Being unfamiliar or not properly and professionally trained with kettlebells, there is a need for a lot of “undoing” of previous ingrained movement and workout expectations. This transition includes everyone from the arthritic elderly to the military elite.
The primary goal in working with any program is, and should be, safety. This includes reducing chance of injury by re-wiring unhealthy, painful, inefficient movement and thereby successfully prolonging training periods. To do this, we must start at square one. When a child learns to walk, they do so in a fairly effective and efficient manner. They have no previous experience or memory of fearful mobilization. However, with a lifetime of inefficient or presumed quality movements, injury, strong survival instinct, and innumerable repetitions, the body quickly creates compensations to find the path of least resistance around pain and fearful experiences.
This manual will explain how to correct deep-seated compensations using simple, attainable, and easily understandable drills. The outlined supplemental drills are not only applicable to working with kettlebells but also to efficient athletic movement in all sports and ways of life, especially military and law enforcement.
I. Kettlebell Basics
Basics are best and masters are such because they have perfected and respect the basics. By studying a supreme athlete with a career spanning more than a decade, and reverse engineering his movement, joint by joint, we can easily see he has mastered and fundamentally applied the basics. This concept should not be overlooked in kettlebell training.
Of the ever expanding list of kettlebell exercises, the swing remains king. Although the swing looks simple, appearances are not what they seem. In fact, the fundamentals of the swing are underestimated and overlooked. Those that underestimate the swing are the same that lack superior results in nearly all other weight lifting and lifestyle movements. The most powerful component of the swing that is so commonly deficient could make your squat more powerful or even possible. The same element could eliminate pain in the low back, hips, knees, and ankles. Done optimally with intention, the swing will increase power and reduce pain across the entire body.
A. Swing
To the untrained eye or misinformed kettlebeller the swing appears to be a quad-dominant, squatting-type of movement, or the bell appears to be pulled up by the arms. Both assumptions could not be further from the primary biomechanics or purpose of the swing. Hips dominate movement in graceful athletes of any sport. Done properly and with proper intent, the swing is the unparalleled drill to tap into efficient hip-driven, athletic mobility.
Extensive "How To" and "Swing Variations," (such as one-arm swing, alternating hands swing, alternating feet swing) with accompanying pictures can be seen in my book.
B. Clean
Technique of the clean can be difficult to learn. The hike and hip snap portions of the clean are the same as in the swing. Finding the right amount of hip snap to launch the bell into the rack, or ‘v’ that the upper and lower arm make, takes some finessing however. Do not over power the swing or you will launch the bell with enough energy to bruise your forearm. Do not under power the swing either, or you will not have enough energy to transfer the bell to the rack. To bring the bell into the racked position, the upper arm must remain glued to the ribs.
"How To" & "Clean Variations" with accompanying pictures are available in my book.
C. Press
The press can be thought of as a squat for the upper body, strengthening the musculature and connective tissue in the arms and shoulders as the squat does for the legs and hips.
Pressing to lockout (when shoulders and elbows align) should not be discounted or underestimated. Modern western training believes lockout is “bad for the joints,” but this could not be father from the truth! When you fall down, you instinctively reach for the ground to stop and brace yourself. When you reactively do this, your shoulder and elbow joints will lockout. If you have not trained for lockout, especially under load, you will unavoidably cause great damage to the wrist, elbow, shoulder and rotator cuff because you have never before allowed your body to perform in a locked-out manner. Practicing to lockout intentionally and under control will create connective tissue strength and will prepare your brain and body successfully for a surprise lockout event.
Press "How To" and variations with accompanying pictures can be found in my book.
D. One-Leg Deadlift (“stiff leg”)
The deadlift is by far my favorite drill- kettlebell or barbell, one leg or two. It is ingrained into our genetic make-up. So to spite what mainstream would have you think, the deadlift should be in everyone’s training arsenal.
The best deadlift example to watch is any toddler. Children have not learned poor form. They execute a pristine deadlift of relatively exponential weight without any coaching. Their alignment is spot on from their feet to their knees up through their spine and out through the crown of their head. They hold the weight close to their body and mobilize their hips flawlessly to pull the weight from the floor.
Deadlift "How To" & Variations, along with more pictures, are available in my book.
Also find information, step-by-step "How To" & "Variations," as well as MORE accompanying pictures on:
Front Squats
Lunge-Style Get-ups
Overhead Squat-Style Get-ups
No-Hands Lunge-Style Get-up
No-Hands Overhead Squat-Style Get-up
Additional Notes on all the drills listed here & above
Common Errors & Quick Fixes for rounded backs during swings, quad-dominant swinging, hyper-extending the neck, excessive external rotation of the feet, knees & hips, raising the bell with the arms during swings, clean wrist banging, cleaning too high, disconnecting the shoulder during presses, locking out in front of the body on presses, losing balance during one-leg deadlifts, hyper-extending the wrist in get-ups, raising the leg during the initiation of the get-up, "falling through" on the get-down,
Supplemental Drills to Optimize these Basics such as the knee-to-armpit drill for stronger hip loading, hip extension bridge for stronger hip explosion, face-the-wall squat to understand squatting alignment, two-hand clean, bell carries, bone rhythms,
Simple Additional Drills such as:
Crush Curl
Crush Row
Hot Potato
Halo
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