One other month, one other viral TikTok health problem. The newest one? Doing 100 kettlebell swings a day for 30 days. Proponents say that this routine could make you “leaner, stronger, and quicker,” within the phrases of 1 fan, however as we all know from earlier social media health traits (taking a look at you, 75 Laborious), on-line health recommendation isn’t all the time as much as snuff.
Kettlebell swings, to be clear, are 100% legit—they’re a staple lower-body train for good cause. “Kettlebells are probably the greatest instruments for each mobility and power, so that you get a double whammy [of workout benefits],” Maggi Gao, CPT, an authorized kettlebell teacher and health coach based mostly in New York Metropolis, tells SELF. The kettlebell swing works the muscular tissues on the again of your physique (known as the posterior chain), notably your glutes and hamstrings, which makes it an particularly nice train for anybody who spends most of their day sitting. The movement of the swing additionally trains hip mobility and lumbar (again) stability, which implies that if you’re doing it correctly, this train will strengthen your again in a secure manner—no bending, flexing, or twisting required. As an explosive motion, it additionally helps prepare energy and provides you an excellent cardio exercise. And eventually, it’s an excellent lower-body train to do when you have knee ache. In contrast to lunges and squats, which contain loads of bending and straightening of the knees, the motion within the kettlebell swing comes out of your hips.
However…do you have to do 100 of ’em? Lengthy story brief: It will depend on your stage of expertise, Gao says. For those who’re accustomed to kettlebells—say, you regularly embrace them in your exercises and really feel such as you’ve acquired the shape down pat—doing 100 swings a day isn’t a half-bad concept, she says. In truth, it’s even one thing she recommends to shoppers, notably these with packed schedules: “It’s nice for growing endurance and power, particularly in case you simply need to get a little bit little bit of motion in day-after-day, as a result of it is not going to take up loads of time,” Gao says. “You get actually good bang to your buck.”
For individuals merely scrolling by TikTok, seeing the problem, and pondering it could be an effective way so as to add new motion into their day? Properly, that’s one other story. For those who aren’t already working with kettlebells, doing 100 swings a day is inadvisable, in keeping with Gao. “It’s like beginning to run 5 miles day-after-day if you haven’t achieved any working earlier than,” she says. For one, you’ll be setting your self up for burnout. In relation to any form of exercise, going from zero to 100 (actually, on this case) isn’t sustainable.
What’s extra, it can be harmful, in keeping with Gao—it’s placing a ton of recent pressure in your physique and probably setting you up for harm. That’s as a result of a kettlebell swing is a reasonably superior motion, and in case you begin cranking out reps earlier than you get the shape down, you can damage your decrease again and neck, or pressure your shoulders.
