Training guide

How to do a kettlebell swing: the hinge, the hip snap and which swing to choose

A kettlebell swing is a fast hip hinge: you push your hips back to hike the bell between your thighs, then snap them forward so the bell floats up to about chest height. Your arms only steer it. Done that way, the swing works your glutes, hamstrings and back hard and builds power, in a few minutes with one bell.

The research is small and mostly short: lab studies of a few dozen people and trials lasting 6 to 12 weeks. It shows that the swing works the hips hard, loads the lower back moderately, and built strength and jump height about as well as jump training. It doesn't show that the overhead American swing is better, or that either swing is safer for your shoulders.

This guide takes you from your first hip hinge to crisp swings, with a 3D demo of every step: the set-up, the hike, the snap, the float and the park; how to breathe; Russian or American swings; choosing a bell; what the studies say about your back; and how often to swing.

The short version

A fast hip hinge, not a squat or an arm raise

Push your hips back to hike the bell between your thighs, then snap them forward so it floats up to about chest height. Your arms only guide it. In 14 people, a hinge-style swing worked the hamstrings harder than a squat-style swing.

Sources 1, 2, 3

Learn the hinge, then the kettlebell deadlift, then the swing

The American Council on Exercise (ACE) teaches a bodyweight hip hinge, then a kettlebell deadlift, then the swing, and moves people on after about 12 to 15 good loaded hinges. Our kettlebell plan does the same, with deadlifts in place of swings until the hinge is solid.

Sources 4, 1

Start with the Russian swing, to chest height

Coaching bodies teach the chest-height (Russian, or hardstyle) swing as the standard; CrossFit's American swing carries on overhead. The overhead swing is a longer, harder rep for the hips, and its researchers suggest adding bell weight before going overhead. We found no study of shoulder load or injury in the American swing.

Sources 1, 5, 6, 7, 8

It loads your back moderately, so let your hips lead

A 16 kg swing put a moderate load on the lower back in a lab study of 7 men, and a few people find swings irritate their back. In a workplace trial, 8 weeks of kettlebell training eased low back pain compared with no training. If your lower back, not your hips, is doing the work, go back to deadlifts for a week.

Sources 9, 10

Choose your bell by test, not by a chart

Use a bell you can deadlift easily for 10 reps and swing crisply for 10, as our kettlebell plan says. Trials used 12 to 20 kg in younger adults. StrongFirst's starter sets begin at 8 kg for women and 16 kg for men, but no trial has compared starting weights.

Sources 11, 12, 13

Two or three swing sessions a week

Six weeks of twice-weekly swing intervals raised leg strength and jump height, and 12 weeks of swing training raised deadlift strength by about 12%. Keep your expectations in proportion: a review of 99 kettlebell publications found mostly small, low-quality studies with small effects.

Sources 11, 14, 15

What a kettlebell swing is

A swing is a hip hinge done fast. Your hips move back and forward like a hinge, your knees bend only a little and your shins stay nearly vertical. The bell swings back between your thighs, then floats out in front of you, driven by your hips, while your arms stay straight and loose, like ropes, as our move page puts it.

The Russian swing, also called the hardstyle swing, stops with the bell at about chest height. The American swing, CrossFit's standard, carries on until the bell is straight overhead. This guide teaches the Russian swing first, then explains when the overhead swing makes sense.

Unlike a deadlift, the bell never stops: your hips throw it on the way up and absorb it on the way down. That makes the swing a power exercise, trained fast and crisp rather than slow and grinding.

How to do a kettlebell swing, step by step

Built on ACE's two-handed swing article, Hartle's swing instructions for Human Kinetics and our kettlebell swing move page. The breathing timing is our editorial choice: coaches differ, as the next section explains.

  1. Set up: clear the space in front of and behind you. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, toes turned out a little, with the bell on the floor about 30 cm in front of you.
  2. Hinge down to the bell: push your hips back, knees soft, until you can reach the handle, shins nearly vertical and back long. Grip it with both hands, palms down, and tilt it towards you.
  3. Hike it back: pass the bell back between your thighs like an American football snap, high, into the space just above your knees, keeping the same hinge. Breathe in as it goes back.
  4. Snap your hips forward and stand tall: push the floor away and finish straight, glutes squeezed, kneecaps pulled up and abs braced, like a standing plank. Breathe out sharply as your hips snap through.
  5. Let the bell float to about chest height. Your arms stay straight and loose and only steer it: don't lift it with your shoulders, and don't lean back.
  6. Let it fall, and stay tall until your forearms meet your hips. Then hinge sharply so the bell passes high between your thighs, and go straight into the next rep.
  7. Park it: after the last rep, let the bell swing back once more, then guide it to a stop on the floor, between or just in front of your feet. Do the same if your grip or form goes mid-set; never let go of a swinging bell.

