Kettlebell Push Press Exercise Guide

This article will cover the different aspects of the Kettlebell Push Press exercise.

Before moving to this exercise, you should be able to perform the traditional overhead press with proper technique.

The Push-press is also a useful lift to learn before you try to progress to the more advanced Push-Jerk movement.

This lift is a functional compound movement placing significant tension on your upper body, core and legs.

People training in sports commonly use this exercise. The movement focuses on what gets referred to as the "Power Zone(hip flexors, hip extensors (glutes and hamstrings), spinal erectors, and quadriceps.)"

You can also push with both hands or only one.

Using both arms allows you to use a heavier weight for working your lower body harder. When you perform the exercise with just one arm, your core(specifically the obliques) gets more tension placed on them due to the offset of weight between your left and right sides.

Kettlebell Push Press How to Guide

One-Arm Kettlebell Push Press

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Video Example

Step by Step Description

Step 1: (setup) First you need to Clean the kettlebell to your shoulder.

Put the kettlebell between your feet. Push your hips back and bend at the knees, grab the kettlebell while keeping your eyes looking forward.

Extend through your hips and legs and raise the kettlebell toward your shoulder while rotating at your wrist, the palm of your hand should be facing forwards when the weight gets to your shoulder.

You are now in the starting position.

Step 2: Bend at the knees while keeping your torso upright.

Step 3: Reverse direction by driving through your heels raising your body upwards with as much force and momentum as you can generate. At the same time press the kettlebell over your head extending your arm to a lockout position. Use need to use your legs to build momentum to help you lift the weight.

Double Kettlebell Push Press

Image Example

Video Example

Step by Step Description

Step 1: Clean two kettlebells up to your shoulders.

Step 2: Push your hips back and bend at the knees lowering your body a few inches. Quickly reverse direction and drive from your legs building as much momentum as you can and drive both kettlebells overhead.

Step 3: Now lower the weight back to your shoulders and repeat.

Difficulty Level

This lift gets rated at an early intermediate lifting level.

The push-press should be one of the first exercises you learn where you use multiple large muscle groups together to perform the movement correctly.

Equipment Required

As the title states, you are going to need a pair of kettlebells to perform this variation.

However, if you do not have access to them, you can also use dumbbells instead or use a barbell to perform the two arm variation.

Muscles Worked

The Primary muscles worked by this exercise are your Shoulders and the Triceps. These muscles get used when you are pushing the weight overhead.

Your Quadriceps, Glutes hamstrings act as secondary muscles. They get used when you perform the dipping portion of the lift.

Your abdominals and lower back work as stabilizers to keep your torso stable and prevent excessive spinal arching.

Benefits of Kettlebell Push Press

The Kettlebell Push Press is one of the simpler overhead lifts to learn that will help you to develop explosive strength and power.

Learning to perform this exercise correctly is shown to improve your ability to generate and control force.

Exercises that work the power zone are shown to increase a persons core to extremity muscle recruitment. Being able to perform this movement efficiently is foundational to the effective and efficient performance of athletic movement.

Since you work multiple major muscle groups with this exercise, your body burns a high number of calories. Lifting heavy will also set your metabolism to burn a higher amount of calories for the next 24 hours.

Quick, explosive movements like this exercise will fire up your Central Nervous System. When your CNS is activated, your body is at its most efficient for lifting heavy.

Increased strength in the push press correlates to an improvement on the bench press.

You may also like

Kettlebell Clean and Jerk
Kettlebell Thruster
Kettlebell Clean And Press

Reference

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