstrings, now pull your hands by cable through the leg. go into a standing position by contracting your glute muscles until the hip is locked.
• Do this 12 to 15 times for 2 to 3 sets.

Sumo Dead lift High Pull

How To do it?

• For this exercise, you have to stand in front of the barbell with your feet slightly wider than your hips. Hinge from your hips for the bend to grab the barbell, overhand your arms should be between your legs.
• Push the weight to your heels and stand up by pulling the barbell with you your belly button should be in.
• Pull the barbell towards your chin by flexing the elbows.
• Slowly lower the barbell under control and again hinge from the hips and flexed the knees to return initial position.
• Do this for 10 to 15 repetitions of 2 to 3 sets

Romanian Dead lift

How To do it?

• For this exercise, you have to take a barbell in your hand at your hip level, as opposed to on the ground with an overhand grip.
• Slightly flexed your knees, smoothly lower the barbell by hinge from your hip, your back should be straight.
• When you feel a slight stretch in your back thigh barbell passes through your knees, move hip forward to return to the initial position.
• Do this for 10 to 20 repetitions for 2 to 4 sets.

Box Jumps

How To do it?

• For this exercise, you have to stand in front of the box with your foot shoulder-width apart.
• Flexed your knees 45 to 50 degrees and swing your arms backward. move your arms forward and explode off the floor by pushing your heels.
• Put your foot on the box as softly as possible by you, with your foot flat and knees slightly flexed.
• Take a step down and repeat this same movement for the next repetitions.
• Do this for15 to 20 repetitions of 1 to 2 sets.

This Common Mistake happens while performing the kettlebell swing. You should avoid these mistakes to get more benefits from the exercise

Not Maintaining Control

If you use momentum to raise and lower weight this will increase the risk of injury. Thus, the kettlebell swing must be performed with appropriate weight to maintain control of the movement for a perfect form.
Kettlebell swing engages a large number of muscle groups simultaneously. If your sequencing is off or you are moving in a manner that raises the weight, do the exercise with your upper body rather than the lower body, you are setting yourself up for possible muscle strains

Lifting With the Arms

This is the most common mistake of kettlebell swings this is allowing your shoulders and arms to be responsible for the forward swing of the kettlebell—like with a front raise exercise, where your shoulders help to lift the weight in front of you. Your shoulders and arms should not be doing the movement to lift the weight. control your upper limb to move forward to lift the weight. if you are lifting from your upper body you feel early tired. reset your moves and complete them with the lower body.

Rounding Your Back

Your spine should be straight throughout the exercise to prevent low back pain or strain.

Squatting With Each Swing

The exercise needs a hip hinge to generate momentum, not squatting. This means that it requires you to press your hips backward without flexing your knees much as your trunk tips forward toward the ground. This movement is more similar to the Romanian dead lift. Many people do squat instead of hip hinge this will reduce the power output of the glutes and hamstrings muscles and it places more focus on the quadriceps muscle.

When did you not do this exercise?

• If you are already suffering from back pain or shoulder pain.
• If you feel any pain or discomfort during any movement then stop immediately and consult your health care provider.
• If your core muscles are weak.
• If you are recently injured.
• If you are recently undergone any surgery.