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Kettlebell Direction of force in the swing

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Colby

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I was reading an article by Brett Jones talking about pushing through the ground during the swing, that the force is coming from the ground to come up,like a jump. At the bottom of the swing , should we be focusing on pushing into the ground or driving with the hips to project the bell foward?
 
The hips are the prime mover or power generator in the swing. There's an output of power from the hips through the chain that runs all the way to your hand. Every force has to have a reaction force. That reaction force is fed down your legs into the ground. If you don't lock your legs and the moment of kime, you will dissipate force. Driving your legs into the ground is a useful cue to make sure all of your hip power gets transferred from the bell to your feet.
 
Colby said:
At the bottom of the swing , should we be focusing on pushing into the ground or driving with the hips to project the bell foward?
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After the float (top of the swing), aggressively "hike pass" the bell back between your legs.

This aggressive movement will allow 2 important things to happen -

1) It will reflexively cue your feet to "grip the deck" and "spread the floor" to prevent you from falling backwards.
2) It will eccentrically load your entire posterior chain, turn your body into a loaded spring and prepare it to launch the next swing by driving the hips explosively.
 
Papa Georgio said:
The hips are the prime mover or power generator in the swing. There's an output of power from the hips through the chain that runs all the way to your hand. Every force has to have a reaction force. That reaction force is fed down your legs into the ground. If you don't lock your legs and the moment of kime, you will dissipate force. Driving your legs into the ground is a useful cue to make sure all of your hip power gets transferred from the bell to your feet.
Click to expand...
natewhite39 said:
After the float (top of the swing), aggressively "hike pass" the bell back between your legs.

This aggressive movement will allow 2 important things to happen -

1) It will reflexively cue your feet to "grip the deck" and "spread the floor" to prevent you from falling backwards.
2) It will eccentrically load your entire posterior chain, turn your body into a loaded spring and prepare it to launch the next swing by driving the hips explosively.
Click to expand...


I am just having a hard time with standing up with power and projecting the bell foward at the same time. In a deadlift or clean you stand up but you bring the weight vertical but with the swing the movement is the same but the power is directed in different direction.
 
Colby said:
I am just having a hard time with standing up with power and projecting the bell foward at the same time.
Click to expand...

Keep practicing, skills take time to develop.

Also, I didn't mention it in the previous comment, but you need to make sure you are practicing a biomechanical breathing match during the swing. If your breathing is weak or not timed correctly you will bleed power.

Check the StrongFirst website and YouTube channel for relevant articles / videos.
 
Colby said:
I am just having a hard time with standing up with power and projecting the bell foward at the same time. In a deadlift or clean you stand up but you bring the weight vertical but with the swing the movement is the same but the power is directed in different direction.
Click to expand...

Let me clear this up.

When talking about the deadlift or clean (I'm assuming you meant barbell clean here). The bar starts in front of the body and force is applied to it vertically, so of course the weight is moving vertically.

Now, with the kettlebell swing, when in the fully hinged postion at the bottom, the bell is physically behind you. Then, as you reach the standing plank, the bell is now in front of you (without any manipulation from the arms), so the bell is already moving in a forward direction, and will continue on that arc if not manipulated in some way; If not, then you're doing something to make that happen.

So yes, focusing on pushing the feet into the ground is the way to go.

And i must say, personally, that the idea/cue of projecting the bell forward has lead to a multitude of swing flaws in those I've worked with.
 
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Colby said:
I am just having a hard time with standing up with power and projecting the bell foward at the same time. In a deadlift or clean you stand up but you bring the weight vertical but with the swing the movement is the same but the power is directed in different direction.
Click to expand...
Like I said, the cue that Brett was mentioning was to meant to "ground" your hip power, not to provide a vertical force to propel bell upward. There's always debate about how much knee bend should be used during a swing. The purpose of the knee bending is to allow the person to get a good hip hinge with the hips as far back (not low) to produce a powerful snap to plank.

I can't remember who said it, but there's an analogy of the swing is very much like punching with your groin.

The hips power the concentric part of the swing. There should be no effort from the arms/shoulders to lift/project bell. The arms/shoulders do lock up to allow the energy from the hips to project bell to the point you hit the plank, then they should act as ropes to allow float.

As far as the eccentric portion, you will have to increase the tension in the whole chain to protect your shoulders and back as the bell approaches the bottom, then you can use your arms to pull the bell back (hike it) to chamber up your hinge again.

"projecting forward" is a cue to make sure your are powering the swing with the hips

"standing up" is a cue to make sure the hip power gets grounded properly
 
If grounded feet were not necessary for launching bell with maximum hip snap power then we should be able to effectively swing the bell standing on tiptoes (think golfer swing). I certainly cannot do that.

As for taking a relatively deep knee bend ala Pavel and Brett, I realized its true value when I started swinging the 32K. What I do not do is starting the knee bend too early and have the bell hike back at my shins level. I delay it until the bell hikes back just below my groin. Then I prime myself with a knee bend is if I plan to jump or push an opponent in front of me and launch the bell with maximal hip snap that definitely tries to sink my feet through the floor.
 
barrak said:
If grounded feet were not necessary for launching bell with maximum hip snap power then we should be able to effectively swing the bell standing on tiptoes (think golfer swing). I certainly cannot do that.
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+1

Grounding is so important, the role of the feet in rooting to earth is amazing.

If I have to swing in shoes, to get the same level of crispness and force, I have to drop my bell size by 4 kg.
 
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