So I wrote a post a while back about Jillian Michaels…It was actually a rant against her.

She demonstrated a crossfit workout and looked HORRIBLE doing just about everything. I had some people rush to her defense…

“She’s done so much for fitness.”

“She looks amazing.”

“So what…crossfit isn’t her thing. It is hard.”

UHM! She is a trainer. A huge, celebrity trainer. She SHOULD be able to do the moves. AND she has enough power that I’m sure she could even dictate which moves they did on the show. She could choose moves that she even looked good doing. AND on top of that the moves they had her do weren’t even difficult!

I’m sorry…Jillian Michaels is an AWFUL trainer!

I mean there is some really really bad form out there…just cruise the Awkward Gym Moments page and you will get your fill. There are some videos on that page that make me cringe.

However, bad form from a person that supposedly has made fitness and a healthy lifestyle their living….now that just makes me want to throw up.

There really is no excuse for her bad form. She does this for a living and has more than enough time to do the research (or have others do the research for her) so that she can master proper form.

Just to set things straight…A kettlebell swing isn’t a squat exercise. It is a hip hinge.

In a squat, your butt goes down toward the ground and you bend your knees. You aren’t bending your knees or dropping your butt toward the ground with a hip hinge. Your butt is going back toward the wall (or the ground if you are doing a glute bridge) and then you squeeze your glutes and drive your hips forward (or up).

So a TRUE swing is a hip hinge NOT the squat that Jillian is doing.

Next…a TRUE kettlebell swing is NOT an arm exercise. Sorry crossfitters but your American swing ISN’T a true swing and honestly destroys the whole point of a swing.

A true swing is a glute exercise. NOT an arm exercise.

Seriously why turn an awesome butt exercise into an arm exercise?

Why?!?

There are plenty of great arm exercises out there. Use one of those and leave this great butt exercise be!

So in a TRUE kettlebell swing, you DON’T bring your arms overhead. That throws off the whole rhythm of the swing.

If you watch and really good swing, there is a great connection between the forearm and hips. The glutes move the kettebell forward and then the hips catch the kettlebell to slow it down.

If you bring the arms overhead, you lose this whole connection! So…DON’T DO IT!

Here is a GREAT TRUE kettlebell swing. Her form is great. I don’t want to hear your excuses for not doing a swing like this.

This is right…If you don’t do it like this…You are wrong….Period.

And honestly, I don’t even know where to start with her long cycle (aka clean and jerk). It is so terrible I almost want to throw something at my computer screen every time I watch the video.

If you do it like that, you may as well just go bash your shoulder into a wall because sooner or later you are going to get injured.

Although….if you use a freaking baby weight like that….maybe you won’t. Seriously…lady at least LOOK like you are lifting something heavy to encourage women to lift heavy!

Way to go Jillian! You have awful form AND you don’t even promote women lifting heavy!