More and more people are using kettlebells in the gym instead of dumbbells, gym machines, and barbells. Kettlebells give you more freedom and range of motion during your workouts, and they add excitement and explosive power to your strength and conditioning training.
Whether you’re using the perfect kettlebell set for a kettlebell flow routine, cardio, or conditioning, bells can make training incredibly fun and provide plenty of opportunities to build strength and learn new movement patterns.
Below, we’ve put together five upper body kettlebell routines that you can do from anywhere, designed to target your back and biceps without any pull-ups or bar work, so you can build muscle without doing any pull-ups or bar work.
What is the 5-step kettlebell workout that will build your back and biceps?
To get you started, we’ve programmed five moves to work your back and biceps using only kettlebells. Each exercise is explained and it’s worth practising the technique before adding it to your routine to maximise the benefits of your training and prevent injury.
1. Gorilla Line
Like most rowing movements, the Gorilla Row works the lats, traps, rhomboids, rear delts, and biceps. The exercise’s unique leg position also activates the lower body. As you bend forward at the waist and lower your chest until it’s parallel to the floor, your core muscles, hip flexors, lower back, and hamstrings are also activated.
How to do it: 3 sets of 8-12 repetitions per side
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart
- Hold a kettlebell in each hand with a neutral grip (palms facing each other).
- Bend forward at the waist and push your hips back, keeping a slight bend in your knees.
- Hold the kettlebell close to the front of your leg to engage your core and glutes.
- Step your right arm back and press your elbow toward your right hip.
- Pause, lower your arms and repeat on the left side
- As you alternate sides, keep your chest parallel to the floor and your back flat.
2. One-arm kettlebell clean
I’m a big fan of unilateral training, which allows me to address muscle imbalances and weaknesses and strengthen both sides of my body more evenly. Unilateral training also requires that I engage my core to stabilize me when I’m loading one side.
The kettlebell clean works many muscle groups and is technically a full-body exercise rather than just working the rear of your body. It strengthens your back, chest, glutes, hips, hamstrings, triceps, biceps, deltoids and core muscles.
How to do it: 3 sets of 8-12 repetitions per side
- Place the kettlebell between your feet, shoulder-width apart.
- Hold the kettlebell facing up and lean your hips forward while slightly bending your knees.
- Strengthen your core
- Pull the bell up into position on the front rack, like zipping up a jacket.
- As the kettlebell travels upward, thrust your hips forward, extend your legs and squeeze your glutes.
- The bell should sit close to your body and rotate onto your forearm and upper arm without hitting your wrist or tipping over.
- Stand with your back straight, elbows close to your ribs, and thumbs next to your collarbone.
- Pause, reverse the movement to return to the floor, then switch to the other side.
- To increase your range of motion, try to lift off the floor from a full stop with each rep.
3. Alternating Kettlebell Rows
Again, alternating rows are useful for unilateral training, allowing you to improve your balance, coordination, and stability while focusing on strengthening one side of your body at a time.
A neutral grip helps target your mid to upper back, rear deltoids, biceps, forearms, and lats through the pulling motion. With the rowing variation, you should feel a good hit in your mid back and shoulders.
How to do it: 3 sets of 8-12 repetitions per side
- Stand with a kettlebell in hand and feet hip-width apart
- Bend your waist forward and push your hips back
- Keep your back straight and your core engaged – your chest should be nearly parallel to the floor.
- Hold the kettlebell in front of your body with a neutral grip, palms facing each other.
- Draw your right elbow in toward your right hip, pause, then lower and repeat on the left side.
- Keeping your back straight, alternate sides.
4. Kettlebell Staggered Stance Deadlift
The deadlift targets the posterior chain, which includes the back, glutes, hamstrings, hip flexors, core muscles, arms and shoulders. Like the clean, the deadlift is a more total body exercise than people realize.
While the barbell deadlift allows you to push as hard as you can, the kettlebell allows you to work both sides of your body at the same time without your stronger side dominating, which is why I like to add kettlebells to my deadlifts when I train with free weights.
In this example, we use a staggered position to engage the lower body a little more: the hamstrings, glutes, and hips.
How to do it: 3 sets of 8-12 repetitions per side
- Place the kettlebells on either side of your body
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart and step back with your right foot, bringing your right toes over your left heel. Keep your weight on the ball of your right foot.
- Bend your knees slightly, push your hips back and lean your hips forward.
- Keep your back straight, spine neutral, stomach tight, and shoulders back and down.
- Hold a kettlebell in each hand with a neutral grip (palms facing each other).
- Lifting the kettlebell to stand up
- With control, lower the weight toward the ground, pause, then press upward again, extending your hips as you rise.
- Move to the other side.
5. Kettlebell Pullover
Pullovers target the pectoral muscles while also working the deltoids, latissimus dorsi, teres major, core, and triceps. Many trainers recommend that you always keep your back straight against the bench.
A small amount of lifting is allowed to accommodate your individual body type, ensuring your core is engaged, your upper and mid back are supported, and your spine isn’t arched due to too much weight or limited upper body flexibility. Wrists and forearms should always be kept strong, and elbows should not flare out.
The video above uses dumbbells, but you can simply replace them with kettlebells. To increase the load on your upper body and shoulders, press the bells with both hands, almost squeezing them together.
How to do it: 3 sets of 8-12 repetitions per side
- Lie with your back against a workout bench and place your feet on the floor or on the bench.
- Make sure your head and lower back are supported
- Hold the kettlebell with both hands, holding the bell or horn
- Extend your arms over your chest, bending your elbows slightly so they point up and not out.
- Bracing your abdomen and shoulders, lower the weight in a controlled manner behind your head, being careful not to excessively lift or arch your lower back.
- Pause, then push the weight forward to the starting position.
Benefits of kettlebell training for back and biceps
Although chin-ups are considered the ultimate test of bodyweight strength training, they don’t *necessarily* need to be included in a back or biceps workout, but they’re a great goal to aim for.
If you’re working your back and biceps, gradually challenge your muscles by adding weight, increasing volume, or both, and mix up compound and isolation movements to keep you mentally and physically stimulated in the gym.
I love that with just one set of kettlebells and five exercises, I can strengthen my core and work multiple major muscle groups. The routine is simple, efficient, and effective, and doesn’t require a lot of equipment.
Additionally, I prefer to use free weights over gym machines during my workouts because kettlebell training can improve overall range of motion, balance, coordination, and stability. An added benefit of kettlebell training is that it improves forearm strength and grip, and can be programmed towards strength, cardio, muscle growth, or power.
Your back and biceps are recruited together during pulling movements, as are your chest and triceps, so while isolation exercises (such as bicep curls) are a great addition to resistance training, you can still work your biceps using the exercises mentioned above.
Working your back doesn’t just mean working out the V-shaped muscles in your back, it also means working the muscles responsible for posture, stability and protection of your spine, such as your core, erector spinae (the muscles that wrap around your spine), and shoulder stabilizing muscles. Basically, it’s also about being functional.
More articles from Tom’s Guide
Back to Kettlebells
