Intermediate · Movement lesson
How to Do a Kettlebell Windmill
Learn the kettlebell windmill with hip-hinge, overhead lockout, and range-of-motion cues.
Trevor · Founder & head coach · 6 min read
Full video · 2:58 · Trevor
Key takeaways
- Hinge instead of folding straight down.
- Keep the overhead shoulder tight.
- Use only the range you can control.
What it is
The windmill is an overhead hip hinge. You hold the bell locked overhead, push your hips out to the side, and reach down your leg while keeping your eyes on the bell — building shoulder stability, core strength, and controlled mobility.
How to do it — step by step
- Get the bell overhead — snatch it or clean and press it up — with the arm locked and knuckles to the sky.
- Keep your eyes on the bell and your core tight.
- Push your hips out to the side (do not just bend over) and let your knees bend as much as they need.
- Reach your free hand down toward your knee or thigh, staying under the bell.
- Return by driving your hips back under you, keeping the arm locked the whole time.
Common mistakes
- Bending straight over instead of hinging the hips out.
- Rushing down into a vulnerable position for the back.
- Chasing depth — there is no prize for touching the floor.
- Letting the overhead arm bend or drift.
Muscles worked
- Shoulders — overhead stability
- Obliques and core — the lateral hinge
- Glutes and hamstrings — the hip hinge
- Adductors — controlling the descent
Variations and alternatives
- Low windmill or bottom-hand-supported version while learning.
- Double windmill (bell overhead and in the low hand) once solid.
How to program it
Windmills are a controlled mobility and stability piece — moderate loads, slow reps. In the app they support overhead work and the Turkish get-up.
Frequently asked questions
Is the kettlebell windmill a hinge or a side bend?
A hinge. Push your hips out to the side and let your knees bend; you are hinging, not crunching sideways. Depth only matters if the hips lead and the overhead shoulder stays locked.
Video transcript
Read the video transcript
All right, let us learn how to... Shhh, windmill. So you can snatch to get the bell up, or you can just clean and then press the bell. And all it is, is similar to the get-up, we're keeping that shoulder tight in its socket, keeping our arms straight, not letting the arm bend, knuckles pointing to the sky, all those same cues that we've already learned. Right? And it's as simple as this, guys.
Don't worry about where your feet point. Don't worry about anything. All you have to worry about is hinging, touching your knee to your leg, keeping your eyes on the bell, keeping your core tight. That's it. Okay, and let me show you what I mean. So that's it. All I'm doing is I'm hinging, so I'm not just bending over. If I just bend over like this, I get stuck. Right? It's all in the hips.
Push the hips out to allow yourself to bend. Allow your knees to bend as much as they want. You don't have to keep your knees straight or anything. Bend them as much as they want. Do whatever you feel comfortable doing as you push your hips out. As you push your hips out, keep your core tight. That's what's being lit up. Keep your arms straight, locked out, everything like that. Eyes on the kettlebell.
And then we're just tapping the elbow to the knee. Right? That's it. There's no glory in going too deep. Right? This isn't a yoga pose. Okay? And when you go too deep or you go too fast, that's another thing, is people will rush on the way down. Why are you doing that, dude? That's like such a vulnerable position for your back. Take it easy. You're going to get super sore on your side as well.
If you do that, take it easy. All in the hips, push the hips out, bend the knees as much as they need to, and focus on just staying under that bell. That's what the focus is. You're keeping the arms straight and you're orbiting your body and contorting your body however it needs to do for you to stay under that bell as you fully hinge. And that's it. That's the windmill. Right? One more time.
On this side. So what am I doing? My feet can both be pointing completely straight. Doesn't matter. All I'm worried about is hinging my hips, keeping my core tight, keeping my arm locked out, eyes on the bell, and hinging and touching my leg, either my knee or even my upper thigh. Right there. And that's it, my friends. Hope that helps. Peace.
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