Kettlebell swings work everything from your core, to your shoulders, your quads, your hamstrings, your glutes (a.k.a. butt muscles), and your back.

Kettlebells are a perfect match for interval training, and the constant acceleration of your breathing and heart rate during HIIT will no doubt boost your anaerobic capacity.

Muscle group: Combined

Steps

1. Begin in a lowered squat position, standing with your feet 6–12 inches outside of shoulder width on either side, each foot pointed slightly outward. Make sure to keep your shoulders pulled back (retracted) and down to avoid rounding your back.

2. Brushing your arms on your inner thighs, forcefully extend the knees and hips to accelerate the kettlebell up. Keep your arms straight while you project the kettlebell up and away from the body.

3. At the top position, the kettlebell should be nearly straight above your head and slightly facing slightly forward (there is some contention on this; some people say the kettlebell should be facing completely skyward, but I was always taught to have it point slightly forward so if for some reason you loose control, it would fall in front of you, not behind you).

4. Absorb the kettlebell weight as it follows the same path back to the starting position. Make sure to keep your arms straight the entire time.

Tips

To properly do a kettlebell swing, you’ll need to do a powerful hip thrust using your glutes and hamstring muscles. In traditional weight lifting, these muscles, along with your lower back, are known as your “power zone” since they’re involved in virtually all forms of lifting, running and jumping movements

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