Book of Cues Kettlebell DOWNLOAD

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A collection of whiteboard sketches and captions illustrating cues,

movement sequences, and skill transfers.
Whiteboard Daily Book of Cues: Kettlebell Volume 1
About Whiteboard Daily

This book contains a collection of sketches that I’ve drawn to communicate
movement. They include coaching cues, movement sequences and skill transfers
that I’ve posted on Whiteboard Daily - @whiteboard_daily, an Instagram page that
has served as the catalyst for this entire project. I created Whiteboard Daily to be a
resource for valuable coaching content to help others learn and teach movement. I
felt the use of a whiteboard was the perfect medium to display this information as
it is the common gathering place for the beginning of many exercise classes. My
hope was to provide illustrations of movement information that coaches could use
on their own whiteboards, and help their athletes better understand.
About Coaching Cues
Similar to tools in a toolbox, the more cues a coach has to o er, the more likely
they can nd one that works and e ectively communicate movement. Since there
is no “golden cue” that works for everyone, it is important for a coach to have a
wide variety of cues in mind. Every athlete is unique and will respond to instruction
di erently.
There are four primary categories of cues:
Verbal - Spoken word command; “Jump!”

Visual - Physical demonstration by coach or another athlete; “Watch the bar path
on this next rep.”
Tactile - Use of a target for the athlete to touch; “Push your knee against my hand”
Mental - Relating a physical movement to imaginary action; “Imagine your elbows

are lasers.”
Cues should be:
Short - Use as few words as possible.
Speci c - Say what you want, not what you don’t want.
Actionable - Identify the body part and what you want it to do.
Coaching is not simply cueing. However, a large part of coaching is teaching

movement and cues are an extremely valuable tool. I hope you nd the content in
this book valuable for both learning and coaching movement.
The information provided here is for the general population. Everyone is di erent and these cues may not apply to each person. This content is not intended to be a substitute for
professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other quali ed health provider with any questions you may have regarding a
medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have seen within the context of this document.
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Table of Contents
Click on the title to jump to the corresponding page
3 - Anatomy of a Kettlebell
23 - “Thumb to Bum”
5 - Pull Up Grip —> Kettlebell Grip

24 - “Glass Wall”
6 - “Silverback Stance”
26 - “Dip, Drive, Punch”
8 - “Hike!”
27 - “Rest in the Nest”
9 - “Hike, Hinge, Root, Float”

29 - “Re-Grip at the Top”
11 - “Wet Towel Snap to the Rear"

30 - “Use Your Thumb as a Sight"
12 - “Moon the Crowd”

32 - “Roll to the Elbow”
14 - “Two Buttons"
33 - “Make a Mountain”
15 - “Play Chicken with Your Hips”

