Double kettlebell swings improve power output and burn ample calories.
Kettlebells are used to build muscle, strength, and endurance. The double kettlebell swing is a highly effective exercise to include in your routine. This full-body movement strengthens multiple muscle groups and enhances explosive power, making it ideal for strength and conditioning. Similar to the dumbbell swing, the double kettlebell swing delivers significant benefits. Research shows that kettlebell swings can improve both explosive and maximum strength, making them a valuable addition to athletes’ training regimens (1).
This article will explore its specific benefits and the muscle groups it targets. You’ll find a detailed, step-by-step guide to performing the exercise correctly, ensuring safety and effectiveness. Plus, we’ve included additional workouts to help you take your training to the next level.
Techniques & Muscles Worked
The double kettlebell swing is a compound exercise that works the upper and lower backs, arms, forearms, lats, glutes, and hamstrings. It also recruits the abs and obliques, crucial for balance and stability. It depends heavily on grip strength. You’ll swing and maintain your grip on the kettlebell in different planes while maintaining form.
The double kettlebell swing is also dynamic, as you’ll use your full body to execute a constant swing. This makes it a good cardio exercise, reducing the rate of heart disease and improving your quality of life (2). With the double kettlebell swing, you can lift more weight than the single one, increasing intensity and requiring more coordination and balance.
There are different ways to do the double kettlebell swing. Experts suggest doing it between the legs, with a thumb-forward rather than an overhand grip. The overhand grip tends to cause the kettlebells to hit your inner thighs (adductor muscles), exposing you to injuries. Use relatively light weight so you avoid overloading your lower back.
You can also perform this exercise with the kettlebell outside the legs. However, be careful not to swing them too high to avoid strain. Keep the kettlebell close to the body as you drive your hips back. Below are step-by-step instructions on how to perform this exercise correctly with the kettlebells in between the legs.
- Place a pair of kettlebells in front of you and set your feet at a slightly more than shoulder-width length.
- Hinge your hips, slightly bend your knees, and grab the kettlebells with a neutral grip, placing your thumbs forward. Keep your back straight, and brace your core muscles and glutes.
- Next, push your chest up and shoulders down. Ensure you squeeze your armpits and keep your back straight.
- Use the back of your forearms to cushion against your thighs as you hike the kettlebells behind you.
- Push your hips forward and swing the weight to almost chest height using your momentum.
- Reverse the movement back and repeat this movement as many times as you desire.
Benefits
The double kettlebell swing offers a plethora of benefits. Anyone can do this exercise, so whether you’re a lifter or a fitness enthusiast, this is one exercise to try. Why? Here is a list of the benefits.
Builds More Strength & Muscle
The kettlebell swing is a muscle and strength builder. Doing a double kettlebell swing gives you more muscle strength and conditioning benefits. Also, with the double kettlebell swing, you can go slightly heavier for muscle and strength gains.
Beneficial for the Heart
The double kettlebell swing builds and strengthens muscles and is an excellent cardio exercise. Swinging heavier loads with kettlebells increases your heart rate (3). Cardio not only increases your heart rate but can also prevent cardiovascular diseases and improve your quality of life.
Burns Calories
Double kettlebell swings are high-intensity activities that increase your breathing and heart rate. This causes your body to burn fat as energy, thereby burning calories. It also leads to fat loss and improves your body composition.
Activates Core Muscles
Performing this exercise requires stability, coordination, and balance. It activates and strengthens the core muscles, making the exercise more effective. A stronger core also reduces the overall risk of injuries, especially when exercising.
Improves Grip Strength
A double kettlebell swing builds strong wrists and forearms. You control the weight using a variety of motions, which helps improve grip strength, which is helpful for other exercises.
Boost Explosive Power
The swing during this exercise boosts explosive power, thereby increasing functional strength. This enhances performance for routines that require bursts of strength. It can also increase your metabolic rate, leading to more effective fat-burning during training.
Double Kettlebell Swing Alternatives
Now, we understand the benefits of double kettlebell swings and their importance to body conditioning and strength building. However, doing this exercise can cause a training plateau. Experts advise using alternative exercises to build similar muscle groups. Check a few out below.
Power Cleans
Power cleans are explosive Olympic movements that work your upper and lower body muscles, like the double kettlebell swing. They’re also good for burning calories and fat, so you can use this exercise to build lean muscle mass and improve conditioning. Power cleans also boosts explosive power.
Deadlifts
Deadlifts are weight training exercises that primarily build massive muscle mass in your back. However, you can also use this compound exercise to work different muscle groups like your hamstrings, glutes, calves, and core. Similar to double kettlebell swings, deadlifts also recruit the upper body muscles.
Jefferson Squats
Jefferson squats are a variation of the squat that builds upper-body stability and lower-body muscles, similar to double kettlebell swings. They’re considered a full-body workout that requires strict form and coordination. To perform this exercise, you must straddle your preferred free weight (kettlebell, barbell, or dumbbell) with each foot on different sides and assume a staggered sumo stance.
FAQs
What muscles do the double kettlebell swing work?
The double kettlebell swing works the arms, forearms, lats, glutes and hamstrings, and lower and upper back muscles. It also recruits the core muscles, stabilizing the body during this exercise.
Will kettlebell swings burn belly fat?
Kettlebell swings are high-intensity exercises; one advantage of this exercise is the ability to burn calories. If single kettlebell swings can burn fat, imagine what a double kettlebell swing can do, especially to burn calories and reduce fat.
Are double kettlebell swings good?
Yes, double kettlebell swings are good for building and strengthening muscles. They’re also good for cardiovascular health and improve heart rate. Double kettlebell swings are also effective exercises for burning fat and calories, which can help improve body composition.
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References
- Lake, J. P., & Lauder, M. A. (2012). Kettlebell swing training improves maximal and explosive strength. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 26(8), 2228–2233. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0b013e31825c2c9b
- Pinckard, K., Baskin, K. K., & Stanford, K. I. (2019). Effects of Exercise to Improve Cardiovascular Health. Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine, 6, 69. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2019.00069
- Raymond, L. M., Renshaw, D., & Duncan, M. J. (2021). Acute Hormonal Response to Kettlebell Swing Exercise Differs Depending on Load, Even When Total Work Is Normalized. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 35(4), 997–1005. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000002862
