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Kettlebell One-Arm Swings

JMF03072010

First Post
Hello,

I have a question about S+S swings and was hoping someone could help.

I have been doing S+S for a couple of months and enjoy it a lot but I have mainly been using two-handed swings. I am fine with these but when I try one-Arm swings my arm really feels like a 'weak-link.' I know hand/grip strength *will be* the actual weak link in the chain but swinging with one arm feels much less controlled to me. For instance the bell handle sometimes will hit my groin - particularly on the first rep - and then spin a bit as it bounces off so my arm rotates.

I am trying to follow the queues of pulling my shoulder back into the socket but I still feel like I'm struggling to fully transfer the force from my hips into the bell in the one-Arm version. Two handed the bell seems to fly up, even with a 32kg but I can't really swing more than the 16kg with one arm.

Can anyone tell me any more queues related to how the arm should be in this exercise, or know of a good video tutorial which explains?

Also I am positioning my hand in the middle of the handle and keeping the bell 'flat' so the handle is at ninety degrees to my body throughout the movement. Maybe this is not correct? I know some people seem to internally rotate their shoulder and have the bell handle at more of a 45 degree angle - at least for the hike pass movement.

Thanks for reading this far!
 
Welcome, @JMF03072010

One arm swings may be challenging. Keep practicing with the 16kg for a bit. As you step up in weight you can start by not trying to swing so high. Just focus on good form and timing, then add power. Your grip can be either way. I like to rotate so the thumb points back in the backswing, but you can keep it "flat" if you prefer.

Here's a great example of a one arm swing from SFG Jeff Sokol. Do you see anything that helps towards your form?

 
I would suggest posting a video of your swing on this thread so we can see what you are doing. If you have time for it, I would highly recommend doing a couple coaching sessions virtually or in person with an SFG.
 
Use a towel with a lighter weight to get the feel. Wrap it around the handle and grap both ends with one hand. Do a few swings. It will help see where form issues are happening. Since we already talked about Jeff Sokol on this thread ( he’s amazing) Google his name and towel swing. A few videos will come up.
 
I think a big distinction between the two arm and one arm swing is... with the 2 arm swing, the bell is coming directly from between your legs.. the one arm swings are in line with either thigh, so right hand swing will come from the right inner thigh, and left hand swing the left inner thigh.. keep this in mind, it may cause issues if you are letting it come too much from the "center"... doing a bunch of one arm swings with a lighter weight will transfer over believe it or not, you're building a good muscle memory...

They are two completely different skill sets, you can be great at the two arm swing, and never develop the one arm swing, so don't be surprised.. you're just gonna have to get in there and get dirty. The grip is also a huge factor here, give it some time.

POWER TO YOU COMRADE!!
 
This article by Steve Freides helped me as well, basically the concept is to do your one arm swing after some two arm swings, so your body remembers the previous moment pattern.

www.strongfirst.com

Simple & Sinister: Getting from Two- to One-Hand Swings | StrongFirst

Adding one-hand swings to your Kettlebell Simple & Sinister training can be daunting for some people. Here's a simple method for achieving that goal.
www.strongfirst.com
 
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