Loading the 3D figure…

Gets into position, then repeats the movement. Technical checks passed; qualified exercise review is pending.

The movement on the figure: Kettlebell swing

Getting the details right

Feet, bell and grip

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, or a little wider, toes turned out slightly. ACE starts with the bell between your feet; Hartle sets it about 30 cm in front, so you can tilt it back towards you for the first hike. Grip hard, palms down: Hartle's cue is to "try to break the handle", which tightens your upper back.

Sources 1, 2, 5

Hike it high

Aim the bell at the small triangle just above your knees, keeping the same hinge as you hike. A low hike, at or below the knees, drags you forward and makes your back work harder (our view).

Sources 5, 1

Finish your hips

In 19 people new to swings, the hips stopped 8 to 10 degrees short of straight at the top, even with coaching. Stand up fully, tensing your body "just like a plank", as a StrongFirst article puts it, and hold that standing plank until the bell starts to fall.

Sources 16, 17, 5

How high the bell goes

Chest to shoulder height is the target in ACE's article; Hartle's swing reaches about chest level, and one study cued eye level. Higher isn't better in a Russian swing: lifting the bell with your arms turns it into a front raise.

Sources 1, 5, 16

Breathing: coaches differ

A StrongFirst article times the breath with the hip snap, a sharp breath with the whole body tense at the top. ACE's article teaches the opposite timing: breathe in as the bell rises and out as it comes back down. We found no study comparing them.

Our editorial suggestion: breathe in as you hike the bell back and out sharply as your hips snap through. It matches the usual advice to breathe out on the effort, and it stops you holding your breath through a set.

Sources 17, 1

Eyes and neck

Look at the floor a couple of metres ahead at the bottom and straight ahead at the top, with your neck in line with your trunk. Don't crane up to watch the bell (our suggestion).

If it goes wrong mid-set

If your grip slips or your form goes, don't fight the bell: let it swing through, guide it back and park it on the floor between your feet, and keep the space in front of you clear, as our move page advises.

Cues that help

"Hike it like a football"; "hips, not arms"; "stand up like a plank"; "get out of the bell's way" as it falls; and "finish the hips". These are coaching cues, not tested in trials.

Sources 1, 5, 17

Hinge, not squat

What the difference looks like

In a hinge-style swing your hips go back, your knees bend a little and your shins stay nearly vertical, with your hips above your knees and below your shoulders. In a squat-style swing your knees travel forward, your hips drop and the bell travels lower. A review of kettlebell research links the squat-style pattern with the American swing.

Sources 1, 5, 15

The hinge works the hamstrings harderEmerging evidence

In 14 people, a hinge-style swing drew more hamstring activity than a squat-style swing or the kettlebell-sport style (a "double knee extension" swing). The differences were a few per cent of maximum, so the hinge nudges the work towards the back of your thighs rather than making it a different exercise.

Source 3

Squatting the swing is the commonest learner mistake

ACE lists it first among common mistakes. Fix it with hinge practice and kettlebell deadlifts, and the cue "hips back, shins nearly vertical".

Source 1

How to learn the hinge

Stand a foot in front of a wall with your hands at your hip creases, and push your hips back to tap the wall, back long and knees soft. Then deadlift a kettlebell from between your feet, setting it down and resetting each rep. ACE moves people on to swings after about 12 to 15 good loaded hinges; some people get there in a few reps, others take a few sessions.

Sources 4, 1

Where coaches disagree: swing on day one, or hinge first?

Some coaches teach the swing in the first session with a light bell. ACE, our kettlebell plan and our deadlift guide put the hinge and the kettlebell deadlift first. Both can work; we suggest the hinge first, because squatting the swing is the commonest learner mistake.

Sources 1, 4

Russian or American swing?

The two swings

The Russian swing stops at about chest height with the bell in front of you. The American swing carries on until the bell is directly overhead. CrossFit chose it for more range and more work per rep, and allows a lower finish when "flexibility does not allow it"; its case rests on its own timing and heart-rate tests, not trials.

