Hey it is Cody Bramlett. Rick asked me today to put together a video for you on 5 Mistakes People Make with the Kettlebell Swing.

I want to share with you the five biggest mistakes I see and the dangers I see in the kettlebell swing.

Now, the reason I put this video together for you today is I just taught a class of about 15 new people and they are all doing these things wrong. So, I want to make sure that you understand at home how to use a kettlebell correctly so you can avoid these five dangerous injury-causing mistakes, so you don’t have to get hurt, and you can keep having an amazing time and get the results you want.

Here are the last 2 mistakes, you can check out the other three here.

5 Mistakes People Make with the Kettlebell Swing by Cody Bramlett

 

Mistake #4 – A Hollow Core

Number four is a hollow core.

People are like, what do you mean hollow core, Cody? What’s going on?

I’m talking about nothing connected here, there’s a looped, loose noodle. Core is not just your abs in front but of course everything around there. Basically, it is this whole section of your body. Here’s your core, very big, front to back. We want to keep everything engaged. When you’re doing your swing as you contract at the very top, I like to suck in those abs, shoulders down the map, squeeze the glutes and everything turns on at once.

An important thing to do is the breathing.  When you breathe comfortably, it will work as well. But keeping that core tight works, so watch.

I want to do a swing with nothing engaged; I’m kind of loose not quite swinging very well. But now, I’m going to use my core muscles tight and breathe, sucking my abs in. It makes the drill more explosive, helps you burn fat more and it’s also going to protect you from potential injury because your core is no longer hollow. It’s engaged from top to bottom connecting your feet to your head. We have one body; use the whole thing in everything we do guys. We are not just using independent motions.

Mistake #5 – Direction of the Bell

The last one is the direction of the bell.

What does that mean?

When you’re swinging a kettlebell, you’d think you’re lifting the bell up. But, you’re not lifting anything and your hips are doing all the work and the energy of the bell is forward and back, forward and back.

The second you try to swing the bell up, a couple of things will happen. One, your elbows will bend. Imagine holding on to your hands while bending your elbows like this, you’ll start to feel a little bit of tension or torque right here. I hurt my elbow before because I was not extending my arm out. So, instead of having the energy to go forward, because I was putting a lot of tension here, my wrist was having to move in funny, funny angles with a loaded weight. Not good! So extend your arm and you have a nice and neutral position – connected and neutral.  The first thing is that.

The second is when you try to lift the bell, there’s a potential to hurt yourself. So, if the goal is to get it up, you’re using your arms to lift the weight, and your shoulder and back will get injured. All you have to do is this; it’s very simple, guys.

If you’re watching the video, imagine you’re trying to send it through the TV. If you’re not watching the video, imagine you’re trying to send through the wall, AND the neighbor’s wall and about a block and a half, you’re nagging a car in a parking lot – that far. So energy goes forward and as the bell comes back, you’re not stopping at your hips; you’re trying to send it through your legs – six feet behind you. It’s a forward and back motion of the bell and the arms holding on to it helps the arch of the bell come up – chest level only. So, the direction of the bell is at the back then straight in front of you. Everything is connected, everything is perfect for better form, less injuries and better results.

So, again guys, the five things to avoid – the five dangers of swinging a kettlebell. The things I just saw ten do in class.

Weight in heels, you don’t want to do that. You want flat feet. Two is head not being in the neutral position – bending the spine, not being correct. Three is the bell placement – hands to hips. You want to keep it close to the body, make it easier, make it simpler, and help you workout better. Four is hollow core, loose noodle – tight and strong top. And five is direction of the bell – forward and back and not up and down.

Follow those five tips guys and it will be awesome.

If you want a cool workout with the swing at home, try doing sets of swings. Build them up to 10 reps, then15, then 20, and then 30. I challenge you to go from a 10-rep swing, to a 20-rep swing, to a 30, 40, and 50 to a hundred. If you can do that, then that’s an awesome workout, awesome heart-pumping, crazy fat-burning with one simple drill. That’s the power of kettlebells guys. You can do a thousand different things but one simple drill does it.
If you like this guy and think it’s cool, just click on the link below – Kettlebox Training Body Transmission System.

I just finished putting these together. It’s phenomenal. It goes over how to do every kettlebox drill in perfect form and it’s really good to follow on to. Twelve awesome workouts will show you what to do and explain to you what to do in each workout and in each drill.

That way, you can learn before you jump right in and get yourself hurt. You know how some people get injured; you do something stupid in the beginning. You’re not listening. You’re not paying attention. So you can actually read through, see the pictures and see where you’re supposed to be in each part of the motion and have a better workout – safely, helps you burn more fat and gets you stronger and better results.

Guys, thanks for coming!

Rick thanks for asking me to make this video for you guys. I hope it helped and I’m hoping that you’ll swing stronger and better. Alright guys check the link below, Cody of Kettlebox Training and have a great day!

You can check out the program that Cody uses at his Kettlebell gym with this clients here.

Cody Bramlett is a kettlebell fat loss expert with over 7 years of experience training clients with kettlebells. He was one of the top trainers at the first kettlebell gym in the United States before starting his own gym and creating his online programs. Cody is a RKC instructor who is FMS certified, Yoga Alliance certified and Z Health certified. He holds a BS in Business Management from San Diego State University.

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