In this video, RKC (kettlebell instructor) Lisa Schaffer gives an awesome lesson on how to do the kettlebell swing.
The kettlebell swing is one of the best, if not THE best exercises for fat loss.
It's a lot less wacky than it looks, once you get the hang of it. It's an exercise that is all glutes and hamstrings. There are no arms involved, unless you're doing it wrong. Your arms are like rope, the kettlebell is like a wrecking ball.
It's snappy and explosive, like throwing a punch.
It really blurs the lines between weight training and cardio.
Sometimes people are worried it will hurt your back, once again, only if you do it wrong. If you use your arms or round your back forward, it will be terrible. If you use your hips to project the kettlebell up, and keep your back arched at the bottom, then it's one of the best things that you could be doing for your back.
*Of course, if you have a serious back condition like a herniated disk or something, you'd want to clear this with the doc first.
Watch this video a couple times. Listen to Lisa, the kettlebell instructor who is teaching the move. Your first month working with kettlebell swings treat your training like practice, instead of a workout. Once you get in the groove, kettlebell training is unbelievably fun and effective. Fun and effective is a powerful and addicting combination.
If you are looking for certified russian kettlebell instructors in your area, you can use this website: http://www.dragondoor.com/instructors.html
In The Stubborn Seven Pounds I teach "kettlebell" swings with dumbbells and gripper plates, because everyone already has those in their local gym.
By Josh Hillis
Author of How To Lose The Stubborn Seven Pounds: Take Your Body from Good to Rockstar.
National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer (NASM-CPT) and Performance Enhancement Specialist (NASM-PES),
Russian Kettlebell Challenge Level II Certified Instructor (RKC2)
© Joshua Hillis 2007
Hey Josh. Great blog, thanks for posting on RKB. Just a quick question – when doing this, is this done in sets or to exhaustion? And if I was using regular dumbbells, what would be a comparable weight to start with? Thanks. 🙂
I like to start fit girls off with a 25lb dumbbell.
Usually I have sets of swings mixed up with sets of pushing and pulling exercises. Usually the sets of swings are fairly high reps.
Lately I’m liking sets of 25. Makes a great finisher on the end of a fat loss circuit.
Another idea – Try doing 5 sets of 10 pushups and 25 swings. See how long it takes you, then next week try to beat your time.
Really hardcore dude. One guy is using kettlebells in my gym and it looks really damn tough.