The Swing is a movement that can almost always be refined. I’ve said this many times before, but mastery of the other basic balistic kettlebell moves (like the Clean and Snatch) all starts with the Swing. In this video with Senior RKC David Whitley and RKC Matt McBryde, you’ll learn:
Background and history of the kettlebell
Why ‘cushy’ shoes are a no-no for your kettlebell training
How to learn the ‘hip hinge’ and the proper swing movement pattern from the KB deadlift
The best kettlebell routines from KettlebellBasics.net
Variety in your kettlebell training program, contrary to popular belief, can be both good and bad.
If you keep doing the same workout for a long period of time, your body adapts and you stop making progress. It also gets super boring :).
On the other hand, change things up too much and it’s difficult to measure progress.
Sticking with your program just long enough and changing things up when your gains start to stall is the ticket to steady progress. And that being said, here are a few kettlebell routines to give you ideas for your workouts and to help you keep things interesting. Most of these have written descriptions and video – enjoy!
Combines two basic kettlebell exercises – the Swing and the Get Up – into a medium intensity, beginner level workout. Start here after you feel confident with your Swing and Get Up technique.
This one takes all five basic kettlebell exercises – the Swing, the Get Up, the Goblet Squat, the Clean and Press, and the Snatch – and combines them into a giant circuit.
If you’re short on time, here’s two kettlebell workouts you can do in 15 minutes or less.
Kettlebell Basics Combo Series
A video series by yours truly that features four ‘kettlebell combo’ videos so far. Take combo #1 for example – the one arm Swing to one arm Squat to Overhead Press to one arm Snatch. All combos also have a basic workout you can do with them.
Being that combat athletes come from a broad group, this kettlebell circuit workout can be adapted to your training program; it is done for time instead of reps and requires the use of a kettlebell in each exercise
If you are just beginning to train with kettlebells, this circuit is designed for you, incorporating simple, yet effective kettlebell exercises to get you started
To branch out, this workout has ten exercises utilizing body weight, a stability ball, and kettlebells; this combination is great for losing fat and gaining lean muscle
Halloween has passed, but that doesn’t mean candy isn’t still available throughout the year, try this bodyweight/kettlebell workout to burn some of those calories!
Women require different training needs than men and this routine targets that issue with a combination of lunges, get ups, rows, swings, snatches, and cleans
Now, these kettlebell routines are just a start – we’ve got many more to come, so stay tuned!! Comments and questions are always welcome.
P.S. If you liked these kettlebell workouts, why not subscribe to the KettlebellBasics.net newsletter? You’ll get email updates of new posts, a free video and e-manual just for joining, and more. Just drop your name and email into the box to the upper right of the page to sign up now.
For the forth installment of the Kettlebell Basics Combo series … The Super Full Body Attack!!
This one is really just a single exercise, but I’m calling it a combo because it’s a bunch of kettlebell moves all mixed together … it’s truly a smoker. I challenge you to find a muscle group in your body that this exercise doesn’t work.
Here’s the video:
Start this one in a standing position with the kettlebells about six inches in front of you. The first trick is to make sure the KB handles are placed in such a way that your palms can face each other when you jump back to your Push Up.
Jump your feet back to a Push Up position – like a Burpee. Do a Push Up. Now, jump the feet forward in one motion and make sure your feet land outside of the kettlebell handles.
Clean the ‘bells up, do a Front Squat, and move straight from the Front Squat to an Overhead Press. Rack the KB’s, return them to the ground and you’ve done one rep.
For a quick, incredibly tough full body blast, do 50 of these for time. You must pay very close attention to your form with this combo. Especially as the rep count starts to climb, your form can easily break down.
If you’re just starting out, you can of course scale the workout down and do maybe half the amount of reps. You could also do more if 50 is too easy.
(BTW, I got the idea for this one from the ‘original’ full body attack – I’ve just added a Push Up and Front Squat to make it tougher.)
Here’s a video of the original for reference:
That’s it for kettlebell basics combo #4! Enjoy and keep training hard.
Still strugling to learn the basics of kettlebell training? Your first move is to read through the archives and check out the videos on this blog – there’s a ton of great info here. Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter, and you’ll get a free Beginner’s Guide to Kettlebell Training – you can do that by simply inputing your name and email into the form at the upper right of the page. For a more complete and in-depth guide that teaches you basic kettlebell exercises and workouts, check out my KettlebellBasics.net Quick Start Guide. And last but not least, visit the recommended resources page of this blog to order kettlebells and all the other stuff you need to make your kettlebell training a great experience!
