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Kettlebell One Arm Swings For Power - Technique Critique Needed

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Rahul Raje

Level 4 Valued Member
Hi Everyone

I've been practicing One Arm Swings aiming for max power for a couple of months now.

Here's how they look like right now:



Here's other arm:



Among other points of improvement, I'm striving towards deepening my hinge, folding more at the hip, improving my timing of hitting the hip crease with my elbow and packing my shoulder more to disallow the shrugging happening on occasion. I'm sure there are so many other points to be improved and would love to know which ones I should begin with over others.

I welcome your thoughts on polishing it further in my sessions to come.

Do let me know if this got posted in the wrong forum.

Thanks a lot
Rahul
 
Hi Rahul,

Great choice to post your videos!

I’m sure some certified instructors will give you some great feedback here. My few cents:
- consider practicing dead stop swings for max power production
- can you post your 16kg 1HS and or 24kg 2HS for reference?
- flexed elbows are acceptable, but it seems like it’s holding you back a bit, with this weight
- there is definitely room for more power and more deeper hike pass and hinge
- are you fully comfortable with our surroundings, ie would your swing be more aggressive if you had taken the bell outside?

 
Hi @Rahul Raje

Technically that's a good swing! But you're correct to focus on power and I think you could get a LOT more powerful.

Can you bring the bell outside to practice throwing it? That's a great way to dial it in! Do a set of swings and maybe on the 3rd of 4th swing, let the handle go and see how far the bell goes. Practice making it go farther, and develop that skill. Then bring that back to your regular swing sets.
 
Hi Rahul,

Great choice to post your videos!

I’m sure some certified instructors will give you some great feedback here. My few cents:
- consider practicing dead stop swings for max power production
- can you post your 16kg 1HS and or 24kg 2HS for reference?
- flexed elbows are acceptable, but it seems like it’s holding you back a bit, with this weight
- there is definitely room for more power and more deeper hike pass and hinge
- are you fully comfortable with our surroundings, ie would your swing be more aggressive if you had taken the bell outside?

Thank you so much Molson. I'll share a 2Hand Swing video of my performance very soon to see how that looks.

For the arms being flexed, I've tried in the past on multiple occasions to keep my triceps flexed throughout the swing performance, though, it starts to shift the emphasis towards the arms a bit from the lats and shoulders which made me question my approach there.

You're right about the outdoors being a better and more forgiving set up for swing power development. Once the lockdown restrictions in my area allow one to step out, I would surely try doing swings in parks.

Until then, I'll follow your advice about dead swings, probably replacing the one hand swings with them.

Thanks
Rahul
 
Hi @Rahul Raje

Technically that's a good swing! But you're correct to focus on power and I think you could get a LOT more powerful.

Can you bring the bell outside to practice throwing it? That's a great way to dial it in! Do a set of swings and maybe on the 3rd of 4th swing, let the handle go and see how far the bell goes. Practice making it go farther, and develop that skill. Then bring that back to your regular swing sets.

Thank you Anna.

Most of my swing practice has been indoors in the past which it now appears has definitely lent itself to a restriction in max power of the strike. Perhaps practicing on a surface such as a park with ample grass and other natural shock absorbers would provide a more empowering stimulus than a smooth floor of the household.

Thanks
Rahul
 
Thank you so much Molson. I'll share a 2Hand Swing video of my performance very soon to see how that looks.

For the arms being flexed, I've tried in the past on multiple occasions to keep my triceps flexed throughout the swing performance, though, it starts to shift the emphasis towards the arms a bit from the lats and shoulders which made me question my approach there.

You're right about the outdoors being a better and more forgiving set up for swing power development. Once the lockdown restrictions in my area allow one to step out, I would surely try doing swings in parks.

Until then, I'll follow your advice about dead swings, probably replacing the one hand swings with them.

Thanks
Rahul
Don’t fully replace the continuous swings with Dead stops. Just a few sets on every session. They teach the power production but it’s also important to then practice transitioning that deeper hike passes into regular sets.
 
Thank you Anna.

Most of my swing practice has been indoors in the past which it now appears has definitely lent itself to a restriction in max power of the strike. Perhaps practicing on a surface such as a park with ample grass and other natural shock absorbers would provide a more empowering stimulus than a smooth floor of the household.

Thanks
Rahul

Yes, outside is great if you can do it, and I see now that @Molson had also suggested the same.

Until you are able to, just think about throwing the bell. Project power forward so that it actually pulls your arm straight. Feel the pull against your fingers on the handle with every swing. (Your thumb is out, currently. Try wrapping it around so it grips the outside of your fingers). Keep your eyes out towards the horizon where it would go if you did throw it.

Among other points of improvement, I'm striving towards deepening my hinge, folding more at the hip, improving my timing of hitting the hip crease with my elbow and packing my shoulder more to disallow the shrugging happening on occasion. I'm sure there are so many other points to be improved and would love to know which ones I should begin with over others.

