2906: This Is How to Do the Perfect Kettlebell Swing by Eric Leija on How to Improve Body Awareness

[00:00:00] This Is Optimal Health Daily. This Is How to Do the Perfect Kettlebell Swing by Eric Leija of EricLeija.com and I'm your host and narrator, Dr. Neal Malik. Hey there, happy Wednesday and welcome back to Optimal Health Daily where I read to you from popular health and fitness blogs to help you optimize your health. Now, on Fridays, I do something a little different. Instead of reading blogs to you like I normally do, I answer your questions that you've sent in.

[00:00:27] And so if you have a question that you've always wanted an answer to, if you're starting to feel confused by all of this conflicting health information, definitely send me a question. Oh now, before I forget, it's the middle of the week and like I do every Wednesday, I want to share a little bit of inspiration with you. Quote, The life that conquers is the life that moves with a steady resolution and persistence toward a predetermined goal. Those who succeed are those who have thoroughly learned the immense importance of a plan in life.

[00:00:57] And the tragic brevity of time. W.J. Davison. Alright, with that, let's get right to today's post and start optimizing your life. This is how to do the perfect kettlebell swing by Eric Leija of EricLeija.com. Kettlebells have had a meteoric rise to fame over the last few years. It seems like everyone wants to learn how to train with kettlebells.

[00:01:25] The kettlebell swing is one of the most popular exercises that have made their way into just about everyone's programming lately. But not many people actually take the time to figure out how to kettlebell swing properly. It may not look like a difficult movement when you see it in action, but it's actually quite complicated, especially for beginners who have never touched a kettlebell. I use the kettlebell swing in my programming very often, and I love the results it gives me.

[00:01:52] Once you perfect the kettlebell swing, there are many different variations you can add to your programming that will give you even better results. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. First, I'm going to take you through some basic steps of how to perform the kettlebell swing properly. Then, I'll walk you through the most common mistakes that I see people making in the gym when they do kettlebell swings. I'll also offer some tips on how to include kettlebell swings into your programming so you can see incredible results.

[00:02:21] Keep in mind that if you're new to the kettlebell, the kettlebell swing may not be an easy feat for you at first, but that's okay. Just be patient, keep working at it, and always make sure you're moving with the correct alignment. How do you execute a kettlebell swing? The first thing you need to know about the kettlebell swing is that it's not an upper body exercise. The power comes from your hips. Here's the sequence of events that happen in the perfect kettlebell swing.

[00:02:50] Stand with your feet about hip width apart. Place the kettlebell about 12 inches in front of your body, and grab the handle of the kettlebell so that the bell is slanted with the handle angling towards you. Hinge from your hips with a flat back. No rounding of your back. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and engage your core. Pull the kettlebell from the point on the floor until the bell goes through your legs,

[00:03:18] under your hips, as you glue your arms to your body as quickly as you can. Then, drive through your heels and power your hips forward to send the kettlebell swinging forward. When the kettlebell is at the apex of the swing, which is about eye height, your hips and knees should hit full extension. Squeeze your glutes at the top of the movement. As the kettlebell descends, marry your arms to your body as quickly as possible,

[00:03:46] so the kettlebell is in line with your spine. Shift the weight into your heels and hinge from your hips to receive the weight between your legs. Rinse and repeat. This list of instructions seems pretty straightforward, but it's not an easy move to nail on the first try. One of the most important things to keep in mind is to hinge from your hips rather than squatting down. Your knees will naturally bend slightly, but make sure the power is being driven from your hips.

[00:04:15] Another important thing to keep in mind is to marry your arms to your body as quickly as possible when the kettlebell is descending down from the apex. Don't hinge your hips too soon. More on this mistake in a second. This ensures that the weight is in line with your spine, which will help prevent injury and allow you to accept more weight. What are the common mistakes of the kettlebell swing? Kettlebell swings often elicit several common mistakes. Perhaps the most common mistake is squatting rather than hinging at the hips.

[00:04:44] Think about sending your hips backwards rather than bending your knees. A good partner drill is to hold your fist a few inches in front of your partner's knee. Their knee should never touch your fist during the kettlebell swing. This encourages you to hinge and drive from the hips rather than bend the knees too much. Another very common mistake is hinging from the hips too soon once the kettlebell is coming down from the apex. To fix this, think about marrying your arms to your torso

[00:05:13] as soon as you can while the kettlebell is descending. This will prevent you from hinging the hips too soon. It's all about timing, and that's something that you'll gain over time. Another common mistake is using your arms to drive the kettlebell rather than your hips. You can quickly identify if someone is doing this if you're watching from the side. You can see that the bell of the kettlebell falls towards the ground when it's at the apex. You should never be lifting up the kettlebell with your arms.

[00:05:41] The power should always come from your hips. So if you feel like you're lifting the weight up with your upper body strength, think more about sending your hips forward with a snap. It's more of a sharp movement rather than a slow heavy one. How do you include kettlebell swings into your programming? There are many different ways to incorporate kettlebell swings into your programming. I like to mix them in with full body circuits, alternating movements like push-ups, rows, or cleans with the classic kettlebell swing.

[00:06:10] You can also use kettlebell swings for a cardiovascular pump as a warm-up, or a sweaty finisher to a workout. If you really want to get the hang of the kettlebell swing, I recommend you train with them three times a week. Experiment with using different weights, different rep counts, etc. And when you feel like you're getting the hang of it, you can reduce it down to twice a week. Don't forget to be patient, even if you feel like you're not getting it at first. Hard work will pay off, and you'll be proud of your progress.

[00:06:41] You just listened to the post titled, This is How to Do the Perfect Kettlebell Swing, by Eric Lea of ericlea.com. And I'll be right back with my commentary. Dr. Neil here for my commentary. When kettlebells started to become more popular, I would see people at the gym performing the move just as Eric described. Perfectly. But I would scoff at it, thinking to myself, What's the point of that move? Yes, I was young and dumb, thought I knew everything. But then, I saw the movie 300.

[00:07:11] And like most of my friends, I became obsessed with figuring out how the actors got in such great shape. Eventually, I discovered that the brain behind the actors' workouts was a man named Mark Twight. So I dug deeper and read about his training philosophies and found some of the workouts he put the actors through. One of the tools he used was, guess what? Kettlebell programming. I can't say that when I saw this, it was respect at first sight. I first thought, really? Why kettlebells? But you know what?

[00:07:41] If it's good enough for Gerard Butler, then I guess it's worth a shot. Let's just say when I finally picked up my first kettlebell, it was quite a humbling experience. Eric is right. A kettlebell swing is a complicated move. My very first move with the kettlebell was painful. But, with discipline and persistence, I eventually learned to master the move. Now, I should be clear. Performing kettlebell workouts will not get you to look like a Spartan warrior in and of themselves. Instead, as Eric mentioned, it can be part of your routine.

[00:08:11] A way to mix things up a bit and force your body to adapt to a new move. Muscles you didn't know you had or that had been asleep for some time will begin to activate once you start doing kettlebell swings. And this is a very good thing. Now, I don't perform kettlebell workouts every day. It's up to you. As Eric mentioned, he does them more often. And that's fantastic. But what I can say is I do incorporate them fairly regularly. And I'm so glad I did. All right.

[00:08:40] That'll do it for another edition of Optimal Health Daily. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you for sharing this show with someone. And I'll see you back here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.