The kettlebell snatch is the most technical kettlebell lift, and as such particularly close attention should be paid to technique in order to perform the snatch safely and efficiently.

This first training tip on the kettlebell tip takes you through exercises you should master before you start snatching.

The Exercises You Should Master Before Snatching a Kettlebell

As the kettlebell snatch is so technical, you need to ensure you have mastered a variety of skills and have the requiste coordination and strength required for snatching.

The following exercises will prepare you for snatching, and should be mastered in this order:

1. The kettlebell swing

The swing is vital because it is actually the first part of the snatch.  You should practise swinging so that the bell handle swings back between your legs on a 45 degree angle (rather than remaining parallel with your body as this will destroy your grip very quickly).

You should also practise extending your legs quickly so that the kettlebell moves straight up, rather than projecting out in front, like this:

2. The Kettlebell Clean

The kettlebell clean is important because it requires many of the fiddly aspects of technique that the snatch does, such as learning to relax the hand at the right moment and move it through the handle to get the correct hand position, but is easier to learn and doesn’t have the added complication of being an overhead lift.

Hand position is very important.  Make sure you can clean the bell perfectly every time so that the handle lands diagonally across your palm, with the pressure on the heel of your hand.  You should be able to have an “open” or relaxed wrist.

Now you don’t have to clean the 60kg like Andy, but he has good technique.  Note in particular how the kettlebell lands on his hand.

3. The Kettlebell Press

It is essential that you have a good overhead lockout position and stability in that position in order to be able to snatch and the easiest and safest way to test this is by pressing a kettlebell overhead.

The kettlebell press should be a very linear, straight up and down press.

A safe and effective kettlebell overhead lockout is defined by the following:

• Elbow is locked out (or at anatomical lockout)
• The bicep is roughly in line with the ear
• The chest is “leaning through” a little, so that the upper back muscles are engaged and the  kettlebell lines up with the hip and ankle (so that the skeleton is supporting the weight)
• Knees are locked (or at anatomical lockout)
• The shoulder is slightly internally rotated so that the palm is not running parallel to the torso – with a kettlebell if the palm is parallel to the torso the body of the kettlebell will be rotated over the top of the head, which is unsafe.
• The kettlebell should be completely stopped – if the kettlebell is not stabilised in this position and is moving around it places unnecessary extraneous pressure on the shoulder joint.

3. The Push Press or the One Arm Jerk.

It is really important that before you start snatching you learn to stop a moving bell overhead, quickly and safely.  Push presses and one arm jerks are the safest way to train your body to do this.

Also, with push presses and jerks you can get a decent amount of weight overhead, which will build up good shoulder stability for snatching.

Here is a good instructional video on the one arm kettlebell jerk:

Ok so once you have mastered those exercises, you’re ready to start thinking about snatching.

Stay tuned for more training tips on getting started with the kettlebell snatch and how to improve your kettlebell snatch technique.

Kettlebell swings are a brilliant exercise – they’re one of the best exercises around for developing a strong, healthy and powerful posterior chain AND anyone who has done them will tell you they get the heart rate up very quickly. Think no impact running with a resistance workout for the muscles in your body that most need working if you want everyday functionality or improved sports performance.  Does it get any better than that?

Unfortunately, most of the evidence for the benefits of swings in the Western World is anecdotal, which has meant the acceptance of exercises such as kettlebell swings in the mainstream fitness industry has been disappointingly slow. There are very few people out there who won’t derive far more benefit from doing doing kettlebell swings than they will from half an hour of machine weights in a gym.

The Swing Study

The good news is, a recent study from Truman State University in the US has confirmed what kettlebell lovers in the West have known for many years – the kettlebell swing is excellent for cardiorespiratory fitness.  And if you value your joint health and don’t want to pound the pavement, this is a very good thing.

The study involved taking ten college aged men and measuring their VO2 and heart during a workout that involved doing swings at a self-determined pace for 12 minutes, trying to complete as many swings in that time period as possible.

Proof of the Superiority of Swings

The results showed that this kettlebell swing protocol maintained the subjects’ heart rates at an average of 87% of maximum heart rate, and maintained VO2 at an average of 65% VO2 max.   These heart rate and VO2 levels put the workout in the category of “hard exercise” according to the American College of Sports Medicine standards.  It was concluded that the kettlebell swing workout was metabolically challenging enough to increase VO2 max.

