It hurts to walk, it hurts to laugh. It’s basically impossible to hover over public toilet seats. Let us guess: Yesterday—maybe even two days ago—you worked out with kettlebells?

After all, kettlebell exercises have a reputation for being exceptionally challenging. “Kettlebells are unique in that they can be dynamically loaded, meaning you can move them creatively, and through large ranges of motion,” says women’s strength coach and RKC-certified kettlebell expert Allison Tenney, C.S.C.S., S.F.G. “For most everyday and even elite athletes, they check off all of the boxes. They train power, develop strength, build muscle, improve cardiovascular conditioning, and more.”

So why is it that the next day, the kettlebell soreness can feel borderline punishing? The answer varies from person to person and explosive kettlebell swing to Turkish get-up. But here are the most common reasons for kettlebell soreness—some good, some letting you know you’ve got room for improvement.

1. You’re doing something new.

Even if you’re super strong and lift dumbbells and barbells on the regular, most kettlebell workouts involve performing entirely new exercises such as the kettlebell snatch, clean, swing, and Turkish get-up, says Dave Krueger, S.F.G., a kettlebell expert and trainer with REACT Physical Therapy in Chicago. Meanwhile, even if you perform traditional dumbbell and free-weight exercises such as squats and overhead presses with kettlebells, you are loading your body in a slightly different way, altering exactly how your muscles have to work together to overcome the resistance.

Any time you work your body in new ways, you are going to get some delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), that achy feeling that spikes 24 to 72 hours after some workouts, Tenney says. However, she explains that DOMS lessens after just a few consistent exposures to a given exercise stimulus. So if you perform kettlebell exercises at least a few times per week, your DOMS will likely subside, if not altogether disappear, after a couple of weeks.

RELATED: How to Relieve DOMS

2. Kettlebell swings stretch your muscles.

Eccentric actions are those in which worked muscles lengthen, rather than contract, and unless you are performing an isometric drill (like a plank or a wall sit), every exercise has an eccentric component. For example, lowering into a squat, lowering a kettlebell from an overhead press, or hiking that weight through your legs during a kettlebell swing. Eccentric work is largely to blame for DOMS, causing way more post-exercise soreness compared to isometric and even concentric (contracting) muscle actions, Tenney says.

RELATED: 9 Proven Ways to Grow Muscle Fast

It just so happens that kettlebell exercises—particularly kettlebell swings—hammer eccentric strength. “You load the hamstrings and glutes eccentrically, stretching them out and then rapidly snapping them like a slingshot,” she says. If you feel the bulk of your kettlebell soreness in the backs of your thighs and butt and you recently did kettlebell swings, a connection is likely.

“The ballistic and repetitious nature of the kettlebell swing can leave you pretty sore if you take on too much volume too quickly,” Krueger adds. If you want to cut down on kettlebell soreness, try doing fewer reps per set rather than reducing the weight. Performing swings with too little weight can negatively impact your form and balance, and prevent you from really driving the exercise with your hips, Tenney says. She explains that most women should swing with at least 10 or 12 kilograms.

3. Kettlebells increase muscle activation.

A lot of times, when you hold a dumbbell or other free weight, your wrist naturally extends, meaning that the back of your hand falls toward the top of your forearm. However, because of the kettlebell design, you can and should always hold them with a super straight wrist, as if you’re going to punch someone right in the kisser.

“This makes it easier to create more tension in your arm,” Kruger says. Your wrist is connected to your forearm, which is connected to your upper arm, which is connected to your shoulder, which is connected to everything else in your body, Tenney adds.

She adds that you can push and pull on kettlebells in ways you can’t dumbbells. Think through goblet squats, for example: When performing them with a dumbbell, the weight just rests on top of your hands. When performing them with a kettlebell, you can push both hands into the bell or try to rip the kettlebell apart, both of which will activate more musculature throughout your arms, shoulders, and core. Extra soreness, especially in those areas, is a possible side effect.

4. Your form needs some attention.

“If you have poor mechanics or are unable to coordinate all the moving pieces of kettlebell exercises at the same time with the correct amount of tension, walking the next day could be a real chore,” Krueger says. He explains that any time you venture from proper form and technique, muscles will compensate to get the job done and you could be straining muscles or tissues with excess stress.

Both he and Tenney recommend working with a trained professional to learn the basics and set yourself up for success. Even a couple of sessions will make a big impact. While any certified personal trainer or strength coach is qualified to help, those with extra certifications from the Russian Kettlebell Club (RKC) and StrongFirst (SFG) are specially prepared to help you with any and all things kettlebell.

Beware of swinging through kettlebell soreness.

In the end, when battling kettlebell soreness, it’s important to identify your unique why so that you can solve it in the way your body needs, Krueger says. Whatever the cause, though, never train through any muscle soreness that changes the way you move. Doing so could throw off your form and really cause pain down the line, Tenney explains. Give yourself a couple of days for your muscles to recover and grow back stronger. Then you’ll really be able to move some metal.