Sources 6, 18, 19

The overhead swing is a longer, harder rep for the hipsEmerging evidence

In 15 experienced women swinging the same bell, the overhead swing produced 42% more peak hip power, 22% more hip work and 10% more peak hip speed than a chest-height swing. In 15 experienced men and women, peak hip loads and joint angles were similar, but each overhead rep took 34% longer. That's one study of each, both in experienced swingers.

Sources 7, 8

Your abs work harder to stop the bell overheadMixed evidence

Near the top of an American swing, the abdominal muscles worked at 56 to 101% of their maximum in 15 trained men, against the 12 to 19% the same researchers measured in an earlier study of the Russian swing. The comparison crosses two studies, so treat it as a rough guide.

Source 19

The shoulder question: no evidence either wayMixed evidence

We found no study of shoulder load or injury in the American swing, so claims that it's riskier for shoulders, or that it's safe for them, go beyond the evidence. What is clear is that it needs full overhead reach. If you can't get both arms straight overhead without arching your back, or it hurts, stay at chest height.

Sources 6, 18, 15

Our advice: Russian first, then add weight before going overhead

The overhead swing's researchers suggest adding bell weight to the chest-height swing before moving overhead, and our overhead swing move page asks for a steady two-handed swing to chest height first. With a sore shoulder, keep to chest height or lower.

Source 7

Where coaches disagree

CrossFit prefers the overhead swing; ACE and the hardstyle coaches teach the chest-height swing. The evidence can say the overhead swing is a longer, harder rep for the hips. It can't say which is safer for your shoulders or your back.

Sources 6, 1, 5

What the evidence says

The swing works your glutes, hamstrings and back hardEmerging evidence

With a 16 kg bell, the glutes worked at about 80% of their maximum and the lower back muscles at about 50% in 7 men. In 19 people new to swings, two-handed and one-handed swings drew high activity from the glutes (about 75% of maximum), the gluteus medius at the side of the hip (about 55%) and the hamstrings (about 79%), and the hamstrings switched on before the glutes. In 16 female athletes, the swing worked the inner hamstring harder than the outer one.

Sources 9, 16, 20

Swing power is highEmerging evidence

In 16 men, the swing's power output beat the back squat's and came close to the jump squat's, and a 32 kg bell gave the biggest push into the floor. In 30 adults, heavier bells raised the load at the lower back, hip and ankle more than at the knee.

Sources 21, 22

Swing training built strength and jump height in small trialsEmerging evidence

In 21 men, 6 weeks of twice-weekly swing intervals (12 rounds of 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off, with 12 or 16 kg) raised half-squat strength and jump height as much as jump-squat training; across both groups, strength rose by 9.8% and jump height by 19.8%. In other small trials, a fixed 20 kg bell did as well as stepping up 4 kg every 2 weeks over 6 weeks, and 12 weeks of swings raised deadlift strength by about 12% in men and women.

Sources 11, 12, 14

Barbells built more squat strengthEmerging evidence

Over 6 weeks, weightlifting built more back-squat strength than kettlebell training, with similar gains in jump height. In another trial, 10 weeks of kettlebell classes improved bench-press strength but not jump height. Kettlebells are a good tool, not a better one.

Sources 23, 24

Kettlebell training eased neck and back pain in one workplace trialEmerging evidence

In 40 adults from jobs where aches are common (85% of them women, with mild pain on average), 8 weeks of kettlebell training three times a week cut neck and shoulder pain by 2.1 points and low back pain by 1.4 points on a 0 to 10 scale, compared with no training. Back strength rose, but aerobic fitness didn't change. It's one small trial.

Source 10

Your heart rate overstates the cardioEmerging evidence

Twelve minutes of continuous swings with 16 kg averaged 87% of maximum heart rate but only 65% of maximum oxygen uptake, and the workplace trial found no change in aerobic fitness. Swings feel like cardio; keep your walks, runs or rides too.

Sources 25, 10

Novices learn the pattern quicklyEmerging evidence

In 12 young adults learning from a video over a week, swings became more consistent and the hips increasingly led the shoulders. It's a small study, but it fits what coaches report: the basic pattern comes within a few sessions.