The study also compared the kettlebell swing protocol used to the effects of circuit weight training, and concluded that the kettlebell swing protocol presents more of a cardiorespiratory challenge than tradional circuit weight training.

So, if you’re after the more efficient, gentle and systemically beneficial way to improve cardiorespiratory fitness and increase VO2max grab a kettlebell and start swinging!

Download the report here

I don’t train with anything other than kettlebells and I get this question a lot: how are kettlebells different to dumbbells?  And this is usually followed by: are kettlebells better than dumbbells?

I’ll start by answering the second question:

Are Kettlebells Better Than Dumbbells?

There are many, many fitness tools out there, some more effective than others and most have their place (except perhaps the Ab-Doer).  The question “are kettlebells better than dumbbells?” is best answered with a question: “what do you want to get out of your training?”

If the answer is hypertrophy, then you’re better off sticking with the dumbbells (although hypertrophy can be achieved with kettlebells, dumbbells are more suited for it).

If the answer is all round fitness, weight loss, enhanced sports performance, mobility, strength endurance, power endurance, cardiovasular fitness, improved posture or coordination then kettlebells are the superior tool.  There’s a good reason kettlebells are the tool of choice for GPP (General Physical Preparedness) in the Russian military!

This then brings me back to the first question, as the differences between the two explains why kettlebells usually come out on top:

How Are Kettlebells Different From Dumbbells?

The kettlebell has a displaced centre of mass – that is the centre of mass sits away from the handle rather than the weight being evenly evenly dispersed on either side of the handle.

The displaced centre of mass, and the kettlebell’s unique shape, set it apart from dumbbells for the following reasons:

Functionality – The displaced centre of mass makes the kettlebell behave more like the objects we come into contact with in everyday life, therefore kettlebell training has much better transference to everyday functionality and to sport than dumbbell training.

Joint Health & Stability – The displaced centre of mass makes the kettlebell more unwieldy than a dumbbell, therefore the body has to work harder to control it.  This means that the kettlebell is better at switching on core and other stabilising muscles and key postural muscles.

Energy Use – because the kettlebell generally turns on more muscles than a dumbbell, the kettlebell works the body harder, greater calorie burn for the same amount of time spent training.

Ballistics -The displaced centre of mass and unique shape make the kettlebell ideal for ballistic lifts such as swings, cleans and snatches.  The ballistic lifts are great for power generation, for targeting the all important posterior chain of muscles (hamstrings, glutes, lower back and upper back) and simultaneously getting a cardio and resistance workout.  The posterior chain activation is great for postural health and it is the posterior chain that drives most movements in sports, such as running, kicking, striking and jumping, so kettlebell ballistics are great for sports performance.

Variety – The unique shape of the kettlebell means it can be held in a number of different ways: bottoms up (so that the body of the bell is above the handle) or it can be held so that the body of the bell sits on the hand.  The kettlebell can also be passed easily from hand to hand and even juggled, making it much more versatile (and more fun) than a dumbbell.  Incidentally, kettlebell juggling is a very good way to build super-strong connective tissue.

In order for your kettlebell training to be as safe as possible, and therefore allow you to train without the risk of injury, you must pay attention to the basics – it seems pretty obvious but a lot of people skip this step and end up with substandard technique and training as a result.

Picking up the kettlebell, racking the kettlebell and locking out the kettlebell are all things that should be done with care and learnt thoroughly. These are fundamentals, and are not intuitive for most people so require a bit of time and attention to get spot on.

Here are some training tips to ensure your pick up, rack and lockout are safe and correct:

Pick Up

You’d be surprised how many people injure themselves, not during a hard set, but when they pick up or put down the kettlebell.  Why?  Because during the set they’re concentrating on what they’re doing and they’re not concentrating when picking it up – that’s how something so simple can become injurious.

To safely pick up the kettlebell:

• Look forward
• Hinge at the hips
• Soften your knees
• Ensure your lower back remains neutral
• Shins should be close to vertical
• Stand up and squeeze your glutes

For personal trainers, this is the best way to teach your clients to pick up the kettlebell as it gets them in the habit of using a hip dominant, rather than knee dominant, movement, which translates to the swing.

Rack

Due to the kettlebell’s unique shape and displaced centre of mass, it cannot be racked like a barbell or held at the chest the same way you’d hold a dumbbell (for example when doing a military press).

