Written by our very own David Burgess, a kettlebeller and musician extraordinaire from North Carolina. Sang to Jingle Bells tune. Kettlebells, kettlebells,Swing themho, ho, ho,We may get siesta time,while Kat’s in Mexico, hey,Kettlebells, kettlebells,Without class from Kat,I’ll most likely sit around and eat ‘till I get fat! Snatching, swing and row,And then I’ll lunge and ..read more

Tessa performing one of her first sets of Dead Stop Swings Here’s why we don’t jump into the swing too fast, but instead go through the whole progression with our beginners. Why we start with Dowel Hinge, then master the deadlift in every variation, then the dead clean and only after all that do we begin to learn the swing. Here’s our student Tessa Spivak⁩ from Sydney, Australia, arriving at Dead Stop Swing, after many months of going through the whole progression, getting stronger, fitter and becoming a total NINJA of using her body well in the process. All BEFORE she does her first swing. N ..read more

Girevoy Swing (left) and Hardstyle Swing (right) Q: Can you please clarify the different benefits that accrue from the hardstyle and soft style swings. Which would be better as an exercise?  A: Prefer to watch this answer as a video? Go HERE Hardstyle Swing Hardstyle swing has a movement pattern almost identical to the deadlift, with a slight emphasis on the glutes and hamstrings. Its benefits are similar to those of the deadlift plus it also has a power component and an anaerobic conditioning component.  So just like the deadlift, the swing strengthens the glutes, hamstrings, back ..read more

Q: What Pace Makes Sense for a 10 min set of Girevoy Jerk? (A question by Andi Baumann) A. Hi Andi, Great question! How many reps of Jerk one should aim for in a minute during a 10 min Girevoy Competition set? You should be in the approximate range of 90-180 reps total. Under 90 is too heavy, over 180 is too light. That’s a very wide range, meaning you might be going 9RPM or 18 RPM, but your individual number depends on how efficiently you can fixate the Kettlebells and whether you can do that for 10 min consistently. Fixation Just getting the KBs overhead isn’t enough in Girevoy sport. Wh ..read more

Q: I’ve sometimes seen people bend back as they do their jerks. Should you ever bend backwards as you do these movements? (Finney Raju) A: Hi Finney, Great question! The thoracic extension can indeed happen when you drive the Kettlebell off the rack, it’s more commonly used in Girevoy sport because Girevoy athletes develop great thoracic mobility as part of their extensive training (thoracic mobility is necessary both for Girevoy rack position, the overhead lockout and for the drive). When we extend through the thoracic spine, we do not lose the abdominal tension necessary to keep lumbar spine ..read more

Q: I have an imbalance in TGU. My right side is far behind technique wise. Strange, because my stronger arm is the right arm. The initial roll to elbow is tough. I CAN do the Get Up with 32kg on both sides but it looks and feels bad. Probably have to stick with 24kg for awhile. Please comment. Kirill A: Hi Kirill 1. Left/right imbalance is pretty common as most humans have a preferred side, especially for the upper body. The key is to minimize it, rather than to eliminate it completely. There are many potential reasons why your TGU feels less stable with the KB in your stronger, right, arm. On ..read more

During the swing, the elbows are relaxed. Thus they might bend passively at the top. Q: Why do your elbows look bent at the top of the swing? Shouldn’t they be straight? A: No. The elbows shouldn’t be actively straightened during swings. Neither should they be actively bent. The elbows should be RELAXED during swings. My elbows might seem bent at the top of the swing because they’re actually relaxed, and since the KB is floating weightless and doesn’t pull my arm forward, the elbow isn’t locked out. It’s passively slightly bent because there’s no pressure on it to fully straighten. Tam ..read more

Q: Hi Kat. Do you ever incorporate Tabata into your Kettlebell training? I’ve recently added KB swings with this protocol. Great for increasing VO2 max . Andy A: Hi Andy, I have used Tabata before. Mainly because I had to, back in the CrossFit days, and also because I didn’t know any better as a trainer. I don’t use it now, and especially not with kettlebells. Tabata, when done correctly, is very high intensity protocol (170% of VO2 Max intensity for 20 seconds, times 8!), majority of movements people use for Tabata (swings, burpees, squats etc) are not appropriate as they don’t generate eno ..read more

Question: ‘When we adopt a squat stance, we can play around with the width of our stance and turnout of our feet, depending on individual hip structure and the upright torso requirement (Goblet, Front or Overhead Squats have different requirements when it comes to upright torso position, thus the stance for them will be different). I wanted to know if similar principles of foot angles and width may be applied to hip hinge as well. I ask this because I have seen many people swinging with their toes turned out and a wide stance. ‘ Answer: Hinging is a different movement pattern from squatting ..read more

Hardstyle kettlebell training is notorious for its goals of strength and power, short training sessions, using compound lifts, practicing the same movements over and over again, and using low rep ranges: 3-5 sets of 3-5 reps being the standard format.  Bodybuilding is notorious for its goal of muscle hypertrophy, ultra-long training sessions, employing both compound and isolation movements, using variations of exercises, and going across rep ranges including using high-rep sets to induce pump. And interestingly enough, those who do bodybuilding, aside from issues wit ..read more