Kettlebell Swing

1. Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder width, a kettlebell of 12 to 24 kg on the floor about 30 cm in front of you.
2. Hinge at the hips with a flat back and grip the handle with both hands, tilting the bell toward you.
3. Hike the kettlebell back between your thighs like a snap in football, keeping your forearms high against your inner thighs.
4. Drive your hips forward explosively, standing tall and squeezing your glutes to launch the bell.
5. Let the bell float to chest height with arms relaxed; the hips power the swing, not the shoulders.
6. As the bell falls, hinge again and let it travel back between your legs with your forearms brushing your thighs.
7. Exhale sharply at the top of each swing, inhale on the backswing, and repeat in a continuous rhythm; finish by guiding the bell back to the floor with a hinge.

Common Mistakes

• Squatting instead of hinging: bending the knees and dropping the hips turns the swing into a front raise with legs; the movement is a hip snap with shins close to vertical.
• Lifting with the arms: muscling the bell up with the shoulders caps the load and misses the point; arms are ropes, hips are the engine.
• Rounding the lower back: letting the bell drag the spine into flexion on the backswing is the main injury risk; keep the back flat and the bell high in the hinge.
• Overextending at the top: leaning back and cranking the lumbar spine at lockout replaces glute squeeze with back strain; finish standing tall in a straight plank.