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Kettlebell 32kg Swing Form Check/Early Hinge Problems

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shelwig

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Currently building up to sets of 10 on the 32kg swings.

First and foremost, I notice I am breaking too soon with the 32kg bell and am feeling it in my lower back. If anyone has any drills specifically to help with this, I would be extremely grateful.

Secondly, I am looking for any general critique of my form.

Right hand


Left hand


Thank you all, any help or feedback would be greatly appreciated.
 
I think you're overreaching slightly when initially grabbing the bell and therefore unable to corkscrew your shoulder and lock your lat.
 
Welcome @shelwig

I think your swing looks quite good. I actually don't see any hinging too early and I don't see anything that a towel swing will fix, but maybe Nate sees something I don't.

I agree with @CraigW that you're initially overreaching. When you set up, from your start position but before you hike the bell, drag the bell closer to you by contracting your lat and squaring your shoulders. Then hike.

The rest of your swing set has this same slight overreaching. Squaring the shoulders throughout the movement and locking the lat will correct it and tighten everything in for a smaller arc and tighter swing. This should also take some load off your low back.
 
Anna C said:
I actually don't see any hinging too early and I don't see anything that a towel swing will fix, but maybe Nate sees something I don't.
Click to expand...

Agreed, his swing looks good as is. I should have clarified that I was offering the towel swing as an optional drill to get a feel for when to hinge at the proper time should he need to use it. ?
 
I agree that I don't see anything that needs much attention in terms of an early hinge..

I do think I see why your lower back is taking the load..

On the upswing, your shoulder rises faster than necessary. Try driving your heels to the ground to start the movement
 
Mark Limbaga said:
I do think I see why your lower back is taking the load..

On the upswing, your shoulder rises faster than necessary. Try driving your heels to the ground to start the movement
Click to expand...

Ooh great catch, @Mark Limbaga, I see exactly what you mean when I watch the second video again. You're right about the fix, too... more leg power.
 
It appears to me that you are "overreaching" during your hinge allowing the KB to drop very low (handle below knees on most reps).

You can actually shorten your hinge a bit (don't overreach) and keep the KB higher in the groin and see how it goes.
 
Brett Jones said:
It appears to me that you are "overreaching" during your hinge allowing the KB to drop very low (handle below knees on most reps).

You can actually shorten your hinge a bit (don't overreach) and keep the KB higher in the groin and see how it goes.
Click to expand...

@Brett Jones I understand why the bell dropping below the knees is incorrect. I can keep the bell in my groin if I do a significantly shallower hinge, but if I do that I feel I am shortchanging the movement. With my 24kg bell, I am able to maintain the proper handle height WITH a full depth hinge. I have attempted several regressions with the 32kg such as hike passes and single "power swings" with resets in between to get a feel for the superior position.

Is it "correct" to trade-off depth for maintaining proper bell height?

Is the ability to keep the bell handle at a proper height a function of strength (seeing as I am able to maintain it with the 24kg but not the 32kg)? Or is this a technical point that I am losing sight of with the introduction of the additional KGs?

Though I have tagged Mr. Jones input from anyone would be appreciated, I simply figured he would be best able to comment on his own feedback.

Once again, I am very thankful for the feedback provided by you and everyone here. Thank you.
 
shelwig said:
Is it "correct" to trade-off depth for maintaining proper bell height?
Click to expand...
IMO Yes, especially if you are no longer experiencing back pain. Double KB swings have a shorter stroke due to the slightly wider stance and no one questions it so your situation with the 32kg would be a similar "trade-off."
 
I would agree with Nate that if you shorten the swing a bit and no longer have back pain then it is a good tradeoff.

Now—The key is to reconnect the arms to the ribs without hinging early—this will keep the KB higher in the groin—and then you can hinge deeper through the hips without the KB dropping too low.
 
How about the knee bend at the setup? I used to feel like my first rep was a bit unstable and it got much better when I added some knee bend. It seems to me that most experienced people have close to 90 degree angle.
 
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I appreciate the insights with regards to the knee bend - I believe I had been doing a proper amount of knee bend previously but somehow got it into my head that doing so was compromising the hinge position. From what I'm reading/inferring, as long as I am keeping hips above the knees and maintaining the other standards outlined by StrongFirst WITHOUT PAIN, I should be fine.

I'm going to cut swings from my training for several days and will come back fresh with a smaller bell and a finer eye for detail.
 
shelwig said:
Currently building up to sets of 10 on the 32kg swings.

First and foremost, I notice I am breaking too soon with the 32kg bell and am feeling it in my lower back. If anyone has any drills specifically to help with this, I would be extremely grateful.

Secondly, I am looking for any general critique of my form.

Right hand


Left hand


Thank you all, any help or feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Your swing looked good overall but you said it is bothering your back. I hesitated to comment because you are getting some feedback from experienced instructors.
Offering a critique is an opportunity for me to learn so I will go ahead with it.
I suspect some of the previous advice should solve your problem. If you keep your shoulder packed and your lat engaged and wait for the kettlebell to get close to your hips before you move them out of the way it could help keep kettlebell a little higher. Then it is easier to keep your forearm pressed against your hips or inner thighs. It looks like the kettlebell may be pulling downwards a little too much at the bottom and pulling your forearm away from your hips and inner thigh.
It looks like you are trying to pull the kettlebell upwards. Keeping it higher up when you swing could allow you to get more hip drive forward instead of having the kettlebell pull your arm down and slightly away from your body. Maybe you could practice it with two hands and really focus on getting that connection between your forearms and hips or inner thighs, then drive your forearms forward with your hips.
Perhaps if you kept the kettlebell closer and up higher you could focus more on hip drive and less on pulling your shoulders up.
Also, every time I moved up to a heavier kettlebell I felt like it was pulling my form apart a little bit just because of the strength issue. Then again maybe my form wasn't as good as I thought it was.
Best of luck,
Robert
 
Robert Noftz said:
Your swing looked good overall but you said it is bothering your back. I hesitated to comment because you are getting some feedback from experienced instructors.
Offering a critique is an opportunity for me to learn so I will go ahead with it.
I suspect some of the previous advice should solve your problem. If you keep your shoulder packed and your lat engaged and wait for the kettlebell to get close to your hips before you move them out of the way it could help keep kettlebell a little higher. Then it is easier to keep your forearm pressed against your hips or inner thighs. It looks like the kettlebell may be pulling downwards a little too much at the bottom and pulling your forearm away from your hips and inner thigh.
It looks like you are trying to pull the kettlebell upwards. Keeping it higher up when you swing could allow you to get more hip drive forward instead of having the kettlebell pull your arm down and slightly away from your body. Maybe you could practice it with two hands and really focus on getting that connection between your forearms and hips or inner thighs, then drive your forearms forward with your hips.
Perhaps if you kept the kettlebell closer and up higher you could focus more on hip drive and less on pulling your shoulders up.
Also, every time I moved up to a heavier kettlebell I felt like it was pulling my form apart a little bit just because of the strength issue. Then again maybe my form wasn't as good as I thought it was.
Best of luck,
Robert
Click to expand...
Just one more thing, you may want to look at the pictures in Kettlebell Simple and Sinister for the set up and the connection between the forearms and the inner thighs, as well as Pavel's depth in his hinge.
 
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