KETTLEBELL WINDMILL

What muscles does the Kettlebell Windmill work?

The Kettlebell Windmill exercise targets your shoulders as well as your core. It develops your balance and your joint mobility.

It’s more an exercise to develop mobility and stability than pure strength, but it really helps you get stronger on the main lifts such as bench press and deadlift.

How to perform a Kettlebell Windmill?

I’m demonstrating one of the several variations of the kettlebell windmill here, which is loaded in the top hand.

Make sure that your feet are much wider than your hips. Point both feet in the opposite direction to the hand holding the KB. For instance if the KB is in your left hand, your feet should point to the right.

Shift your weight to your left side and ground your heel. Lift your left arm and ensure that your wrist stays straight.

Looking at the weight, slowly bend over from your hips and slide your right hand along your right leg until reaching the ankle. Both legs should stay straight.

Still looking at the weight, slowly come back up to your starting position.

Video demo:

Pro tips:

• Start by practicing without any weight to get use to the movement.

• If you can’t quite reach your ankle, stop just below the knee.

• Keep your core engaged.

How to tell if you’re doing it right:

You should be able to go down and get back up, if not, use a lighter weight. You should feel it in your shoulders, your core but also your hamstrings.