35 - “The Kettlebell Windmill"
17 - “Be the Arrow, Not the Bow”
18 - “Drinking Bird”
36 - About Karl Eagleman
20 - “Hungry Butt”
21 - “Swing, Pull, Punch”
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Previous page:
“Anatomy of a Kettlebell”
Why is this important?
When coaching the kettlebell movements, it’s important to know the names of the di erent parts of the kettlebell.
Next page:
| SKILL TRANSFER |
Pull-up grip —> Kettlebell grip
A simple cue for teaching an e ective pull-up grip is to compare it to a kettlebell grip.
A few common points of performance:
- Knuckles over the bar/handle
- Thumb wrapped around
- “Meaty Grip” - Bar is held in the meaty part of the hand, not the ngers.
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Previous page:
“Silverback Stance” - picked up from @pheasyque and @phase6 tness
When?
Setting up for a kettlebell swing
What does this mean?
“Keep your chest up and your posterior chain muscles engaged, as you pull your hips back, ready to pull the KB up to
start the swing.
The set up is called "Silverback stance" because it literally reminds you of a gorilla stance.
Dropping the hips back, keeping a "proud chest" and engaging your posterior chain muscles through hip hinge, can
easily be cued as "Get into gorilla silverback stance!" - @pheasyque and @phase6 tness
Next page:
“Hike!”
When?
Getting the kettlebell o the ground and into the rst swing.
How?
1. Start with the KB approximately a foot and a half length in front of you
2. Hinge at the hip, knees back, grab KB with shoulders behind the handle, set the midline.
3. Maintaining a strong midline, shift weight back and hike bell between legs.
4. “Pop” hips open and extend knees.
Why?
- Sets the athlete in a strong position from the very beginning.
- More e cient use of energy than deadlifting the KB and getting the swing moving from a dead stop.
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Previous page:
“Hike, Hinge, Root, Float” - The kettlebell swing in four cues
HIKE: With the KB 12-18 inches in front of you, push your hips back keeping your butt high and bend your knees
slightly. Gripping the kettlebell, pull your shoulders into their sockets and re your lats.
HINGE: The hinge is the foundation of the kettlebell swing. When you push your hips back keeping your butt high and
your shins vertical, you are hingeing.
ROOT: The ROOT is the nish of the swing. Think of the root as a standing plank where you are tightening every muscle
in your body from your shoulders down.
FLOAT: The FLOAT is what happens to the kettlebell when you do the swing correctly. It ensures that your energy is
focused on your glutes and not on your trying to “muscle” the kettlebell up to a certain height.
This cue and caption for this board comes from Jay Ferruggia @jayferruggia and his article “Kettlebell Swings: The 1
Exercise That Fixes 99 Problems” on the @onnit website.
Next page:
“Wet towel snap to the rear” - picked up from @_kendrakay
When?
Teaching hip hinge in the kettlebell swing or good mornings
“A hinge is about sitting back into the hips with minimal knee bend and snapping forward with a strong glute
contraction at the nish. That's it.” - Kasey Esser @kaseyesser in the @testosteronenation article 7 Ways to Hack Your
Hip Hinge
“I have them hinge forward and pause in that hinged position. Then I tell them, "when I say GO, I want you to squeeze
your butt and straighten your legs FAST like I just snapped you in the butt with a wet towel.” - Goranson
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Previous page:
“Moon the crowd” - Michael Wille @michael_wille_
When?
The athlete is performing a hinge (good mornings, kettlebell swings, setting up for a clean, snatch, etc.)
How?
“When performing a hinge, be like Randy Moss and push your hips back and taunt all the Lambeau faithful as you
moon the crowd.” - Michael Wille @michael_wille_
Why?
This cue may help your athlete understand how to send their hips back and maintain the lumbar curve during the
hinge, rather than sinking the hips down and rounding the back.
Next page:
“Two buttons ” - picked up from Pavel Macek @pavelmacekcom / @StrongFirst @StrongFirstcz Master Certi ed
Instructor
When?
Timing for the hip hinge in the kettlebell swing
Think that you have two buttons, right here (hip crease on either side). They switch ON the hip action (during the
downswing of kettlebell swing)” - Macek
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Previous page:
“Hips play chicken with the kettlebell” - reminded of this by Matt Beecroft @realitysdc
When?
Timing the hip hinge of the kettlebell swing
“Wait for the kettlebell to come down towards your hips, and for your elbows to connect to the rib cage, then right at
the last second, forcefully “break” at the hips.
You will hinge your hips down and back out of the way, getting a nice and deep backswing. The result will be similar to
the overspeed eccentric drill. You’ll follow this with a powerful upward, concentric phase, giving you a much stronger
and forceful swing.
This is what I call “playing chicken with the kettlebell”. I probably don’t have to tell you what will happen if you wait too
long… it will only happen once!” - Beecroft
Next page:
“Be the arrow, not the bow” - picked up from @saltudor / inspired by @coachcorymark
When?
Extension during kettlebell swings
A common error with the kettlebell swing is to hyperextend the spine during the hip extension.
This simple phrase may help your athlete avoid this issue by imagining their body is an arrow, not a bow.
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Previous page:
“Drinking bird”
When?
For hip hinge
Throughout the hip hinge movement (good mornings, kettlebell swings, deadlifts, etc), the spine should be held in a
neutral position.
