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Kettlebell Newbie

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Thank you I will definatley check these out!

pet' said:
Hello,

Maybe a little out of the OP but, losing weight is also something which takes place in our plates:
Here are links about intermittent fasting, ketonic diet, fat & carb threads on the forum:
Mixing Carbs and Fat. Good or Bad?
Your Warrior Diet Feasts
Diet with S&S H
Low carb paleo PWO meal?
The Warrior Diet
Carbs after training
Time Restricted Feeding (TRF)
Timing of training with IF
Warrior Diet Newbie
I started IF

Kind regards,

Pet'
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@GregMatt, welcome to the StrongFirst forum, and congratulations on choosing S&S.

Best if you could post a video of yourself doing some things from S&S - even better if you can see one of our instructors in person or take our kettlebell course.

-S-
 
Well today is the first day I actually went over some of the movements from the book. I actually didn't do a whole S&S workout, I just wanted to get a feel of the bell. I started out with a 12kg bell cause my 16kg hasn't arrived. I did swings and I tried to do a TGU with the 12kg and wow , I couldn't do it, I couldn't even make it to the forearm so I might be sticking with the shoe for a little while

Form check (be nice this is my first time with a kettlebell lol)
 
Hey @GregMatt, welcome here to the forum. That is great that you have chosen S&S...It will give you a good base towards as lot of other KB things.

Regarding your video ( I am not an instructor, and don't have access to the Kindle copy of the book I own)...I believe there is a part that talks about finding a good hip hinge and having the KB between your feet and just standing up with it. I know one thing that helped me when I started was standing a foot or so from a wall and just thinking of a stick on my back and shoulders and back of the head, and keeping the stick in contact with all of that, while folding at your hips and sticking your butt toward the wall. You could even hold a broomstick over your shoulder in all those contact points. You do have a bit of a hip snap going but if you slow your vid down you can see your arms lift up after the hips come forward. Thinking sending the bell forward with your hips and your arms are just hooks....no shoulders to lift it. Clench your glutes hard, and pull your kneecaps upwards to tighten your quads but do not forcefully snap your knees backwards (hyperextension) Once you master the hip hinge and drive forwards, even if it is bodyweight only, then a heavier bell like a 16kg might help you not use your arms so much



Don't worry about doing getups with bodyweight and a shoe at first..Better to master the motor pattern without weight, and have control first.

That's great you posted. Like you, we all started somewhere once. Welcome aboard.
 
Thank you for the advice!

crazycanuck said:
Hey @GregMatt, welcome here to the forum. That is great that you have chosen S&S...It will give you a good base towards as lot of other KB things.

Regarding your video ( I am not an instructor, and don't have access to the Kindle copy of the book I own)...I believe there is a part that talks about finding a good hip hinge and having the KB between your feet and just standing up with it. I know one thing that helped me when I started was standing a foot or so from a wall and just thinking of a stick on my back and shoulders and back of the head, and keeping the stick in contact with all of that, while folding at your hips and sticking your butt toward the wall. You could even hold a broomstick over your shoulder in all those contact points. You do have a bit of a hip snap going but if you slow your vid down you can see your arms lift up after the hips come forward. Thinking sending the bell forward with your hips and your arms are just hooks....no shoulders to lift it. Clench your glutes hard, and pull your kneecaps upwards to tighten your quads but do not forcefully snap your knees backwards (hyperextension) Once you master the hip hinge and drive forwards, even if it is bodyweight only, then a heavier bell like a 16kg might help you not use your arms so much



Don't worry about doing getups with bodyweight and a shoe at first..Better to master the motor pattern without weight, and have control first.

That's great you posted. Like you, we all started somewhere once. Welcome aboard.
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It's in the middle of the night here in Germany and I can't sleep...so here you go.

Slow the video down to 0.25 speed and you'll see a lot of the things I'm going to talk about.

Here are a few things that caught my eye and that you need to work on (not all at once, but one thing at a time):

1) Your back is rounded in the starting position.
---> Bend more at the knees, get your butt lower. Do power swings (starting position -> one swing -> back to starting position; vid at the bottom)
1.jpg

2) Your arms lose contact with your torso before you finish your hip drive -> you don't transfer the power of your hip drive into the KB, instead you lift it with the arms/shoulders.
I tried to show that in the picture below. The red lines show that you didn't finish the hip drive (otherwise it would be one straight red line from the head to the feet), but there's already space between your arms and the torso (shown in blue).
---> Try towel swings (vid at the bottom)
2.jpg

3) On the downswing you hinge back way to early. With a heavier KB that can be dangerous for the lower back, because you're not absorbing the forces with your hip, but instead with the lower back.
Look at the picture, she just started her back hinge with the KB almost hitting her between the legs. You on the other hand have hinged back more than her despite the KB still being far away from your body.
---> Play chicken with the bell. Stay in the plank as long as you can and only start to hinge back when your arms touch the sides of your ribcage.
3.jpg

---continued below---
 
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4) You're shrugging up your shoulders and let the KB float up way to high (It's almost an American swing).
I think both happen, because you don't properly pack your shoulders (-> pull it into it's socked) and don't properly engage the lats.
In the picture you see the different space between your shoulders and your ears. The space doesn't change in a proper swing.
---> ***Hopefully someone knows a good drill to teach this. Please tell him!***
4.jpg


IMO your doing fine and just need some fine tuning.
I'd also recommend a heavier KB, because the 12 seems to be way to light for you.
----------------------------------------------------

Power Swings:


Towel Swings:


Also IMO this is a video showing a very good swing:
 
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@Kettlebelephant for point 4 that you made, about shrugging...with your initial setup and reaching to grab the kettlebell, perhaps a useful cue could be to visualize chest tall, tucking the tips of the shoulder blades into your back pockets, while turning the crooks of the elbows up at the same time (a "break the kettlebell handle" with your hands sort of motion) and focusing on keeping that through the swing especially at the top.
 
