How Explosive Should Your Kettlebell Swing Be?

Most gym-goers have at least seen the kettlebell swing, even if they haven’t tried it yet. It may look a little complicated, but once mastered, this simple exercise provides an efficient, effective strength and cardio workout.

One of the most typical mistakes your clients will make when you introduce the kettlebell swing is failing to make the move explosive. Without the explosive movement through the hip drive, they won’t get the benefits. They may even get hurt. Work with clients on form and explosion to make this a safe, effective workout.

Why Do Kettlebell Swings?

A kettlebell swing is a great exercise for targeting multiple muscles, improving cardiovascular fitness, losing weight, and improving power and strength.

They Work Several Muscles

A kettlebell swing with good form and explosive movement works several muscles in one efficient exercise. It targets the posterior chain of muscles, those that are so important for stabilizing the body through all its movements:

• Glutes

• Hips

• Core

• Hamstrings

• Back

• Shoulders

The main emphasis is on the lower body and core, but you can also work some of the muscles of the back and shoulders with this exercise.

It’s Also a Good Cardio Workout

If you’ve ever done a kettlebell workout, you know how quickly it elevates your heart rate. The secret is to engage big muscle groups. By activating the legs and glutes especially, your heart is forced to pump harder.

The cardio component of kettlebell swings makes this a good workout for weight maintenance and weight loss. A long series of swings with a lower weight is best for cardio and burning calories.

Kettlebell Swings Build Both Strength and Power

Yes, the kettlebell swing needs to be explosive to do its job. By combining strength training with this fast, explosive movement, you get a workout that improves both muscle strength and power.

A study measured participants’ maximum and explosive strength before and after six weeks of kettlebell training. The researchers measured maximum strength as a half squat one-rep maximum and explosive strength as vertical jump height.

All participants had improvements in both measures after the training regimen. The workout included 12 minutes of 30 seconds off, 30 seconds on kettlebell swings performed twice a week.

Plyometric exercises, like jump squats, are also effective for improving power.

Kettlebell Swings Are Practical

This exercise is practical in a couple of ways. One is that it’s easy to do anywhere. You don’t need a gym membership. All you need is a kettlebell, or even other types of weights that you can safely grip while doing the exercise.

The way that the movement strengthens your body is also practical. With correct form, it mimics functional movements you do every day. It also strengthens the stabilizing muscles that make daily functional motions safer and easier.

Check out this ISSA blog post to learn more reasons to add kettlebell workouts to your weekly routine.

How Explosive Should Your Kettlebell Swing Be?

One of the most common mistakes people make when doing a kettlebell swing is failing to make it an explosive movement. It is, by definition, an explosive movement.

During the upswing, you should be powering up, extending in the hips, and squeezing the glutes. You’re not lifting the bell with your arms or shoulders, rather letting it fly up and follow along with your lower body’s explosive movement.

Why it Matters

The fast, powerful motion of this exercise is the point of it. Without it, you transfer the work to the shoulders, back, and arms. This is not a front raise exercise. By trying to use these other muscles to lift a heavy kettlebell, you can injure them or at the very least cause pain.

Moving too slowly through this exercise can also cause back pain. You end up rounding your upper back, which puts strain on the lower back. If you fully engage your lower body in the upward thrust, you won’t get this rounding.

Another issue is simply that without the explosive extension through the hips, you don’t get a good workout. You will not engage the core, glutes, hamstrings, and hips to nearly the same extent as with good form.

One of the most important things that sets a swing apart from other strength moves is the power. Kettlebell swings improve both strength and power. A squat only improves strength. If you don’t include the explosive thrust, you get no gains in power.

How Explosive Should Your Kettlebell Swing Be? Can You go too Far?

It’s hard to be too explosive with this movement. It’s far more likely and risky to not be explosive enough.

On the other hand, if you don’t have proper form, an explosive swing can hurt you. When working with clients new to kettlebell training, spend a lot of time on form correction before adding a weight. This will protect them when they start swinging that bell with all they’ve got.

One potential danger worth mentioning is losing control of the bell. If your form is good and you power through the movement with explosive energy but don’t have a good grip on it, watch out. It could fly out of your hands and cause serious harm.

How Do I Know if My Kettlebell Swing is Explosive Enough?

Someone with more experience than you can watch your form and movement to provide a critique. You can also evaluate yourself. Here are some clues that your movement during this exercise is adequately explosive:

• The movement is fast. One swing from bottom to top and back again should only take a second or two.

• The kettlebell should feel light in your arms. If you’re powering the movement with your lower body, your arms shouldn’t be working much. The weight will simply follow the motion of your body.

• The height the weight reaches should match the power of your movement. If it’s not getting up to chest or shoulder height, either your movement isn’t explosive enough or you need a lighter weight. A variation of the swing, the American kettlebell swing, takes the weight right over your head. This is a progression, so don’t do it until you master a regular swing. Going so high can strain the shoulders.

• You can actually feel your glutes squeezing as you power up and reach full hip extension. This means you’re using the right muscles, which will lift the weight in front of you.

• Exhale as you lift up. This powers an explosive movement and helps you focus on it.

An explosive kettlebell swing can be a beneficial part of a complete workout routine. Without that explosive element, though, you may as well not do it. Help your clients perfect form to get the most out of this foundational exercise.

A kettlebell swing is just one of many popular and effective exercises you’ll learn about in the ISSA’s Certified Personal Trainer – Self-Guided Study Program. This self-paced course provides everything you need to know to enhance your knowledge and start working as a professional trainer.