Hip Hinge · Intermediate
Kettlebell Swing
Compound hip hinge exercise using kettlebell.
- Movement pattern
- Hip Hinge
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Equipment
- Kettlebell
- Mechanics
- Compound
- Sides
- Bilateral
- Main plane
- Sagittal
How to do the Kettlebell Swing
Setup
Stand with the kettlebell in front of you, feet shoulder-width or slightly wider.
This is a hip-hinge, not a squat -- keep your knees relatively soft while your hips drive back to load the swing.
Snap your hips forward explosively to project the bell up to about chest height (the "Russian" swing); let your arms act like a rope, not like lifters.
Finish each rep standing tall with your glutes and abs braced -- don't lean back to add height to the swing.
Common mistakes
Squatting the swing (bending the knees deeply and lifting with the legs like a squat) instead of hinging at the hips.
Rounding your lower back at the bottom of the swing instead of keeping a flat, neutral spine throughout.
Muscles worked
How the knowledge graph models this movement
Hip extension
Spine extension
Shoulder flexion