Kettlebell Injuries: How to Avoid during Workout

A Kettlebell workout involves highly strenuous exercises, which work upon a lot of body muscles. Kettlebells activate glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps and core muscles.

They help in burning a good number of calories along with building power, strength and endurance. In this way, it improves the overall fitness of the body.

Along with all these benefits, kettlebell workouts have some risks also. Whether you are a newcomer to kettlebell training or a veteran, you can get injured if you are practicing the movement with correct form.

Some of the common kettlebell injuries can include dropping the kettlebell on your foot, shoulder injuries, wrist bruises and lower back injuries. However, these can easily be avoided through proper training.

Here is given a list of nine most common mistakes that lead to kettlebell injuries during workout and how we can avoid these.

1. Using the Shoulders When Swinging: Due to the increasing craze of kettlebells, people pick a kettlebell and start swinging by watching YouTube tutorials or other online sources. The most common mistake is that they use arms and shoulders to swing the kettlebell instead of using an explosive drive from the hips.

Overuse of shoulders while swinging may lead to severe injuring of your shoulders. Make sure to watch a thorough tutorial of kettlebell swings and how to create momentum with your hips.

2. How to Avoid Injuries To Shoulders

• • Use the force from hips instead of shoulders for swinging the kettlebells.
  • Always start with a lower weight kettlebell and steadily increase the weight according to your level and power.
  • Keep the shoulders back and your lats engaged to let the hips do all the work.

3. Using The Wrong Type Of Kettlebells: Using the wrong kind of kettlebells can result in bruised and damaged wrists. Lifting too heavy as well as too light weights can be dangerous for you. If you try to use too much weight, your form may break down and put strain on your muscles. If you use a weight that is too light, you might actually overswing. Ideally you want to use a weight that is just right which you can maintain perfect form.

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How To Fix This:

• • According to your level, a beginner should always start with a lower weight than steadily increase the kettlebell weight.
  • You can speak with an expert in deciding the proper size and weight of the kettlebell according to your capacity. We also published some guidelines here: https://www.kettlebellkings.com/choosing-the-righ...

4. Not Maintaining a Neutral Spine: When you perform kettlebell exercises properly, they can strengthen the back muscles of your body. If you do not maintain a proper form or try to lift a higher weight than your capacity and do not maintain a neutral spine, it may lead to severe injuries to your back muscles and your backbone. Always try to keep your spine straight.

How To Avoid Injuries To Back:

• • if you feel any pain to your lower back, stop the exercise immediately
  • Do not try to lift an excessive amount of weight suddenly

Do not lean too far back when swinging the kettlebell as it may put additional strain on your lower back. Keep your core tight and your lats flex at the upper part of the swing, do not lean back.

5. Bending the Wrist: This is also one of the most common mistakes during kettlebell workouts. It weakens the arm as well as straining the wrist and forearm.

How to Avoid Wrist Injuries

• • Most of the kettlebell injuries occur due to improper lifting of the weights.
  • Always make sure that your wrists are straight in most of the kettlebell exercises. Do not allow the kettlebell to flop on to your wrist, but rotate your hand for smooth insertion.
  • Do not hold the kettlebell handle too tight or too loose. As very tight grip will hamper the dynamic movements with kettlebell and a loose grip may lead you to dropping the kettlebell.

6. Wrong Set Up: You should properly set up to perform any kettlebell movement. Do not simply pick up and start swinging the kettlebell right away. Always begin a kettlebell workout with proper spacing between your feet. An overly extended space between your legs while performing kettlebell exercises may lead to injuries to your hips, knees and lower back.

How to Avoid This:

• • Always stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  • Place a kettlebell in front of you and hinge through your hips while lifting the kettlebell and keep your arms fully extended while lifting.

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7. Overuse of the Upper Body During the Kettlebell Exercise: Kettlebell exercises are very dynamic, and they use ballistic movements. Overuse on your upper body and not utilizing your full body can lead to strain if not performing movements properly. You can get strain in vulnerable areas like your neck, shoulders and lower back.

8. Overcomplicating Kettlebell Workouts: Many beginners become overly excited when they start doing the kettlebell exercises. They look on YouTube and other social media platforms and want to perform as many exercises as possible based on what they see.

However, if you are a beginner, you should go slowly in a kettlebell workout. Complicated workout programs can lead to severe injuries to beginners. Always master the basics by working with a certified trainer or taking a course yourself.

How to Avoid This:

• • Take time to learn kettlebell movements from an expert
  • Practice is the key. Once you are comfortable with basic kettlebell movements like deadlift, squats, and only then, go for advanced workouts like swinging.

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9. You Are Wearing Improper Footwear: Running shoes are not the best option for doing kettlebell training. Running shoes raise the heel level and push the knee forward during squats or swings, which could contribute to a knee injury.

How to Avoid This:

• • Make sure to use flat-soled shoes when doing a kettlebell workout to maintain stability.
  • You can also go barefoot if you are comfortable.

Kettlebell workouts give excellent results if performed properly. Your body position should be correct. Your neck, back and hips must be in a straight line to avoid these kettlebell injuries. If you make these mistakes during the kettlebell workouts, you can expect numerous injuries after the exercise.

Kettlebells are must equipment if you are on your fitness journey. They build stamina along with a sculpted body. If you want to order kettlebells online, visit Kettlebell Kings. Choose from a range of high-quality kettlebells and enjoy free shipping.