Source 26

Well tolerated by older adults, with supervisionEmerging evidence

In adults aged 59 to 79, 12 weeks of supervised hardstyle kettlebell classes improved grip strength, walking distance and deadlift strength. There were four minor problems, including two strained rib muscles, one of which started during swings.

Source 27

Most kettlebell research is small and shortEmerging evidence

A 2019 review of 99 kettlebell publications found mostly small, low-quality studies with trivial to small effects. Its three injury case reports each seemed to involve a training-load error.

Source 15

What the trials don't cover

Most swing studies tested young, healthy adults, often men, for a single session or 6 to 12 weeks. No trial has compared starting bell weights, tested swinging every day, or compared injuries between the two swing styles.

Source 15

Choosing a bell

Choose by test

Our kettlebell plan's test: a bell you can deadlift for 10 easy reps with a flat back and swing for 10 crisp reps, your hips floating it to chest height. If the hike drags you forward or your back rounds, it's too heavy for now. A bell that's too light can be unhelpful too: it's easy to lift with your arms, so your hips never learn to throw it (our view).

What the trials used

Young men swung 12 kg (under 70 kg body weight) or 16 kg; experienced adults used 12 to 20 kg; and older adults practised at home with 8 kg. These are anchors, not targets.

Sources 11, 8, 7, 12, 27

Charts are a starting guide, not a test

StrongFirst's starter sets are 8, 12 and 16 kg for an average-strength woman and 16 and 24 kg for an average-strength man. That's buying guidance: no trial has compared starting weights, so our plan chooses by test rather than by sex.

Sources 13, 15

Moving up

Add reps and rounds first, then the next bell. Kettlebells usually jump 4 kg at a time, which can be 25 to 50% for a beginner. In a 6-week trial, a fixed 20 kg bell and a bell stepped up 4 kg every 2 weeks built similar strength, and in another trial adding reps and adding load both worked.

Sources 12, 28

One bell or two?

Most people need a swing bell and a lighter bell for presses and get-ups, usually one or two sizes lighter, as our kettlebell plan explains.

Your back: what the studies show

A moderate load, with the hips doing most of the workEmerging evidence

In 7 men swinging 16 kg, compression on the lower spine was about 3,200 newtons, a moderate load, while the glutes worked at about 80% of their maximum. The swing also produced a backward shearing force between the two lowest lumbar vertebrae, the opposite of a traditional lift. The authors noted that a few people find swings irritate their back.

Source 9

Kettlebell training eased back pain at workEmerging evidence

In the workplace trial, low back pain fell by 1.4 points out of 10 more than with no training, and back strength rose. The people in it had mild pain and did a mix of kettlebell exercises, so it doesn't show what swings alone do for severe or recent back pain.

Source 10

Swings didn't tire or sensitise healthy backsMixed evidence

In healthy adults, a short bout of swings briefly raised the pressure needed to cause pain around the lower back and hip, and an interval swing session didn't fatigue the back muscles. These were healthy people tested over minutes, so they say little about back pain.

Sources 29, 30

If your back is doing the work

A lower back that pumps up or aches during swings is the sign our kettlebell plan uses: your hips aren't doing the work. Go back to kettlebell deadlifts for a week, film a set from the side, and look for the usual causes: squatting the swing, lifting with your arms, leaning back at the top, or rounding as you hinge.

Sources 1, 5

Starting with back pain

Start with light kettlebell deadlifts, as in our back pain plans, and add swings once deadlifts are comfortable (our suggestion). Build up gradually: in the older-adult trial, one woman's long-standing back pain flared after a session with many deadlifts.

Source 27

Your progression: from the hinge to the swing and beyond

Doses come from the move pages and our plans unless a study is named; the move-on points are our editorial suggestions.

Step 1: hip-hinge practice

2 or 3 sets of 8, tapping your hips back to a wall, as in our deadlift technique workout, plus a few glute bridges, which ACE suggests while you learn the hinge. Move on when 10 to 15 hinges in a row look the same, with your back steady.

Sources 4, 1

Step 2: kettlebell deadlift

3 sets of 5 to 10 with your swing bell between your feet, setting it down each rep, as in our deadlift technique and swing workouts. Move on after about 12 to 15 good loaded hinges, as ACE suggests, or 10 easy reps with a flat back, our plan's test.

Sources 1, 4

Step 3: the swing

6 to 8 sets of 5 to 8 to chest height, about one set a minute, starting each set with a hike from the floor and ending with a park. Move on when 10 swings a set stay crisp with your hips doing the work. This is our editorial starting point, and the follow-along session below uses it.

