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Kettlebell Pros and Cons of Different Swing-Types?

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watchnerd said:
After doing modest amounts (5-10 sets of 10) of Doubles on my "variety days" during barbell season (previous seasons, I'd only done 1H or 2H) for the last 6 weeks, I'm going to add:

  • Glute medius activation & strengthening
  • Hip abductor activation & strengthening
  • Improved split stance stability at greater depths
  • Improved overhead squat / snatch stability at greater depths for longer time
  • Deeper cossack squats
  • VMO hypertrophy
  • Side-butt hypertrophy
Click to expand...

Interesting.... I need to add some swings back in there and there and glute medius is something I need. Do you think you got better Glue medius and hip work from doubles as opposed to a 2H swing with a single kettlebell of same total weight? If so, why do you think that is? What weight kettlebells were you using?
 
watchnerd said:
After doing modest amounts (5-10 sets of 10) of Doubles on my "variety days" during barbell season (previous seasons, I'd only done 1H or 2H) for the last 6 weeks, I'm going to add:

  • Glute medius activation & strengthening
  • Hip abductor activation & strengthening
  • Improved split stance stability at greater depths
  • Improved overhead squat / snatch stability at greater depths for longer time
  • Deeper cossack squats
  • VMO hypertrophy
  • Side-butt hypertrophy
Click to expand...
You're saying you got VMO hypertrophy from heavy swings?

That's interesting. Are you sure it's not from the heavy squats I recall that you do?

Not doubting you, just wondering. I always want to hypertrophy my legs more and if more/ heavier swings can do it I'll be happy !
 
Dayz said:
You're saying you got VMO hypertrophy from heavy swings?

That's interesting. Are you sure it's not from the heavy squats I recall that you do?

Not doubting you, just wondering. I always want to hypertrophy my legs more and if more/ heavier swings can do it I'll be happy !
Click to expand...

My squats haven't changed or really gone up compared to past PRs.

I think it's the hip angle / stance more than the weight, as I'm keeping the loading pretty light given it's a 'variety' day.

Because I'm doing barbell work 3 days a week, I'm only doing 2 x 24 kg swings.
 
Anna C said:
Interesting.... I need to add some swings back in there and there and glute medius is something I need. Do you think you got better Glue medius and hip work from doubles as opposed to a 2H swing with a single kettlebell of same total weight? If so, why do you think that is? What weight kettlebells were you using?
Click to expand...

Yes, I definitely get more glute med work, and I think it's entirely because of the wider stance.

In terms of foot width, my double KB swing stance is about halfway to a sumo DL stance.

I'm doing 2 x 24....nothing massively heavy.
 
watchnerd said:
Yes, I definitely get more glute med work, and I think it's entirely because of the wider stance.

In terms of foot width, my double KB swing stance is about halfway to a sumo DL stance.

I'm doing 2 x 24....nothing massively heavy.
Click to expand...
A don't have a 48 to compare to, but last time I did dbl. swings with 24's they were plenty heavy. Could not day dream and had to drive hard into the ground.
 
Don Fairbanks said:
A don't have a 48 to compare to, but last time I did dbl. swings with 24's they were plenty heavy. Could not day dream and had to drive hard into the ground.
Click to expand...

Oh, if I start day dreaming with doubles at any weight I can mess things up.

I usually warm up with 2 x 12 or 2 x 16, but the other day I got lazy with a 2 x 12 warm up set, pitched forward, and face planted.
 
watchnerd said:
Oh, if I start day dreaming with doubles at any weight I can mess things up.

I usually warm up with 2 x 12 or 2 x 16, but the other day I got lazy with a 2 x 12 warm up set, pitched forward, and face planted.
Click to expand...
Nice, better than falling backwards. Going to do some alt. 2H (32 ) swings with Dbl. 16 swings this week for a heat check. Thinking Dbl. swings are underrated
 
watchnerd said:
I think so, too.

Especially if you use competition bells, which really are at their best when used 1 per hand (as they're designed for).

I find the comp bells to be grip crowded when used for 2H.
Click to expand...
My Kettlebells USA and Kettlebell Kings comp bells have a greater distance between the uprights/horns of the handles than my DragonDoor or Rogue cast iron bells. The comp bells also have vertical uprights, whereas the cast iron bells have uprights that curve inward and squeeze the pinky fingers against the ring fingers with a two-handed grip. I have seen other comp bells with narrow handles, but the ones I have actually have MORE space and are MORE comfortable for two-handed swings than my cast iron bells.

That being said, I don't find either style of bell to be actually COMFORTABLE for two-handed swings and I never do two-handed swings because I find the grip and hand spacing so uncomfortable. I rarely do double swings though, as I prefer the feel of double cleans. When I want to swing heavy, I sometimes use a T-handle, or more often do 1-arm swings with straps. This give me the grip security of two-handed swings, but (to me) the more comfortable form of 1-arm swings. However, double swings and the T-handle do give you more versatility in going heavy without buying any jumbo single bells. The straps I have are the two shown below (Schiek dowel straps and Versa Gripps Pro, although Schiek also makes a similar style to the Versa Gripps). Both of them do a great job locking in the grip for swings, better than regular lifting straps. I know using straps is generally frowned on by StrongFirst, but for this application I really like them.

Versa Gripps:
Versa gripps.jpg
Schiek dowel grips:
Schiek dowel grips.jpg
 
Steve W. said:
Versa Gripps:

Schiek dowel grips:
Click to expand...

eeek!

As a weightlifter, I've had it drilled into my head that one should never use captive straps for ballistics.

I'd rather lose a bell and do property damage than be unable to let go of an out of control bell and have it drag me with it, dislocate a shoulder, etc.

I don't use straps for KBs at all, but if I did for some reason, I'd use an O-lifting strap that allows one to bail quickly.
 
watchnerd said:
eeek!

As a weightlifter, I've had it drilled into my head that one should never use captive straps for ballistics.

I'd rather lose a bell and do property damage than be unable to let go of an out of control bell and have it drag me with it, dislocate a shoulder, etc.

I don't use straps for KBs at all, but if I did for some reason, I'd use an O-lifting strap that allows one to bail quickly.
Click to expand...
Well, obviously no one should do anything they are not comfortable with or think is dangerous (and I can't say it definitely couldn't happen), but I've been doing KB swings for a little more than 20 years and never had an "out of control bell" that was dragging me in a dangerous way or that I've had to drop for safety reasons (referring specifically to swings).
 
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