Swing time: experts weigh in on TikTok's kettlebell challenge

We've all seen the headlines around the importance of strength training. But if you're not a regular gym goer, it can feel intimidating to know where to begin. What is the difference between sets and reps? How many should you do? What if you don't want to turn into the Hulk?
The latest viral fitness trend of doing 100 kettlebell swings a day for 30 days might seem like a straightforward way in. TikTokers' videos showing them doing the challenge seem to have struck a chord, racking up millions of views, and promising the regime can flatten your stomach, make your glutes stronger and help with back pain.
But experts warn people – especially beginners – to treat the trend with caution. While they encourage people of all ages to start strength training, for some, doing 100 kettlebell swings a day might be an 'injury waiting to happen'.
Kettlebell training has been shown to increase muscle mass, which makes your bones stronger, and has been shown in some cases to help reduce fat mass as well as improve back and neck pain, Dr Kim Way, an exercise physiologist and lecturer at Deakin University, says. However, those studies have not assessed doing 100 kettlebell swings a day – typically they have examined some form of kettlebell exercises two to three times a week, Way said.
'There's certainly a lot of difference in … the amount of stress that's being placed on the body, in terms of exercising every day versus having some recovery to allow for the body to essentially adapt,' Way said.
A/Prof Justin Keogh, an exercise scientist at Bond University, said the health benefits also depended on the weight of kettlebell used. A heavier weight will help increase strength, muscle power and mass, while doing more repetitions with fewer rest periods will improve strength and endurance, may reduce body fat, and can have cardiovascular health benefits, he said.
Kettlebell swings can be advantageous because you have to coordinate different upper and lower body segments and it mirrors the movement patterns that are 'more similar to what life throws at us,' Keogh said.
Doing 100 kettlebell swings a day carries the risk of 'going a little bit too hard, too early', Keogh says. 'The chance that your hamstrings, lower back, forearms, etc, are going to feel really tight the next three or four days … is pretty high, and then you might not want to do any exercise over those next couple of days.'
Keogh encourages people to start strength training carefully and gradually intensify their workouts in order to minimise their chance of what's known as delayed onset muscle soreness, which occurs when muscles that haven't been used to the level of exertion get quite sore for several days post-exercise.
Way also agrees 100 kettlebell swings is 'quite a lot of swinging', especially if done every day. 'What I see with trends like this is that you're getting people excited about an exercise, which is great … but exposing people, especially if they haven't had any exposure to an exercise, that's just an injury waiting to happen because you haven't had the time to allow your body to adapt to the muscle stress, and the joint stress, that potentially this exercise will be placing on the system,' they said.
Way is also concerned people might not be developing the correct technique. 'While the kettlebell swing might not necessarily look like a super complex movement – and compared to other exercises, it might not be – but even if you've just got a little part that's a bit wrong, it can put yourself into an area of potential injury.'
They encourage people to find resources to ensure that they're using the correct technique. Way also advises if a person is new to exercise, they should listen to their body because if they start to fatigue, 'this is where technique can really quickly break down' and make injury more likely.
Our genes largely determine the maximum size and strength of our bones, which is what's called 'peak bone mass', but exercise can also influence whether we reach our full bone mass potential by the age of 25-30. People generally begin to lose bone mass from the age of around 40 onwards. Keogh says it's better to begin resistance training earlier because then your muscle and bone mass will reach a higher peak. 'But again, we do know that regardless of the age that you start resistance training, you will get benefits compared to those people who [aren't].'
Way says that types of exercise like yoga and pilates, which require us to use our body weight as a form of resistance, are 'a great way' to get into resistance training. However, people should keep in mind that if they use body weight exercises for their main form of resistance training there probably is a 'ceiling effect' once you are strong with your own body weight. Then using external weights – whether at the gym or finding weights at home through using cans of food or filling backpacks – can be helpful to get some resistance.
Way emphasises 'it doesn't need to be a lot' – sometimes the big fear people have is that to do weight training they have to emulate bodybuilders online who are training for two or three hours each time.
'It actually can be pretty simple,' Way said. You can just strip it down, allocating five to eight exercises targeting your main muscle groups (your chest muscles, back muscles and leg muscles), and doing two to three sets, anywhere between eight and 15 repetitions.
'When you're trying to get into exercise, the best form of movement is always going to be the one that you enjoy. Resistance training or weight training is definitely a great one, because it gives you a really big host of benefits,' Way says.
Natasha May is Guardian Australia's health reporter
Antiviral is a fortnightly column that interrogates the evidence behind the health headlines and factchecks popular wellness claims
What health trend do you want examined?
Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian.
Your contact details are helpful so we can contact you for more information. They will only be seen by the Guardian.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Daily Mail​

2 hours ago

• Daily Mail​

I'm a donor baby and wanted to find out if I had any siblings... nothing could have prepared me for the result

