Kettlebell Sots Press
What Is the Kettlebell Sots Press?
Kettlebell Sots Press is a compound exercise that primarily targets the shoulders and also engages the triceps, upper back, core and legs. It is an advanced-level movement: you press one kettlebell overhead with one arm while holding the bottom of a deep squat, so it only works if your ankles, hips and upper back can already hold that position without the weight.
The press takes its name from Soviet weightlifter Viktor Sots, who was known for pressing heavy weights from the bottom of a squat. Strictly, the name belongs to a barbell press from the front rack in a squat, but it is now used for any press performed from the squat, including this kettlebell version. Weightlifters use it as a warm-up or accessory drill for the deep receiving positions of the snatch and jerk, and kettlebell and functional fitness coaches use the one-arm version as a combined mobility and stability drill, usually with light loads early in a session or after the main lifts.
The deltoid and triceps do the pressing, while the serratus anterior and trapezius rotate the shoulder blade upward so the arm can reach a vertical lockout. Because the bell is in one hand, the obliques and back extensors work to stop the torso from tipping or twisting toward it, and the quadriceps and glutes hold the squat rather than move it. Pressing two kettlebells at once removes that side-to-side pull but asks more of the upper back and shoulders, since both arms have to reach overhead from the bottom of the squat at the same time.
It suits lifters who already press a kettlebell overhead with control and can sit in an unloaded deep squat with their heels flat and chest up. Anyone missing that range should build it first: hold the bottom of a Kettlebell Goblet Squat for ankle and hip range, open the upper back with Foam Roller Thoracic Extension, own a strict standing Kettlebell Single-Arm Military Press, then learn to hold a bell overhead at depth with the Kettlebell Single-Arm Overhead Squat. The Kettlebell Windmill, Kettlebell Turkish Get-Up and Kettlebell Overhead Carry build the same overhead stability without the deep squat.
Muscles Worked
- Deltoid
- Primary
- Erector Spinae
- Medium
- External Oblique
- Medium
- Serratus Anterior
- Medium
- Upper Trapezius
- Medium
Instructions
- Clean one kettlebell to the rack position at your shoulder, handle in your palm, bell resting against the outside of your forearm and elbow tucked in front of your ribs.
- Stand with your feet a little wider than shoulder width and your toes turned slightly out.
- Squat down until your hips are below your knees, keeping your heels flat and your chest upright.
- Reach your free arm forward and out to the side for balance.
- Brace your trunk and take a breath.
- Press the kettlebell straight up, keeping your elbow under the bell, until your arm locks out vertically beside your head.
- Keep your hips low and your heels down while you press; your legs do not move.
- Lower the bell under control back to the rack position.
- Finish your reps, stand up with the bell in the rack and switch sides.
Common Mistakes
Heels lifting
Rocking onto the toes shifts the load forward onto the knees and makes it hard to keep the bell balanced over your feet.
Torso folding forward
When the chest drops, the bell ends up in front of you and the shoulder has to fight to keep it from falling forward.
Arching the lower back
Flaring the ribs and arching to finish the press hides missing upper-back and shoulder range and loads the lower back.
Rising out of the squat
Lifting the hips or bouncing out of the bottom to start the press turns a strict rep into a push press and skips the range the exercise is meant to train.
Shrugging toward the ear
Hiking the shoulder up instead of letting the shoulder blade rotate puts tension into the neck and crowds the top of the shoulder.
Locking out in front of the head
Finishing with the arm angled forward instead of vertical over the shoulder leaves the bell unstable and pulls the torso forward.
Injuries
Kettlebell Sots Press is a medium risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The load is usually light, but the shoulder works at the top of its range while the ankles, knees and hips sit near the end of theirs, so a missing piece of mobility gets made up somewhere it should not be. The shoulder is the most common strain point: when the upper back cannot extend, the arm is forced overhead through the shoulder joint alone, which shows up as a pinch at the front or top of the shoulder. The lower back is next, arching to fake the last part of the lockout, followed by the knees and hips if you force depth you do not have.
Earn the bottom position without weight before you load it, and keep the bell light enough that every rep is strict. Keep the heels flat, the ribs down and the elbow stacked under the bell, and end the set as soon as the torso starts to fold or the press drifts in front of your head.
To regress, raise your heels on small plates or a wedge, widen your stance a little, or, as a deliberate and temporary aid, use just enough upward drive from the legs to get the bell through the hardest part of the press, cutting that help back as your mobility improves. The Kettlebell Single-Arm Overhead Squat, Kettlebell Windmill and Kettlebell Overhead Carry build overhead control with less range. Progress by pausing at lockout, adding reps, moving to a heavier bell and finally pressing two bells.
Stop the set if you feel a sharp or pinching pain in the shoulder, pain in the knees or hips at the bottom, numbness or tingling down the arm, or if you cannot keep your heels down or your torso upright.
- Primary Focus
- Shoulders
- Equipment
- Kettlebell
- Modality
- Strength
- Difficulty
- Advanced
Alternative Exercises
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: Should I use one kettlebell or two?
Start with one. A single bell lets you reach the free arm forward for balance and needs less upper-back range than getting both arms overhead at once, so two bells are a progression for when the one-arm press is smooth on both sides.
- Q: What if I can't stay in the bottom of the squat?
Work on the position before the press: elevate your heels on small plates, hold the bottom of a Kettlebell Goblet Squat and train your ankle range. In a study of 101 healthy young adults squatting as low as they could with their heels down, ankle dorsiflexion range was linked to how deep both the men and the women could go, along with hip flexion range in the men.
- Q: How heavy should the kettlebell be?
Much lighter than the bell you press standing, because the deep squat is the limiter, not your pressing strength. A common starting point is 3 to 4 sets of 3 to 5 strict reps per arm.
- Q: Where does it go in a workout?
Use it in the warm-up to prepare for overhead and squatting work, or after your main lifts as a light accessory. Keep it light either way, since fatigue makes the bottom position harder to hold.
- Q: Is the Sots press the same as an overhead squat?
No. In the Kettlebell Single-Arm Overhead Squat the bell stays locked out overhead while the legs move, while in the Sots press the legs stay still in the bottom of the squat and the arm does the moving.