The safest, most effective rack position (a good rack can actually improve other lifts such as the jerk) is defined by several points:

• The correct hand position – the handle sits diagonally across your palm so that the pressure is on the heel of your hand and your wrist is neutral.
• The kettlebell rests between the biceps and forearm.
• The hand is close to the centreline of the body.
• The elbow has contact with the hip or body.
• The legs are straight (knees extended).

The rack position may look different on different individuals, depending on build, flexibility etc but if all of the above features are present then it is a safe rack position.

Some women with larger chests may have to modify their rack position slightly (yep, their rack gets in the way of their rack) and even men with very large pecs may find it difficult to get the above position.  To get around this, they may have to rack slightly more to the side, so the hand is away from the centreline of the body, but the hand shouldn’t come out any further than the armpit – as soon as it passes this point there’s too much stress placed on the shoulder joint.

Getting the elbow in contact with the body is difficult for some people, particluarly men, and requires work on hip flexor flexibility to bring the hips forward while keeping the knees straight.

The rack position can look quite extreme in some people, for example Marty below:

However, this rack position includes all the key points and is perfectly safe (provided the glutes are switched on to protect the lower back) as the weight of the kettlebells is actually being supported by the skeleton – as you can see the load is in line with the hip and ankle joints.

Lockout

Overhead lockout is really important as far as safety is concerned because when the kettlebell is overhead your shoulder is in a vulnerable position.

As the term implies, you want to lock out your arm (so the elbow joint is locked).  Anyone who is hypermobile should only go to anatomical lockout as going beyond what is a normal range of motion places too much stress on the ligaments.

A safe and effective kettlebell overhead lockout is defined by the following:

• Elbow is locked out (or at anatomical lockout)
• The bicep is roughly in line with the ear
• The chest is “leaning through” a little, so that the upper back muscles are engaged and the  kettlebell lines up with the hip and ankle (so that the skeleton is supporting the weight)
• Knees are locked (or at anatomical lockout)
• The shoulder is slightly internally rotated so that the palm is not running parallel to the torso – with a kettlebell if the palm is parallel to the torso the body of the kettlebell will be rotated over the top of the head, which is unsafe.
• The kettlebell should be completely stopped – if the kettlebell is not stabilised in this position and is moving around it places unnecessary extraneous pressure on the shoulder joint.

Some people do not have the shoulder flexibility/thoracic mobility to attain this lockout position.  If that’s the case, work needs to be done to improve range of motion before they attempt to get the kettlebell into overhead lockout. This is a great DVD for improving thoracic mobility.

In Summary

Avoiding injury is paramout in any training, and the above kettlebell training tips will help you ensure your training is safe and injury free.

Kettlebell training can be one of the most effective ways of increasing one or more facets of fitness, including strength, power, power endurance, strength endurance, cardiovascular fitness, mobility and agility.  However, there are some common mistakes people make with their kettlebell training that can lead to sub-optimal training or even injury.

Here are 5 of the most common mistakes people make with their kettlebell training:

1. NOT SEEKING EXPERT ADVICE.

This is a fatal mistake.  People think they’ve been weight training for a while, or that they’re a qualified personal trainer, therefore will automatically be able to know how to lift a kettlebell.

The kettlebell is very different from barbells and dumbbells.  The body of the kettlebell sits away from its handle, giving the kettlebell a displaced centre of mass.  This displaced centre of mass means the kettlebell behaves very differently to dumbbells and barbells, which have the weight evenly dispersed on either side of the handle.

For example, having the kettlebell handle sit across your hand in the same position a dumbbell handle sites is not only uncomfortable due to the displaced centre of mass, but is also dangerous as it puts a lot of unnecessary stress on the wrist.

There is heaps of information on YouTube about kettlebell lifting but you need to be really careful, most of it is rubbish. Below is a clip of someone putting themselves forward as some sort of expert, but their hand position is way off and clearly they don’t know what they’re doing:

So, seeking expert advice will get you off to the right start, or help you resolve any problems you’re having with your kettlebell training.

How do you know someone is an expert?  Well here are some questions you should put to them to see if they really do know their stuff:

a. Who have they trained under?

