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Off-Topic Interesting article on the KB Swing I found a bit ago

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ShawnM

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I found this article on another site and were wondering what your thoughts might be.
 
I agree on the full hip extension/ eccentric part for the lower half for sure compared to the olympic lift. I work with throwing athletes, and I love what the KB swing offers. I'm a little over-cautious about the catch portion of the oly lifts with these athletes - I see it as a risk to the wrists. The value of catching heavy weight (oly lift or KB clean) is great for contact sports, but not an issue in baseball.

I'm actually torn on whether to train additional power exercises closer to the heavy end of the strength/speed continuum for that population. I've experimented with some DB jumps (don't have access to trap bar), but haven't done much oly lifting. Debated doing heavy high pulls, but haven't figured out a good way to program them in yet.
 
I don't like the tone of the article and there are some other issues for me.

The kettlebell ballistics is where I would start to coach the power exercises. They're great.

However, I don't see anything wrong with the olympic lifts. They're the gold standard. They've served a massive amount of athletes well all across the world.
 
I don't like the tone of the article and there are some other issues for me.

The kettlebell ballistics is where I would start to coach the power exercises. They're great.

However, I don't see anything wrong with the olympic lifts. They're the gold standard. They've served a massive amount of athletes well all across the world.
I agree 100% with you. The heavy swing is great to teach the hip hinge, I just can't see replacing the Olympic lifts.
 

I found this article on another site and were wondering what your thoughts might be.

I think the article has a lot of good points and I agree with most of it. And, I say that as someone recently into Olympic Lifting.

As Scott Iardella says in his book, "The Edge of Strength", "If you're a kettlebell enthusiast, you may be thinking it will be easy to learn OL. I want to be honest with you: it's a hard transition." Yeah... I can attest to that. ROFL It is really quite different in so many ways.

But relative to the article, I guess the question is, which is more likely to benefit someone who is learning and performing either kettlebell swings or OL for the purpose of building general athleticism or to improve their other sport? In that case, there are MANY factors to consider for any one trainee, but the article brings up some good points and describes how the choice can often come out in favor of kettlebell swings.
 
@ShawnM thanks for sharing!

Interesting to read such an opinion outside of SF.

The horizontal hip power projection for various sports reminds me of Pavel’s article below, although most people here would be familiar with it

 
@ShawnM thanks for sharing!

Interesting to read such an opinion outside of SF.

The horizontal hip power projection for various sports reminds me of Pavel’s article below, although most people here would be familiar with it

Thanks, that was a great article! It's funny, when I started doing daily 2 hand swings with a 32 years back, my running improved greatly.
 
I don't see anything wrong with the olympic lifts. They're the gold standard. They've served a massive amount of athletes well all across the world.
I think we'd all agree. The Olympic lifts do, however, have a higher skill requirement, and they require more mobility and at least some strength. Part of the beauty of the kettlebell swing is that we can teach it to almost everyone, well enough that they can perform it safely and effectively (even if not perfectly) in an afternoon.

The article says, near the beginning, "For most people, most of the time, a simple kettlebell swing is a better power movement than any Olympic lift derivative," and I think that's also true - it doesn't really conflict with what you're saying, Antti.

-S-
 
Sorry, I meant in what way did it help your running? :)
When I was able to run before my knees went out I was really using my backside and hamstrings. The high rep swings really helped me bring those parts up. The higher rep and more rounds built up my cardio base. This higher level of cardio helped me knock out my 1.5 mile run for my Navy PFA with an average time of around 10:30. Not blazing speed but not bad for a 6' 240lbs 45 year old at the time. The extra cardio really helped my BJJ as well. I find I get much more out of high rep 2 hand swings with a heavier bell than I do with 1 hand swings. I'm working on re-building my cardio using the From Simple To Sinister Endurance program that I just started. I'm waiting on a 48kg bell, once I finish the current program and get the new bell I'm going back to near daily 2 hand swings for sets and rounds of ten.
 
When I was able to run before my knees went out I was really using my backside and hamstrings. The high rep swings really helped me bring those parts up. The higher rep and more rounds built up my cardio base. This higher level of cardio helped me knock out my 1.5 mile run for my Navy PFA with an average time of around 10:30. Not blazing speed but not bad for a 6' 240lbs 45 year old at the time. The extra cardio really helped my BJJ as well. I find I get much more out of high rep 2 hand swings with a heavier bell than I do with 1 hand swings. I'm working on re-building my cardio using the From Simple To Sinister Endurance program that I just started. I'm waiting on a 48kg bell, once I finish the current program and get the new bell I'm going back to near daily 2 hand swings for sets and rounds of ten.

I get you! Sounds like a pretty good assistance exercise if it helps you crack out a 7min mile!
 
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