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Exercises

Back exercises with a kettlebell: rows, pullovers, shrugs and swings

Published October 19, 2026

The best back exercises with a kettlebell are the single-arm row and the gorilla row for your lats, the pullover for the stretched end of the lats, the rear delt row and rear delt fly for your upper back, the shrug for your traps, and the deadlift, good morning and swing for your lower back. One bell covers all of it: row with one arm while the other hand braces, then hinge with both hands on the handle.

  1. Kettlebell Row Lats, Upper Back
  2. Kettlebell Gorilla Row Lats, Upper Back
  3. Kettlebell Pullover Lats
  4. Kettlebell Rear Delt Row Shoulders, Upper Back
  5. Kettlebell Swing Glutes, Hamstrings
  6. Kettlebell Deadlift Glutes, Hamstrings, Lower Back
  7. Kettlebell Shrug Traps
  8. Kettlebell Rear Delt Fly Shoulders

Kettlebell exercises for lats

A kettlebell's handle sits above its weight, so on a row the bell hangs low and gives your lats a deep stretch at the bottom. Row with your elbow tucked toward your hip for the lats, and add the pullover when you want them loaded with your arm overhead, a position no row reaches.

Lats, bent-over alternating row

Kettlebell Row

Lats, Upper Back

A bell in each hand and a braced hinge is the simplest way to load your lats with kettlebells, and because each arm pulls on its own, a pair of moderate bells is heavy enough for most people to row hard for 8 to 15 reps per side.

How to do it

  1. Stand with your feet about hip-width apart, a kettlebell in each hand.
  2. Hinge until your torso is close to parallel with the floor, arms hanging straight under your shoulders.
  3. Pull one bell toward your hip, keeping your elbow tucked in tight, while the other arm stays long.
  4. Lower it until your arm is straight and your shoulder blade slides forward, then row the other side. With only one bell, do all your reps on one side, then switch.

Cues

  • Elbow toward your hip
  • Stretch at the bottom
  • Shoulders square

Common mistakes

  • Turning your chest toward the ceiling to finish the rep: keep both shoulders facing the floor.
  • Short reps that stop with the elbow bent: reach all the way down before each pull.

Swap for: Kettlebell Gorilla Row, Kettlebell Rear Delt Row, Kettlebell Deadlift

Build a session with Kettlebell Row

Lats and mid back, alternating two-bell row

Kettlebell Gorilla Row

Lats, Upper Back

Two bells sit on the floor, centered between your feet in a wide, deep stance, and you row one while the other hand pushes into its bell. Holding the hinge under two bells works your back and hips at once, and the alternating pattern lets you row a lot of total weight with no bench.

How to do it

  1. Set two bells on the floor, centered between your feet, stance wider than your shoulders, and hinge with your knees bent until your torso is near parallel.
  2. Grip both handles with your back flat.
  3. Row one bell toward your hip while pressing the other into the floor.
  4. Set it down, then row the other side. Alternate for the whole set.

Cues

  • Low hips, flat back
  • Push one, pull one
  • Elbow past the ribs

Common mistakes

  • Standing up between reps: stay low in the hinge for the full set.
  • Twisting to lift the bell higher: keep your hips level and let the elbow stop where it stops.

Swap for: Kettlebell Row, Kettlebell Rear Delt Row, Kettlebell Deadlift

Build a session with Kettlebell Gorilla Row

Lats, stretched overhead

Kettlebell Pullover

Lats

Lying on your back and lowering the bell behind your head stretches your lats under load, then you pull it back over your chest with straight-ish arms. It trains the same lat fibers as a row from the opposite end of their range, and it needs only a floor.

How to do it

  1. Lie on your back on the floor or a bench with your knees bent, holding one bell by the horns with both hands above your chest.
  2. Hold your elbows softly bent and lower the bell back behind your head in an arc.
  3. Stop when you feel a strong stretch under your armpits or when your lower back starts to arch.
  4. Pull the bell back over your chest along the same arc.

Cues

  • Ribs down
  • Arc behind your head
  • Elbows soft and fixed

Common mistakes

  • Bending and straightening the elbows so it becomes a triceps extension: keep the elbow angle the same throughout.
  • Arching your lower back to reach further: press your back into the floor and stop the arc earlier.

Swap for: Kettlebell Row, Kettlebell Gorilla Row, Kettlebell Rear Delt Fly

Build a session with Kettlebell Pullover

Kettlebell exercises for upper back and rear delts

Flare your elbow out to the side and the same bent-over pull shifts to the rhomboids, mid traps and rear delts. These need far less weight than the lat rows, which suits the lighter bells most home sets have plenty of.

Upper back and rear delts, elbow-wide row

Kettlebell Rear Delt Row

Shoulders, Upper Back

This is the row with your elbow flared out at about 60 to 90 degrees from your body, pulling toward your chest instead of your hip. It shifts the work from the lats to the mid traps, rhomboids and rear delts, the muscles that give the upper back its thickness.