If there aren’t some genuine Eastern Europeans in this list, beware.  Experts such as Valery Fedorenko, Vasily Ginko, Pavel Tsatsouline and Steve Cotter all run courses that are reasonably accessible in the West, so if a trainer hasn’t trained under at least one of these, they haven’t gone far enough to get their knowledge.  Phil Kourbatski is a trainer in Australia, who has a background as a trainer in the Russian military, so is another name you should look out for.

b. How many years experience have they had with kettlebells?

The bells haven’t been here in Australia that long, but you’d want someone who has at the very least around 2 years intensive training experience with kettlebells.  This in and of itself is not usually enough, though, you need to be sure they’ve also sourced good information.

c. Correct hand position?

This is a dead give away, if a trainer doesn’t know the correct hand position, they have no clue.  The correct hand position involves having the handle diagonally across the palm of your hand, with all the pressure on the heel of your palm. This enables you to have a neutral wrist.  No other hand position is acceptable or safe with kettlebell training.

d. Different styles of kettlebell lifting?

A good kettlebell trainer will have a good understanding of the different styles of kettlbell lifting (eg the sport or “soft” style and hard style) and their applications, irrespective of the type of training you actually want to do.  If they’ve never heard of Girevoy sport, or don’t know how to apply its techniques, then you need to keep looking.

2. NOT SPENDING THE TIME TO GET TECHNIQUE CORRECT

It seems so simple and obvious, but this ties in with mistake number 1.  People often don’t seek out expert advice and they are so keen to get big numbers or lift ultra heavy that they rush into things and don’t take the time to get their technique spot on.

Good technique is vital, because it allows you to train safely.  Injuries are an athlete’s worst enemy, and can be a massive set back.  A torn rotator cuff or disc bulge could negate months of training.

Good technique will also allow you to get those big numbers or lift really heavy, shoddy technique will only limit you. Marty Farrell, below, only weighs a few more kgs than the bell he is lifting, but his attention to his technique allows him to outlift guys double his weight:

There is a really good article on why getting your technique correct with kettlebell lifting is so important here.

3. NOT REVIEWING TECHNIQUE REGULARLY

It is easy to pick up bad habits, particularly if you’re training alone most of the time.  Worse, you often don’t realise what mistakes you are making – what you think you’re doing and what you’re actually doing can be quite different.

Particularly with the more technical lifts such as the snatch and Turkish get-up, you should get your technique reviewed regularly to ensure no bad habits have crept in.  Reviewing your technique may also help you break through plateaus in your training.

Checking in with an expert every now and again is the best way to know you’re on the right track, there’s nothing quite as effective as having someone look at your technique in person.

Videoing yourself regularly is also really helpful.  You can often pick up on areas where you can improve once you can objectively review your own technique.

4. GUYS – OVERESTIMATING THEIR STRENGTH

Because the kettlebell is so different to conventional weight training tools, you will usually need to start with a weight that is lighter than you’re used to using.  Most guys will need to start with a 12kg or 16kg kettlebell to get their technique correct.

The displaced centre of mass means the kettlebell is harder to control and stabilise than a dumbbell.  Also, kettlebell lifting requires good thoracic spine mobility and shoulder flexibility, and most guys, particularly those who have done a lot of weight training, are tight in these areas.

So, put the ego aside and instead of making a bee-line for the 24kg or 32kg, drop the weight back and get your technique spot on first.  In the long run, it will enable you to lift heavier if that’s your goal.

As you can see, 16kg is plenty for most guys to start with (note the hand position – the bell handle should be much more diagonal so the pressure is on the heel of the palm).

5. WOMEN – THINKING THEY’LL GET BULKY SO NOT INCREASING THE WEIGHT

A lot of women think that lifting weights is going to turn them into great big muscly meat axes, so they start with a 6kg or 8kg kettlebell and they stick with it, refusing to lift any heavier.

The beauty of kettlebells is that they won’t make you bulky.  In fact, the best female kettlebell lifters in the world are usually between 60-65kg and they usually work with a 20kg or 24kg kettlebell.  The women in the below clips are extremely strong, but as you can see they aren’t even close to bulky.

Progressively increasing the weight you’re lifting is the only way to continue to get training effects from your workouts.  Your body will get used to the weight you start with reasonably quickly, and then it will stop adapting.  So if you want to continue to progress and reach your goals (whether they be goals for improved posture, weight loss, improved strength or improved cardiovascular fitness) you need to continue to challenge your body by lifting heavier weights.

