Kettlebell Curl

Muscles worked by the Kettlebell Curl

Primary

BicepsBiceps Brachii

Secondary

BrachialisBrachioradialisForearm FlexorsWrist Flexor Muscles

Also called: bicep, biceps brachii, biceps muscle, guns.

Equipment

Kettlebell

Also called: kb, cast iron kettlebell, competition kettlebell, girya.

How to do the Kettlebell Curl

1. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and hold the kettlebell by its handle with both hands, so it hangs in front of your thighs.
2. Keep your elbows close to your sides, your chest tall and your shoulders relaxed.
3. Bend your elbows and curl the kettlebell up toward your chest without letting your upper arms swing forward.
4. Squeeze your biceps at the top, with the kettlebell close to your chest.
5. Lower the kettlebell slowly until your arms are straight again, keeping control of the swing of the bell.
6. Repeat for the planned repetitions.

Form tips

• Hold the handle firmly with both hands and keep your wrists straight, so the kettlebell does not roll or tilt.
• Do not lean back or swing your hips to lift the kettlebell; if you have to, the weight is too heavy.
• Take about twice as long to lower the kettlebell as to lift it, so the biceps work through the whole descent.

At a glance

Kettlebell Curl in German & Spanish

Descriptions, instructions and tips ship in all three languages in the JSON.

Related exercises

• Banded Standing Leg Curl
• Barbell Curl
• Barbell Preacher Curl
• Cable Curl
• Cable Hammer Curl
• Cheat Curl
• Close-Grip EZ-Bar Curl
• Concentration Curl

Exercise data (JSON)

The record below is exactly what exercises.json ships for this exercise — names, descriptions, instructions and tips in English, German and Spanish.

{
  "id": "kettlebell-curl",
  "name_en": "Kettlebell Curl",
  "name_de": "Kettlebell-Curl",
  "name_es": "Curl con Pesa Rusa",
  "description_en": "A biceps curl with one kettlebell held by the handle in both hands. The kettlebell hangs in front of your thighs and you curl it up toward your chest, keeping the elbows close to your sides; sharing the load between two hands makes it an easy way to start training the biceps.",
  "description_de": "Ein Bizeps-Curl mit einer Kettlebell, die mit beiden Händen am Griff gehalten wird. Die Kettlebell hängt vor deinen Oberschenkeln und du curlst sie zur Brust hoch, die Ellbogen nah am Körper; da sich die Last auf zwei Hände verteilt, ist das ein leichter Einstieg ins Bizepstraining.",
  "description_es": "Un curl de bíceps con una pesa rusa sujeta por el asa con ambas manos. La pesa cuelga delante de tus muslos y la subes hacia el pecho manteniendo los codos pegados a los costados; repartir la carga entre las dos manos lo convierte en una forma fácil de empezar a entrenar el bíceps.",
  "category": "strength",
  "force_type": "pull",
  "mechanic": "isolation",
  "difficulty": "beginner",
  "equipment": "kettlebell",
  "body_part": "upper_arms",
  "primary_muscles": [
    "biceps_brachii"
  ],
  "secondary_muscles": [
    "brachialis",
    "brachioradialis",
    "forearm_flexors"
  ],
  "goals": [
    "hypertrophy"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "arm_day",
    "pull_day",
    "knee_safe",
    "shoulder_safe",
    "lower_back_safe",
    "no_axial_load"
  ],
  "variation_group": "bicep-curl",
  "is_unilateral": false,
  "is_bodyweight": false,
  "instructions_en": [
    "Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and hold the kettlebell by its handle with both hands, so it hangs in front of your thighs.",
    "Keep your elbows close to your sides, your chest tall and your shoulders relaxed.",
    "Bend your elbows and curl the kettlebell up toward your chest without letting your upper arms swing forward.",
    "Squeeze your biceps at the top, with the kettlebell close to your chest.",
    "Lower the kettlebell slowly until your arms are straight again, keeping control of the swing of the bell.",
    "Repeat for the planned repetitions."
  ],
  "instructions_de": [
    "Stelle dich etwa schulterbreit hin und halte die Kettlebell mit beiden Händen am Griff, sodass sie vor deinen Oberschenkeln hängt.",
    "Halte die Ellbogen nah am Körper, die Brust aufrecht und die Schultern entspannt.",
    "Beuge die Ellbogen und curle die Kettlebell zur Brust hoch, ohne dass die Oberarme nach vorn schwingen.",
    "Spanne oben den Bizeps an, die Kettlebell nah an der Brust.",
    "Senke die Kettlebell langsam ab, bis die Arme wieder gestreckt sind, und behalte dabei die Kontrolle über das Schwingen der Kugel.",
    "Wiederhole für die geplante Anzahl an Wiederholungen."
  ],
  "instructions_es": [
    "Ponte de pie con los pies separados aproximadamente al ancho de los hombros y sujeta la pesa rusa por el asa con ambas manos, de modo que cuelgue delante de tus muslos.",
    "Mantén los codos pegados a los costados, el pecho elevado y los hombros relajados.",
    "Flexiona los codos y sube la pesa rusa hacia el pecho sin dejar que los brazos se balanceen hacia delante.",
    "Aprieta los bíceps arriba, con la pesa rusa cerca del pecho.",
    "Baja la pesa rusa despacio hasta que los brazos queden estirados de nuevo, controlando el balanceo de la campana.",
    "Repite el número de repeticiones previsto."
  ],
  "tips_en": [
    "Hold the handle firmly with both hands and keep your wrists straight, so the kettlebell does not roll or tilt.",
    "Do not lean back or swing your hips to lift the kettlebell; if you have to, the weight is too heavy.",
    "Take about twice as long to lower the kettlebell as to lift it, so the biceps work through the whole descent."
  ],
  "tips_de": [
    "Halte den Griff fest mit beiden Händen und die Handgelenke gerade, damit die Kettlebell nicht rollt oder kippt.",
    "Lehne dich nicht zurück und schwinge nicht mit der Hüfte, um die Kettlebell zu heben; wenn du das musst, ist das Gewicht zu schwer.",
    "Brauche beim Absenken etwa doppelt so lange wie beim Heben, damit der Bizeps den ganzen Abwärtsweg arbeitet."
  ],
  "tips_es": [
    "Sujeta el asa con firmeza con ambas manos y mantén las muñecas rectas, para que la pesa rusa no ruede ni se incline.",
    "No te inclines hacia atrás ni balancees las caderas para subir la pesa rusa; si tienes que hacerlo, el peso es demasiado alto.",
    "Tarda aproximadamente el doble en bajar la pesa rusa que en subirla, para que el bíceps trabaje durante todo el descenso."
  ],
  "met": 5.0,
  "images": {
    "flat": {
      "start": "images/flat/kettlebell-curl-start.webp",
      "peak": "images/flat/kettlebell-curl-peak.webp"
    }
  }
}

Fetch just this exercise

const { exercises } = await fetch(
  "https://exercise-dataset.com/exercises.json"
).then(r => r.json());
const ex = exercises.find(e => e.id === "kettlebell-curl");

Free for personal and commercial in-app use with attribution (“Exercise data by RepDB”) — see the license and ready-made attribution snippets. Redistributing the data as a dataset or API is not permitted.