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Kettlebell KBM Form Check, Double Kettlebell Lifts

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Jared Anstett

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Hey everyone,

My name is Jared. Joined the forum the other day. I reached the Simple goal with the 32kg bell and decided to start Geoff Neupert's Kettlebell Muscle program. This is my first go-around with double kettlebell lifts (I went through the Kettlebell Strong! Technique DVDs prior) so I wanted to attach a couple of clips of my first week doing the program just to make sure I am not missing any cues before I get deeper into the program. I am using a pair of 16kg bells.

Personal Demographics: 24 years old, 164 lbs, 5'11"

I completed Week 1 yesterday and I failed to get 2 reps of the push press up on my last set of heavy day. My shoulders had fatigued and I may have not been driving enough from my legs. I've attached that video below as well. It was disappointing as I know the program gets harder every week, but I want to stick it through. Any advice would be appreciated!

Form check links:
Link 1 - DSW, DSN, SSP:
Link 2 - DCL, DMP, DHP:
Link 3 - DSQ, DPP:

Heavy Day (Week 1) - Last set (Failed Push Press):

My training log:
 
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NICE WORK, Jared!

You've mastered a lot of moves. The only thing I see that you could correct is a big chest in your rack position. This will help cleans, presses, and especially push presses. Make your collarbones wide, chest out, and squeeze your armpits. This will get the kettlebells tight to your body which will give you a more effective launch with the push press.

Other than that, I'd say just keep putting in the work! It will pay off.

Hopefully some KBM experts will chime in with some more input also.
 
NICE WORK, Jared!

You've mastered a lot of moves. The only thing I see that you could correct is a big chest in your rack position. This will help cleans, presses, and especially push presses. Make your collarbones wide, chest out, and squeeze your armpits. This will get the kettlebells tight to your body which will give you a more effective launch with the push press.

Other than that, I'd say just keep putting in the work! It will pay off.

Hopefully some KBM experts will chime in with some more input also.
Thank you for your input, Anna! I will be incorporating those adjustments for my next session.
 
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@Jared Anstett
Here are a few things I observe, some from a pure technique standpoint and some from a specific to KBM standpoint.

--I concur with Anna about your rack. Although you do want to be zipped up in the rack, you want to be able to support the bells in the rack with your structure and alignment, not just muscle power. The rack is your "rest" time in KBM. If you have to fight to support the bells with too much muscle power in the rack, you will fatigue a lot quicker and pausing in the rack won't give you any recovery between overhead reps.

--Pace yourself. You are rushing through your sets a bit, which causes the fatigue to build up without any recovery from rep to rep. Sets in KBM are not timed, so you are not trying to beat the clock. The tendency is to rush so you will not suffer as long, and if your heart rate and breathing are elevated, you get panicky and want to get it over with quicker. But a faster pace means more buildup of systemic and local muscular fatigue. A more deliberate pace and a more patient mindset will help you to complete each set more strongly.

You have to be especially patient at the beginning of each set when you are more fresh. The tendency is to go at a higher cadence when you are fresh because you can, and then keep a higher cadence when you fatigue because you want to outrace the fatigue and finish the set before you gas out. Slow yourself down at the beginning so you will have more left at the end, and slow yourself down at the end so you get a little recovery between reps.

Don't try to outrace fatigue -- use your pace to control it.

--Assess your overhead position. Just like with the rack, the more you can support the bell overhead with your structure and alignment, the less fatigued you will be. You will be able to use a pause overhead to recover and manage your fatigue. The more you have to fight to keep the bells overhead with muscle power, the more fatigued you will be. You will be forced into more of a touch and go lockout, instead of a solid fixation with a pause, which gives you no recovery with the rep.

An ounce of mobility is often worth a pound of strength in your overhead position.

--You are not getting any leg drive in your push press. Sets in KBM are diabolically designed to accumulate fatigue in your shoulders (and triceps). But your lifeline is the leg drive in your push press that lets you compensate for the shoulder and arm fatigue. Keep your arms locked down tight you your torso when you dip and drive. The weight of the bells should transfer into your torso and legs, not be supported by arm power. Keep your dip shallow and quick. Intuitively it may feel like a deeper dip will be more powerful, but it just slows you down and wastes energy.

Here's a key cue for me: During the drive phase, don't think about pressing the bells up with your arms. Think about keeping your arms locked DOWN to your body as long as possible.

The tendency is to start pressing out too early, so your arms get disconnected from your body. This not only wastes the power of the leg drive, but is actually more fatiguing because your arm muscles are absorbing a lot of the energy of the leg drive, instead it going to propel the bells.