So…

Training smart means getting good advice, striving to be a technically excellent lifter and progressing your training appropriately.

If you can avoid the common mistakes above, you will be sure to get the most out of your kettlebell training and you will reach your goals much faster.

For more information on kettlebell training you can go to our workshops website.

We get this question all the time at Australian Kettlebells: what’s the difference between the Pro Grade and Classic kettlebells?

The Number One Difference

The most noticable, and arguably the most important, difference between the Pro-Grade and Classic kettlebells is the standardisation of the Pro Grade bells versus the variation in size and shape of the Classic bells.

The standardisation of the Pro Grade bells means that they all look exactly the same, regardless of weight.  And having the same dimensions makes progressing with weight easier; once you have mastered the technique with one weight, that technique will transfer to the next and all you have to do is accommodate the weight difference. 

The Classic kettlebells vary in size, with the handles and bodies of the bell getting progressively bigger as the weight increases.  This means two things:

1) progressing to the next weight is more difficult because you will have to adjust your technique for a bell of different size and shape.

2) as handle size increases with the weight of the kettlebell, the heavier the bell the harder your grip will have to work, which is great if you’re after forearms of steel, but if you’re wanting the rest of your body to get a really good workout before your grip gives out then this isn’t ideal.

Comfort Factor

The Pro Grade kettlebell is the bell the Russians designed for competition.  Kettlebell sport competitions revolve around very high rep ballistic lifts, therefore the bell used must be as ergonomic as possible.

The Pro Grade bell has a body that rests very evenly across your biceps and forearm in rack position, making it very comfortable to rack – so even for heavy, low rep work the Pro Grade is the more comfortable bell.  The handle of the Pro Grade is optimal for the vast majority of hand sizes, and won’t blow your grip out like the fatter handles of the Classic bells.

The smaller Classic kettlebells (20kg and under) aren’t quite as comfortable to rack, and put a bit more pressure on the forearm.  Having said that, many women prefer to start with a smaller, less intimidating bell so prefer the Classic 8kg and find it more comfortable to use.

Flight of the Kettlebells

As mentioned above the Pro Grade has been designed specifically for high rep ballistic work, this means its size and shape have been chosen so it is very well balanced and moves beautifully through the air for ballistic lifts.  It also means it is the perfect bell if you want to try your hand at juggling – a fantastic way to strengthen up your connective tissue while having a bit of fun.

Getting a Handle on the Handle

The Pro Grade bell has a raw steel handle which is ideal for chalking.  If prepared properly, a chalked handle will give you just the right amount of grip without tearing your hands to pieces.  So if you’re into snatches or high rep swings, a chalked handle will allow you to get more reps out or lift heavier.

The Classic kettlebell is powder coated all over so the handle isn’t ideal for chalking.  The Classic is definitely suitable for most lifting, but isn’t great for high rep work.  And you do need to be careful with the powder coating because if you bang bells together, or drop one, and chip the paint on the handle and it can turn into a bit of a hand-ripper.

Anyone looking to specifically build their grip strength or grip endurance would be best grabbing the thicker handle of  a Classic kettlebell.

Steel vs Iron

The Pro Grade bell is made of steel, whereas the Classic is a cast iron bell.  This isn’t really a significant difference, steel is more durable than iron but you’d be hard pressed to break a Classic bell (they still come with a lifetime guarantee).  The raw steel handle of the Pro Grade, as discussed above, is one advantage of a steel bell.

So there’s a bit of a rundown of the differences between the Pro Grade and Classic kettlebells.  The Pro Grade bell is without doubt superior, but many people are more than happy with the Classic bells and find they meet all their training needs and for superhuman grip strength/endurance the Classic bell is actually preferable.

For more information you can check out the Australian Kettlebells website.

Hamstring injuries commonly occur with ballistic muscles actions. The sprinting and kicking involved in AFL often leads to hamstring injuries.

The swing is a great exercise to prehab hamstrings against injuries. It does this by:

Improving muscle balance: It is common to have stronger quads than hamstrings. This increases the chance of injury because the hamstrings have to decelerate the movement created by the quads. E.g. when kicking a ball your hamstring will be relaxing when your quads are working hard, then they have to switch on hard to prevents joint injury at the end of the movement. So if the quads create to much power for the hamstring there will be an injury.

