Kettlebell Windmill

Secondary muscles
Obliques, Delts
Body part
Core
Laterality
Bilateral (both sides together)
Category
Strength

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One kettlebell locked overhead while you hinge sideways toward the opposite foot: the windmill trains the obliques and the shoulder stabilizers inside the same slow rep. Your eyes stay on the bell the whole way down and back up, and five controlled reps per side with a light bell beats rushing anything heavier.

How to do the Kettlebell Windmill

  1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding a kettlebell in your right hand overhead.
  2. Rotate your left foot outwards about 45 degrees and keep your right foot pointing forward.
  3. Bend your torso to the left side, keeping your right arm extended overhead and your eyes on the kettlebell.
  4. Lower your torso as far as you can while keeping your right arm straight and your left arm extended to the side.
  5. Pause for a moment, then return to the starting position by pushing through your right foot and engaging your obliques.
  6. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions, then switch sides.

Tip: Pivot on the back foot and let the hips turn with the shoulders so the rotation is shared across the whole body.

Muscles worked

Primary

Abs · Core

The obliques rotate the torso and resist the return, and you should feel the side of the waist tighten on each side as you turn.

Secondary

  • Obliques — The obliques are the prime movers, with the internal and external obliques on opposite sides working together to turn the trunk.
  • Delts

Common mistakes

  • Twisting from the lower back — the rotation should come from the mid back and hips; keep the lower back neutral and let the hips turn with you on standing variations.
  • Using the arms to swing — on cable and band rotations the arms stay locked out in front of you and the torso does the turning.
  • Rushing the reps — control the return and pause briefly at the end range on each side instead of bouncing back and forth.
  • Loading barbell twists heavy — gravity barely resists rotation, so keep barbell twists light and controlled, and use a cable or band when you want real rotational load.

Where it fits in a workout

Rotations work at the end of a session with the other core work, or as a warm-up before throws and rotational sports. Superset cable rotations with a cable side bend or pull-through on the same stack.

How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.

Variations and alternatives

Similar exercises

Without kettlebell

Easier and harder

When to talk to someone

  • Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
  • Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
  • Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.

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More exercises

Sources

  1. ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
  2. ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
  3. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
  4. CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)

Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.

Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.