The Kettlebell Clean Reverse Lunge: Techniques, Benefits, and Variations

A combination of two kettlebell exercises, the clean to reverse lunge is a full-body workout that targets the upper body as well as lower body muscle groups.

Use the clean and reverse lunge variation to build strength, mobility, coordination, and explosive power.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. The kettlebell clean to reverse lunge combines two kettlebell exercises that work the major muscles groups of the upper and lower body.
2. A dynamic movement, the kettlebell clean to reverse lunge can be used to build strength, mobility, coordination, and explosive power.
3. The kettlebell clean to reverse lunge can be modified to your ability.

KETTLEBELL CLEAN REVERSE LUNGE TARGET MUSCLES

The clean to reverse lunge is a combination of two separate exercises to provide a full-body workout.

CLEAN TARGET MUSCLES

Lower Body: Quads, hamstrings, and glutes.

Upper Body: Core, upper back, traps, lats, rhomboids, deltoids, and shoulder stabilizers.

REVERSE LUNGE TARGET MUSCLES

• Core
• Glutes
• Hamstrings
• Quads

HOW TO PERFORM THE KETTLEBELL CLEAN REVERSE LUNGE

THE RIGHT WEIGHT

The right weight will depend on your strength and mobility.

When performing the movement, you'll need to be able to clean the bell before descending into a reverse lunge.

S0...you'll need to take into account the strength needed for the initial clean, as well as your single-leg strength needed for the reverse lunge.

If you're new to kettlebells, start off with a light bell to practice your form and coordination. Once you progress, choose your kettlebell weight according to the following rep schemes.

STRENGTH - Choose a heavy kettlebell for 1-6 reps.

HYPERTROPHY - Build muscle with a medium to heavy kettlebell for 8-12 reps.

ENDURANCE - Improve your muscular endurance with a light to medium kettlebell for 15-20 reps.

THE STARTING POSITION

*This is the starting position for a single-arm dead clean.

Stand with your feet shoulder-width distance apart with the kettlebell directly under you and centered between your feet.

Slightly bend at the knees, hinge at the hips, and extend one arm to grip the bell.

Be sure to keep your hips high, for a true hip hinge, and not to bend the knees too much.

THE GRIP

Use one hand to grip the kettlebell handle with an overhand grip - four fingers in front with your thumb wrapped around the back.

*Use this grip for the single-arm kettlebell clean.

THE MOVEMENT

Get in the starting position.

Engage your core and glutes, keep your arms long, and back strong.

In one fluid motion, push through the ground, explode your hips forwards, and simultaneously lift the bell up towards your hips. (Keep the bell close to your body during this movement).

Punch your elbow into the side of your body and allow your forearm to get into an upward position, parallel to your body.

The kettlebell will revolve into the rack position.

From this racked position, you will be lunging on the same side that you are holding the bell.

Take a large step back, bend at the back knee, and descend toward the floor until your knee is slightly hovering or touching the ground.

Push up and return to the upright position with the bell racked in place before returning to the starting position and completing your rep range.

KETTLEBELL CLEAN REVERSE LUNGE BENEFITS

• Full Body Workout
• Aids in Fat Loss
• Improves Cardiovascular Health
• Improves Explosive Power

FULL BODY WORKOUT

The clean to reverse lunge works the major muscle groups in both the upper and lower body to improve full-body strength, mobility, and coordination.

AIDS IN FAT LOSS

Full-body workouts help to aid in fat loss due to the number of muscle groups that are being worked at one time.

The larger the muscle groups being worked, the greater the fat loss.

IMPROVES CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH

Choose a challenging kettlebell weight and increase your reps to build cardio and improve your cardiovascular health.

IMPROVES EXPLOSIVE POWER

For the clean, it's all in the hips.

Use your hips to explode for a proper clean and build your explosive power by loading the weight and increasing reps over time.

For the reverse lunge, push through the ground and explode into the standing position on each rep to build your single-leg power.

KETTLEBELL CLEAN TO REVERSE LUNGE VARIATIONS

• Double Hand Single Kettlebell
• Double Kettlebell
• Overhead Lunge

DOUBLE HAND SINGLE KETTLEBELL

Using two hands grip the horns of the kettlebell and clean it into place. Stabilize the bell at chest level before descending into the reverse lunge.

DOUBLE KETTLEBELL

For the advanced kettlebell athletes.

You'll be performing a double kettlebell clean into the rack position into a reverse lunge.

Using dual bells requires increased strength, mobility, and power.

Clean the doubles into the rack position before descending into the reverse lunge.

With an increased load, you'll need single leg strength to explode back into the standing position.

OVERHEAD LUNGE

The most advanced of them all, the overhead lunge can be used with single or double kettlebells. You'll be performing a kettlebell clean and press and stabilizing the bell(s) in the overhead position before descending into the reverse lunge.

*You'll need a strong core, strong shoulders, and great single-leg strength to complete this advanced variation.

SINGLE KETTLEBELL:

Single kettlebell clean and press > stabilize the bell overhead > reverse lunge.

DOUBLE KETTLEBELL:

Double kettlebell clean and press > stabilize the bells overhead > reverse lunge.

KETTLEBELL TRAINING BENEFITS

Kettlebell workouts can be used for strength, cardio, mobility, grip strength, explosiveness and power, and functional fitness.

What's great about the kettlebell is that it's a single effective and portable tool - all you need is a bell.

With kettlebells, you can train indoors as well as outdoor to change it up.

Don't have a kettlebell? Try these alternatives:

• Dumbells
• Barbell
• Weightlifting Sandbags

WANT MORE KETTLEBELL EXERCISES?

Whether you're looking for more kettlebell exercise breakdowns or workouts...

We got you.

Give these articles a look!

KETTLEBELL MOVEMENT BREAKDOWNS:

Check out our kettlebell breakdown series.

• Kettlebell Clean and Press
• Single Arm Kettlebell Clean
• Kettlebell Goblet Squat

KETTLEBELL TRAINING AND WORKOUTS:

Check out these articles for free kettlebell workouts!

• Kettlebell Swings for Fat Loss
• The Best Kettlebell Ab Workout
• How to Use Kettlebell Goblet Squats to Build Stronger Legs