Step 4: swing intervals

30 seconds on and 30 seconds off: start with 6 rounds and add 1 or 2 a week up to 12, as in a 6-week trial and our swing interval workout. At 12 crisp rounds, move up a bell.

Source 11

Step 5: one arm, cleans and snatches

The one-arm swing comes next (we don't have a demo of it yet). It shifts work to the opposite side of your back, and raised some shoulder muscle activity in 20 men. Then the clean, the double clean and the snatch, each with its own move page; the snatch's page asks you to master the swing and the clean first. The overhead swing fits here too, if your shoulders allow it.

Sources 31, 32

If your hike keeps going wrong: the dead-stop swing

Start and end every rep on the floor, for 3 to 5 powerful reps a set. Hartle uses it to improve the hike back between the legs. We don't have a demo of it yet.

Source 5

How long it takes: our estimate

Novices learning from a video improved their swing pattern within a week, and strength and jump gains showed in trials of 6 to 12 weeks. Our estimate, not a trial result: most people who can hinge learn a crisp two-handed swing in one to three sessions, after 1 to 2 weeks of kettlebell deadlifts if the hinge is new.

Sources 26, 11, 14

Sets, reps and how often

How often: two or three times a week

The trials trained two or three times a week. No trial has tested daily swings, so our kettlebell plan keeps hard swing sessions to two or three a week with a day between; a few easy practice sets on other days are reasonable.

Sources 11, 10

For strength and power

5 sets of 10, as in our kettlebell workout, or 5 to 10 sets of 10 to 15 (the move page's dose). For power, ACE suggests a heavier bell and 8 reps or fewer a set. A 2026 overview of 137 reviews found that fast, deliberate lifting with moderate loads (power training) also improved everyday physical function.

Sources 1, 33

For conditioning

30 seconds on and 30 seconds off, building from 6 rounds to the 12 that a 6-week trial used; ACE suggests the same timing. Judge your effort by crisp reps rather than heart rate, which runs well ahead of how hard your body is working aerobically.

Sources 11, 1, 25

How hard: end each set while every rep is crisp

Swings are a power move, so stop each set or round while every rep is still fast and crisp, well before you tire, as our plans advise. Tired swings turn into squats and arm lifts.

Warm-up

Hip-hinge practice, a few glute bridges and a set of kettlebell deadlifts with your swing bell, as in our swing workouts.

Fit it into your week

The NHS recommends strengthening activities that work all the major muscles on at least 2 days a week. Swings cover your hips and back; add a squat or lunge, a press and a pull, as our kettlebell workouts do.

Source 34

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Squatting the swing

Knees forward and hips dropping take work away from the hamstrings. Go back to hinge practice and kettlebell deadlifts, and think "hips back, shins nearly vertical".

Sources 3, 1

Lifting with your arms

Raising the bell like a front raise turns the swing into a shoulder exercise and limits the power. Think "hips throw, arms steer"; a slightly heavier bell can stop you muscling it up (our view).

Source 1

Not finishing your hips

Novices stopped 8 to 10 degrees short of a straight hip. Stand up fully, glutes tight, like a plank.

Sources 16, 17

Leaning back at the top

Over-arching at the top adds load to your lower back for no gain. Finish tall and stacked, with your ribs down.

Source 5

Hiking low

A bell that passes at or below your knees drags you forward. Hike it high, into the triangle just above your knees.

Source 5

Hinging too early on the way down

If you bend over to meet the bell, your back catches it instead of your hips. Stay tall until your forearms reach your hips, then hinge: "get out of the bell's way".

Source 5

A lower back that pumps up or aches

Your hips aren't doing the work. Go back to kettlebell deadlifts for a week and film a set from the side.

Source 9

Going overhead without the reach

Arching your back to get the bell up loads your spine. Stay with the chest-height swing and add bell weight first.

Source 7

Swinging to fatigue

Reps slow down and the hinge turns into a squat. End each set while every rep is crisp, and rest until the next set can be as crisp.

Holding your breath every rep

There's no need at swing weights, and a held breath drives your blood pressure up. Breathe out sharply on each hip snap.

Source 17

Dropping the bell to stop

A loose bell is a hazard in a shared space. Park it: one more backswing, then set it down under control.

