Single-Arm Kettlebell Swing

How to do it

1. Set a kettlebell on the floor a foot or so in front of you and stand with feet a little wider than your hips.
2. Hinge at the hips with a flat back and take the handle in one hand.
3. Hike the bell back between your legs, keeping the arm straight and the back flat.
4. Snap the hips forward hard to drive the bell up — the arm guides it, it does not lift it.
5. Let the bell rise to about chest height, then let it fall back between the legs as the hips hinge again.
6. Keep the shoulders square as the bell travels; the single arm will try to turn you.

Common mistakes

• Lifting the bell with the arm. A swing is a hip hinge that happens quickly — the arm is a rope. If the shoulders are burning, the hips are not doing it.
• Squatting rather than hinging. The knees bend a little and the hips travel a long way back; bending the knees deeply turns it into an awkward front raise from a squat.
• Swinging overhead because it looks more impressive. Chest height is where the hip drive stops contributing; above that the shoulder is lifting the bell, which is a different exercise at a load chosen for the hips.
• Letting the torso rotate toward the working side. One arm means the trunk has to resist a turn on every repetition, and that resistance is a large part of what makes the single-arm version worth doing.

Muscles worked

Primary

• Hamstrings
• Glutes

Secondary

• Calves
• Spinal Erectors
• Shoulders