GRIP Favourites - Kettlebell Swing

The swing is a fundamental movement in kettlebell training and should be the first thing you learn when picking one up. It provides the foundations to build up to more advanced and challenging exercises. However it is an awesome exercise in its own right.

Correct technique is vital to get the most out of the swing. Countless times I've seen people trying to perform a swing using a squatting movement, but as you can see from the video above that's not the way to do it. What makes the swing such a great exercise is that it targets the muscles in your posterior chain, a group of muscles that are often over looked. These include the hamstrings, glutes and back as well as your core. However to make sure these are correctly targeted, the swing needs to be performed as a hinging movement, pivoting about the hips. This means that bending at the knees should be limited as much as possible.

By targeting the posterior chain the kettlebell swing is a great exercise for combating the poor posture that many of us develop due to spending a large amount of time sat a desks at work. Sitting causes muscular imbalances, with our chest and hips becoming tight, while our backs and glutes become weak, resulting in a hunched posture. The kettlebell swing targets all the weak muscles that contribute to poor posture, so coupled with a well designed stretching routine (see our 'Chairs are the devil' post), it can help to alleviate the muscular imbalances.

In terms of performance, the kettlebell swing is a ballistic exercise, designed to be performed explosively and repeatedly. This makes it a great exercise for developing muscular power and speed, whilst also providing a cardiovascular workout. The kettlebell swing is an ideal exercise to include in conditioning workouts because of this balance in improving both explosive strength and aerobic capacity. In addition, the exercise is great for improving grip strength and endurance.

So now you know how awesome the kettlebell swing is, why not give it a go!! We run a kettlebell class 4 days a week at our training studio in Cardiff catering for beginners to advanced users, come give it a go!

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