Who should change the swing

Back pain

Start with light kettlebell deadlifts, as in our back pain plans, and add swings once they're comfortable. Kettlebell training eased back pain in a workplace trial, but a few people find swings irritate their back. Keep pain to about 5 out of 10 or less, settling within an hour or so, as our back pain guide advises.

Sources 10, 9

Disc problems and sciatica

While symptoms are irritable, leave out fast loaded bending such as swings, and rebuild with deadlifts first (our suggestion). Pain that spreads down a leg is a reason to stop and see our sciatica guide.

Shoulder pain

Keep to the chest-height swing, or lower, and leave out the overhead swing, as its move page says, until reaching overhead is comfortable.

Wrist or hand pain

Use a lighter bell, keep your wrists straight and try chalk for grip (our suggestion). Our wrist pain guide has more.

Hamstring strains and hamstring tendon pain

Swings load the hamstrings hard. Wait for the later stages of our hamstring strain and high hamstring tendinopathy plans before swinging (our suggestion).

Sources 16, 20

High blood pressure and heart disease

Swings drive your heart rate up fast. If your blood pressure is controlled, keep intervals moderate and breathe out on every snap, as our high blood pressure guide advises. With heart disease, or chest pain when you exert yourself, get advice first.

Source 25

Osteoporosis

Swings only with no spinal fractures and confident technique, as our bone-strengthening workout says, and avoid deep or repeated rounding under load, as our osteoporosis guide explains.

Pregnancy and after giving birth

If you already swing, you can usually carry on with a lighter bell, breathing out on the effort, but pregnancy isn't the time to learn (our suggestion, in line with our pregnancy guide). After a caesarean, wait about 6 weeks before lifting more than your baby. Leaking or heaviness when you swing is a reason to see a pelvic health physiotherapist.

Older adults new to kettlebells

Learn with a coach if you can: supervised classes were well tolerated in adults aged 59 to 79, with two strained rib muscles among four minor problems.

Source 27

The swing ladder: from the hinge to the snatch

Work up in order, moving on at the targets in the progression above; the overhead swing is shown with a dumbbell and comes after a steady swing to chest height.

Hinge, grip and trunk work

Add one or two alongside your swings to build your hamstrings, grip and trunk; each move's page has its steps and a dose.

A plan to follow

Our kettlebell plan for beginners has two strength sessions and a swing-interval day each week, with kettlebell deadlifts in place of swings until your hinge is solid.

Workouts to follow

Learn the kettlebell swing teaches the swing itself, in short sets with a park after each; move on to the swing intervals when 8 rounds of 8 crisp swings feel easy. The bone-strengthening workout includes swings only for people with no fractures and confident technique.

Warning signs

Stop and get medical help

For chest pain or pressure, unusual breathlessness, dizziness or fainting, or a racing or irregular heartbeat during exercise, as our plans advise.

Call 999 (911 in the US) or go to A&E

The NHS says to call 999 if back pain comes with pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs; loss of feeling around your genitals or anus; difficulty peeing, or peeing or pooing yourself; changes in how your penis or vagina feels during sex, or problems getting an erection or orgasming; or chest pain, or if it started after a serious accident.

Source 35

Get an urgent GP appointment or call NHS 111

If back pain comes with feeling hot, cold, shivery or generally unwell, or it's severe pain that started suddenly or is getting worse quickly. In the US, contact your doctor or urgent care.

Source 35

See a GP

If back pain hasn't improved after a few weeks at home, stops you doing daily activities, is worse at night or when you sneeze, cough or poo, comes from between your shoulder blades, or comes with weight loss you can't explain or a lump in your back.

Source 35

Stop the set

If a joint pain is sharp, gets worse during a set or lingers into the next day, swap to an easier option, and see a clinician if it persists. Our back pain guides allow pain up to about 5 out of 10 during exercise if it settles within an hour or so.

Myths

"A swing is a squat with a kettlebell"Emerging evidence

It's a hinge: hips back, knees only slightly bent. A hinge-style swing worked the hamstrings harder than a squat-style swing, and coaching bodies teach the hinge.

Sources 3, 1, 5

"Kettlebell swings wreck your back"Emerging evidence

A 16 kg swing loads the lower back moderately, and kettlebell training eased back pain in a workplace trial. A few people do find swings irritate their back: learn the hinge first, and stop if your back, not your hips, is doing the work.

