3 Tips to Fix the Kettlebell Swing - With Joe Daniels

What's going on everybody this is Joe from Swing This Kettlebell and Strength up here at Tiger Fitness.

I'm going to show you a couple of tips on the kettlebell swing since it's become so popular; people are using it from Olympic training all the way down to in your living room to lose a couple pounds of fat.

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I'm going to show you three things to watch out for to keep you from getting injured on your kettlebell swings.

So the biggest thing why I do so much stuff with kettlebell tools like this is because of the fact it's not just concentric. It's not just about applying force. It's not JUST Olympic lifting creating power.

It's deceleration.

And that's we are as a people, every step we take is deceleration. If I step up and step down and it's deceleration of weight.

When you bench, you can use different tempos. This is total deceleration. Which muscles are you working? This uses different energy systems to be able to handle that.

So there's a lot of ways you can incorporate kettlebell swings into your traditional bodybuilding and/or powerlifting routine.

I started doing it right after bodybuilding career. It became really good for me as far as doing higher reps and working on fluid motion. I became less stiff and I became stronger in different angles. Kettlebells are meant for high repetition work.

There are several tips that I can help give you to look out for so you don't cause these problems.

Improve Your Kettlebell Swing

1.) Swinging Too Deep

You don't want to hike the bell very deep every time and too low to the ground.

We want to keep it closer to our hips and use our leverage from our hips to keep the weight fluid. Do not flip flop the weight around.

So there's going too deep and too low, and the opposite of that is not going deep enough.

We are all built different, so depth is different for everyone.

Place your hands on your thigh and keep your elbows extended and locked out.

Slide back as if you're doing a deadlift and when your hands are right above your kneecaps, that's a good spot for you to swing your kettlebell. Some people might be shorter, some might be longer.

So start your swing and apply force. Notice I'm not lifting with my arms, the kettlebell is always staying slightly going up. It's like swinging a pale of water.

2.) Don't Chase the Bell

Another tip you want to look out for is we don't want to end up chasing the bell. We don't wanna go up on our toes because your back spinal erectors are getting a lot of work.

We want to get ready to jump, so load your hips like you would for a jump. This is great for sports, teaches you a lot of balance and reactivity.

Note: We're not jumping forward, we are absorbing it and bringing it up.

You'll learn that KB swings will make it easier to transition into cleans and snatches.

3.) Don't Arch Your Back

Another tip I want to show you is that we don't want to arch with our back.

We aren't just trying to lift this with our back. We should be maintaining nice, stable, and tense spine. Much like you would with a deadlift.

So we don't want to be arching, no matter how high you swing it.

You're not trying to overextend your lower back. Make it a hinging pattern of movement at the hips.

A kettlebell swing is simply absorbing the weight, transitioning the weight, and repeating.