Developing the swing technique

Being the most fundamental kettlebell movement, the swing is key to perform correctly. The next few pages of this manual provide developmental exercises to support the correct performance of the swing. Before moving onto those exercises, a few pointers regarding the good and bad technique for a kettlebell is briefly explained.

The swing requires the exerciser to hinge at the hip when the kettlebell is close to the body, allowing the force to pass through the legs and away from the body, reducing the load on the lower back. Initially this is difficult to learn as the brain tells us to move away from a heavy metal ball falling towards us at speed, however if we do try to pull away from the kettlebell before it arrives into the body, the force and weight will cut through the lower back, something we really need to avoid with all swings.

Bad kettlebell technique