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Old Forum My Beast Swings

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Steve Freides

Steve Freides

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I present myself swinging the 48 kg bell, 2-handed, for 7 sets of 6 reps on the minute.  You all are invited to comment and critique.  I have my own ideas about what's good and not - curious to hear what others will say.  I weigh 69 kg or 150 lbs.

<a title="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uZxq251ytw" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uZxq251ytw">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uZxq251ytw</a>

-S-
 
Wow, thats swinging 70% of bodyweight. Thats quite the feat. Looks solid too imo :)
 
I agree with Rickard. To my untrained eye your swinging well.  I love swings on the minute  two handed. Do you plan on going past 7 minutes eventually? Overall very cool.
 
Cliff, I vary my swings - along the lines of Dan's suggestion of rolling dice but I do it by feel instead of by prescription, if you will.  My last three sessions have been 3 sets of 5 on the :60, 4 sets of 5 on the :45, and today, 7 sets of 5 on the :60.  I'm not into cardio - I just do these because I like them - they're great for all the reasons swings are great and I always feel better, and less stiff, the next day if I do these at the end of a PL-focused workout.  I try to stop when I feel the next set would be lousy and there's enough variety in that to keep my sets and reps different every session.  If I'm beat and I don't feel like I've got even one good set in me, I just don't do them.

Don't be too impressed by the weight - some folks here are swinging _more_ than bodyweight.

-S-
 
Nice work Steve.  Can't wait to see you snatch it.  By the way, I enjoyed your article last week.
 
Thats good stuff Steve. Wouldn't mind seeing the bell come up another 4-6", like shoulder to eye level, which would require a little stronger snap. Form on these is perfect, which of course I would expect from you, but try 5 on the minute with your arms getting parrallel to the floor.

Not many guys could do this without throwing themselves into the wall in front of them.
 
The only thing I could see to critique is that you are looking down at the bell when it peaks out, which puts your noggin out of alignment with your spine.
 
Steve,
Since we are much smaller than most SFG's (I weighed 142 today) I had to swing the 48kg a few times (3x5) to watch my swing mechanics with such a heavy % of BW.  (I have to work on waiting a little longer for the bell on its down swing.)
In the video it appears that your feet are not as grounded as they could be and you are not allowing the bell to load your hips as effectively as you could. By setting a solid foundation it may allow you to better stabilize such a heavy load and get deeper in your swing. If that doesn't work, possibly working on driving the bell behind you harder in order to sit further back in your hinge. Hope this helps you as much as you have helped me with my technique.

P.S: I am not sure if you previous back injuries effect your swing, so everything I wrote may not apply to your particular situation.
 
Steve,

Some of what is in the video is just compensation for swinging  a large percentage of BW

However - it is a lot of knee snap without hip finish and leading with the shoulders on the way up instead of the hips
 
Thanks, everyone - I really appreciate the feedback.  The finish of the movement is what I see and it's what Brett, Bill, and Ricardo are all talking about.  Pavel observed that I have the same issue in my deadlift, a strong start but then I stop pushing.

I experimented with this, away from weights, at the end of the day yesterday and again this morning.  Yes, as Ricardo suggests, I think it does have something to do with my back - fixing it hurts, to put it plainly.  But over the years, I have learned which kind of pain I can work with, and I believe this is the kind that, with a careful and considered approach to changing form, will yield both a better functioning, less painful lower back  and better swing form, a win/win combination if ever there was one.

I will continue to try to improve, and I will post an update next week after I've had a couple of swing sessions to try to work on this.

Thank you all again.

Steve Freides, StrongFirst Team Leader
 
Steve,

I'm in the same boat, about the same bodyweight, previous back injury and for me, the first year I can actually TRAIN the two hand swing. It's a different animal when it gets to 70% of BW that's for sure.

I find I really have to stay back on the heels at the top and HOLD the glutes tighter, longer than with any other bell ( except , it seems, heavy doubles- about the same feel)
Here's my power swing variation with the Beast. My first go round with this.
It's easier and harder than regular ballistic swings. Easier in there is less force to reduce on the eccentric,Harder because there is no help from stretch reflex:))

My cat's making a lot of noise in the background, just realized that.Lots more practice that's for sure.

Rif
 
If I may - if pure strength is the goal, would "power swings" with a heavy bell be the way to go? Rather than using the momentum/stretch reflex to help propel subsequent swings?
 
Robert, when strength is the goal both versions are important. As I stated above the power ( dead stop) swings are easier AND harder. For me , the ballistic version is actually harder because of the increased work reducing the forces on the eccentric side.

For some the power production from the dead stop would be harder. Do both :))
 
Robert, to add to what Rif said, I've found that I tend to have a better first rep and then not so good on the subsequent ones so I don't use Rif's protocol often for that reason.  I haven't looked at my most recent video with an eye for that in particular, but that's my experience with myself over the years.  I want the work of stabilizing the load as it swings back in the second and more rep - that's where I find the swing the most beneficial to my back.

-S-
 
Ok, thanks. I tend to take a couple of swings to hit the groove, which makes me think I should do power swings more.
 
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