The Beginner's Guide to Kettlebell Training: 5 Key Areas to Focus On

Welcome back to Saturday Steel, where we deliver strength, mobility, and nutrition insights directly to your inbox. This edition is dedicated to the power of building a strong foundation—both in training and in life. Whether you're picking up a kettlebell for the first time or refining your technique, focusing on the basics ensures long-term success and injury-free progress. Let's dive into the essentials of kettlebell training and set the stage for strength and resilience.

1. Master the Fundamentals

Think of kettlebell training like learning a new language—you wouldn’t jump straight into poetry before mastering basic vocabulary, right? Same goes for lifting.

Here are three foundational moves every kettlebell practitioner should own:

✅ Kettlebell Swing – Explosive hip drive builds power, strengthens the posterior chain, and improves conditioning. (Pro tip: Your arms aren’t lifting the bell—your hips are!)
✅ Goblet Squat – Teaches proper squat mechanics, reinforcing posture, depth, and control. Great for building strength with minimal risk.
✅ Turkish Get-Up – The ultimate stability, mobility, and coordination builder. We teach it step by step over three weeks, so you actually learn instead of just flailing around.

If you own these basics, heavier weights and more complex moves (like cleans and snatches) will come way easier—and injury-free.

2. Choose the Right Weight

One of the biggest mistakes? Training with the wrong weight, like going too heavy, too soon or staying too light for too long. The goal is good reps, with weights that are moderately challenging. Start with a weight that allows full control, but still makes you work.

📌 General starting points:
👊 Men: 12-20 kg (26-44 lbs)
🙌 Women: 8-16 kg (18-35 lbs)

Once you can crush reps with great form, gradually level up to challenge your strength.

3. Mind Your Mobility Gaps

Shoutout to Brett Jones for this golden rule:

“If you can’t access a movement without load, you have no business doing it with load.”

Translation: If your joints can’t go through a full range of motion unweighted, adding a kettlebell isn’t going to magically fix that… and will probably backfire.

🔍 Likely causes of mobility gaps:

Old injuries or past accidents
Sport-specific tightness (yep, even hobby sports count)
Desk work, repetitive positions (driving, standing too long, factory work)
Never moving outside your daily routine (when was the last time you sat on the floor?)

Take the time to assess your gaps and work on them—it’ll pay off big-time in the form of lasting strength results and injury prevention.

4. Core Stability: Every Exercise is an Ab Exercise

A strong core isn’t just for aesthetics—it’s your body’s powerhouse. If you’re not engaging your abs, glutes, and lats, you’re leaving strength on the table.

🎯 Benefits of a strong core:

Better balance & control
Better posture & breathing mechanics
Reduced injury risk (protects your spine)
More efficient movement in swings, cleans, and presses
More athletic power (harder tennis serve, harder soccer kick, even faster sprint!)

🔥 Quick drill: Try Dead Bugs—it teaches core awareness by forcing you to stabilize while moving. Pro tip: Doing it well is harder than it looks.

5. Seek Guidance & Find Your People

Strength training isn’t a solo mission—having coaching and community makes all the difference.

🛠 Need help with technique? Join our KB Strong Start classes—perfect for dialing in your skills and learning kettlebells the right way.
🔥 Want to level up? Our StrongFirst Workshops help you refine technique, power, and efficiency with expert coaching.

📅 Check out our upcoming workshops & classes → https://oaklandsmostpowerful.com/events

Final Thoughts

Kettlebell training is a marathon, not a sprint. Show up, stay patient, and trust the process. Strength isn’t built in a day—but with consistent effort, you’ll see real, lasting progress.

Show up,

be technical,

stay consistent! 💪

Master the fundamentals of kettlebell training with our latest Saturday Steel blog! Learn the 5 key areas to focus on, from perfecting your swings, squats, and get-ups to choosing the right weight and improving mobility. Build strength, stay injury-free, and train smarter—read the full guide now!

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