Kettlebell Question on foot position during swings, snatches etc.

[Thedeadgamer429]

Are the heels or toes supposed to lift from the ground at all during ballistics? I recorded myself doing sets of swings and snatches and noticed that on the way up my toes come off the ground and on the backswing my heels come off the ground. Is this fine, or should I focus on keeping my whole foot rooted into the ground?

 

[Steve W.]

In Hard Style technique, keep the feet rooted, with your weight evenly distributed throughout. Like the soles of your feet are glued to the floor.

Concentrating on keeping your weight evenly distributed over your feet can also help smooth out the overall timing of the swing, often better than directly focusing on other aspects of the timing. Not that it should be the main focus of every rep and set every time you swing. But it can be very instructive, and the goal would be to groove good timing and weight distribution so you you don't have to focus a lot of attention on it.

 

[Mark Limbaga]

Keep feet planted.. see if you feel the best feedback if you place most of the load on midfoot or on the heel

 

[mvikred]

Are the heels or toes supposed to lift from the ground at all during ballistics? I recorded myself doing sets of swings and snatches and noticed that on the way up my toes come off the ground and on the backswing my heels come off the ground. Is this fine, or should I focus on keeping my whole foot rooted into the ground?

Maybe a result of a weight more than what your body can handle now? Feet need to be planted on the upswing and the backswing. Also it could be unsafe if you lose balance and you fall backwards (when your toes go up and the weight moves on to your heels) !

 

[barrak]

During horizontal projection of force, one could lose balance if one is not rooted to the ground. Injury could easily follow. I'm not bothered with rooting my feet to the ground during vertical force projection... a classic example (where rooting feet is not even an option) is a barbell split-jerk.

 

[Norville Barnes]

In general, for practice keep them firmly on the floor. In a snatch test or the TSC using the jump cue adds a little more power when you are tired. Your heels will probably come off the floor as you recruit some fresher muscles. This was in a SF email a few weeks ago. I have witnessed some high level performances doing this.

Again, this is a test or competition technique not a general training method.

 

[Carl in Dover]

........Also it could be unsafe if you lose balance and you fall backwards (when your toes go up and the weight moves on to your heels) !

Great point!