Best Beginner Lower Body Exercises to Include in Your Kettlebell Leg Workout
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Coach Ana
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Related: Beach Workout
Are Kettlebell Workouts Effective?
Kettlebell Workouts are definitely effective since adding them to your workout routine can make it more fun and gives you the opportunity to try out new exercises. It is also an effective way to make a workout more challenging.
Kettlebells offer lots of versatility when it comes to training, which can help you target different muscle groups. You can use them to build explosive power (2), during your cardio sessions, or even to build strength and hypertrophy.
Whether you’re trying to lose weight or build muscle, kettlebell workouts provide plenty of benefits including improved cardiovascular fitness, increased strength, and endurance (3). And thanks to the ballistic nature of many kettlebell exercises, it can also provide a great way to challenge the body and improve balance and coordination.
When to Increase Kettlebell Weight?
The best time to increase the kettlebell weight can depend on several factors such as your current fitness level, your goal, or the type of workout that you are doing. Here are 3 things to consider when wanting to increase the weight of the kettlebell:
- The exercise stopped being challenging – Usually, a good sign that it is time to increase the kettlebell weight is when the exercise stops being challenging. For example, if you were used to doing the kettlebell goblet squat exercise with 8-12 repetitions, but now you can easily do more than 12, it might be time to increase the weight.
- Assess if you have mastered the form – Proper technique is crucial for the effectiveness of an exercise as well as its safety. Make sure to take time to perfect your form before you decide to increase the kettlebell weight.
- Don’t progress too early – One thing to remember is that it is essential to increase weight as slowly as possible. It is common to want to add more and more weight with each workout and challenge yourself, but you should take time before considering adding more weight. Not doing so can increase the risk of injuries, and it can make it difficult to focus on having the correct form during the exercises. This can hold you back from getting the results that you want and make the workout more difficult than it should be.
You’ll notice that some exercises are easily performed with heavier kettlebells, and for others, you will need lighter kettlebells. Try to listen to your body, and pay attention to how it feels with each exercise. If it’s too difficult, decrease the weight, and if it’s too easy, perhaps it is time to increase it.
What are the Disadvantages of a Kettlebell Workout?
Although kettlebell workouts are a great way to challenge yourself during training and can offer many benefits, using them might come with a few setbacks such as the risk of injury and limited exercise selection. But here are a few disadvantages that you might want to consider:
- You need to have the perfect form – When not paying enough attention to form, kettlebell exercises can put additional stress on the joints, increasing the risk of injuries or pain, especially in the lower back, shoulders, and wrists, therefore increasing the chances of injury.
- The workouts can be too challenging – Many kettlebell exercises require more strength and endurance compared to other forms of training and therefore they might be too challenging for beginners. They are a great tool that can help you build strength and muscular resistance and are ideal for high-intensity exercises.
- They can be expensive – The cost can also be a setback for some people. Kettlebells can be expensive, especially compared to other types of training equipment. And because one kettlebell might not be enough, you would need to invest in a set of kettlebells of varying weights so that you get the full benefits with each workout. This can easily become a costly investment that not everyone is ready to go for.
- Limited exercise options – Although there are plenty of exercises that you can do with the kettlebells, they are still pretty limited compared to other fitness equipment.
Kettlebell Leg Workout Routine
To get the most out of this kettlebell leg workout, you can either play the video at the of the page to follow along or do this workout as part of a circuit. Follow each exercise for 45 seconds and rest for 15 seconds after each exercise.
For a more complete lower body workout, you can choose to follow the video or do the circuit 2-3 times.
These are the kettlebell leg exercises that are part of this workout:
Kettlebell Swing
This dynamic exercise is performed by swinging the kettlebell back and forth between your thighs, using your glutes to generate power and momentum. It is one of the most popular kettlebell exercises that target the gluteus maximus, hamstrings, lower back muscles, and core.
How to do the Kettlebell Swings:
- Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding the kettlebell with both hands in front of you.
- Hinge at the hips and begin to swing the kettlebell between your legs, while keeping both arms straight.
- With explosive power, drive your hips forward and swing the kettlebell up until it’s at shoulder level. Make sure to use your glute muscles to generate momentum during this movement.
- While at the top position, let your arms fall down naturally, then hinge at the hips and let the kettlebell reach between your thighs.
Pro Tip: Make sure your back remains in a neutral position throughout this movement, keep your arms straight, and focus on your hips and glute maximus to generate the explosive movement. Start with a weight that is comfortable for you, until you learn how to perform this exercise with the correct form.
Kettlebell Goblet Squat
This is a fantastic compound exercise that helps you target your glutes, quadriceps, and core muscles.
How to do the Kettlebell Goblet Squat:
- You should do this exercise while standing your feet shoulder-width apart and with your toes facing forward. Hold the kettlebell with both arms up to your chest. Make sure to point down with your elbows and to have your hands face each other.
