A.

HIP HINGE
The hip hinge is used to teach the proper deadlift and the swing movement pattern. It teaches
how to immobilize the spine while utilizing the mobility of the hips. This particular drill is vital
for learning the proper safety and performance techniques required for kettlebell training.

1. Stand with your feet hip distance apart, feet pointing straight ahead.
2. Placing the edges of your hands in the creases at the tops of your thighs, push your hips
straight back, it helps to imagine reaching your hips back toward an imaginary wall.
3. Your shins should remain close to vertical and should not change in angle during the
exercise.
4. Keep your spine neutral and open your chest, you may slightly arch your back.
5. Hinge at the hips, your torso moves forward as your hips move back.
6. Your spine (including your neck and head) should stay neutral but your torso will lean
forward to face toward the ground.
7. When you can’t reach your hips back any further, reverse the motion until your hips are
locked in the starting position.

PROBLEMS AND SOLUTONS

PROBLEM: Student cannot hinge without rounding the lower back.

SOLUTION 1: Have the student practice the drill with a stick or dowel with three points of
contact (back of the head, between the shoulder blades, and near the tailbone). The stick

✓ Correct form: Hinging from the hips

and spine neutral.
Incorrect form: Hinging from the knees
instead of the hips, back rounds, the
knees shift forward and shins are no
longer vertical.

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 must keep contact with all three points and the knees may bend as much as necessary to
allow the hips to move backward while keeping a straight spine.

SOLUTION 2: Have the student stand approximately a foot away from a wall with their
back to the wall. Give them a kettlebell to hold as a counterbalance, their arms straight
down, elbows straight. Keeping the shoulder blades together and the chest open, have
them reach their hips back to touch the wall. Have them stand up and lock their hips. Then
have them move slightly away from the wall and repeat, looking to achieve a near vertical
shin position while maintaining a neutral spine.

PROBLEM: Student rounds the upper back and the head comes forward.

SOLUTION 1: Practicing hinging with a stick on the back can help with this problem,
focusing on the upper back and the neck.

SOLUTION 2: Go to the goblet squat section, and teach the “face the wall squat”. The halo
mobility exercise and the arm bar exercise from the get-up section can help with this as
well but note that this is likely a postural issue that may take months to correct.

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B. DEADLIFT
The deadlift is a foundational movement and is the first step in teaching the swing. The
kettlebell deadlift and its variations are great exercises in themselves. It reinforces the need to
load the hips and engages the entire “back core.”

1. Stand with your feet hip distance apart and the

kettlebell directly between your feet.
2. The kettlebell handle is in line with your ankles.
3. Push your hips back, as you did in the hip hinge,
with your arms straight and hands reaching for
the kettlebell.
4. Keep your eyes looking straight ahead or
slightly down.
5. Keep your lats and upper back engaged. Do not
let your shoulders round forward or shrug up
toward your ears.
6. Keep your weight on your heels and your shins
as vertical as possible. ✓ Deadlift start position: Hinging
from the hips, back neutral,
and spine neutral, kettlebell
7. Your knees should track your toes and should not
between ankles.
bend farther than them.
8. Sniff in and brace your abdominals before you
stand up.
9. While at the bottom of the deadlift, your hips
are higher than the knees but lower than the
shoulders.
10. Press your feet hard into the ground and lengthen
your spine as you stand up. There should be an
equal amount of weight distributed between the
feet and hands as you begin to lift.
11. At the top, squeeze your glutes as hard as possible
while you pull up your kneecaps. Stand up straight.
12. Your body should now form a straight line through ✓ Kettlebell start position: the
kettlebell handle is in line with
your ankles, knees, hips, back, shoulders, and ankles.
head.

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It’s important when performing the deadlift that the lift is
initiated with the hips while the core and back move as a
solid cylinder. In order to achieve this you need to lower
yourself down using your hips and hamstrings to get you into
the correct position to perform the lift. You may encounter
clients who get to a certain depth with their legs and
hips and then use their back in some manner to grab the
kettlebell. Moving the spine at all while lowering yourself into
position or while performing the lift can result in back pain
and possible injury. This is an example of the most common
problem in the deadlift movement pattern for someone who
can already perform the hip hinge correctly.

Have your client begin by reaching down to touch the

kettlebell handle as a test before you ever have them lift the
kettlebell off the floor. Have them repeat that a few times until
you are satisfied that they can get down with proper spinal
alignment and loading of the hips, before allowing them to
lift the bell off the floor. If they are not able to pick up the
kettlebell with a neutral spine, place the kettlebell on a
platform to raise it up to a level that your client can safely
perform the movement.

The deadlift is the most essential and important movement

pattern in the RKC system. It has to be perfected before
moving forward and learning dynamic lifts such as the swing,
clean and snatch. It is also important to remember that the ✓
Deadlift top position:
body should form a
solid cylinder analogy also applies to squatting movements, straight line, glutes
glutes and abs tight.
in that a neutral spine forms the basis for squatting and
pressing. The only movement within the RKC system that allows the spine to flex and rotate is
the get-up.

When you hit the top position, pause, breathing shallow. Hinge without looking at the
kettlebell and place the kettlebell on the ground between your feet. The tendency will be for
the kettlebell to land out in front of you, but make sure to guide it back between your feet
instead. Use your lats and triceps to guide it back to where it should be placed.

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