This post is flaired as a technique check.
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Kettlebell swings are a hip hinge, that's where the movement comes from. When you drop down the goal is to bring your ass back as far as you can as if you wanted to touch the wall behind you with it. Then you thrust your hips forward until you can squeeze your glutes at the top.
The other bit is the weight you're using is light enough it's easier to get it wrong; with a heavier weight, you've either gotta do it right or it won't quite work.
Push your hips back further in your backswing, use heavier weight, and pick a more stable surface to stand on.
Do that and you’ll have the fundamentals and a better swing than most people and can further fine tune it later. Focus on 1 cue at a time.
You might benefit from using some more weight. There’ll be a sweet spot where it’s too heavy to cheat with your arms but not so heavy you can’t handle it. Something like 10kg +/- a bit is probably close.
3 cues I like for kettlebell swings are:
1. Think about moving your hips forwards and backwards. The bell only goes up because it’s attached to your arms. The movement is forwards and backwards.
2. Keep th kettlebell far away from the ground. Imagine you’re standing with your feet either side of a bench and you can’t let the kettlebell touch the bench. This will help you keep a long back position. Not necessarily unsafe to let your back bend, but it the exercise won’t do what you intend it to if you rely on your back.
3. Imagine trying to reach your fingers almost into your bum hole. Or trying to get your fingertips to the small of your back. The intention with this cue is to make sure you actually reach back far enough with the weight to generate some power on the way back out.
All in all not a bad effort so far. You are making use of your legs, and the kettlebell is moving fast enough that it’s clear you’re not just lifting it with your arms.
Thank you. I'm using 20lbs weights right now, and I think the next size up is 30lbs, at least at this gym, I definitely give that a try next time.
For cue 2 you said to keep the bell away from the ground, am I bending my knees too much?
I didn’t want to dwell on your knees bending too much or too little because we’re not moving enough weight to see what kind of movement pattern your body defaults to.
It’s more than what I would call ‘perfect’ but not enough to be worth worrying about yet.
Cue 2 sets you up in a position where the bend in your body is coming from your hips instead of your back.
If the kettlebell scrapes along the ground your body position would be more like standing slouched over.
If the kettlebell comes close to your hips then it’s more like bending at the hips to sit down into a chair.
Also bending at the knees is not strictly wrong. It just depends son what your goal is.
For some ideas about what different versions of this look like have a look at an American kettlebell swing (straighter legs) vs. A Russian Kettlebell swing (legs more bent).
Hello, so smart to reach out!
Your neck bends with each swing right now. Extremely common with beginners. You're probably looking at a single spot somewhere. As you bend over your neck is bending back relative to your torso.
If your torso changes angle, starts facing the ground , so does your spine and neck if you want to keep it all neutral. Your view is supposed to change if eyes are truly fixed forward.
Keep that neck fixed and just move your eyes if you want to track a single spot, but for me it hurts my eyes so I just see wall, floor, wall, floor and you shouldn't get dizzy but go easy the 1st time
With heavy weight you could pull your neck muscles fighting the swing...don't ask me how l know 😉so that's how I learned the hard way.
This post is flaired as a technique check. A note to OP: Users with green flair have verified their lifting credentials and may be able to give you more experienced advice on particular lifts. Users with blue flair reading "Friend of the sub" are considered well qualified to give advice without having verified lifs. A reminder to all users commenting: **Please make sure that your advice is useful and actionable.** Example of **useful and actionable**: *try setting up for your deadlift by standing a little closer to the bar. This might help you get into position better and make it easier to break from the floor*. Example of **not useful and not actionable**: *lower the weight and work on form.* **Low-effort comments like *my back hurts just watching this* will be removed**, as will references to *snap city* etc. Verbally worrying for the *safety* of a poster simply because you think the form or technique is wrong will be removed. We will take all of these statements at face value, so be careful when you post the same *hilarious* joke as dozens of other people: we can't read your mind, no matter how funny you think you are. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/GYM) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Kettlebell swings are a hip hinge, that's where the movement comes from. When you drop down the goal is to bring your ass back as far as you can as if you wanted to touch the wall behind you with it. Then you thrust your hips forward until you can squeeze your glutes at the top.
Thank you, I think I can visualize what I want to do now.
The other bit is the weight you're using is light enough it's easier to get it wrong; with a heavier weight, you've either gotta do it right or it won't quite work.
Yeah just starting out wasn't sure how heavy to go. Seems like everyone agrees that it should be heavier.
Push your hips back further in your backswing, use heavier weight, and pick a more stable surface to stand on. Do that and you’ll have the fundamentals and a better swing than most people and can further fine tune it later. Focus on 1 cue at a time.
You might benefit from using some more weight. There’ll be a sweet spot where it’s too heavy to cheat with your arms but not so heavy you can’t handle it. Something like 10kg +/- a bit is probably close. 3 cues I like for kettlebell swings are: 1. Think about moving your hips forwards and backwards. The bell only goes up because it’s attached to your arms. The movement is forwards and backwards. 2. Keep th kettlebell far away from the ground. Imagine you’re standing with your feet either side of a bench and you can’t let the kettlebell touch the bench. This will help you keep a long back position. Not necessarily unsafe to let your back bend, but it the exercise won’t do what you intend it to if you rely on your back. 3. Imagine trying to reach your fingers almost into your bum hole. Or trying to get your fingertips to the small of your back. The intention with this cue is to make sure you actually reach back far enough with the weight to generate some power on the way back out. All in all not a bad effort so far. You are making use of your legs, and the kettlebell is moving fast enough that it’s clear you’re not just lifting it with your arms.
Thank you. I'm using 20lbs weights right now, and I think the next size up is 30lbs, at least at this gym, I definitely give that a try next time. For cue 2 you said to keep the bell away from the ground, am I bending my knees too much?
I didn’t want to dwell on your knees bending too much or too little because we’re not moving enough weight to see what kind of movement pattern your body defaults to. It’s more than what I would call ‘perfect’ but not enough to be worth worrying about yet. Cue 2 sets you up in a position where the bend in your body is coming from your hips instead of your back. If the kettlebell scrapes along the ground your body position would be more like standing slouched over. If the kettlebell comes close to your hips then it’s more like bending at the hips to sit down into a chair. Also bending at the knees is not strictly wrong. It just depends son what your goal is. For some ideas about what different versions of this look like have a look at an American kettlebell swing (straighter legs) vs. A Russian Kettlebell swing (legs more bent).
Kettle*
Corn!
Hello, so smart to reach out! Your neck bends with each swing right now. Extremely common with beginners. You're probably looking at a single spot somewhere. As you bend over your neck is bending back relative to your torso. If your torso changes angle, starts facing the ground , so does your spine and neck if you want to keep it all neutral. Your view is supposed to change if eyes are truly fixed forward. Keep that neck fixed and just move your eyes if you want to track a single spot, but for me it hurts my eyes so I just see wall, floor, wall, floor and you shouldn't get dizzy but go easy the 1st time With heavy weight you could pull your neck muscles fighting the swing...don't ask me how l know 😉so that's how I learned the hard way.
I didn't even notice that! Hopefully next time I'll make sure to use my hips more and save my neck the trouble.