7- Game-Changing Ways to Hold Your Kettlebell
You're Not a Caveman - Don't Hold Your Kettlebell Like One.
Our hands are powerful tools, with dexterous fingers and opposable thumbs which we often take for granted. When you hold your kettlebell during training, are you using your hands with purpose—turning them into instruments of strength, precision, and control?
Imagine a child clutching a marker with a fist, compared to a skilled artist gracefully wielding it, controlling every line with intention, pressure, and direction.
Whether you’re a newcomer to kettlebells or a veteran with years of training, it’s never too late to elevate your game. By refining your grips and mastering new exercises, you align your training with the results you seek. It’s all about using the right tools with the right finesse.
This isn't an exhaustive list, but here are seven kettlebell grips you need to know.
Some are mandatory for optimal kettlebell lifting technique.
Others offer unique functional benefits. And a few will push your grip strength and core stability to new heights.
💡 Did you know
Kettlebells dating back hundreds of years have been discovered, originally used as tools for weighing crops. The variety of kettlebell grips used today still reflects its origins as a versatile, practical tool.
It's #1 for a Reason! The Hook Grip
Hold the handle with your fingertips, allowing your thumb to be relaxed or off the handle entirely.
- Benefits: Increased grip endurance, smoother kettlebell transitions (resulting in less friction - the cause of hand tears), reduced forearm fatigue.
- Exercises Include: Swings, Cleans, Snatches.
2. Clamp Grip
Thumb locks tightly over the index or middle finger.
Benefits: Hold your kettlebell with the clamp grip for maximum grip strength, ideal for heavier weights and short-duration exercises.
Exercises Include: Heavy One-Arm Swings, Farmer's Carries, Single-Arm Rows.
It's No Lie. Hold Your Kettlebell with #3: The False Grip
Hold your kettlebell with your hand and fully inserted through kettlebell window at about a 35 to 45-degree angle.
Benefits: Wrist stabilization, joint strain reduction, improved pressing power.
Exercises: Hold your kettlebell with a false grip for overhead presses, turkish get-ups, snatch, clean, jerk, windmill and more.
4. Kettlebell Crush Grip
Palms squeeze the sides of kettlebell body, forearms parallel.
Benefits: Improved squat posture, enhanced core activation, easier squat depth achievement.
Exercises: Hold your kettlebell with a crush grip for Goblet Squat, Front Lunges, Goblet Carries.
5. Bottoms-Up (French Grip)
Hold your kettlebell upside-down, either centrally or at the corner of the handle.
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Benefits: Enhanced grip strength, shoulder stability, balance, wrist control.
Exercises: Bottoms-Up Presses, Cleans, Carries, Bottoms-Up Turkish Get-Ups.
6. Sideways Horn (Fireman's Grip)
Hold your kettlebell by the horn with the body of the kettlebell facing away from or toward you.
Benefits: Functional grip strength, improved hand dexterity, and preparation for real-life lifting scenarios...This one was introduced to us by former firefighter Tom Corrigan.
Exercises Include: Side Horn Carries, Tactical Grip Drills. This hold makes the kettlebell feel heavier, so start light.
7. Two-Hand Hammer Grip
Fist-over-fist, both hands grab the handle (like a sledgehammer).
Benefits: Enhances the challenge of dynamic exercises and works your grip, shoulders and arm strength simultaneously.
Exercises: Sledgehammer Cleans, Hammer-Hold Lunges and Twists.
Bonus Tips for Using Your Hands Intentionally
- If you've built up calluses from lifting, pay attention to your palms! Your grip will last longer if you spread the weight evenly across your fingers with a hook grip. If you have a large callus under your ring or middle finger but none under your forefinger or pinky, adjust your hook grip to distribute the weight more evenly.
- When the bell is in flight, you can easily change its orientation with the slightest pull, push, or directional pressure from your fingertips. It's helpful to warm up your fingers with slingshots (also known as "around-the-world's). The combination of finger dexterity with the angle of your swing path make a huge difference in whether or not you can safely and efficiently perform exercises like figure-eights, speed-switch cleans and snatches.
Your Kettlebell Workouts are About to Get More Fun
Opening your eyes to new ways to hold your kettlebell and mastering different kettlebell grips not only diversifies your workouts but also helps you target specific results, boosts your performance, endurance, and overall fitness.
Enjoying going down the kettlebell rabbit hole? Consider joining the next Pro Kettlebell Certification program. Join the waitlist above to be notified when registration opens!
