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Kettlebell training is an excellent way to develop total-body strength, flexibility, and power. It’s easier on your body than barbell weight training, but you must take care to avoid injury. Below, you'll find the various benefits of kettlebell workouts and why you should add them to your fitness routine.
Building Total-Body Strength and Power with Kettlebell Training
Unlike dumbbells, which focus on specific muscles, kettlebells engage multiple muscle groups simultaneously. In addition to building strength, kettlebells improve your cardiovascular fitness, much like high-intensity interval training. For instance, the kettlebell swing targets several key muscles required for sprinting power, and it can leave you winded after just a few repetitions.
If your goal is to improve strength and fitness, kettlebells are just as effective as dumbbells or barbells for increasing your lifting capacity and developing explosive power on the field, at least in the short term. You can use kettlebells exclusively or incorporate them into your existing workout. With kettlebell training, the focus shifts away from the weight itself and instead teaches your body to generate quick force while keeping your muscles engaged. This results in increased power, control, and less strain on the body due to the lighter load.
Effective Exercises You Can Do with Just One Kettlebell
Let’s be honest: These kettlebell exercises are intense. If you're new to fitness, be sure to ease into kettlebell training carefully. As with any weight or bodyweight exercise, proper form is essential. Here are a few examples of exercises you can perform using just one kettlebell.
The Kettlebell Swing
The kettlebell swing is the most effective single exercise you can do with a kettlebell. It's also the foundation for many other kettlebell movements. In this video, Neghar Fonooni breaks down the key techniques for mastering the swing.
When you break it down, kettlebell swings resemble deadlifts in many ways. For example, both involve the hip hinge movement, but the power in a kettlebell swing comes from thrusting your hips forward rather than using your arms to swing the kettlebell. Much like a deadlift, it’s crucial to maintain a straight back and engage your lats, as if you were squeezing juice from your armpits the whole time. Check out this article by Onnit for a detailed breakdown. Not surprisingly, mastering the kettlebell swing with heavy weights can also improve your deadlift performance.
Before moving on to more advanced kettlebell exercises, make sure to dedicate plenty of time (ideally months) to perfecting the kettlebell swing. Part of kettlebell training is not just about developing strength and endurance, but also about cultivating the patience and awareness necessary to progress safely without risking injury.
The Kettlebell Goblet Squat
While you can perform goblet squats with dumbbells, the kettlebell’s horn-like handle makes it easier to grip close to your chest. Even if you have limited squat mobility, the counterweight helps you go deeper, stretches out your hips, and forces you to maintain a straight back. A few important tips: make sure your knees track outward, keep your elbows tucked in, chest lifted, and push through your heels.
The Kettlebell Clean
When you “clean” a kettlebell (or anything), you lift it in a quick, fluid movement from the floor straight to your chest, then hold it in front of you in what’s called a “racked” position. You might be tempted to use just your arm to brute force the kettlebell to your chest, but you’re supposed to use the momentum from snapping your hips forward, just like you did in the swing.
Lifting the kettlebell from the ground to the racked position requires a very quick, subtle shift in the kettlebell’s position, where the ball part of the kettlebell ends up in contact with the back of your hand and forearm. Most people do a jerking motion that flips the kettlebell over in a wide arc and makes it smack the back of their hands, rather painfully. You’ll understand what I mean after a few tries. Check this fantastic video by Onnit on how to properly rack a kettlebell and this article by Jen Sinkler which provides three great visuals to troubleshoot a kettlebell clean gone wrong.
Turkish Get-Up
From start to finish, the Turkish get-up is the ultimate test for shoulder, core, arm, leg, and basically overall strength and stability. There are many steps to a full Turkish get-up, so if you’re weak in one aspect, completing the exercise is just shy of impossible.
It starts laying down on your back while you hold a kettlebell upside-down above your head. While balancing the kettlebell overhead throughout the entire exercise, you have to sit up and do an almost elegant sweeping motion to rise to your feet, then reverse every step to return to your initial position. The key is to deliberately do it slowly, pausing between each step, because rushing through it negates the awesomeness of this exercise. In addition to the video above by StrongFirst, this article by Breaking Muscle drills down into the exercise in very great detail.
The Kettlebell Snatch
The kettlebell snatch begins like the kettlebell swing, where you bring the kettlebell to eye level. But instead of stopping there, continue the movement to bring the kettlebell overhead. Much like the clean, there’s a quick flip of the kettlebell so that the ball part touches the back of your hand. To perform a proper kettlebell snatch, you need a strong kettlebell swing, core stability to control the kettlebell, the ability to reach overhead without overextending your back, and healthy shoulder joints to balance the weight. For an in-depth guide, check out this article by Kettlebell Workouts.
If you're new to kettlebell training, start with a weight between 8 kg and 24 kg (measured in kilograms or poods). This range is wide, but since the kettlebell swing is the foundation of kettlebell training, choose a weight that challenges you without causing uncontrolled swings. To find certified kettlebell instructors, you can search for Russian Kettlebell Challenge (RKC) trainers through DragonDoor or StrongFirst. Pavel Tsatsouline’s book Enter the Kettlebell, Kettlebell Burn, StrongFirst, and Dragon Door are also excellent resources.
After mastering single kettlebell exercises, you can progress to more advanced variations using two kettlebells. Some also incorporate instability into their routines by holding a kettlebell upside down, known as the bottoms-up position, which forces you to prevent it from toppling over while lifting or holding the weight.
Kettlebells offer a great change of pace from dumbbells and barbells, but they're not a quick way to increase weight. Stick with it, and be patient as you progress.
Artwork by Sam Woolley.