This looks similar to a drinking bird toy from the side. There should be as little deviation from neutral in the lumbar,
thoracic and cervical sections of the spine as possible.
Next page:
“Hungry butt”
When?
Cueing glute engagement during hip hinge movements
During the hip hinge, the glutes engage to snap the hips forward.
This cue may help communicate that snappiness, as if your butt cheeks “chomp” the seat of your shorts.
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Previous page:
“Swing, pull, punch” - picked up from @cspealler
When?
Kettlebell snatches
Thinking of snatches as a swing is really helpful.
SWING: Start o with that swing, just to their waist, having their hand go from palm inside to neutral.
PULL: (At the top of the swing) my shoulder is going to come back and that is going to keep things close to my body.
PUNCH: “So we swing, pull, punch that’s what is going to allow the kettlebell to rotate on top of the hand and the wrist
smoothly.
The faster we punch through the easier that kettlebell is going to land.” - @cspealler
Next page:
“Thumb to bum”
When?
During the backswing of a single arm kettlebell swing
During the backswing of a single arm kettlebell swing, allow the bell to rotate from a neutral position so the thumb is
pointed backward.
“It’s not compulsory, you can keep your wrist neutral. However, this subtle turn is going to allow me to generate a little
bit more torque, little bit more power which will then ow over to other skills.”
Sebastian Jago / “One Cue At A Time - Thumb to Bum - Kettlebells” YouTube video
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Previous page:
“Glass Wall”
When: Kettlebell Clean
During the kettlebell clean, imagine you are standing 2’-3’ away from a glass wall in front of you, and you want to avoid
the kb crashing into it.
This will help encourage you to keep the trajectory of the swing close to the body.
Why is this important?
During the kettlebell clean, a common error is the athlete allowing the upper portion of the active arm to detach from
the torso.
This creates a forward swing with the kettlebell, resulting in the a less e cient swing and ultimately the kb crashing
back onto the rack of the athlete.
Next page:
“Dip - Drive - Punch!”
When?
Jerk (barbell, dumbbell, kettlebell, etc.)
This simple three word phrase may help communicate the sequence for the jerk.
DIP: Vertical dip, knees ex tracking over toes, shoulders-hips-ankles in straight line
DRIVE: Vertical drive, hips and knees extend rapidly, shoulders-hips-ankles in straight line
PUNCH: Carry momentum from the drive into a punch overhead, catching in a partial overhead squat
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Previous page:
“Rest in the nest”
When?
During kettlebell front rack
During the kettlebell front rack, the bell rests in the nest (nook) of the supporting arm.
The arm is resting on the body with the elbow on the crest of your hip.
The hand, wrist, and elbow should make a straight line that is leaning toward the centerline of the body.
Next page:
“Re-grip at the top”
When?
When cycling KB and BB movements overhead
In order to secure the proper hand position in the backswing of your snatch, it's necessary to create space for the bell
to move prior to the drop.
By creating space, I mean that you keep your ngers loose in the overhead position, so that when you turn the bell, its
handle will plop right into your ngers instead of rubbing across your palm on its way down.
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Previous page:
“Use your thumb as a sight” - Je Martone @je martone
When?
Moving between the “arm extension step” and the “sit-up step” of the turkish get-up
How?
“Wherever my thumb is, I sight it like a rearm, where it is on the ceiling, that’s where it stays.” - Je Martone founder
and CEO of @TacitcalAthlete_TS
Next page:
“Roll to Elbow” - description from @coach_kylie via @kettlebell_collective
*Green lines show energy owing into the body
*Orange lines show where the applying force to initiate the movement.
When?
Turkish Get Up
“Not often spoken of but I believe is KEY to owning your GU or any movement is, understanding the energy ow,
tension & prime muscles especially the TGU particularly the ‘Roll To Elbow’
Push the oor with foot /Pull on the lat of non bell arm. This creates the Push Pull in the roll to elbow and aid in the
diagonal rotation because the TGU is not a sit-up like most make it.“ - @coach_kylie
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Previous page:
“Make a mountain” - picked up from Matt Kingstone @king_cobra_ t
When?
Turkish Get-Ups - when rolling to elbow
“I tell my student that the foot on the oor on the bell side is one land mass and the elbow on the oor on the o side is
another. The visualization is to crash these two land masses together to raise the bell up toward the sky. The student
should push on the foot and pull with the elbow to move the bell up.
This cue has worked great for most people and should get your student into a tall, proud, open chest when he or she
reaches the elbow.”
Next page:
“The Kettlebell Windmill”
Points of Performance
Set Up:
- KB extended in single arm overhead
- The foot of the same side of the kettlebell is facing forward.
- The opposite foot is turned out at approximate 45° angle
- The more narrow of a stance, the more mobility is needed.
Movement:
- The free hand is placed on the inside of thigh
- Look up at KB, keeping eyes on it throughout the movement.
- Hinge hips at slight angle opposite of unloaded side.
- Upper back rotates throughout descent
- Knees stay fully extended
- The free hand reaches for the ground by following the inside of the leg.
- Once hand touches the ground reverse the movements starting position.
Note: Scale the movement by widening the stance and/or moving partially through the ROM.
Points of Performance taken from @kettlebellkings