Sources 9, 10

"The American swing is the real swing"Emerging evidence

The overhead swing asked more of the hips in experienced women and took longer per rep, but it needs full overhead reach, and its researchers suggest adding weight before going overhead. Neither style has been shown to be safer.

Sources 7, 8

"The swing is an arm and shoulder exercise"Emerging evidence

Your arms steer; your glutes, hamstrings and back muscles do the work. Lifting the bell with your arms is a common mistake, not the technique.

Sources 9, 16, 1

"Swings are great cardio, so they can replace your walks"Emerging evidence

Heart rate runs well ahead of oxygen use in swings, and 8 weeks of kettlebell training didn't change aerobic fitness in one trial. Keep your walks.

Sources 25, 10

"You need a heavy bell to get results"Emerging evidence

Trials got results with 12 to 20 kg, and a fixed 20 kg bell did as well as stepping up 4 kg every 2 weeks over 6 weeks. Crisp reps with the right bell matter more than the number on it.

Sources 11, 12

"Kettlebells beat barbells"Emerging evidence

Weightlifting built more squat strength in one trial, and a review of 99 kettlebell publications found small effects from mostly low-quality studies. Kettlebells are a good tool, not a better one.

Sources 23, 15

Questions people ask

How do you do a kettlebell swing properly?

Push your hips back to hike the bell between your thighs, then snap your hips forward so it floats up to about chest height, your arms only steering it. Let it fall, stay tall until your forearms meet your hips, then hinge again. Learn the hip hinge and the kettlebell deadlift first, and park the bell on the floor after every set.

Is a kettlebell swing a squat or a hinge?

A hinge: your hips go back and your knees bend only a little, with your shins nearly vertical. In one study, the hinge-style swing worked the hamstrings harder than a squat-style swing. If your knees travel forward and your hips drop, you're squatting it.

How high should the kettlebell go in a swing?

In a Russian swing, to about chest or shoulder height, floated there by your hips rather than lifted by your arms. The American swing, CrossFit's version, goes overhead. Learn the chest-height swing first.

Russian or American kettlebell swing: which is better?

Neither has been shown to be better or safer. The overhead swing asked more of the hips in experienced women and takes longer per rep, but it needs full, pain-free overhead reach, and its researchers suggest adding bell weight before going overhead. We found no study of shoulder load or injury in the American swing.

What weight kettlebell should I use for swings?

Choose by test: a bell you can deadlift easily for 10 reps and swing crisply for 10, with your hips floating it to chest height. Trials used 12 or 16 kg in young men and 12 to 20 kg in experienced adults. StrongFirst's starter sets begin at 8 kg for women and 16 kg for men, but no trial has compared starting weights.

Are kettlebell swings bad for your back?

Usually not. Swings load the lower back moderately while the hips do most of the work, and kettlebell training eased back pain in a workplace trial, but a few people find swings irritate their back. If your lower back, not your hips, is working, go back to kettlebell deadlifts for a week.

Why do kettlebell swings hurt my lower back?

Usually because your hips aren't doing the work: you're squatting the swing, lifting with your arms, leaning back at the top or rounding as you hinge. Go lighter, film a set from the side and practise the kettlebell deadlift. Back pain with numbness or weakness in both legs, or changes in your bladder or bowels, needs urgent care.

How many kettlebell swings should I do?

While you're learning, 6 to 8 sets of 5 to 8. After that, 5 sets of 10 in a strength session, or 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off for 6 rounds, building to 12, as in a 6-week trial. End each set while every swing is still crisp.

Can I do kettlebell swings every day?

No trial has tested daily swings; the trials used two or three sessions a week. Keep hard swing sessions to two or three a week, with a day between. A few easy practice sets on other days are reasonable.

Are kettlebell swings cardio?

Partly. Swings push your heart rate up faster than your oxygen use: 12 minutes of swings averaged 87% of maximum heart rate but 65% of maximum oxygen uptake, and kettlebell training didn't change aerobic fitness in one trial. Keep your walks, runs or rides too.

How should I breathe during kettlebell swings?

Coaches differ: a StrongFirst article times the breath with the hip snap, while ACE's article breathes in as the bell rises and out as it falls, and we found no study comparing them. We suggest breathing in as you hike the bell back and out sharply as your hips snap through. Either way, don't hold your breath through the set.

Can I do kettlebell swings with a dumbbell?

