Pick it up like a suitcase and let your core fight the tilt.
Don't let the loaded side pull you into a lean. Keep both shoulders level the whole way.
Deadlifting a kettlebell held at one side is a leg-driven pull, quads pressing the floor away with the hamstrings and glutes extending the hips, but the offset load adds a fight the barbell version never has. The weight is trying to tip you sideways on every rep, and refusing to lean is half the exercise. One side at a time, it builds a deadlift pattern and level shoulders in the same set.
The load sits beside you instead of in front, so your body has to resist tipping toward it through the whole rep. You still train the legs and hips, but you also earn the ability to pick things up without folding sideways, which is how loads show up in real life.
Because the weight is pulling you there and your trunk is letting it happen. Keep both shoulders level, brace before you pull, and lighten the bell until you can stand up dead straight. The anti-lean is the exercise.
Yes, the movement is identical. The kettlebell handle sits a little higher and is easier to grip from the floor, but a dumbbell at your side works fine, just set it where you can reach it with a flat back.
