Off Ice Workouts For Figure Skaters: The Kettlebell Swing

Off Ice Workouts For Figure Skaters: The Kettlebell Swing – Part 1 (Kristina Hefty Anderson)

Kristina Anderson provides an introduction to kettlebell training for figure skaters. Kristina notes that safety is the first priority when working with kettlebells and then she takes a moment to describe and show a kettlebell.

Then Kristina has the demonstrator show how to properly pick up the kettlebell and do a basic warm-up drill consisting of passing the kettlebell around her body while standing still. Next, Kristina teaches the kettlebell swing from the beginning. She explains that although it may look like there’s a lot of upper body engagement, “it’s actually done more with the hips and the legs powering up and popping up.”

Kristina starts teaching the swing by having the skater stand at the wall and get used to the stance and “squat” position necessary to swing the kettllebell properly. She notes that it is actually desireable to do this initial training in bare feet or in very flat soled shoes.

When describing the swing, she says “This is more of a swing pivot in our hips than a squat. It’s really about hinging at the hips and bringing the hips backward.” Notice the continued focus on the hip movement for power generation. The hips actually driving the arms and hands forward and up. The back should remain flat throughout.