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The Full-Body Kettlebell Workout Move

Kettlebell exercises are a great combination of strength training and calorie burning that’ll keep all your muscle groups conditioned and help prevent osteoporosis, too. Why? Kettlebell exercises require different muscle groups to coordinate whenever you do a move, which means multiple toning, fat-burning benefits in less time. A single swing might engage your abs, legs, arms, and glutes at the same time.

Ready to give it a try? Here’s a simple exercise that will get you conditioned fast:

The Kettlebell Swing

1. Stand with feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent.
2. Keeping back and arms straight, grab your kettlebell handle with both hands, knuckles out, facing away from your body.
3. Lean forward from hips and swing the bell back between your legs
4. In one motion, straighten legs and push hips forward to propel the kettlebell up
5. Lower slowly down and repeat

Using the momentum generated from your hips and thighs protects your back, firms your butt and thighs, and works your abs, too. Slowly lower the ball while maintaining control to give your arms a nice workout as well.

Five Tips for a Correct Kettlebell Snatch

Kettlebell workouts seem pretty straightforward, but as with any exercise — and especially those involving weights or functional movement—technique is extremely important to avoid injury. So how can you perform a kettlebell single arm snatch routine to get fit without getting hurt?

Here are five tips to ensure you’re doing kettlebell exercises the right way (and if you need a visual reference, here’s a great video to check out):

1. Don’t think of the kettlebell snatch technique as a series of big swings. It’s actually four separate, tightly controlled arcs: one from between legs to shoulder, one from shoulder to above the head, then two more of the same arcs back down. Remember: if you’re not in control of your exercise equipment, you’re not in control of the workout.
2. For the first arc, always make sure to bend your elbow when you have the kettlebell at shoulder height. That way, you can press up into the next arc, giving you a better workout and keeping you from pulling a muscle, too.
3. For the second arc, the one that goes from shoulder to above the head, straighten out—but never lock—your elbow.
4. Use a lighter kettlebell than you normally would. Snatches tire muscles out quickly, and relying on the kettlebell’s momentum instead of maintaining good form and proper control could injure your arms, shoulders, or back.
5. Don’t twist your arm or wrist. It’s tempting to rotate your elbow in when you straighten up to go above your head, but your elbow should stay rotated out, away from your core, and your wrist should remain parallel with the kettlebell grip.