- Push your hips back slightly as you begin to lower down in a deep squat. Keep your chest up and your spine neutral. It’s okay if your knees go over your toes.
- Depending on your ankle mobility, you’ll notice that you can lower down more or less. That is normal and in time as you do this exercise you will continue to progress.
- Push through your heels to get back up to the starting position and repeat.
Pro Tip: To make the most out of this exercise, remember to keep your chest up and your back straight. Focus on engaging the glutes as you push into the heels to get back up. Choose a kettlebell that is in line with your current level, before progressing to heavier weights.
Kettlebell Staggered Stance Deadlift
This exercise is perfect if you are looking to target both your glutes and hamstrings. It also targets the core muscles for balance and stability. Using a kettlebell will make this exercise more challenging.
How to do the Kettlebell Staggered Stance Deadlift:
- Start in a standing position with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing slightly outward. Hold the kettlebell in your left hand.
- Elevate your left foot and extend it behind you, keeping your leg straight and your toes pointing down.
- Begin to hinge at the hips, while keeping your back straight and your core tight. You should let the kettlebell lower toward the ground as you hinge.
- Hinge forward as much as you can while maintaining good form. It’s ok to bend your knees slightly.
- Push into your front heel and use the right glute to lift up your torso back into starting position then repeat.
Pro tip: Keep in mind that it’s important to keep your back straight and your core engaged during the Kettlebell Straddle Single Leg Deadlift exercise. Avoid rounding your back, as this can increase the chances of injuries, and avoid swinging the kettlebell. Focus on maintaining good form, as well as balance and stability throughout the exercise.
Kettlebell Dead Clean
Although this exercise requires some practice until mastered, it is a fun and great exercise to target your lower body, as well as your upper body. The kettlebell dead clean exercise primarily targets the muscles of the posterior chain, including the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back muscles. You’ll also engage the core muscles and forearms. It is a great explosive exercise, making it an effective exercise that targets several muscle groups, both upper and lower body.
How to do the Kettlebell Dead Clean:
- With the kettlebell on the ground in front of you, begin by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Squat down to grab the kettlebell with one hand. Make sure to keep your back straight and your shoulders in line.
- Explosively push into your heels to get back up while still holding the kettlebell, and use the momentum to pull the kettlebell up to shoulder height, leading with your elbow.
- As you pull the kettlebell up, rotate it around your wrist until the kettlebell is resting on your forearms.
- Reverse the movement with control and lower the kettlebell back to the hanging position before proceeding to the next repetition.
Pro tips: Your spine should remain straight during this exercise and your core tight. Tuck your elbow to the side of your torso and rotate your wrist to catch the kettlebell in a racked position. Once you’re in this position, make sure to keep your wrist straight.
Conclusions
I hope you will enjoy this Kettlebell Leg Workout and add it as part of your weekly workout routine. The kettlebell is a great piece of equipment to add to any workout as it can provide lots of benefits such as improved strength, endurance, flexibility, and cardiovascular health. They can help with shoulder, neck, and lower back pain and they are also perfect if you want to lose weight or build muscle.
So, if you’re looking for a proven way to make each workout more fun and challenging and at the same time help you be in the best shape possible, then look no further and give this workout a try!
FAQs
Can you Build Legs with Kettlebells?
Absolutely, you can definitely build legs with kettlebells as they are a great way to add more resistance during your lower-body workouts. Although you might be more limited as to how much weight you’ll be able to add, as opposed to using machines or free weights, there are still plenty of training principles and variables that you can leverage to continue to get results. One of these is the Principle of Progression or more commonly known as Progressive Overload.
Are Kettlebell Swings Good for Leg Day?
Kettlebell swings are one of the best exercises that you can add to your leg day. Although it is an exercise that targets the full body, the main muscles that will be used are the glutes, hamstrings, and even quadriceps to some extent. Adding the kettlebell swings to your lower body workouts will help increase strength, balance, and coordination.
- Jay K, Frisch D, Hansen K, Zebis MK, Andersen CH, Mortensen OS, Andersen LL. Kettlebell training for musculoskeletal and cardiovascular health: a randomized controlled trial. Scand J Work Environ Health 2011;37(3):196-203. DOI: 10.5271 / sjweh.3136
- Lake JP, Lauder MA. Kettlebell swing training improves maximal and explosive strength. J Strength Cond Res . 2012 Aug;26(8):2228-33. DOI: 10.1519 / JSC.0b013e31825c2c9b
- Beardsley C, Contreras B. The Role of Kettlebells in Strength and Conditioning. Strength and Conditioning Journal 2014;36(3):p 64-70. DOI: 10.1519 / SSC.0000000000000048