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Whiteboard Daily Approach, Grip, Positioning Volume 1
About Karl Eagleman

Whiteboard Daily was created by Karl Eagleman to be a valuable resource for coaches,
athletes, and anyone who wants to improve their own movement. A lifelong athlete,
Eagleman has a passion for coaching, but also for being a student and learning from
others. He started doing CrossFit in 2007 and has been a coach at CrossFit
MANA (Palmerston North, New Zealand), Derby City CrossFit (Louisville, KY)
and CrossFit NapTown (Indianapolis, IN).
Since launching WBD in August of 2017, Eagleman has posted over 1,500 educational
boards covering movement cues, coaching education, and perspectives. Additionally, in
an e ort to provide more opportunities for coaches to pursue continuing education, he
created the Whiteboard Daily Coaching Education Grant. Five rounds of this grant have
been awarded so far.
Eagleman's credentials include:
• Master's in Kinesiology (2011, Indiana University - Bloomington, IN)
• Teaching Certi cation - Physical Education (2006, Indiana University - Bloomington, IN)
• Bachelor's in Communications (2001, Bellarmine University - Louisville, KY)
• CrossFit Level 2 Trainer (2018)
• Active Life Professional Coaches Course
• Burgener Strength Weightlifting Level 1 (2020)
• The Gymnastics Course Certi cate (2019)
• CrossFit Gymnastics Certi cate (2018)
• Currently pursuing NSCA CSCS
To contact Karl, please email karl@wbd.tips
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Whiteboard Daily Approach, Grip, Positioning Volume 1
Special thanks to:
My wife for always being supportive of this passion project of mine.
My parents for always encouraging me to be creative.
My brothers for inspiration as they pursue their own creative endeavors.
Remember team, a high tide lifts all boats so together let’s keep raising the tides.
Karl Eagleman
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Whiteboard Daily LLC
To order printed posters or high resolution downloads of

any of the images you see in this book, please visit:
WBD.tips
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A collection of whiteboard sketches and captions illustrating cues,

About Whiteboard Daily

About Coaching Cues

There are four primary categories of cues:

Verbal - Spoken word command; “Jump!”

Mental - Relating a physical movement to imaginary action; “Imagine your elbows

Cues should be:

Short - Use as few words as possible.

Coaching is not simply cueing. However, a large part of coaching is teaching

5 - Pull Up Grip —> Kettlebell Grip

9 - “Hike, Hinge, Root, Float”

11 - “Wet Towel Snap to the Rear"

12 - “Moon the Crowd”

15 - “Play Chicken with Your Hips”

17 - “Be the Arrow, Not the Bow”

21 - “Swing, Pull, Punch”

Why is this important?

Pull-up grip —> Kettlebell grip

A simple cue for teaching an e ective pull-up grip is to compare it to a kettlebell grip.

A few common points of performance:

- Knuckles over the bar/handle

- Thumb wrapped around

Setting up for a kettlebell swing

What does this mean?

4. “Pop” hips open and extend knees.

- Sets the athlete in a strong position from the very beginning.

Teaching hip hinge in the kettlebell swing or good mornings

What does this mean?

Timing for the hip hinge in the kettlebell swing

What does this mean?

Timing the hip hinge of the kettlebell swing

What does this mean?

Extension during kettlebell swings

What does this mean?

For hip hinge

What does this mean?

Cueing glute engagement during hip hinge movements

What does this mean?

What does this mean?

Thinking of snatches as a swing is really helpful.

During the backswing of a single arm kettlebell swing

What does this mean?

When: Kettlebell Clean

What does this mean?

Why is this important?

Jerk (barbell, dumbbell, kettlebell, etc.)

What does this mean?

During kettlebell front rack

What does this mean?

When cycling KB and BB movements overhead

What does this mean?

*Green lines show energy owing into the body

What does this mean?

Turkish Get-Ups - when rolling to elbow

What does this mean?

- KB extended in single arm overhead

- The foot of the same side of the kettlebell is facing forward.

- The opposite foot is turned out at approximate 45° angle