Kettlebell windmill
A hip shift and side bend with a bell held overhead. Trunk strength through a range almost nothing else trains.
The movement
Bell overhead
01 Bell overhead
Lock the bell overhead with the loaded-side leg straight and the feet turned out.
02 Hip back, hand down
Push the loaded hip back and reach the free hand down the front leg. Eyes stay on the bell.
How to do it
Setup
- Press a bell overhead with one arm, elbow straight and wrist stacked.
- Turn both feet about 45° away from the loaded arm, and keep the leg on the loaded side straight.
Execution
- Push the hip on the loaded side out to the side and let your torso bend the other way.
- Slide your free hand down the inside of your front leg, keeping your eyes on the bell.
- Reach as far as you can hold the position, then stand up by driving your hip back underneath you.
BreathingInhale as you lower into the bend, exhale as you stand back up.
Form cues
- Push your hip out to the side rather than bending at the waist.
- The overhead arm stays vertical, and your eyes stay on the bell.
Common mistakes
- Bending the loaded-side knee, which removes the hip shift and leaves you doing a plain side bend.
- Letting the overhead arm drift forward, which puts your shoulder in a weak position under load.
- Rounding your back to reach the floor instead of stopping where the position still holds.
Worth knowing
- Your range is however far you can keep the overhead arm vertical and your back flat. Chasing the floor past that point is where this stops being worth doing.
General guidance, not medical advice. See how Setkit works.
Notes
The windmill trains your trunk in the one direction most programs never load, which is sideways. Between planks, crunches and twisting work, nearly every core exercise resists bending forward or rotating, and bending sideways under load is left to whatever a heavy suitcase carry happens to provide. The windmill puts a bell overhead and asks your trunk to control the way down and drive back up.
Two things make it more than a stretch with a weight attached. Your hip has to travel sideways, which loads the glute and hamstring of the straight leg through a long range, and your overhead arm has to stay locked and vertical while everything below it moves. Lose either one and the movement becomes much easier and much less useful.
The straight leg on the loaded side is the detail everyone quietly bends. With that knee locked, the only way down is to push your hip out and fold, which is the exercise. Bending it lets your torso drop straight down without the hip doing anything, and from the outside the range looks the same.
Start with no weight at all, then a very light bell, and add load only when your overhead arm stays vertical without you thinking about it. Sets of five per side are plenty. This is precise work, and one sloppy rep undoes what the first four built.