Kettlebell Basics Combo #3 incorporates four basic kettlebell drills into a giant circuit: Clean and Presses, Snatches, Goblet Squats, and Hand to Hand Swings.
To complete the circuit, you’ll perform 2 Clean and Presses on each side, 4 Snatches on each side, 12 Goblet Squats, and 16 Hand to Hand Swings. Repeat this circuit 5 times for an amazing, efficient, full-body-blasting workout!
Don’t forget: You can get free access to the Kettlebell Rx video and a free copy of the Beginner’s Guide to Kettlebell Training by signing up for our newsletter! Just drop your name and email into the box at the upper right of the page.
Each movement ‘flows’ together, you keep your heart rate up, and get a great workout – it’s awesome. And you look like a kettlebell master 🙂
So what’s the secret?
It’s practicing the basic movements and getting them down cold. No ‘secret sauce’ – just practice.
The pitfall you want to avoid is jumping around and doing a million kettlebell exercises just for the sake of getting fancy. This is a little like what I tried to do when I first started training with kettlebells – and it didn’t work very well. Once I really focused in on the basics – the Swing, the Get Up, the Squat, the Snatch, and the Clean and Press – is when it all kind of came together.
Keep practicing those kettlebell drills!
P.S. Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter while you’re here – and you’ll get a free copy of Kettlebell Rx: 3 Common Training Mistakes and How To Fix Them!
In large part, men and women have very similar fitness goals – lose fat, gain a little muscle, and improve overall fitness. So their workouts should, in theory, look very similar.
However, what people need and what they’re willing to actually do is many times very different. For example, in a gym setting, 80% of women will head straight for the cardio section when they walk through the door, and 80% of men will head for the bench press. This doesn’t mean that men need to bench press more than women, or women need to do cardio more than men .. it just means, generally, this is where people are the most comfortable.
I think this is a very important consideration – if you don’t enjoy and can’t buy into what you’re doing in a workout, you’re going to have a difficult time putting your all into it and gettting the results you should be. The trick is to balance out both what you like and what you need.
A kettlebell workout designed specifically for women should probably keep this idea in mind. If you’re a woman looking to get started with kettlebells that might be a little hesitant about some of the other resources I’ve recommended, you should definitely check out The Kettlebell Goddess DVD with Andrea DuCane.
Andrea goes over the basic kettlebell moves before she progresses you to more advanced exercises. She gives you several workouts to choose from, with several even focusing on some ‘typical female problem areas’ – like Legs & Butt, for example. She also gives you a ‘template’ to work from to design an almost infinate amount of workouts. The package even includes a bonus report: How To Get The Most Out Of Your Kettlebell Goddess Workout DVD. Click the banner below to read reviews about the Kettlebell Goddess DVD and to order one for yourself:
The bottom line is that you need to have a solidly-designed program that you actually enjoy. Meet this need and you’ve won half the battle!
P.S. Have you signed up for the Kettlebell Basics newsletter yet? Make sure to enter your name and email in the upper right hand corner of the page and get your free video on three common kettlebell training mistakes and how to fix them while you’re here!
I’m betting, off the top of my head, that most of you are doing two hand swings exclusively. I know I did for about the first six months of my kettlebell training. Although the two hand swing is great, so are the variations of it – especially for increasing involvement of your grip and your core muscles, for fixing side-to-side imbalances, and more. And plus, two hand swings day in and day out just get a little boring after a while. Let’s quickly cover some common variations – and a few you may not have heard of.
The One Hand Swing
A fundamental variation on the two hand swing. Mechanics on this exercise are identical to the two hand swing, except for the fact that you’re obviously only using one hand, and that you’re turning the hand in slightly as you bring the kettlebell down – this ‘pre-stretches’ the rotators. The one hand swing certainly works your grip more and your core muscles -the abs, obliques, hips, glutes, etc.
The Hand To Hand Swing
Here, you simply perform a one hand swing and switch hands mid-air on each rep. The key is to make the kettlebell float and simply ‘pluck’ it out of the air with the opposite hand at the top of each repetition. Make sure you practice this one outside to begin with 🙂
The Traveling Swing
You can perform the traveling swing a lot of different ways – check out the first video below for some inspiration. A couple of tips for two of the basic variations – if swinging side to side, the key is to step with the back foot first – otherwise you might be in for some disasterous results 🙂 On the forward walking swing, make sure to take quick steps.
Here’s a couple of cool videos with even more swing variations:
There are a lot of swing variations to play around with – focus on learning one at a time to master your form, stay safe, and get the most you can out of your training. Did I miss any swing variations? What are your thoughts?