Thanks all.... I'm gonna try all this tonight.... I'm waiting to get my 16kg bell in the mail on Friday... that video was the first time I ever touched a kettlebell... as for the Turkish get up I tried with a 12 kg and I couldn't even get to the forearm... I think I need to practice more with a shoe or even a lighter weight (maybe 8kg) is this normal ????
Also any more pointers on my video would be awesome
 
GregMatt said:
Thanks all.... I'm gonna try all this tonight.... I'm waiting to get my 16kg bell in the mail on Friday... that video was the first time I ever touched a kettlebell... as for the Turkish get up I tried with a 12 kg and I couldn't even get to the forearm... I think I need to practice more with a shoe or even a lighter weight (maybe 8kg) is this normal ????
Also any more pointers on my video would be awesome
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No harm using a shoe! Can you imagine or have some sort of a pole, or even laying on the floor near a door frame, that you can lay with your arm at the proper angle for starting a getup? put your fist/shoe overhead, and pick a spot on the ceiling above it, With your other hand "pull on the pole" or door frame while you push the shoe towards the ceiling. For your feet, with the extended leg have your foot flexed with toes towards the ceiling and glute clenched, and with bent leg push your heel into the floor.

Here are some good videos...there are some getup points on the first page, from an SFG instructor

Martine Kerr, StrongFirst TL (@kult_fitness) • Instagram photos and videos
 
As a beginner, I echo the above recommendations to use a shoe. I could barely do a get-up with just a shoe at first, so I didn't want to risk dropping a 16-kg 'bell onto my already homely mug. You're almost certainly strong enough to do a get-up with a kettlebell , but in the few weeks that I've been doing get-ups, I've found that learning technique is really, really important.
 
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Another reason to ease into training (and start with a lighter 'bell) is tendons. Our tendons take more time to get stronger than do our muscles, since they aren't fed by the blood supply as quickly as are our muscles. The first time I tried to do a set of one-hand swings with a 24-kg 'bell, the tendons in my forearms were a little sore. I took that as a signal not to push things too fast.
 
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Greg, another tip I've learned from others on this forum and elsewhere involves the change of direction at the bottom of the swing. If we start the next swing too soon, the kettlebell will flip upwards in our hands (which I think I can see occuring in your video); if we start it too late, the kettlebell will drop downwards (unless we're squeezing the handle too tightly). Think of the kettlebell as a bucket full of water; we don't want to spill water at any point during the swing, which requires that the changes of direction at the top and bottom of the swing occur smoothly.
 
Thanks for all the great information!!! I'm gonna try to fix my form... this forum is great and supportive... I did starting strength for a little while and the forum over there was not as supportive... I'm hoping my 16kg will arrive in the next few days cause I feel like the 12kg is too light. As for TgU I'm gonna focus on form with a shoe for a little while
 
After getting the form down with a shoe what was the next weight you moved up too on TgU?

Smile-n-Nod said:
Greg, another tip I've learned from others on this forum and elsewhere involves the change of direction at the bottom of the swing. If we start the next swing too soon, the kettlebell will flip upwards in our hands (which I think I can see occuring in your video); if we start it too late, the kettlebell will drop downwards (unless we're squeezing the handle too tightly). Think of the kettlebell as a bucket full of water; we don't want to spill water at any point during the swing, which requires that the changes of direction at the top and bottom of the swing occur smoothly.
Click to expand...
 
GregMatt said:
After getting the form down with a shoe what was the next weight you moved up too on TgU?
Click to expand...
The only 'bell I had was 16 kg. But, since I had spent a lot of time learning the TGU, the weight wasn't difficult. Since you have a 12 kg (if I remember correctly), play with that for a while; if you can still do get-ups comfortably with it, try the next size up. Just make sure you can control whatever weight you choose using good technique so you don't hurt yourself.
 
Not an SFG trainer.

Just use the shoe and focus on making perfect movement. Watch the various SFG coaches doing demos on YouTube and instagram for tips as well as read S&S. There can be a lot of chaos in learning the move and the shoe more or less forces you to keep everything under control. Consider keeping the shoe as your default weight until you can do 5x1 on both sides without the shoe falling off once in a span of 10 minutes. This may seem like a waste of time as you can spend weeks or longer working on this but it will be helpful and reasonably safe, if you screw up you get a shoe. If it takes weeks or months then its time well spent. The get up is a full body tension move with a lot going on thats very different than just about all over weightlifting moves. It takes time getting used to.

Instead of the swing work out the mechanics with a kettlebell deadlift. I recommend this video I would practice this hinge pattern multiple times a day and just get used to moving in this way.

When you are ready to swing be critical of very little detail. Watch these videos by Super Woman Karen Smith Master SFG demonstrating the set up and execution of the swing. Don't try to wing it yourself.

Part 1 -
Part 2 -
Part 3 -
Part 4 -
Part 5 - Karen Smith Master SFG - Step 5 Hardstyle swing tutorial



Also don't neglect the prying goblet squat.
 
@GregMatt : if possible, try to find an SFG instructor in your neighborhood. He/she can fix any of the above mentioned problems faster than you finding it out on your own. He/she will also be able to give you some good pointers to execute a proper swing.
 
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