Double Kettlebell Clean and Press

How to do it

Setup

1. Place two kettlebells on the floor about a foot in front of you, spaced roughly shoulder-width apart.
2. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, hinge at the hips with a flat back, and grip both handles with thumbs pointed slightly backward or toward each other.

Movement

1. Hike the kettlebells back between your legs high in the groin.
2. Snap your hips forward into full extension, using the momentum to float the kettlebells upward close to your torso.
3. Tuck your elbows and smoothly rotate your hands around the bells to catch them softly in the front rack position on your chest and forearms.
4. Pause momentarily in the rack, brace your abs, squeeze your glutes, and press both kettlebells vertically until your arms are fully locked out overhead.
5. Lower the kettlebells under control back to the rack position.
6. Drop the kettlebells smoothly into the backswing between your legs and repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Breathing

Inhale as you hike the kettlebells, exhale sharply as you stand and clean them into the rack, inhale briefly to brace, and exhale as you press overhead.

Cues

• Drive from the hips, not the arms.
• Tame the arc on the clean to avoid banging your wrists.
• Lock your glutes and abs before pressing.

Common faults

Allowing the kettlebells to swing too far outward and crash onto the forearms in the rack.

Keep the kettlebells close to your ribs as they travel upward and spear your hands through the handles.

Hyperextending the lower back during the overhead press.

Squeeze your glutes and brace your core tightly to keep your pelvis neutral and ribs pulled down.

Safety

• Ensure adequate overhead mobility before pressing heavy pairs of kettlebells.
• Clear ample floor space around you in case you need to safely drop the bells.

Muscles

• Gluteus maximus prime mover
• Front deltoid prime mover
• Hamstrings synergist
• Triceps brachii synergist
• Upper trapezius synergist
• Erector spinae stabilizer
• Rectus abdominis stabilizer

Joints

• Hip: Extension
• Knee: Extension
• Shoulder: Flexion, Abduction
• Elbow: Flexion, Extension
• Shoulder blade: Upward rotation, Elevation
• Lumbar spine: Isometric stabilization

Details

Movement

Hip hinge, Vertical push

Modality

Strength, Power, Conditioning

Mechanics

compound

Force

mixed

Laterality

bilateral

Kinetic chain

open

Level

intermediate

Equipment

Kettlebell

Record

Repetitions and Load

Load

external, per implement

Related

• substitute for Barbell Clean and Press
• progression of Kettlebell Swing

Sources

• wger: Double Kettlebell Clean and Press, by m4k3r (CC-BY-SA-4.0)

This record: CC-BY-SA-4.0.

Data

double-kettlebell-clean-and-press.json