Yes: hold one dumbbell vertically by one end with both hands and swing it the same way (our suggestion). Keep it to chest height while you learn. Our overhead swing demo uses a dumbbell.

Sources

  1. McCall 2025 · The ACE Do It Better series: the two-handed kettlebell swing (American Council on Exercise)
  2. American Council on Exercise · Exercise library: the kettlebell swing
  3. Del Monte 2020 · Hamstring activity in three styles of kettlebell swing: 14 people (EMG study, JSCR)
  4. Thomas 2018 · Progressions and regressions: what do they look like? (American Council on Exercise)
  5. Hartle · Here's how to do a kettlebell swing (excerpt from Kettlebell Strength Training Anatomy, Human Kinetics)
  6. CrossFit · Frequently asked questions: how high should I swing my kettlebell?
  7. Murphy 2025 · Swing style, bell weight and hip loads in 15 experienced women (lab study, Int J Sports Phys Ther)
  8. Bullock 2017 · Overhead and shoulder-height kettlebell swings compared in 15 experienced adults (lab study, Int J Sports Phys Ther)
  9. McGill 2012 · Kettlebell swings, snatches and carries: back and hip muscle activity and low-back loads in 7 men (lab study, JSCR)
  10. Jay 2011 · Eight weeks of workplace kettlebell training for neck, shoulder and back pain in 40 adults (randomised trial, Scand J Work Environ Health)
  11. Lake 2012 · Six weeks of kettlebell swing training vs jump squat training in 21 men (randomised trial, JSCR)
  12. Santos Junior 2022 · A fixed vs a stepped-up bell in 6 weeks of kettlebell swing training (randomised trial, Int J Exerc Sci)
  13. StrongFirst · What kettlebell sizes do I need? (buying guidance)
  14. Santos Junior 2024 · Men and women after 12 weeks of kettlebell swing training (training study, Cureus)
  15. Meigh 2019 · Kettlebell training in clinical practice: 99 publications (scoping review, BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil)
  16. Van Gelder 2015 · Muscle activity and hip movement in two-handed and one-handed kettlebell swings: 19 novices (descriptive study, Int J Sports Phys Ther)
  17. Music 2014 · Hard style training principles across karate and kettlebells (StrongFirst article, updated 2017)
  18. Glassman 2004 · The kettlebell swing (CrossFit Journal)
  19. Andersen 2019 · Trunk muscle activity in one- and two-armed American kettlebell swings: 15 trained men (EMG study, Sports Med Int Open)
  20. Zebis 2013 · The kettlebell swing targets the inner hamstring: 16 female athletes (EMG study, BJSM)
  21. Lake 2012 · The mechanical demands of the kettlebell swing compared with jump squats and back squats: 16 men (lab study, JSCR)
  22. Levine 2022 · Bell weight and joint loads in the kettlebell swing: 30 adults (lab study, Sports Biomech)
  23. Otto 2012 · Weightlifting vs kettlebell training for 6 weeks: jump, strength and body composition (randomised trial, JSCR)
  24. Manocchia 2013 · Ten weeks of kettlebell classes and strength, power and endurance (controlled trial, JSCR)
  25. Farrar 2010 · The oxygen cost of 12 minutes of kettlebell swings (lab study, JSCR)
  26. Beerse 2025 · How 12 young adults adjusted their swing while learning it from a video (lab study, Sports Biomech)
  27. Meigh 2022 · Supervised hardstyle kettlebell training in older adults aged 59 to 79: the BELL trial (pragmatic controlled trial, BMC Geriatr)
  28. Plotkin 2022 · Progressive overload without progressing load? Adding weight vs adding reps in 43 trained people (RCT, PeerJ)
  29. Keilman 2017 · A short bout of kettlebell swings and pain sensitivity around the lower back (randomised trial, JSCR)
  30. Hanney 2024 · A kettlebell swing session and fatigue in the lower-back muscles (randomised trial, JSCR)
  31. Andersen 2016 · Core muscle activity in one-armed and two-armed kettlebell swings: 16 men (EMG study, JSCR)
  32. Işiklar 2026 · Shoulder muscle activity in common kettlebell exercises: 20 men (EMG study, Physiother Theory Pract)
  33. Currier 2026 · Resistance training for muscle function, size and performance in healthy adults: 137 reviews (ACSM position stand, MSSE)
  34. NHS · Physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64
  35. NHS · Back pain

Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.