Strengthening your glutes: Weak glutes also predispose you to hamstring injury because your hamstring will be over worked. The glutes powerfully extend the hip, as the hamstring also preform this action. Stronger glutes will reduce the load on the hamstrings.

Improving your fatigue resistance: the more fatigued you get the high chance to injury. The swing is a great power endurance exercise and the added bonus of strengthening your glutes also increase the hamstring fatigue resistance.

Strengthening throughout a full range of motion: kicking uses your hamstrings full length and injuries commonly occur at end range. Strength training increases strength an extra 5-20 degrees beyond the range of motion being used.

Build up the muscle elasticity: The swing involves fast movement using the stretch-shortening cycle. This helps build up the muscle elasticity which will also strengthen the hamstring against injury.

Ok, thats all well and good, but not all swing are the same. You need good form to get all the benefits of the swing. So if your swing looks like a squat or your rounding your back, it unlikely you will be getting the benefits I have listed. You should and get advice from someone that knows what their doing or good DVD.

Lots of people in the gym don’t pay enough attention to rest periods,  they just do the next set when they feel up to it.  Advanced lifters who know their bodies really well can get away with this, but for most people they might have a good or bad day at the gym and have no idea why.

Rest periods will greatly affect performance from set to set.  Your rest periods should be determined by your goals and workload.

If you’re trying to gain mass, shorter rest periods 30-90 seconds are better than 3-5 minutes rest.  Shorter rest periods will increase hormonal concentrations that help build muscle or burn fat.  However shorter rest periods increase the amount of fatigue and rest periods of less than 1 minute reduce force/power output by 12-44%.

So if you’re using a traditional approach short periods are not the best for building strength.  Full ATP re-synthesis takes 3-5 minutes, full phosphocreatine re-synthesis takes 8 minutes and after 2 minutes rest it will be at 84%.

This indicates that if you’re training for maximal strength or power you need at least 2 minutes recovery but 3-8 minutes is preferable to ensure there is enough energy to stimulate high threshold motor units.

Everyone knows the gymboss can be used for intervals, but you can also use it for rest periods. You can set it so an allocated time or rest period will reset each time.

Kettlebell training is taking off in a big way in Australia – faster than good kettlebell training information can be disseminated.  This is a bit of a worry because kettlebells are quite different to use than barbells or dumbbells (due to their displaced centre of mass) so the large body of information on these better known training tools cannot simply be adapted to kettlebells.

Never fear!  We’re here to help. We’ll be providing a series of articles on kettlebell training with some great tips that will help you improve your lifting, avoid injury and get the most out of your kettlebells.

The first lift we’ve got tips for is the kettlebell jerk.

It doesn’t get much better than Fedorenko’s jerk, his movement is so efficient that he makes a 60kg kettlebell look light.

What’s the kettlebell jerk good for?

The kettlebell jerk is a great exercise for so many reasons, here are just a few:

• It works your entire body
• It’s low impact and kind to the joints
• It places far less stress on the shoulder joint than presses, but makes for very strong shoulders due to the fact that it requires you to stop a rapidly moving kettlebell overhead
• It actually helps improve shoulder and thoracic mobility, as well as hip flexor flexibility
• It is great for developing explosive power

You should be able to jerk a lot more than you can press, which means that you can get more weight overhead, and getting heavy stuff overhead is one of the best ways to get your shoulders, back and core really strong and working together as a unit.

So how do you improve your kettlebell jerk and ensure it’s doing all of the above?

Kettlebell training tip # 1 – The elbow body connection in the jerk.

Make sure your elbow remains in contact with your body during the first dip.  If you watch an experienced lifter you’ll see that they bump their elbow off their hip (or body if they can’t reach the hip).  By doing this they are using their legs to power the movement.

Breathing out just before bumping the kettlebell off will help keep this connection between elbow and hip.  Also note that any hip flexion (bending forward at the hips) in the first dip will disconnect the elbow from the body.

As you can see with Vasil’ev’s jerks, his elbows remain connected to his body before he bumps the kettlebells off and during the first dip the hips remain extended.

In the above clip you can see that the lifter loses the connection between elbow and body.  This makes for a far less efficient movement, which means less weight can be put overhead in terms of either kettlebell weight or repetitions.

