Kettlebell · intermediate · shoulders
Kettlebell kneeling around the world
Also called Kneeling kettlebell pass around, Kettlebell body circles, Kneeling kettlebell circles, Kneeling kettlebell around the world.
Kneeling on both knees, you pass a kettlebell in a full circle around your body, handing it off in front and behind. Your shoulders hold the bell away from you for every inch of that circle, which is what makes them the muscles under continuous load, and your grip and forearms work through every hand-off. Everything else has one job, which is to stay still while the weight travels. Kneeling is what makes that hard, because your feet are not there to absorb any of it.
How to do it
- Step oneKneel on both knees holding a kettlebell by the horns with both hands.
- Step twoBegin passing the kettlebell around your body in a circular motion, transferring it from hand to hand.
- Step threeKeep your core braced and avoid rotating your torso as the kettlebell moves.
- Step fourComplete the desired number of circles in one direction, then reverse.
- Step fiveMaintain upright posture throughout the movement.
What usually goes wrong
Each starts with what you would notice.
Your body turns to follow the bell, so you end up rotating a little on every pass.
WhyYou are letting the weight take you with it. A bell traveling around you pulls you toward it, and turning to meet it is the path of least resistance.
FixPick a spot on the wall in front of you and keep your chest facing it for the whole set. If your shoulders track the bell around, go lighter until they do not.
You sink back toward your heels as the set goes on.
WhyKneeling takes your ankles and most of your legs out of the movement, so nothing below your hips can absorb the pull. When holding the position gets hard, the hips are the first thing to give.
FixStart the set tall, with your hips stacked over your knees and your glutes squeezed, and treat that as the position to hold rather than the position to start from. Stop the set when it collapses rather than grinding out the last few.
The hand-off behind your back is where it goes wrong, and you have nearly dropped it.
WhyThe bell is moving faster than you can meet it, so the exchange becomes a catch rather than a pass.
FixSlow the whole circle down until the hand-off happens where you can feel both hands on the bell at once. Speed here buys nothing and is how bells end up on floors.
Your arms are bent by the end of the set and your shoulders are burning.
WhyFatigue. As the shoulders tire, the elbows fold to bring the bell closer, because a bell held near you is much easier to hold.
FixKeep the arms long and stop the set when they will not stay long. Bending the elbows shortens the lever and quietly moves the work off the thing you were training.
What it is for
The kneeling kettlebell around the world is a shoulder and core stability exercise that involves circling a kettlebell around the body while kneeling. It targets the deltoids and challenges the core to resist rotation with each pass, developing shoulder endurance and stability.
Questions people ask
- What does the kneeling around the world work?
- Your shoulders carry the bell out away from you for the whole circle, and your grip and forearms work through each hand-off. Your midsection and hips work by not moving, which is a job even though it does not look like one.
- Why do it kneeling instead of standing?
- Kneeling removes your ankles, knees and most of your legs from the equation. Standing, a small sway can be absorbed through the feet without you noticing. Kneeling, it has to show up at the hips, so any turning or leaning is both more obvious and harder to hide.
- How big a bell can you circle?
- Light. This is a movement where the bell is a long way from your body for most of the rep, which makes a modest weight feel much heavier than it is. If your shoulder hitches up toward your ear or your elbows start bending, that is the answer.
- Should the kettlebell touch your body?
- No. Sliding it around your waist turns the circle into a rest, because your body takes the weight instead of your shoulders. Keep a gap the whole way around, even if that means a smaller bell.
- Is this a good abs exercise?
- It is often sold as one, and we would not put it that way. Your midsection is working to keep you still, which is real, but there is no measurement behind any of the claims made for this movement and nothing here will change how anyone looks. Do it because holding position while a weight moves around you is a skill worth having.