How to do it

  1. Hinge forward with a bell in one hand and brace your free hand on your thigh or a bench.
  2. Let the bell hang under your shoulder with your palm facing behind you.
  3. Row the bell toward your lower chest with your elbow pointing out to the side.
  4. Lower it under control until your arm is straight, then repeat. Change sides after the set.

Cues

  • Elbow out wide
  • Pull toward the chest
  • Pinch the shoulder blade back

Common mistakes

  • Letting the elbow drift in toward the ribs: that turns it back into a lat row.
  • Shrugging the shoulder up toward the ear: keep it down and pull it back.

Swap for: Kettlebell Rear Delt Fly, Kettlebell Row, Kettlebell Gorilla Row

Build a session with Kettlebell Rear Delt Row

Rear delts and upper back, straight-arm raise

Kettlebell Rear Delt Fly

Shoulders

With a nearly straight arm, a light bell becomes a long lever, so this is the exercise that makes a small kettlebell feel heavy. It isolates the rear delt and the muscles between your shoulder blades.

How to do it

  1. Hinge forward with your free hand braced on your thigh and a light bell hanging below your shoulder.
  2. Keep a small bend in your elbow and raise the bell out to the side until your arm is level with your back.
  3. Hold for a moment at the top.
  4. Lower slowly to below your shoulder and repeat. Switch sides after the set.

Cues

  • Lead with the elbow
  • Raise to back level
  • Slow on the way down

Common mistakes

  • Swinging the bell up with your torso: stay still and use a lighter bell or fewer reps.
  • Bending the elbow more to cheat it up: the arm angle should stay fixed.

Swap for: Kettlebell Rear Delt Row, Kettlebell Pullover, Kettlebell Shrug

Build a session with Kettlebell Rear Delt Fly

Kettlebell exercises for traps

Your upper traps shrug the shoulders up and help lift your arms high. The shrug trains them directly; the upright row pulls the bell to chest height with the elbows leading and works them alongside the side delts.

Upper traps, direct work

Kettlebell Shrug

Traps

Holding the bell by the handle at arm's length, you shrug straight up. A single bell held with both hands, or one in each hand, gives your upper traps direct work that the rows and swings only touch.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall holding the bell in front of your thighs, or one bell in each hand at your sides.
  2. Let your shoulders sink down with your arms straight.
  3. Shrug your shoulders up toward your ears and hold for a second at the top.
  4. Lower slowly to the full stretch.

Cues

  • Straight up, straight down
  • Hold the top
  • Arms stay long

Common mistakes

  • Rolling the shoulders forward or back: a straight lift is all the muscle needs.
  • Rushing short reps: use the whole range and pause at the top.

Swap for: Kettlebell Upright Row, Kettlebell Deadlift, Kettlebell Rear Delt Row

Build a session with Kettlebell Shrug

Traps and side delts, vertical pull

Kettlebell Upright Row

Shoulders, Traps

Pulling the bell up the front of your body with your elbows leading works the upper traps through a bigger range than a shrug, with the side delts helping. Hold the handle with both hands and stop at chest height.

How to do it

  1. Stand tall holding the bell by the handle with both hands at arm's length in front of your hips.
  2. Lead with your elbows and pull the bell straight up your body.
  3. Stop when the handle reaches about chest height and your elbows are at shoulder height.
  4. Lower slowly to straight arms.

Cues

  • Elbows lead
  • Bell close to the body
  • Stop at chest height

Common mistakes

  • Pulling higher than shoulder level: if your shoulders pinch, stop lower.
  • Leaning back to heave it: stand tall and use a lighter bell.

Swap for: Kettlebell Shrug, Kettlebell Rear Delt Row, Kettlebell Snatch

Build a session with Kettlebell Upright Row

Kettlebell exercises for lower back

Hinges are where kettlebells are at their best. The deadlift and good morning are slow and strict, and they teach your lower back to hold still while your hips move. The swing and snatch use the same hinge at speed, so they come once you can deadlift the bell with a flat back.

Lower back and hips, the base hinge

Kettlebell Deadlift

Glutes, Hamstrings, Lower Back

Picking a kettlebell up from the floor under your hips is the safest way to learn the hinge every other lower back exercise here relies on. The bell sits right under your center of mass, so your back stays upright enough for nearly anyone to keep it flat.

How to do it

  1. Stand with the bell on the floor, centered between your feet, feet a bit wider than your hips.
  2. Push your hips back, bend your knees, and grip the handle with both hands, arms straight.
  3. Flatten your back and pull your shoulders down.
  4. Stand up by driving through your feet and squeezing your glutes, then lower the bell back to the floor under you the same way.

