The humble kettlebell swing is a full-body workout when done correctly. Not only do they strengthen the posterior chain (the muscles along the back of the body) and elevate your heart rate for short periods of time, they also target the legs, arms, and core. It’s a high-intensity, low-impact workout, but what does 100 reps a day do to my body?
To learn more, I grabbed a kettlebell and started. Will swinging the kettlebell 100 times a day for two weeks help improve my posture and strengthen the muscles in the back of my body?I’m no stranger to weird workout challenges — read what happened I do 50 hamstring curls a day for a week here, or 100 dead bugs per day for a week, but kettlebell swings don’t feature very often in my strength training, so 100 a day is definitely a test. Read on to find out what happened.
Before I get started, a reminder that doing anything 100 times is a lot, and targeting the same muscle groups every day is not recommended. If you’re new to the kettlebell swing, or you’re returning to exercising after an injury, it’s a good idea to check your form with a personal trainer before adding reps or weight to your workout.
How to Do Kettlebell Swings
The first thing to remember before doing the kettlebell swing is that the swing portion of the movement comes from your legs, not your arms.
1. To do kettlebell swings, start by standing on your exercise mat (we have a checklist best yoga mat It doubles as an exercise mat if you want advice) With feet shoulder-width apart and a kettlebell in front of you.
2. Bend your knees and grab the kettlebell with both hands.
3. Engage your core and swing the kettlebell back between your legs; then, as you swing up, engage your glutes and abs and keep your arms extended as the kettlebell rises.
4. Aim to lift the kettlebell to chest height with arms straight. Squeeze your glutes and tap your butt at the top of the movement.
5. Let the kettlebell fall back naturally, then swing between the legs again for the next rep.
Of course, kettlebell swings can also be done with dumbbells, using dumbbell plates instead of handles to support the weight.
Remember, the motion of the kettlebell swing comes from the hips—you’re not lifting weight with your arms. Think of your hips as the hinge in motion—your lower body remains glued to the ground, your weight moves back through your heels, and your torso moves back and forth to swing the weight. The main muscles worked are in the back of the body – this is not squats and lifts.
Be careful not to overbend your knees during this move (again, this is not a squat) and avoid leaning back at the top of the move as you’ll be putting too much stress on your lower back – keep your core engaged to avoid this .
read more about How to Do Kettlebell Swingsand the variants to try here.
I Did 100 Kettlebell Swings a Day for 14 Days—Here’s What I Learned
Eager to master the move, I grabbed a kettlebell and started swinging; here’s what I learned.
This move works my whole body
I didn’t expect to feel this move as strongly as I did. It hits all the different muscle groups in my body and I can feel my glutes and abs working hard as I swing the kettlebell back and forth.
Doing 100 reps a day means I tend to rush through my reps, but moving too quickly in a kettlebell swing puts too much focus on the upper body when the movement should come from the legs.
100 swings a day is a lot
In addition to feeling the workout in my glutes and abs, after a few days of doing 100 reps, I could really feel my lower back moving. Worried I’d be arching my back during my workout, I taped my form and sent it to a personal trainer friend who assured me I wasn’t doing anything wrong but never doing any kettlebell swings to 100 reps a day maybe is a bit of a jump. Over the next few days, I split the challenge into four sets of 25 reps, kept a kettlebell next to my desk, and did 25 reps at different times of the day rather than all at once.
As a reminder, to prevent lower back pain during kettlebell swings, consider engaging your core during your workout. To do this, either consider sucking the navel into the spine, or tighten the abdomen as if you were about to be punched.here’s more about Engaging Your Core, and Why It Matters.
I got some blisters
Doing kettlebell swings is said to help you develop grip strength – something I definitely need to work on. Around day five or six of the challenge, I started getting blisters on my hands from the kettlebells. This shows that I’m not lifting half as much as I should be, but it’s still amazing.
I find it easier to activate my glutes while running
On the days I sneak in kettlebell swings before going out for a run, I do feel my glutes get more active as I put on more miles. Like many runners, I tend to have lazy glutes when I run, and I realized that doing kettlebell swings before heading out helped me activate them while I was running.one study (opens in a new tab)A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that six weeks of kettlebell training increased explosive power by nearly 20%, so using kettlebells as part of my pre-run warmup might help me in the long run run faster.
I feel more confident about moving
At the end of my two-week challenge, I managed to do a few days of one-arm kettlebell swings—an advancement in two-handed technique. These help increase the demand on the stabilizers and I do feel my shoulders working harder.
I will definitely be adding them to my strength training in the future
No doubt – doing 100 kettlebell swings is one of the most boring challenges I’ve ever had. However, despite the sore back and blistered palms, I did feel the physical benefits. Granted, two weeks isn’t long enough to see any physical difference, but I feel like my lower body and core are working hard and I’m running stronger as a result.
I’m definitely going to keep doing kettlebell training in my routine, but I’m looking forward to not having to do 100 swings tomorrow morning.
Looking for more inspiration?Read what this fitness writer does 100 kettlebell snatches per day for one weekplus look at this 15 Minute Kettlebell Ab Workout.