Kettlebell training tip # 2 – Fixating the kettlebell overhead in the jerk

Stop the kettlebell in overhead lockout and hold it there for a second (fixate it).  One of the great benefits of the jerk is that it will give you strong, stable shoulders without the stresses on the shoulder joint that grinds such as presses cause, but this benefit is only derived when you actually stop the kettlebell, if the bell’s wobbling around all over the place overhead it will have the opposite effect and create unnecessary stress on the shoulder joint.

Morozov is a great example of a lifter who stops the bells quickly and completely overhead in the jerk.

You might want to video yourself to make sure you’re actually stopping the bell and holding it for a second, it can feel like you’re doing this even when you’re not.  In the interests of not offending anyone else by picking on their fixation, I’ll pick on my own.  In the below video you’ll note the difference between how Morozov stops the bells quickly and distinctly compared with mine in this set.

These jerks aren’t terrible and they’re not dangerous, but they’re certainly not optimal and I’ve had to work quite hard on learning to hold the bell overhead for that moment longer to get good fixation.

Kettlebell training tip # 3 – Locking the legs in rack

Now this one may take some time.  Many people, men especially, don’t have the hip flexor flexibility to get this right away, but it’s worth working towards for a couple of reasons:

1) it will make your jerks more powerful because by going from straight legs to bent legs in the first dip you have created kinetic energy to power the first bump (when you bump the kettlebell off your body).  If you start with bent knees in rack you don’t get this or it’s significantly reduced.

2) keeping the legs locked in rack gives the quads a rest and allows them to recover between reps – and you want to take advantage of this because the quads should be the vast majority of the work in kettlebell jerks.

Marty Farrell has a very good rack position, as you can see his legs are very straight.

The above kettlebell training tips should help you tidy up your jerk technique and hopefully up your numbers or the weight you can lift.  And they’re not just for those who are into kettlebell sport, they’re applicable to anyone who wants a better kettlebell jerk.

To discuss kettlebell training and exchange knowledge you can visit the Australian Kettlebells forum.

For information on kettlebell workshops that will help improve all of your kettlebell training, including jerks, you can check out our workshops site.

Kettlebell sport is in its infancy in Australia, but with a core group of people working hard to promote it some momentum has been gained and we’re finally seeing some growth.

For those who don’t know, kettlebell sport is a power endurance sport involving long, timed sets of kettlebell ballistics.  Traditionally, it’s 10 min sets of kettlebell jerks, snatches or long cycle clean and jerk.  For men, most competitions involve biathlon (10 mins double jerks followed usually at least 30 mins laster by 10 mins snatches) and long cycle (double bells) events.  For women, there may be snatch only events or biathlon and long cycle events, at this stage all women’s events are carried out with single bells.  In competition sets the bells must not be put down, and for single handed lifts only one hand change is permitted.

On Saturday 27^th March Australia saw its biggest kettlebell sport meet to date: a whopping 7 competitors! Now in many other countries this sounds very, very small, but in Australia, where kettlebell sport has only really been accessible to people for about a eighteen months this was BIG.

The competition was held at Kettlebell Athletica in Melbourne. So big was the lure of the event that a couple of people even came from interstate to attend. One of the biggest problems with kettlebell sport in Australia is that our population is very spread out over a very large land mass, so it’s very difficult to get everyone together for a meet.

Paul Tucker (centre) came from Tasmania and Dave Tabain (right) came from New South Wales for the comp.

Even though we don’t take our kettlebell competitions too seriously at this stage (because we’re such newbies) and the aim of the game is fun and to hopefully get a PB, the competitors (including myself) were pretty nervous beforehand and anxious to get started.

Fellow gireviks hanging out and chatting before the comp.

We are trying to increase the standard of lifing in Australia by having formal judging, and this was the first competition where we tried this out (even handed out a few no counts for illegal reps). So with two platforms and two judges the comp was ready to roll.

Every competitor, without exception, gave it their all and most hit a PB on the platform. The spectators, most of whom had never seen a live kettlebell sport competition, were very quiet during competitors’ sets but gave hearty applause after. I don’t think any of them found it boring – ten minutes goes much faster when you’re watching!

The judges and time keepers.

Simon and Sarah on the platform.

Here are the results:

There were also some strongman demonstrations, some juggling and a kettlebell relay race to finish off the day.

We will continue to strive to improve the quality of kettlebell lifting in Australia and attract more competitors to our meets.

The original post of this article can be found at achyball.com.