Cues

  • Hips back, chest up
  • Bell between your heels
  • Stand tall at the top

Common mistakes

  • Squatting straight down so the knees do all the work: lead with the hips.
  • Letting your back round to reach the bell: put it on a low step if you can't reach it with a flat back.

Swap for: Kettlebell Good Morning, Kettlebell Swing, Kettlebell Row

Build a session with Kettlebell Deadlift

Lower back and hamstrings, bell held at the chest

Kettlebell Good Morning

Hamstrings, Lower Back

Holding the bell at your chest, you bow forward from the hips with a flat back. The weight sits far from your hips, so even a light bell gives your spinal erectors a long, slow set without the bell ever touching the floor.

How to do it

  1. Stand with your feet about hip width and hold the bell by the horns against your chest.
  2. Keep your knees softly bent and push your hips back, lowering your chest toward the floor.
  3. Stop when your back is close to parallel or when it would start to round.
  4. Drive your hips forward to stand tall.

Cues

  • Hips back like closing a door
  • Back flat
  • Bell stays on the chest

Common mistakes

  • Rounding the upper back to reach lower: stop where your back stays flat.
  • Bending the knees more as you go down: keep the knee angle fixed.

Swap for: Kettlebell Deadlift, Kettlebell Swing, Kettlebell Pullover

Build a session with Kettlebell Good Morning

Lower back and hips, explosive hinge

Kettlebell Swing

Glutes, Hamstrings

The swing is a fast deadlift: you hike the bell back between your legs and snap your hips to float it to chest height. Your lower back holds steady against a load that pulls harder than its weight because it is moving, which builds endurance in the erectors along with your glutes and hamstrings.

How to do it

  1. Stand with the bell a foot in front of you, feet a bit wider than your hips.
  2. Hinge to grip the handle with both hands, then hike the bell back between your thighs.
  3. Snap your hips forward to stand tall, letting the bell float to about chest height with straight arms.
  4. As it falls, hinge back and let it pass between your legs, then snap up again for the next rep.

Cues

  • Hinge, do not squat
  • Snap the hips
  • Arms are ropes

Common mistakes

  • Lifting the bell with your shoulders: the hips do the work and the arms only guide it.
  • Leaning back at the top: finish standing straight with glutes tight.

Swap for: Kettlebell Deadlift, Kettlebell Snatch, Kettlebell Good Morning

Build a session with Kettlebell Swing

Whole back and shoulders, swing to overhead

Kettlebell Snatch

Shoulders, Glutes, Hamstrings

The snatch takes the swing all the way to an overhead lockout in one movement. Your upper back and traps pull the bell high and your lower back absorbs it on the way down, so it trains the entire back chain with a single light bell and gets your heart rate up.

How to do it

  1. Start as for a one-arm swing, hiking the bell back between your legs.
  2. Snap your hips forward and, as the bell rises, pull it high with a bent elbow close to your body.
  3. Punch your hand through as the bell flips over your wrist, finishing overhead with a straight arm.
  4. Drop it back down in an arc, hinge as it passes between your legs, and go again. Switch hands after the set.

Cues

  • Hips start it
  • Punch through at the top
  • Keep the bell close

Common mistakes

  • Letting the bell flop over and bang your forearm: punch your hand up as it turns over.
  • Doing it before you can swing well: learn the one-arm swing first.

Swap for: Kettlebell Swing, Kettlebell Upright Row, Kettlebell Deadlift

Build a session with Kettlebell Snatch

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in. Open one in the session builder to change a pick, price it from a recent set, and add it to RIRLift.

Session 1

One kettlebell at home

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets24 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentKettlebells

You have a single moderate bell, around 12 to 20 kg (25 to 45 lb), and a floor to train on.

With one bell, the rows work one side at a time so the weight feels twice as heavy to each lat, and the pullover uses both hands on the same bell for the stretched position. The deadlift and swing cover the lower back. A moderate bell becomes light quickly on the hinges, so those carry higher reps and stop 2 short of failure, while the rows and rear delt work go to 0 to 1 in reserve. Each session has 12 working sets.

Back A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Kettlebell RowPer arm. Free hand on a chair. 3 × 8–15 1 1 min
Kettlebell PulloverOn the floor. Ribs down. 3 × 10–15 1 1 min
Kettlebell Rear Delt FlyPer arm. Slow down. 3 × 12–20 0 45 s
Kettlebell DeadliftHips back. 1 s at the top. 3 × 12–20 2 90 s

Open Back A in the session builder

Back B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Kettlebell Rear Delt RowPer arm. Elbow out wide. 3 × 10–15 1 1 min
Kettlebell RowPer arm. Pause at the hip. 3 × 8–15 0 1 min
Kettlebell ShrugBoth hands on the handle. 3 × 12–20 1 45 s
Kettlebell SwingTwo hands. Snap the hips. 3 × 15–20 2 75 s

Open Back B in the session builder

How to run it
Do Back A and Back B once each per week with a day or more between them. Brace your free hand on a chair or couch arm for the rows.
How to progress
Add reps until every set reaches the top of its range at the target reps in reserve. When the rows reach 15 per arm, add a 3-second lowering, and when the swing gets easy at 20, move to a heavier bell for the swing first.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Two matching bells, building size

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets25 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentKettlebells

You own a pair of bells of the same weight, or train at a gym with a kettlebell rack, and want to grow your back.

