4 Kettlebell Exercises to Try to Build Muscle

April 7, 2023

Kettlebells can help you pack on mass and make your workouts more entertaining!

Have your bodybuilding goals reached a workout plateau? Break through the monotony using kettlebells (KB) and build muscle! When implemented into resistance training, these unique cast iron balls with handles generate awesome results. KB workouts are perfect for targeting specific muscle groups and introducing some thrill to your lifting routine — get ready to take it up another gear!

Kettlebell exercises are great for incorporating a full-body workout! They’re an effective way to quickly build your abs, legs, and arms and improve your aerobic capacity (1).

4 Kettlebell Exercises

Here are 4 of the best kettlebell exercises guaranteed to add mass to your frame.

Kettlebell Swing
Kettlebell Press
Kettlebell Goblet Squat
Kettlebell Turkish Get Up

Kettlebell Swing

The KB swing is one of the most popular and potent kettlebell exercises. It combines cardiovascular conditioning and strength training. Kettlebell swings work for beginner and advanced lifters as you can up the difficulty by using a higher weight or even swinging up to shoulder height (American kettlebell swings).

Benefits of the Kettlebell Swing

KB swings are a cardio workout that builds your strength and explosive power.
It targets the muscles in your shoulders, arms, hamstrings, glutes, and quads.
Great for training your hip extension and helps with fat loss.

How to do the Kettlebell Swing

Stand a foot behind the kettlebell with your feet more than a hip distance apart. Hinge forward at your hip by putting your bum back while keeping your back straight. Keep your shoulders down and back, and then bend your knees slightly. Grip the kettlebell with both hands, brace your core, and explosively extend your hips until the weight reaches shoulder height, and then control the descent.

Kettlebell Press

The KB press is a bit more complicated but is advantageous for weightlifters. This exercise works the shoulder and lower body, improving total power. And since it’s a unilateral (single-limb) movement, it’ll force your core to get involved to keep you stable as your press the kettlebell overhead.

Benefits of the Kettlebell Press

It improves your upper body power.
It increases shoulder stability and core strength.
Total body exercise that builds muscles in the upper and lower body.

How to do the Kettlebell Press

Hold the kettlebell in front of your face with a neutral grip (palm facing sideways). Dip your knees to a quarter-squat stance, then drive from your legs and stand up quickly while “punching” the weights up. Brace your core as the load gets to the top overhead, locking out your arm by your ears. Lower the kettlebell back down to the starting position.

Kettlebell Goblet Squat

The kettlebell goblet squat is a total body exercise that improves your hip mobility and can make you better at training with heavier loads. It’s typically a lower-body workout, but since you must hold the kettlebell with your hands and brace your core throughout the movement, it turns into a full-body exercise!

Benefits of the Kettlebell Goblet Squat

This exercise improves your mobility.
It’s a full-body movement.
It helps you master squats.

How to do the Kettlebell Goblet Squat

Place your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and keep your toes pointing outward slightly. Hold the sides of your kettlebell handles close to your chest. Bend your knees slowly ’till your thighs are parallel to the ground (or slightly past), and then use your leg muscles to stand up while keeping your upper body stable. Remember to keep your back straight and your elbows forward.

Kettlebell Turkish Get Up

The slow and deliberate nature of the kettlebell Turkish get-up makes it a very effective exercise. While we wouldn’t recommend this for beginners since it’s a bit awkward and requires some technicality, mastering it can improve your fluidity, mobility, and strength. This powerful total body exercise works your shoulders, hips, and trunk.

Benefits of the Kettlebell Turkish Get Up

This exercise works every part of your body.
It improves upper and lower body stability, mobility, and core strength.

How to do the Kettlebell Turkish Get Up

While lying on your back, put your right foot flat on the floor with your knee at 90 degrees. Your left leg and hand should be flat while your right arm is locked above your chest with the kettlebell. Look at the weight and prop yourself onto your left elbow and then to your palm. Press your hips to the sky and then put your left leg out straight before kneeling under your body. Then take your left palm off the floor, extend it sideways for balance, and stand. Then lock the kettlebell overhead, brace your core, and go back down using your arms, hands, and legs to return to the starting position slowly. Switch the kettlebell to the other hand and repeat.

How to Build Your Muscles Effectively with Kettlebells

Kettlebell exercises target and works on all the muscles in the whole body and are a surefire way to pack on mass. They can also improve your posture, balance, and endurance (2).

Building your muscles with kettlebells requires a certain mastery, especially movements like Turkish get-ups, so don’t just jump into it. Instead, start easy and choose the kettlebell weight you use based on your muscle mass, body size, and fitness goals — as a rule of thumb, it’s best to start light! You can also begin these exercises twice or thrice a week.

Six to eight reps of each exercise are a great place to start. Once comfortable, add more sets and increase your weights to maximize gains. As time passes, you’ll find that kettlebells improve your grip strength (3), which can carry over to many movements, including deadlifts.

Kettlebell Rules to Follow to Build Muscle

Here are some important rules to follow to get the best out of kettlebells to build muscle:

Always ensure that you’re in control of the kettlebell.
Remain self-aware and don’t adopt bad form.
Use a kettlebell of about a third of your body weight during two-handed swings to get the most power in your swing.
Start with single KB exercises before going to one with doubles.
Keep a well-aligned and neutral spine when performing kettlebell exercises.

References

Vancini, R. L., Andrade, M. S., Rufo-Tavares, W., Zimerer, C., Nikolaidis, P. T., & de Lira, C. A. B. (2019). Kettlebell Exercise as an Alternative to Improve Aerobic Power and Muscle Strength. Journal of human kinetics, 66, 5–6. https://doi.org/10.2478/hukin-2018-0062
Grigoletto, D., Marcolin, G., Borgatti, E., Zonin, F., Steele, J., Gentil, P., Galvão, L., & Paoli, A. (2020). Kettlebell Training for Female Ballet Dancers: Effects on Lower Limb Power and Body Balance. Journal of human kinetics, 74, 15–22. https://doi.org/10.2478/hukin-2020-0010
Chen, H. T., Wu, H. J., Chen, Y. J., Ho, S. Y., & Chung, Y. C. (2018). Effects of 8-week kettlebell training on body composition, muscle strength, pulmonary function, and chronic low-grade inflammation in elderly women with sarcopenia. Experimental gerontology, 112, 112–118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exger.2018.09.015