Learn how to swing a kettlebell for competition lifting with these 3 essential principles. This will transfer over to a more efficient kettlebell clean and kettlebell snatch. www.kbfitbritt.com
I see many different heights to the various swings within both hard and sport style. What you demonstrate here is that what you prescribe as the proper height swing for 1 arm swings? Thanks in advance and thanks for all your content + health, happiness & success to you always!
+Anthony LaPorta Jr Hi Anthony, in general yes I would prescribe swinging the bell to about chest level. If you are doing swings for working out/fitness, going to chest level is plenty high (no need to go any higher; risk > reward). If you are training for the kettlebell snatch, belly/hip level is where you would pull the bell up into the overhead so you want to practice swinging to that height. There may be times when you swing lower i.e. to practice hip extension only / grip strength, but you don't need to go any higher than chest level.
Hi. In Hardstyle balistic lifts (swing, clean, snatch, jerk), glutes are kept extremely tight at the end of the lift, when one is upright, and glutes are used also during the lift, to protect the lower back. Is this also valid for kettlebell sport type of lifts? Do I need to keep my glutes tight when I am upright in all kettlebell lifts?
Hi Lefter, you do want to stay upright, but the contraction of the glutes is not as active and aggressive in the Sport lifts. Yes, they are working, but you don't need to forcefully contract them. Usually you are not using as heavy of a kettlebell as you would use for hardstyle training, so that much force is not necessary (and inefficient). That being said, you do want to have good posture at the top of the lift with a tall chest (no forward rounding). I hope that answers your question!
Just switching over from "hard style" and finding your instructional videos very helpful! Thank you Notice that unlike many you don't round your back at the bottom of the swing. Is this a conscious, deliberate choice, or just what feels most comfortable and natural to you? Pro's and con's would be helpful. I have tried both ways and seem to get a bit more drive, or leverage when round upper back at bottom (still keeping lumbar in neutral) but feel "safer" maybe due to habit, keeping whole back in neutral.
Hi Geoffrey, thanks for watching and glad you find my videos helpful. I think it's best not to round your back at all in the backswing; I would go for thoracic rotation with chest up instead. This is very different from hardstyle where you are taught to do absolutely no rotation.
+Brittany van Schravendijk Thank you!! Seems good to me. I have been working on the thoracic rotation. Most difficult for me to remember seems to be the double dip at the bottom but doing it makes a huge difference in what happens next :)
Yes, whereas in hardstyle the bell is launched outwards on the swing, in sport style we want the bell to be directed UPWARDS so it lends itself better to doing the clean and the snatch with less effort.
+Brittany van Schravendijk Feels like sport way the bell actually has either more velocity or more centrifugal force, more grip challenging at any rate which surprised me. I like that though. Seems I am rapidly being disabused of my hard style propaganda and programming HAH!
Is the sport style kettlebell swing suitable for two handed or is this a more technically focused lift as a precursor skill to the sport snatch proper?
You're welcome! No, I'm not leading with my elbow. My legs are pushing the bell and my elbow bends as I let the bell float up with the momentum my legs gave the bell. Does that answer your question?
@@kbfitbritt Thanks so much for replying Brittany! I have watched several videos on the GS swing and they have said to lead with the elbow. Of course your hips (glutes and thighs) are providing the power, but they seem to be guiding the bell upwards via the elbow as opposed to hard style (which I have done for 16 years) which is a pretty straight arm with no shoulder (internal rotation) or elbow (pronation). Am I making sense?
@@DrStevenHorwitz The pendulum leg action is what gives the bell upward momentum, as opposed to forward momentum from the hinge leg action. The elbow simply bends to allow the bell to float up; it's more of a symptom than a cause, if that makes sense?
@@kbfitbrittYes thanks so much Brittany! I like the distinction between the pendulum action (GS style) and hinge leg action (hard style). Great description.
Hi Brittany I have a question about the knee movement. In the soft style swing there appears to be two knee movements per swing compared to the one in hard-style. Which style is easier on the knees? The reason I ask is I stopped doing Kettlebells due to a tear in one of my knees that had a tendency to flare up when did my KB exercises.
Patrick Hutton When talking about the swing, the hardstyle swing is probably going to be easier on your knee (if we are talking about the front of the knee being injured). The sport style swing has more knee flexion, like you said, which could be problematic for you. That being said, it totally depends on your injury and what types of movement cause pain in your knee. You (and perhaps a qualified practitioner who is there in person) are the best judge of that.
Thanks for your reply. I can do squats, all the way down, with no knee irritation but lunges cause soreness and stiffness in my knee. Any knee wobble, rather than flexion, acts as a trigger. What was interesting when I did calm rhythmic swings exhaling on the down swing and inhaling on the up swing caused no issues but when I tried to "make it snappy with the hips" problems started quickly.
When you’re first learning technique, I’d say only do as many reps in one set as you can maintain good technique! Rep range can be 10-100 once your technique is there.
f hl here are a couple articles that will help explain the difference and why you would choose one or the other: kbfitbritt.com/sport-v-hardstyle-kettlebell-lifting-whats-the-difference/ kbfitbritt.com/kettlebell-sport-v-kettlebell-hardstyle-which-is-better/