A pair turns on the gorilla row, so you can row heavy with both arms in turn and no bench, and lets you shrug and deadlift two bells at once for loads a single bell can't match. The good morning closes the session because it needs only one bell held at the chest. Rows stop at 1 rep in reserve, shrugs at 0, and the two hinges at 2 to keep your lower back fresh for the next session. 14 working sets.

Back A
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Kettlebell Gorilla RowReps per arm. Stay low. 4 × 6–10 1 90 s
Kettlebell Rear Delt RowPer arm. 3 × 10–15 1 1 min
Kettlebell ShrugOne bell in each hand. 3 × 10–15 0 1 min
Kettlebell Good MorningOne bell at the chest. 3 × 10–15 2 90 s

Open Back A in the session builder

Back B
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Kettlebell Deadlift1 warm-up set firstOne bell in each hand. 4 × 8–12 2 2 min
Kettlebell Gorilla RowReps per arm. 1 s pause. 3 × 8–12 1 90 s
Kettlebell PulloverHeaviest bell you control. 3 × 10–15 1 1 min
Kettlebell Rear Delt FlyPer arm. 2 × 12–20 0 45 s

Open Back B in the session builder

How to run it
Run Back A and Back B on alternating back days, once each per week.
How to progress
Move up a bell size on a lift once every set hits the top of its range at the target reps in reserve. Bells jump in 4 kg steps, so expect to spend a few weeks adding reps before each jump.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

20 minutes, back and conditioning

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets24 a week
  • Per workout~20 min
  • EquipmentKettlebells

You want a short, sweaty back session and are already comfortable swinging a bell.

Pairing a hinge with a row in supersets keeps the session at 20 minutes and your heart rate up, while each muscle still rests during the other exercise. The swing and snatch carry the conditioning, the row and upright row add the pulling, and the reps in reserve stay at 2 because fatigue piles up fast in supersets and form on the snatch has to hold. 12 working sets in about 20 minutes.

Circuit
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
A1 Kettlebell SwingStraight into the row. 3 × 15–20 2 0 s
A2 Kettlebell RowPer arm. 3 × 10–12 2 75 s
B1 Kettlebell SnatchPer arm. Straight into the upright row. 3 × 6–10 2 0 s
B2 Kettlebell Upright RowStop at chest height. 3 × 10–15 2 75 s
How to run it
Do this twice a week, or once alongside one of the other plans. Go straight from the first exercise in a pair to the second, then rest.
How to progress
When you finish every set at the top end of the range with 2 reps left, add one round to the first superset before you go to a heavier bell.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

Do kettlebells work the back?

Yes. Rows and pullovers train your lats and upper back directly, shrugs train your traps, and every hinge, from the deadlift to the swing, makes your lower back work to hold your spine still. A single bell covers the whole back if you row with one arm at a time.

What are the best kettlebell back exercises?

The single-arm row, the gorilla row and the pullover for your lats, the rear delt row for your upper back, the shrug for your traps, and the deadlift and swing for your lower back. If you can only do three, pick the single-arm row, the rear delt row and the swing.

What kettlebell exercises can replace pull-ups?

The single-arm row and the pullover. The row trains the lats pulling toward your hip, and the pullover trains them from overhead, the position a pull-up starts in. Together they cover most of what a pull-up builds, though they don't train your grip in a hang.

Are kettlebell swings good for your lower back?

Swings train your lower back to stay still under a fast, heavy pull, which builds endurance in the erector muscles. They work well once you can hinge with a flat back; if your back rounds or you feel the swing in your lower back instead of your hips, return to slow deadlifts until the hinge is solid.

What are the top 3 back exercises with one kettlebell?

The single-arm row, the rear delt row and the deadlift. That covers your lats, your upper back and your lower back in three exercises, and each needs only one bell.

What weight kettlebell should I use for back exercises?

Use a heavier bell for the rows and deadlift than for the rear delt work. Pick a row bell you can pull for about 10 clean reps per arm and stop with 1 or 2 left; the rear delt fly usually needs half that weight.

What are the 4 essential kettlebell exercises?

There is no fixed list, but the swing, deadlift, row and press cover the hinge, the pull and the push with one bell. For back training specifically, the row, the swing, the deadlift and the shrug are the four to start with.