3 Biggest Kettlebell Training Mistakes That HURT Your Results

It’s hard to believe I’m approaching 22 years of coaching kettlebell training. My love for this tool goes way back. I’ll admit, I was skeptical at first. When a highly respected coach introduced me to kettlebells in 2002, I thought, “Why not just use a dumbbell?” But I gave it a shot, picking up a modest 8kg kettlebell. After experimenting, I quickly saw how kettlebells could solve many training goals for both my clients and myself.

During my time interning at Arizona State University’s strength and conditioning department, I knew I wanted to bring athletic-based, functional training to everyday people. Kettlebells allowed me to adapt those athletic concepts to a wider range of needs and goals. Their versatility is what sparked my love for them.

Now, kettlebells have become so mainstream you can find them at grocery stores. While I love seeing them as a fitness staple, I also see some major mistakes in how people use them. Here are the three biggest mistakes I see and how to avoid them.

One of my first times teaching at a summit with Pavel, Dan John, Charles Staley, & Robb Rogers

1. Stuck in Movement Redundancy

People often approach kettlebells like they would a traditional bodybuilding routine, focusing on exercises rather than movement patterns. This creates “movement redundancy,” where the same pattern is repeated over and over. This isn’t just inefficient; it can also lead to overuse injuries.

For example, a common kettlebell routine might include:

• Swing
• Clean
• High Pull
• Snatch

Individually, these moves are great. Together, though, they’re all hip hinge patterns. Overemphasizing one pattern can neglect other essential movements like squats, lunges, pulls, and rotations.

Less obvious redundancies can also cause issues. For instance, combining the Turkish get-up, snatch, and windmill in one workout may overload the shoulders since they all involve holding a weight overhead. Avoid these redundancies to make your training more balanced and reduce the risk of injury.

2. Not Valuing the Tool

Using a kettlebell “out of convenience” is a missed opportunity. People often grab a kettlebell when it’s handy but overlook how it actually enhances specific movements.

Take the goblet squat, for example. Many think it doesn’t matter whether you use a kettlebell or a dumbbell, but the kettlebell’s design actually allows for better grip and tension, improving movement quality and strength. Similarly, the kettlebell’s center of mass lies behind the hand, activating muscles differently than a dumbbell, which may benefit those with shoulder issues.

Kettlebells are also fantastic for teaching progressive movement skills. For example, using kettlebells for hip hinge progressions can build stability and control in a way that’s hard to achieve with other tools. In terms of client goals, kettlebells deliver powerful results. One study found that kettlebell training increased vertical jump height as effectively as barbell lifts but with lighter weights, proving that kettlebells offer unique, high-impact strength benefits without the need for heavy loads.

3. Balancing Foundations with Progressions

When I started with kettlebells, most programs revolved around six main exercises: the swing, clean, press, squat, snatch, and get-up. While these are fundamental, sticking solely to them limits kettlebell training’s potential. If one or more of these six moves isn’t appropriate for your client, does that mean kettlebells are off the table? Absolutely not.

There’s often a temptation to try new or trendy exercises seen on social media. The problem? Without understanding their purpose, people may miss out on true gains or use kettlebells inefficiently.

Kettlebells offer countless movement progressions that go beyond the basics. Not just novel exercises, but greater progressions that allow us at times to perform what are considered to be the kettlebell foundations better. The goal isn’t to get better at kettlebells, but to use kettlebells as a very valuable tool that allows us to address the needs in training more effectively. That can often mean re-thinking how we see kettlebell training and creating a more comprehensive system that allows us to accomplish this goal. 

This sounds like a lofty goal, but myself twenty plus years of using kettlebells with a wide array of clients from professional athletes and U.S. Marines to post-rehabilitation and older populations allows me to be confident that this can be achieved. I truly believe the future of kettlebells doesn’t lie in novel exercises, but rediscovering how they can help us teach movement more effectively and be a solution for our training goals. 

If you believe the same, I’d love for you to join our upcoming “Redefining Kettlebell Training” webinar, where physical therapist, Jessica Bento, and I will dive even deeper into these topics! Just jump on over HERE Tuesday (tomorrow!) December 10th at 2pm EST for an opportunity to see how much MORE you could be getting out of kettlebell training!