Swing, Baby, Swing

Proper kettlebell swing technique is not hard to master, but it takes some practice. Below are a few tips that will make your swing stronger and more effective while protecting your back.

1. Keep your eyes and shoulders up! Look at a spot directly in front of you, NOT the floor. Keep your shoulders tall — don't hunch over, as this can round your back and expose you to injury.

2. The hip snap starts at the BOTTOM of the swing, not halfway up. The same goes for the clean, snatch, and high pull. These movements are known as BALLISTICS because they involve explosive acceleration and a trajectory, like a rocket — the booster ignites on the ground and propels the rocket into the sky. An aggressive, powerful hip snap will make that bell fly.

To practice, try this drill:

Stand tall and squeeze your abs, glutes, and quads. Once it's all TIGHT, hinge back — like you're going down for a deadlift, with your glutes back, knees softly bent, and eyes up — and then SNAP straight up into that position of tension (tight abs, glutes, quads). Go fast! Do 10. Sniff a breath in on the way down, and FORCE it out from the bottom to drive the snap. Go from the bottom to the TIGHT position as fast as you can! Recover at the top and on the way down.

3. Stand STRAIGHT up at the top — not leaning back.

4. At the bottom, push the kettlebell back as if you're plugging it into an outlet on the wall. Your feet should be far enough apart to reach through your legs, but not so wide that you have trouble snapping your hips up. The bell should not kick up in the back — if it does, push it back further. From that "plugged in" position at the bottom, start a FAST, AGGRESSIVE hip snap.

5. The bell should float up — you shouldn't have to pull or muscle your ballistics. If you do, you need to snap more aggressively!

Shoulders and eyes up, glutes back, bell plugged into the wall, heels down.

In summary:

• Shoulders and eyes UP
• Plug the bell into the imaginary outlet in the wall behind you, while breathing in
• SNAP up FAST into the tension position, while forcing the air out FAST
• Guide the bell to the top of the swing and push it down to go again

Happy swinging!!