Kettlebell Technique Standards (Part 1)

Good form matters.

…And bad form will cost a fellow in all sorts of ways. It’s the outward sign of carelessness, recklessness, and to a slender degree, stupidity.

Quality matters in movement as it does anywhere else. Grass fed is better than corn fed. Pasture-raised trumps McDonalds. 

Don’t move at the level of a Big Mac, if you can help it. 

Bad form is quite simply inexcusable. It cannot convincingly be explained as there are resources—barrels and barrels of resources—on how to not move like an ignoramus.

Cultivate a burning passion for beautiful movement and leave the serving of slop for cafeteria workers. 

Here are the standards I hold to three fundamental kettlebell movements.This is part 1.

1. Back is flat at all times (crown to coccyx alignment). This includes head and neck, naturally. I prefer a packed neck position (imagine trying to give yourself a double chin).
   
   
2. Hips go back (hinge), not down (squat). Hips remain somewhere above the knees but below the shoulders at all times.
   
   
3. Knees bend but do not go forward (shins should be vertical or very close to). At the bottom of the swing, your torso and legs form a < (less than sign), causing you to look like the mouth of pacman.
   
   
4. The hips power the movement. This is not a delt raise, dude. Hips and knees are to extend simultaneously and fully.

5. Stand tall at the top, but do not lean back.
   
   
6. The kettlebell may float to eye-level, but no higher than that. If you want to swing overhead, then just snatch, man.

7. Shoulders are to remain neutral (mild protraction), not sucked “down and back”, which typically causes one to flare the rib cage. Keep the armpits tight and the shoulders on the shelf.

8. Heel keep planted.

9. Diaphragmatic/Biomechanical breathing match

1. The one-hand swing should be near identical to the two hand swing, excepting only that it’s performed with one hand. All of the points above apply here, with the addition of the follow:
   
   
2. Minimize rotation as far as practicable. Meaning, both shoulders should ascend and descend at the same rate, or very close to. 
   
   
3. Working arm elbow is to stay locked at all times.
   
   
4. Shoulder is sucked backed. Don’t allow the bell to yank the shoulder forward. Keep the “armpit muscles” (lats) tight. Imagine you’re wringing a sponge in your armpit throughout the movement.
   
   
5. You may turn your thumb slightly in during the back swing, but otherwise keep the palm facing down. Very infrequently do I thumbs up a thumbs up swing. 

1. Remember, in a hinge you sit back, in a squat you sit DOWN. Pull yourself down between your legs, as if reaching your butt down for a curb.
2. Shoulder width stance (maybe a smidgen wider) and toes pointed slightly out.
3. Back stays flat at all times (watch out for tailbone tuck).
4. Hips should end below the knees (mobility permitting).
5. Knees may come forward, but must stay in line with the toes.
6. Heels keep planted.
7. Elbows come inside the knees, not on top of.
8. Diaphragmatic/Biomechanic breathing match.
9. No bouncing. Slow, controlled descent. Pause at the bottom. Explode up.

In the next post I will be covering the clean, the snatch, and the press.

Please let me know what other movements you’d like to see in the comment section.

Our Kiling It WIth Kettlebells November Certification (Nov 22, 23, 24) at The Dragon Gym in Exton, PA is now officially open for registration.

This certification is our way of helping people learn how to run a large group kettlebell bootcamp business.

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