Mastering the Kettlebell Swing | John Wolf

Onnit Chief Fitness Officer John Wolf demonstrates the kettlebell swing, along with two progressions (the single-hand kettlebell swing and alternating single-arm swing).
► Kettlebell Swings: The 1 Exercise That Fixes 99 Problems: https://bit.ly/3BOk7uf
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00:00 - Intro
00:18 - Step 1: Hinge Mechanics
01:08 - Step 2: Root and Wedge
02:15 - Step 3: Hike
03:50 - Step 4: Drive and Float
04:47 - Full Demonstration
05:54 - Progression: Single-Hand Kettlebell Swing
06:38 - Progression: Alternating Single-Arm Swing
07:47 - Regression: Chest Swing

| Kettlebell Swings Can be Summed Up With 4 Easy Verbal Cues |
1. HIKE
Every rep counts when you swing a kettlebell – from rep 1 to rep 20 – each one should look as fluid and as powerful as the very first one. This is where the “hike pass” is so important.

As opposed to starting your set of swings from the standing position like how you see most amateurs do it, the hike pass allows you to pre-stretch your lats – a powerful muscle in your upper body with a direct relationship with your glutes – and get more “juice” out of your swing.

Set your kettlebell up about 12-18 inches in front of you. Push your hips back keeping your butt high and bend your knees slightly. Gripping the kettlebell with both hands, pull your shoulders into their sockets and fire your lats – the kettlebell will tilt towards you.

Always making sure your shoulders stay above the level of your hips, “hike pass” the kettlebell through your knees by contracting your lats. This is how you start your swing.

2. HINGE
Unlike a squat which is knee dominant, the HINGE movement is dominated by the hips. When you push your hips back keeping your butt high and your shins vertical, you are hingeing.

When you hinge, you overload your hamstrings and glute muscles. This is good because most people today are hip flexor and quad dominant (your anterior muscles), so learning how to load and use your posterior chain creates a natural balance between front and back that will help in preventing knee and hip issues.

The hinge is the foundation of the kettlebell swing. If you can’t hinge properly, you can’t swing properly. The reason why the hinge is so powerful is because we load the hamstrings like slingshots.

The further back we push our rear ends, the more stretch we get in our hamstrings. Our hamstrings act as explosive, thick elastic bands.

When you drive your butt back, you load elastic energy allowing your hamstring to explosively snap back as you get into the…

3. ROOT
The ROOT is the finish of the swing. Think of the root as a standing plank where you are tightening every muscle in your body from your shoulders down…

Imagine that you are growing roots through your feet and grab the ground with your entire foot. Pull your knee caps up into your crotch (“flex” your quads).

Squeeze your glutes like you’ve got a $100 bill between your butt cheeks and someone is trying to yank it out. Brace your abs like you’re about to take a punch.

And pull your shoulders as far from your ears as possible contracting your lats. This is your ROOT position and this is your goal.

If you break down the kettlebell swing, it simply is just a series of high-speed HINGEs to ROOTs. You move explosively from hinge to root to hinge to root throughout our set.

You don’t worry about what the kettlebell is doing. It will react accordingly and give you feedback, letting you know if you are performing the exercise correctly.

4. FLOAT
The FLOAT is what happens to the kettlebell when you do the swing correctly. It ensures that your energy is focused on your glutes and not on your trying to “muscle” the kettlebell up to a certain height.

When you go from HINGE to ROOT, the harder you contract your glutes, the higher the kettlebell will FLOAT.

The higher the FLOAT of the kettlebell, the more rest you get between reps FLOAT is what the kettlebell will do while the rest of your body is in the ROOT.

HIKE – HINGE – ROOT – FLOAT …it really is that simple.

Getting proper instruction from an expert so that you can MASTER THE KETTLEBELL SWING is the best thing that you can do for your training regardless of your goal. If you want to build strength, kettlebell swings will forge a grip of steel and will add pounds to your deadlift & squat.

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