7 of the Most Common Kettlebell Training Mistakes

Intro: these are 7 of the most common Kettlebell Training mistakes that lead to the very common vicious cycle of starting and stopping due to injury.

Have you experienced the vicious cycle of starting and stopping due to injury? In this article, I will break down seven of the common causes that I observed over the past 20 years working with students so that you can avoid them.

A bit of background. As a previous owner of 3 gyms and having coached people across the world. One thing that I frequently see occur with beginners and even those training for a while is the vicious cycle of starting and stopping.

“I was going well. A month in, sleep had improved, my resting heart rate and blood pressure were down, weight coming off. Felt so good and got all enthusiastic. Guilty of 1-5, ripped an arm muscle and told three months off, arm to remain almost immobile for 6 weeks. Silly old sod. Starting again with my brain guiding my efforts rather than my enthusiasm”

From someone who read this article

There are many reasons why this may occur. I identified these as the top seven:

1. Too enthusiastic
2. Not focussed on learning and technique
3. Not leaving the ego at the door
4. Not progressing correctly
5. Jumping straight in the deep end
6. No routine
7. Not listening to the body

I’ll provide info on them below.

1) Too enthusiastic

You may think, how can too much enthusiasm be bad, right? In our online memberships, we offer over 250 exciting kettlebell workouts. How can this be a problem right? I always like to ask our members direct questions to get inside their heads so I can help them and others in the future. So, here’s what a lot of them told me.

• They enjoyed the workouts so much that they did not want to stop; or
• They had a fear of missing out; or
• They felt guilty stopping

Now, one thing I discovered is that no matter what information or path is provided, some will push through anyway. And that’s okay if it’s used in how I use it to learn what I have learned over the past 20 years, and that is learning from my mistakes and not making the same mistakes.

2) Not focussed on learning and technique

Too enthusiastic also comes into play with this one. The focus is on just working out and completely ignoring the higher learning curve that is involved with kettlebell training. On the flip side, people want to learn everything in one session and ignore that it’s a process. It’s a journey that requires a gradual step-by-step process as designed in each of our pre-recorded online kettlebell classes.

Learning requires a time investment. You can hide that investment (making it less obvious to the brain) if you don’t enjoy that part of the process by integrating the learning/training in your workout sessions by putting parts of the education in your warm-up, prep work, or cooldown. We put a lot of emphasis on prep work which can include technique work and progression. 

3) Not leaving the ego at the door

We’re all guilty of this one sometimes, it just depends on how often you don’t check your ego. I sometimes enter a workout with the thought of 2 x 28kg/62lb and then after the warm-up, I use the prep work to gauge whether I really should. I pay attention to how my body feels and 99% of the time I check my ego at the door. Listening to your body is one of the main things I teach my students.

4) Not progressing correctly

The is a process for everything. For conditioning your body and creating strength there is a process. For learning a complex exercise there is a process. Not knowing of having access to a plan or coach usually means that people will resort to things like gloves, wristbands, knee and elbow sleeves, and so on. 

Here is a video I made on this topic.

5) Jumping straight in the deep end

Very much related to point 4, which is jumping straight into the deep end and doing what others are doing. With our members, it’s a case of willingly ignoring the alternatives and progressions, not asking questions, not showing up, etc. and I get it, it’s a lot more fun to Snatch instead of putting the focus on the Clean and Push Press. I get it, it may sometimes feel awkward or difficult to ask for help. But those that do have progressed so much in such a short time in our groups. 

6) No routine

Not knowing what to do next. Not having identified goals. Not having a routine that works toward your goals. All these things may lead to overtraining, getting bored, getting confused, or even not training enough. 

7) Not listening to the body

Your body is the best indicator of whether your form and technique are correct. Whether your programming is good. Whether you need more rest. Whether you are ready for the next Kettlebell weight or more complex exercise. The thing is that most don’t listen to their body and just push through aches and pains thinking it’s all part of the process, but it’s not.

I’ll leave you with a video I made on a common kettlebell clean mistake that I often help correct.

3 of the Most Common Kettlebell Training Mistakes in Technique

The 3 most common Kettlebell Training mistakes in kettlebell technique are:

1. No grip transition
2. Incorrect racking
3. Casting the weight out

The last one looks like this.

External resources:

• Kettlebell Common Mistakes
• Common Kettlebell Mistakes Video Playlist