Kettlebell avoiding quad mass during KB swings

[Abishai]

Hello all,
Is there any way to avoid working the quad during the KB swing?
I don't want bigger quads and find that the swing is adding mass to my quad.
I notice that most KB swing tutorials advise bending at the knees a lot....ends up being a cross between a hinge and a squat.
can I do swings with a minimal knee bend?
(I eat for mass for the rest of my body so eating less isnt the way I want to go about it.)

 

[Adachi]

fwiw - i can concentrate more on the Hip axis, glute/hamstring side if I back off the weight and focus on the chest shoulders going forward against the bell counterweight. the heavier i go, the less i can focus on this variant.

Also, Lower volume is an option and shorter sets with longer rest.

 

[Abishai]

fwiw - i can concentrate more on the Hip axis, glute/hamstring side if I back off the weight and focus on the chest shoulders going forward against the bell counterweight. the heavier i go, the less i can focus on this variant.

Also, Lower volume is an option and shorter sets with longer rest.

I hear that.
I am finding that my quads activate on the upswing when I lock out my knees

 

[Adachi]

I can 2H swing the 40kg bell for 10x10 these days. but minimizing knee involvement with the 24kg will cook my hamstrings really quickly.

 

[Suxatkettlebell]

I'm a little confused by your post. If I remember correctly, the swing is most definitely a hinge, primarily working the hamstrings and glutes. One of the marks of the Soviet soldiers was they had strong legs but not massive quads. If you're getting quad stimulus that I'd advise reviewing your swing technique and ensure you're hinging more than squatting. Or maybe switch to snatches?

Additionally, I am not sure how you are eating for mass for the rest of the body. If you have a caloric surplus, and you are stimulating the muscles with moderate activity, they are going to grow. If you want to minimize it, then maybe adding some activity with high-calorie demands, would minimize growth.

 

[Antti]

I'm surprised you can find the swing adding mass in the quads. To me the exercise is hip extension and the quads have little to do with it.

 

[Abishai]

I'm surprised you can find the swing adding mass in the quads. To me the exercise is hip extension and the quads have little to do with it.

long femurs short legs

 

[bluejeff]

I don't want bigger quads and find that the swing is adding mass to my quad.

How do you know it's the swings adding mass to your quads? Are you doing other leg work? Just because you might feel your quads in the swing might not mean it's the greatest contributing factor.

I eat for mass

If you are working your legs and eating for mass, then it stands to reason that your quads will probably grow.

 

[Abishai]

How do you know it's the swings adding mass to your quads? Are you doing other leg work? Just because you might feel your quads in the swing might not mean it's the greatest contributing factor.


If you are working your legs and eating for mass, then it stands to reason that your quads will probably grow.

I work my legs with pistols but never to failure and they have stayed the same for years until now.
I understand that eating for mass will do that. I am just wondering if I can avoid working that quad on swing

 

[John K]

I work my legs with pistols but never to failure and they have stayed the same for years until now.
I understand that eating for mass will do that. I am just wondering if I can avoid working that quad on swing

The short answer is no. The long answer is nooooooooooo.

 

[3letterslong]

I generally like a swing that works my quads, but I found Dan John's "throw the bell at your groin" technique really turned it entirely into a hinge for me, with no quad work whatsoever.

 

[Abishai]

The short answer is no. The long answer is nooooooooooo

I generally like a swing that works my quads, but I found Dan John's "throw the bell at your groin" technique really turned it entirely into a hinge for me, with no quad work whatsoever.

Sounds dangerous.
is there a specific article or book where he says this?

 

[John K]

@Abishai

Sounds dangerous.
is there a specific article or book where he says this?

Not using your quads places a non significant part of the load on your low back. Not recommended.

 

[3letterslong]

Sounds dangerous.
is there a specific article or book where he says this?

I can't name a product, but he talks about it all the time as a cue to load the hips. I never knew when to fold to isolate the hips, but this cue had me folding at the very last minute.
It's not dangerous, you WILL get your crotch out of the way.

 

[Steve Freides]

Hello all,
Is there any way to avoid working the quad during the KB swing?

Please post a video of your swing.

I notice that most KB swing tutorials advise bending at the knees a lot.

Not ours.

Please post a video of your swing.

-S-

 

[John K]

Not ours.

I'd disagree. SF-style swings do require a good bit of a knee bend, which means that on the up there's a good bit of knee extension, which means that there is a good bit of quad use. Swings will differ person to person, but they all use knee bend. I think Brett's article linked below is a great example of the hinge - and you can see the amount of knee bend is not insignificant.

And, again, depending on one's proportions, there will be quite a bit of knee bend in a deadlift as well. There are variations in deadlifts designed to minimize the quads where you deadlift with almost entirely (or entirely) straight legs, but these are specific variations.

Of course I suppose it depends on how you quantify "a lot" when it comes to bending the knees... but at least when I was at my cert we didn't encourage the drinking bird style swing, and in the recent instructor article Rich (who actually was my partner at my cert!) talks about how not bending the knees enough sets you up for a low back injury. I won't link that one as it is an instructor article, but last I saw it was the most recent article. He (Rich) talks about the need for leg drive out of the hole (of the swing) which I totally agree with based on my experience, and that necessitates not only knee bend but quad use.

Brett's article for reference. Especially for picture illustrations. @Brett Jones feel free to tell me I'm misunderstanding or misappropriating.

Is That a Squat or a Hinge? | StrongFirst

I received a response on one of my Instagram posts showing some 40kg one-arm swings that first made me chuckle and then made me think. “Squat more than a hinge…The kettlebell is too heavy for you…Build up to it, you’ll get there.”

www.strongfirst.com

 

[Steve Freides]

SF-style swings do require a good bit of a knee bend

My comment was in reply to what we talk about in our "swing tutorials" - this does happen, of course, but it's not our focus, and I believe that's an important distinction.

-S-

 

[Brett Jones]

@John K and @Steve Freides—I would say you are both correct. ;-]

To the OPs question—how have you tracked or measured an increase in Quad mass/size?

Without video of your swing I don't know how to guide you.

You could use a more stiff legged style but I treat that as a variation to visit instead of a main style.

 

[Steve Freides]

I just reread @Brett Jones' article rewatched the videos. (Great stuff, of course, as we've come to expect from our DOE.) I'd add one more category of variable to the different kinds of swings Brett discusses: size of human, size of bell, strength of human, limb lengths of human. For me, those are: short, moderate up to heavy, not weak (2.5 x bw deadlift), and long torso + long femurs.

I can demo a variety of swing types with moderate-for-me weights, but lately I've been doing 2-hand swings with 48, 56, and 64 kg bells. There ain't a whole lot of variety my 70 kg body can demonstrate when I swing a 64 kg bell to parallel. And I know my posterior chain is stronger than my quads, and that imbalance might figures in here, too.

-S-

 

[Antti]

I'll go ahead and compare the swing to a good morning or a Romanian deadlift. Would you ever consider either the RDL or the GM a quad exercise with the potential for quad hypertrophy? I wouldn't with the swing either.

When it comes to quad use, I want to see the knee travel well forward and the hips to clearly descend. Neither of those are something I try to do in a swing. I flex the hips, I extend the hips.