Holiday Shred How-To: Kettlebell Swing

As I mentioned in the dead-curl-press article, another exercise that will be finishing off HIIT 100 workouts is the kettlebell swing. Swings will be showing up as the last thing you do in Workouts 2 and 5 through the entire six-week program.

The reason I included kettlebell swings in this program is simple: Because they are more or less a full-body exercise that's great for fat-burning and conditioning. (The fact that they also strengthen the posterior chain muscles – hamstrings, glutes, lower back, among them – and provide great carryover to big lifts like squats and deadlifts is just an added bonus.) One study from Truman State University (Missouri), published in a 2010 issue of the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, showed that kettlebell swings raised subjects' heart rates up to more than 85% of maximum.

Seeing that you'll be doing swings using the HIIT 100 protocol of 100 total reps in a short period of time, you can expect to reap every bit of those cardio-boosting effects – provided you learn the proper technique of the exercise and perform them efficiently. Here's how it's done...

Kettlebell Swing How-To:

Stand with a shoulder-width stance, holding a kettlebell between your legs with both hands, using an overhand grip. Keeping your back flat and your head up, squat down and allow the kettlebell to lower between your legs. Immediately drive your heels through the floor to explosively extend at the hips and knees to stand upright as the kettlebell swings up and in front of you to about face height. Once the kettlebell reaches its max height, let gravity bring it back down as you go right into the squat position again and immediately reverse the direction to swing the kettlebell back up. Continue swinging the kettlebell in this manner until all reps for the set are complete.

Note that the momentum of the kettlebell is NOT generated by the arms. The hands simply hold onto the kettlebell so that the arms can control its path. The arms don't do much other than go along for the ride. The momentum should be generated by the explosive extensions of the hips and knees, which is performed by the hamstrings, glutes and quads. Think of really pushing your pelvis forward as you extend up. This will drive the kettlebell forward and the arms will keep it moving in an arc.

With kettlebell swings, you really need to see them demonstrated to learn proper technique. So here's a video of me doing the exercise and also showing you how to do swings with a dumbbell if you don't have a kettlebell available:

References

Husley, J. L., et al. Comparison of kettlebell swings and treadmill running at equivalent RPE values. Annual Meeting of the National Strength and Conditioning Association, 2011.

Farra, R. E., et al. Oxygen cost of kettlebell swings. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 24(4):1034-1036, 2010.

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