What Kettlebell Should Women Use For Deadlifts

Do you find this... a strangely good feeling too?

When you're walking up the stairs or sitting on the toilet and your hamstrings are so sore... you let out little... "Ooooooooooo"

I don't know why... but I love that feeling.

And if we're going to work our hamstrings... deadlifts are one of the best ways to do it.

In this post, I'm going to show you...

What Kettlebell Should Women Use For Deadlifts?

I hate saying this... but it depends.

It depends on the kettlebells you have.

And if you have gym access then it depends on your skill and strength.

Ideally... deadlifts are performed with heavier weights because the hamstring muscle complex will take a lot of overload before it begins to adapt and change.

big idea

I say muscle complex because your hamstrings are actually multiple muscles... not just one. And it does take effort to overload them.

But you can always increase your reps (the volume) of your training you can still get the adaptation you want. The trade off will be it takes longer to workout.

First, I'll share the best kettlebell deadlift exercises so you can adapt each one to the weights you have and the intensity level you desire (which should be pretty intense).

Then I'll share what kettlebells I use for deadlifts so you can get a benchmark.

We'll also talk a little about deadlift form.

Single Kettlebell Deadlift

This is the "normal" kettlebell deadlift .

While you can go lighter with this variation... it would take a lot of reps to tax your muscles. So I highly recommend you use a heavier kettlebell.

I typically use a:

50lb bell when I'm doing a faster paced workout
70lb bell when I'm not moving as fast
Double 50lb kettlebells when I'm really focusing on strength

Step 1

Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart. Don't go much wider than that.

Have the kettlebell between your feet so it's right inline with your ankles.

Step 2

Hinge at your waist and with a slight bend in your knees... keep pushing your butt back.

Keep your spine straight and your shoulders pulled back. Grab your kettlebell at the bottom of the deadlift.

Keep your feet flat on the ground. Don't rock back on your heels... or tip forward on your forefoot.

Step 3

At the bottom slightly twist your feet into the ground and thrust your hips forward. Keep your spine straight as you return to standing.

You can play around with the tempo based on your workout. If you need help with workout design and program design, go learn about Fit Women's Weekly LIVE.

If you want to get started on your own, grab a copy of my Strong kettlebells for beginners program .

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Narrow Double Kettlebell Deadlift

Kindal at the bottom of the double kettlebell deadlift with a narrow stance and great loaded position.

Kindal at the top the of the double kettlebell deadlift with her shoulders pulled back and her butt squeezed and legs locked out.

Kindal showing the double kettlebell deadlift narrow stance and kettlebell position at the bottom of the loaded position.

You'll need two kettlebells to do this variation. But the kettlebells do not need to be the same weight.

You can use two different kettlebells and in many cases this can be better for your body.

For this post we are going to look at the narrow DOUBLE deadlift.

Step 1

Stand with your feet about 4 to 5 inches apart and stand in-between two kettlebells.

Make sure the kettlebells are inline with your ankles.

Step 2

Hinge your hips back as you keep your spine straight. This is the same hinge and kettlebell swing motion for nearly all variations.

In this variation, you can bend at the knees a little more.

Grab the handles of the kettlebells.

Step 3

Push through your feet... keeping your entire foot on the ground.

Use your hamstrings and butt to move the weight. And of course... keep your shoulders pulled back.

Thrust your hips forward and stand up.

This variation does take a little getting use to. If you've never done a narrow deadlift... it may feel a little strange. Make sure you focus on feet flat... hips back... and straight spine.

Single Leg Kettlebell Deadlift

Kindal at the bottom of the single kettlebell deadlift and her back leg is raised. Notice how straight her spine is and the slight bend in the loaded leg.

Kindal showing the kickstand modification for the single leg kettlebell deadlift.

This is probably my favorite kettlebell deadlift variation.

It not only hits your booty and hamstrings hard... these require balance so you end up working your neuromuscular system as well.

I'll show you the "real" way and then a modification if you're balance isn't great.

For these steps... let's deadlift with the left leg.

Step 1

Stand next to one kettlebell so your left ankle is right inline with it.

Take your right foot and put it slightly behind you with your toe on the ground.

Step 2

Hinge your hips back as you keep your spine straight.

Take your right leg and let it come off the ground as you hinge forward. Make sure you keep a small bend in your left leg.

Grab the kettlebell as you keep balance on your foot.

Step 3

Brace up through your core as you return to standing.

Make sure you watch the video on this one. This is one of those exercises that's tough to explain with words.

I suggest you start off light for single leg deadlifts and as you gain confidence you can start to go higher.

form tip

When you're deadlifting it's really important to put the kettlebell all the way on the ground in-between each rep.

This little reset will ensure good form throughout the deadlift.

If you don't put the weight down you'll tend to move too fast on the transition and this can cause form breakdown.

When you're form breaks down during the deadlift... it's usually your back that tries to pick up slack. This is a major reason why a lot of people associate deadlifting with back pain.

Single Kettlebell Deadlift Modification

I call these kickstand deadlifts.

Everything stays the same except when you hinge forward... you don't let your back foot come off the ground. Use your back foot to help with balance when. you need it.

The two keys are this:

Don't put too much weight into the back foot. Do your best to keep your weight over your front foot.

Keep your hips going back. You may need to increase the bend in your front foot a little more to help with the hip hinge.

What Kettlebells Do I Use For Deadlifts?

"Normal" Deadlifts

If I'm going for a lot of reps... I'll use a 53lb kettlebell.

If I'm doing less reps... anywhere from 8 to 18... I'll use the 70lb kettlebell.

Narrow Double Deadlifts

I typically always use two 50lb kettlebells.

But if the workout is going north of 24 reps or more... I'll probably drop down to 44lb kettlebells.

Single Leg Deadlifts

Again... the rep range determines the weight... but I typically stay with a 44lb kettlebell.

Now You Know What Kettlebells Women Should Use

The more you use these kettlebell deadlift variations... the better you'll get at them... and the better your butt and legs will look.

If you have any questions about deadlifting, let me know .

Make sure you checkout my 5 minute workouts. There are a lot 5 Minute Kettlebell Workouts that use deadlifts. They will make great practice.

If you want to workout with me in person you should join Fit Women's Weekly LIVE ... this is my private personal training group .

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You can talk to me LIVE during workouts and outside of workouts
Plus you get to workout with the best group of women online

There is a catch. Membership is limited so you better check to see if there's room to join. Or else you'll have to wait until the doors open back up.

Go deadlift and make sure you follow me on my social accounts for more fitness and nutrition training.