Glutes exercise
Kettlebell SwingHow to do it, with form in numbers
- Main muscles
- Glutes, Hamstrings
- Also works
- Lower back, Abs, Forearms
- Equipment
- Kettlebell
- Level
- Intermediate
How to do it
How do you do the Kettlebell Swing?
- Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, both hands on the kettlebell.
- Hinge back and swing the bell between your thighs.
- Snap your hips forward and squeeze your glutes.
- Let the bell float up to chest height on straight arms.
- Let it fall and hinge back into the next swing.
Cues
- Hips do the work, arms just hold on.
- Stand tall and tight at the top.
- Hike the bell back high between your thighs.
Common mistakes
- Squatting down instead of hinging back.
- Lifting the bell with your shoulders.
- Leaning back at the top.
Form in detail
What does good form look like?
Starting position
Two-handed Russian (hardstyle) swing to chest height. Feet shoulder-width apart, toes forward to 15° out. Both hands on the handle, palms facing down and back, thumbs wrapped, arms straight.
The movement
From the top, let the bell fall. Keep the arms straight and the upper arms close to the ribs. As the forearms reach the hips, hinge hard: hips go back, trunk tips forward with a flat back, knees bend a little. The bell passes between the thighs, above the knees, and travels back under the hips; at the bottom the forearms touch the inner thighs and the bell sits behind the line of the knees. Then snap the hips forward, squeeze the glutes and straighten the knees at the same moment. The arms do not lift the bell: hip drive sends it forward and up, and the arms just guide it. At the top the body is a straight standing plank and the bell floats for a moment, in line with the arms, before falling again.
End position
Bottom: hips deeply flexed, trunk well forward, bell behind the knees. Trunk angle = hip flexion minus the thigh's backward tilt (about 20–25° with a 30° knee). Note on the knee: ACE says "slightly bent". McGill & Marshall report 69° knee flexion at the start of their swing; that is far more than a hinge needs and reads like their start from the floor. Use 30° for the demo.
Tempo
Ballistic. About 0.9 s from the bottom to the top (the upswing measured in [3]), 0.15 s float at the top, 0.95 s fall and backswing.
Form in numbers
What are the angles and distances?
| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hip flexion at the bottom of the backswing | 80° | 70–90° | [2][3] |
| Knee flexion at the bottom | 30° | 15–45° | [1][2] |
| Bell position at the bottom | behind the knee line, handle just above knee height | between the thighs, never below the knees | [1] |
| Hip extension at the top | 0° | −2 to +2° | [2][3] |
| Knee flexion at the top | 0° | 0–5° | [2] |
| Trunk lean back at the top | 0° | under 5° | [2] |
| Bell height at the top | chest (sternum) | lower chest to shoulder | [1][3] |
The targets our 3D demo was built to, from the references below. Bodies differ, so treat the ranges as a guide for your own build.
For coaches
Use this demo in your clients’ programs
The Kettlebell Swing is in Trainaq’s exercise library. Add it to a workout, and your client sees this demo in the free Trainaq app above the sets they log.
Sources