Not much else currently -- although when you find more power, you may find other faults begin to accentuate, so post another video when you feel things change. Shoulders look OK, hinge looks OK, timing looks OK. You could get a more forceful power breath and bracing of the abs in the standing plank. You might be getting just a bit of a pelvic tilt in the standing plank -- stand tall, abs and glutes tight. Hold the plank just a bit longer as the bell starts to fall.

At the end of the set when you set the bell down, make that look more purposeful with better form, like a reverse of the set-up, initial hike, and first swing. Stay aligned, keep the back flat, find your good hinge in the backswing, and then park the bell.

Hope that helps!
 
Hi Guys

This is from yesterday's practice. I've regressed to the two hands swing to really drive those technique improvement points better.

Here's how they look now



I'm open to knowing how you feel this is going.

Thanks
Rahul
 
Looking good @Rahul Raje.

Really no problems, and that's a solid swing! However, you can make more progress on power.

Try to concentrate your power and effort in the first half of the upswing. Your hip & knee extension along with forceful power breath should be early.

If you watch this video at .25 speed, you can see that the kettlebell is only halfway up when I've completed full extension and the forceful exhalation. The rest of the way up is what we refer to as "the float" because it requires no further effort.

 
@Rahul Raje



Focus on the bio-mechanical breathing match skill.

This is very important for producing a powerful ab contraction as well as protecting your low back. Anyone near you should be able to hear a loud "HISS" when you exhale. If you don't have control over this, you are looking at big time power leaks all over the place.

For the 1H Swing, use your free arm to create some momentum on each swing. Finally, grip the deck hard with your toes. Really drive those heels down at the top of the swing and keep the glutes contracted as well. All the best.
 
@natewhite39

Thanks so much. I've attempted to match my breathing further with the swing execution, as I've tried to demonstrate in the video of the swing proper below.

@Anna C

This is the Hike Pass drill I've included at the beginning of my practice. Primary goal is to improve my arm staying straigher at the bottom and the backswing getting more powerful. The drill could spark some ideas as to what can be improved here to help with the hike pass improvement. While I'm doing this, I attempt to hike pass as vigorously and focusing on accelerating the bell backwards (however on inspection of the video later, the backswing looks slower than what it felt during the set)



Also, here's the dead swing targeted towards making the swing more loaded and powerful towards the top. I haven't tried doing these often in the past so there could be a lot to work upon here.



The proper swing employing all the points we have been discussing above. I did try to concentrate my power and focus during the first half of the upswing. I have striven to fully extend my hip and knee and reach a plank before the bell reaches the apex, though it is something I am still deliberately trying to do and is yet to become second nature on every rep. Also, some of the reps might have my elbows bending somewhat at the top since my focus was more on the 'early extension'.



Another angle to view the execution technique, the front, if it helps:



I'm loving the discovery of some fine points during every interaction here on this forum which can then be included to upgrade the swing technique during each practice. Once again, thanks a so much to everyone of you for helping me inch closer towards swing mastery.

Thanks
Rahul
 
Good drills and good progress! Keep thinking "Snappy!" "Explosive!"

I think a heavier bell will help you find the power also.

Remember to have the intent to throw the bell forward -- hard. Every swing.

On the hike drill, focus on your feet and feel the weight shift... Make sure the weight's not forward on your toes. I actually sit back into the initial hike a bit... you can see it on this slow mo video. Then you can really explode like a jump with your whole foot pressing hard into the floor, which propels the kettlebell up.
 
@Anna C

I think you were right about using a heavier bell.

today's swing practice had me do the swings with a 32 Kg Bell. Although, I see somewhat bending of the arms inspite of me fighting hard that it doesn't happen, I do see the bells exert pressure against my hands the way they should; something the 24 Kg wasn't able to accomplish.




I'll shoot more vids from future practices as I get my hands refined at the 32 Kg. Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks
Rahul
 
@Anna C

I think you were right about using a heavier bell.

today's swing practice had me do the swings with a 32 Kg Bell. Although, I see somewhat bending of the arms inspite of me fighting hard that it doesn't happen, I do see the bells exert pressure against my hands the way they should; something the 24 Kg wasn't able to accomplish.




I'll shoot more vids from future practices as I get my hands refined at the 32 Kg. Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks
Rahul


Yes, looks good! I think that's your appropriate 2H swing bell. Keep practicing...
 
Yes, looks good! I think that's your appropriate 2H swing bell. Keep practicing...

Hi @Anna C and Team

This is the latest on how the two hands Swing Practice looks. Captured one of the sets of 10 done today with the 32. It's been quite a while I've posted an update. My primary goal all this while has been to focus on making those arms straighter and straighter with each practice.



Hoping I'm now quite past the T-Rex swings point. It's a good time to analyse further technique improvement points. I've not focused a lot on speed this time as much as on pure hip driven power (the video seems to have some skewed up speed after I crop it with an editor). Inputs are welcome for improvement.

Thanks
Rahul
 
A lighter, high rep set done during a recent strength endurance training session. This one's done using a 24 kg Bell for a set of 35. Just so we can all assess if the form from my Goldilocks Bell of 32 kg also transpires to a lighter Bell:



Would welcome everyone's thoughts on anything that might need improvement here.

Thanks
Rahul
 
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