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Kettlebell Kettlebell grip

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Stephen Reynolds

Stephen Reynolds

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Is it permissible to hold the kettlebell wat the point where the horn meets the handle for swings, get ups, cleans, presses and snatches?
 
I hold it a little off center (towards the pinky side) when I do 1H swings in order for it to clear my leg more easily. One thing to bear in mind is that keeping the handle aligned with the left/right axis aids in power production and keeping the shoulder packed. In kettlebell sport, the 'bell does a lot of rotating in order to keep things as efficient as possible, whereas hardstyle focuses on maximal power output, and therefore minimizes (though doesn't eliminate) rotation. If you grip the handle off center, especially towards the thumb side, the bell tends to rotate. So it depends on your goals.

For presses and get ups, you may be a little off center for the sake of comfort, but you need to be able to squeeze the handle really hard.

@offwidth has a valid question. Sometimes you can compensate for weak grip by gripping towards the thumb side like they do in GS, but unless you're training for GS, I think you would be better off just strengthing the grip.
 
Hello,

@Stephen Reynolds
Stephen Reynolds said:
Is it permissible to hold the kettlebell wat the point where the horn meets the handle
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Why do you want to do that ?

I think you will have some issue to maintain a good weight balance. Potential bell rotation due to this grip will also fatigue your wrists. I would avoid it.

Just my 2 cents of course because I am not a kb pro ! ;)

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
I hold a bit off centre for TGUs. My most common TGU failure is the bell rolling round the forearm and a loss of stability.

Grip position seems to influence that, for me anyway
 
Hello,

Yes that is true. The bell form seems to also have an influence. Some have "flat" sides, other have not. Flat size bells are a little easier to maintain (IMO)

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
krg said:
I hold a bit off centre for TGUs. My most common TGU failure is the bell rolling round the forearm and a loss of stability.

Grip position seems to influence that, for me anyway
Click to expand...

For get ups that is why I hold the horn near handle religiously. I just find the bell stays firmly planted better.
 
For reference sake, do we have a Strongfirst produced "How to Grip a Kettlebell video"?
 
Hello,

@Mark Kidd
I am not part of SF staff but I never saw something like that albeit it could be useful.
I found that, but is not about kettlebell grip only:



Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Hello @pet'

I have seen the standards video. I have seen the swing video. I didn't recall either going into great detail about grip, which was why I was wondering if people were getting too caught up in nit picky details.
 
I like the offset grip with the web of the thumb as close to the horn as possible. The bell rests further down my forearm, and the handle covers more of the hand and rests on the heal of the palm, triggering more receptors aiding in force output.
 
Well Geoff I must admit I've never experimented with that. It seems counterintuitive to me. But I will give it a shot and see what happens.
 
@offwidth For swing variations I KB hookgrip the handle as close to the inside horn as possible, so when I snatch or clean the handle placement in the hand is where I want it in the rack position. On the backswing I rotate the bicep pointing the thumb back, avoiding the handle contacting the inside of the thigh.
 
Geoff Chafe said:
@offwidth For swing variations I KB hookgrip the handle as close to the inside horn as possible, so when I snatch or clean the handle placement in the hand is where I want it in the rack position. On the backswing I rotate the bicep pointing the thumb back, avoiding the handle contacting the inside of the thigh.
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Thanks for the pointers...
 
Geoff Chafe said:
That is what I discovered works best for me
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+1

I have gone through so many different setups of my grip and I think the process of finding what works for you is a valuable learning process. Everyone will grip a beast differently to a 16kg out of necessity unless they are very very strong, and each exercise will likely demand a slightly different grip.
 
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