The first kettlebell exercises for any beginner to learn are the swing, clean, and press. It’s important to know that each one of those 3 has different variations and that’s something to keep in the back of your mind and look into further down the track.
The 3 IKU™ beginner kettlebell exercises to learn are carefully chosen because they contain all the important movements that lay a good foundation to build upon as you progress with your kettlebell training journey.
The kettlebell exercise variations that we recommend as a beginner to focus on are:
- Clean
- Kettlebell Assisted Dead Clean Drill
- Kettlebell Dead Clean
- Swing
- Double-Arm Hip Hinge Swing
- Press
- Strict Shoulder Press
Why did we pick these specific variations as the first 3 beginner kettlebell exercises to learn? Knowing the why behind any reasoning is important as without it you will not know why you are doing what you’re doing. We picked only 3 as that would keep it to the basics and as simple as possible.
The assisted dead clean drill teaches you all the important constants that are required for any clean variation. pulling with the legs, hook grip, grip transition, loose grip, racking, and more. All these aspects transfer from the drill to the proper dead clean and swing clean as you progress. This clean variation is also built upon the squat movement which is a must in any beginner program. We’ve provided a full free video to learn this kettlebell drill at the top of this page.
This swing variation is built upon the hip hinge movement which lays a good foundation to add certain important exercises that are not yet included to keep the program simple to follow like the bent-over row, and so on.
The strict shoulder press works the upper body and creates overhead strength, flexibility, and stability to progress to other exercises in the future like the snatch, jerk, windmill, etc.
In summary, this selection works on and develops:
- Cardio
- Strength
- Power
- Lower-body
- Upper-body
- Core
- Flexibility
- Stability
- And more
Beginner Kettlebell Workout
All the 3 beginner kettlebell exercises mentioned above are included in this beginner kettlebell workout, including the bent-over row which was mentioned above as the missing key to also include in your workout.
The IKU™ Beginner Kettlebell Workout is:
45 seconds of the kettlebell double-arm hip hinge swing
15 seconds rest
45 seconds of the kettlebell goblet squat
15 seconds rest
45 seconds of the kettlebell strict shoulder press (on one side)
15 seconds rest
45 seconds of the kettlebell strict shoulder press (on the other side)
15 seconds rest
45 seconds of the kettlebell bent-over row (on one side)
15 seconds rest
45 seconds of the kettlebell bent-over row (on the other side)
15 seconds rest
1 minute of rest
Repeat for a total of 4 cycles
Get the full beginner kettlebell program to avoid all common mistakes, make sure that you are doing things correctly and safely, know when to go up in weight, know how to adjust for cardio or strength, and have videos at your fingertips that not only explain all the technique but allow you to click play and follow along to the warm-up, prep work, workout, and cooldown.
Kettlebell Beginner Mistakes
Kettlebell Swing Mistakes
Following the kettlebell. Discuss this common kettlebell mistake here.
Chin to the chest. Discuss this common kettlebell mistake here.
Kettlebell Clean Mistakes
Dead clean movement mistake. Discuss this common kettlebell mistake here.
Incorrect racking/receiving. Discuss this common kettlebell mistake here.
Kettlebell Squat Mistakes
Not squatting to the full range or creating a fake range. Discuss this common kettlebell mistake here.