A donor-conceived woman has discovered she has at least 77 siblings after uncovering her biological father donated over 300 times. Lyndal Bubke, 33, from Brisbane, was told she had dozens of brothers and sisters across Queensland, NSW, Victoria and around the world after carrying out a DNA test through a genealogy company in 2022. The 33-year-old woman had been told by her parents that she and her brother had been conceived via a donor at Queensland Fertility Group when she began looking into her ancestry. Genealogy results revealed Ms Bubke also had 11 half-siblings, and this number has now risen to 77. Her biological father was able to donate sperm a total of 325 times. Ms Bubke has said she believes it's likely she has even more siblings and the figure is likely to be in the hundreds, if not thousands. Queensland Fertility Group told the 33-year-old woman's parents they were unable to provide any information on her donor conception or details about the donor. The clinic explained the records were lost in a flood. Ms Bubke had to contact the clinic herself to tell them she was the biological daughter of the donor. She revealed she suffers from anxiety and fears every day she will be told she has another sibling. 'I go around and I look at people on the street and I think, I wonder if you could be my sibling, you look like my sister, you look like my brother,' she told The Daily Telegraph. 'I can confirm my husband and I are not related … but in those (first) few weeks, there were the horrible thoughts of, what if my husband is donor-conceived and we didn't know? 'What if one of my ex-boyfriends is a sibling? I'll only be happy once I know all of my siblings, and I'll die unhappy then, because I'll never get that. There's just no way for me to ever find them all because the records were … destroyed.' Ms Bubke has understandably been left horrified over the practices of Queensland Fertility Group and clinics across the country. The Brisbane woman's parents felt betrayed by the fertility clinic, who were told each donation would only be used for a small number of families. Her parents were not told who the donor was or the number of times he donated. Ms Bubke has been campaigning for improved regulations for fertility clinics and the creation of a database for donor conceived people, donors and recipient parents. A Queensland Fertility Group spokesperson said they strongly support IVF reforms and stated that previously the law emphasised the importance of the donor's right to anonymity. 'Today's donor conception legislation prohibits anonymous donation, and newly introduced Queensland legislation now includes a 10-family limit for sperm donors,' they said.

Daily Mail​

2 hours ago

• Daily Mail​

Australian swimming legend Michael Klim opens up on devastating battle with rare autoimmune disorder and symptoms he wishes he hadn't ignored

Michael Klim has revealed details about his five-year battle with a rare autoimmune disorder which left him unable to walk - and the symptoms he wishes he took more seriously. The Aussie swimming legend, 47, was diagnosed with the neurological disorder chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) in 2020. The former triple Olympian has spoken openly about the challenging diagnosis, which saw him lose the ability to walk in just six months and left him bedridden. He says he didn't treat the condition with the gravity it deserved when he first got symptoms. 'I neglected a lot of my symptoms at the onset and I think in a very typical male fashion didn't act fast enough,' he told News Corp. 'So, if anything comes out of our chat, I hope it's going to see a doctor even if the symptoms are as simple as getting cold feet when you go to bed or having numbness in your toes or your feet. I neglected some of those. 'I had a great team around me but something that was instilled in me as an athlete was that we push through a lot of our discomforts and I continued to do that even in life after sport, which didn't really lend itself to longevity in life. 'Unfortunately, I had my very heart stop when I lost the ability to walk and I think it took me about two years to come to terms with accepting the fact - or almost, it was like there was a grieving period of two years of accepting the fact that my physical ability may never be the same, I may never be able to walk like a normal person, I will be compromised. 'But finding a new purpose in life - I was always very driven and active and very quantitative in that I was very opportunistic and attending many things and being involved in many projects. CIDP causes the body to attack its own tissue - the myelin sheaths which insulate and protect the nerves - causing weakness and lack of feeling in the arms and legs. Klim says batting the disorder has taught him a lot. 'There was a lot of time of darkness because there is no cure and you're living in a period of uncertainty - not just yourself as a patient, but your entire support network. 'That was the hardest thing. Previously, my injuries - if I had a rotator cuff injury or sprained ankle - I knew the protocol and knew exactly when I'd be back. 'But this has been something different and something new and it's definitely taught me a lot of lessons.' Klim says his rare condition has made him more aware of other people and what they might be going through. 'Let's say 30% of people with CIDP may make a full remission, 30% - where I seem to be fitting at the moment - remain stagnant for the rest of their life, and then 30% of people end up with paralysis, full paralysis or in a wheelchair. 'Even when I wear my braces and I've got my pants on, most people look at me and say, "Gee, you're so fit". 'I've got my upper body and am still trying to look after myself, but you just don't know what hardship people are going through underneath.'

Daily Mail​

3 hours ago

• Daily Mail​

The baldness cure that can cause permanent erectile dysfunction and suicidal thoughts. It cost PE teacher Sam his life... now doctors say patients MUST be warned

A powerful hair-loss treatment being touted by influencers on TikTok may trigger erectile dysfunction and even suicidal thoughts, experts have warned. Videos of young men proudly showing off their regrowth after taking the daily tablet dutasteride have racked up millions of views on the social media site.