Obviously, at some point you can no longer keep the bells locked down to your body. But you don't want to press the bells out of the rack. It's a ballistic lift, so you want to launch the bells out of the rack ballistically and then press out at the top. There should be float out of the rack and THEN the press out. So you have to find the right rhythm of tight (arms locked down to body during the leg drive), loose (relax your arms as you finish the leg drive and let the bells launch and float), tight (press the bells out at the top).

--Your clean looks a little grindy. You can use the same cue about keeping your arms locked down to your torso as you extend out of the hole on your cleans. Keep the bells locked down longer to your torso and you will get more power propelling the bells upward. The clean should be ballistic and the bells should float before you catch them.

--On the high pull, the form Geoff recommends is like a swing with a rowing motion. So you swing to chest level, and as the bells come up, you row them in (like you would in a seated cable row). The bells never get above your elbows. You are swinging the bell up to head height and pulling your elbows in under them. There are lots of high pull variations, but I really like the rowing one for double high pulls (I don't really like high pulls otherwise). Really pull your shoulder blades together, just like you would in a row.

--Finally, consider whether the bells are too heavy. Can you do 10 solid double MPs with them? You might want to go lighter or use this break-in plan that Geoff has recommended:
Keep the sets of KM the same for the
first 5-6 weeks.

Use the following rep scheme:

Week 1: 3 reps
Week 2: 4 reps
Week 3: 5 reps
Week 4: 4 reps
Week 5: 5 reps
Week 6: Off
Week 7: Break into true KM."
 
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Is it good? Yes it can be made better tho quoting master instructor Fabio Zonin

Squat a bit higher so your lower back does not round when you drop into the hole

Clean a little bit tighter in the rack "big chest" cue

For the dmp, dhp, dsn.. Really dig your heels to help you produce more force and stay tight..

What I'd recommend.

Defer KBM and do 2-3 movement complexes for now so you can further tighten up technique so when you return to KBM, you'll be able to maximize it more..
 
@Steve W.
Thank you for the detailed breakdown. This all makes a lot of sense. I like the idea of the break-in plan while focusing on implementing the cues and advice you provided me. This seems like a great start for me. I am going to think about my next steps over the weekend and decide whether to jump to the break-in plan or a different program to focus on building strength and technique. Thank you again for the instruction, I look forward to implementing this all in the future!

@Mark Limbaga
Thanks Mark, I appreciate your feedback and insights in regards to my technique as well as your recommendation. As mentioned above, I am planning to defer the actual program to either do the break-in plan or switch to a different program.

After finishing the Simple goal, I had originally envisioned going into ROP to strengthen my pressing before jumping into doubles/KBM. The reason I chose to pursue KBM first is that I want to put on some muscle mass before my wedding in 8 weeks and I don't have a Barbell at home. If I can't nail down the technique and/or strength in time to complete several weeks of KBM before my wedding, what would you guys suggest I do as far as programming to put on some muscle mass with the equipment I have? Appreciate this, thanks.
 
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@Steve W.
Thank you for the detailed breakdown. This all makes a lot of sense. I like the idea of the break-in plan while focusing on implementing the cues and advice you provided me. This seems like a great start for me. I am going to think about my next steps over the weekend and decide whether to jump to the break-in plan or a different program to focus on building strength and technique. Thank you again for the instruction, I look forward to implementing this all in the future!

@Mark Limbaga
Thanks Mark, I appreciate your feedback and insights in regards to my technique as well as your recommendation. As mentioned above, I am planning to defer the actual program to either do the break-in plan or switch to a different program.

After finishing the Simple goal, I had originally envisioned going into ROP to strengthen my pressing before jumping into doubles/KBM. The reason I chose to pursue KBM first is that I want to put on some muscle mass before my wedding in 8 weeks and look the best I can in my suit for the big day and I don't have a Barbell at home. If I can't nail down the technique and/or strength in time to complete several weeks of KBM before my wedding, what would you guys suggest I do as far as programming to put on some muscle mass with the equipment I have? Appreciate this, thanks.

I would go the route of dry fighting weight + lots of food or the total tension complex

If you run the ROP, compressed rest periods + lots of food will put on muscle to your frame
 
I would go the route of dry fighting weight + lots of food or the total tension complex

If you run the ROP, compressed rest periods + lots of food will put on muscle to your frame
Thanks Mark, I will take a look at the programs and make a decision soon. Right now, I am leaning towards Total Tension Complex first and then jumping into ROP afterward. It seems like building that foundation of full-body tension and "zipping up" will go along way for any program in the future.
 
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