The Kettlebell Swing is taught a variety of ways, but there are two main “variations” – the Russian swing and the American swing.
I personally only ever use the Russian style, hip hinge swing ending no higher than chest height. So below I’m going to go over form for that hip hinge movement instead of the American style overhead swing.
The Kettlebell Swing can be a great glute exercise to help you improve your power and your strength. It can also be a great conditioning exercise that is lower impact.
And of course, it also is great to build grip strength!
It is even thought by many to be one of the best, if not the best, explosive glute exercise!
Below learn how to do the basic Kettlebell Swing as well as some fun variations!
And if you’d like to learn more about Kettlebell training in general, scroll to the end of the post to watch my Science Behind Kettlebells Training Video!
The Hip Thruster and variations of the movement recruit more muscle fibers than almost any standing lift, including one of our favorite moves of all time, the deadlift. It creates a burn in the glutes that very few other moves out there are able to accomplish.
However, beginners may want to start with a glute bridge variation before progressing to the Hip Thruster to make sure their low backs don’t take over when doing the movement.
It is very important with the Hip Thruster that you consciously focus on squeezing your glutes and fully extending your hips without hyperextending your low back.
Here’s how to do The Hip Thruster (potentially the single best glute exercise out there) and variations!
There are a lot of glute exercises out there, but some give you more bang for your buck than others. Many people turn to squats when they want to work their butt, but squats (and even deadlifts) aren’t necessarily the best options. And what exercise is best also depends on exactly what you are using it for.
There are three different gluteal muscles, each with a different function. And different exercises pinpoint different aspect of your glutes. A glute exercise that strengthens your glute maximus, may not strengthen your glute medius. And if you have IT Band Syndrome, it is very important that you get your glute medius activated and stronger.
Therefore an exercise that is great for you glute maximus isn’t really beneficial for you because you need to targe the glute medius. So before you just randomly string together exercises, think about what you are using them for.
Below I’ve broken down glute exercises by the gluteal muscle they work. Here are some of the best glute exercises to work your three gluteal muscles – the gluteus maximus, medius and minimus. (more…)
Unilateral exercises are a great way to prevent and correct imbalances. They force each leg, each side, to work independently so that the dominant side can’t take over.
They also require less, and in many cases no weight, to be challenging so that you can do them at home if you don’t have much equipment or even use them to give your body a break from heavy loads.
One of my favorite unilateral leg exercises is the Airborne Lunge because it not only forces each side to work independently, but it also will improve your core strength and mobility.
And starting out, most people won’t need any load to make the movement more challenging.
When you sit all day at a desk, your body is constantly in flexion, which leads to injury.
The 5 bridge exercises below are the opposite of what you do all day and, when paired with a proper trigger point release program, can help you prevent and alleviate injury.
