Chest / Advanced / Compound (multi-joint)

Plyo Kettlebell Pushups

A kettlebell explosive exercise for the chest, with the front delts, triceps and serratus assisting.

At a glance

Primary

Chest

Secondary

Front delts, Triceps, Serratus anterior

Equipment

Kettlebell

Movement pattern

Horizontal push, Jump / plyometric

Level

Advanced

Type

Chest, Compound (multi-joint), Explosive

Loads the wrist. Use a load you can control and skip it if it causes pain.

How to do it

1. Place a kettlebell on the floor. Place yourself in a pushup position, on your toes with one hand on the ground and one hand holding the kettlebell, with your elbows extended. This will be your starting position.
2. Begin by lowering yourself as low as you can, keeping your back straight.
3. Quickly and forcefully reverse direction, pushing yourself up to the other side of the kettlebell, switching hands as you do so. Continue the movement by descending and repeating the movement back and forth.

Common mistakes

• ✗ Landing with locked elbows.

  Why it hurts: The impact goes straight into the elbows and wrists.

  ✓ Instead: Land with soft elbows and sink into the next rep.

• ✗ Hips sagging on landing.

  Why it hurts: The lower back takes the impact.

  ✓ Instead: Keep a tight plank; start with hands on a bench to reduce the load.

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