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Old Forum Swing Form Check

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Mylan Byrd

Mylan Byrd

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I'm using a 16kg bell in this video. I've been doing S&S for a few months and I'm still working on integrating the 24kg for all 10 sets. Anyway, I wanna make sure my form is correct on my swings. What I'm most concerned about is the bottom position, making sure my hips are back enough, and the first part of the upswing when the hips first begin to propel the bell forward. Any help from any SFG's is appreciated.

 

http://youtu.be/80rh1v2RvhQ
 
Mylan,

That's not too bad.

1) your knees ride forward and do so before hip flexion.  Keep your weight back on your heels and sit back, don't squat down.  Think about reaching for the wall behind you with your rear.  The swing is mostly hip movement.

In between sets of swings, and without any weight, practice sitting back with minimal knee bend, loading your hips and hammies, and keeping the weight back on your heels.  Pause very briefly, and snap to an erect plank.  5 is a good number.

2) your KB is too light.

Looks solid, otherwise.
 
Thanks a lot! I appreciate it. I'll work on making those corrections and post another video soon.
 
Mylan,

To piggyback on what Al wrote, your knees move forward to initiate the upswing out of the hole. If you watch the video slowed down to half or quarter speed (click on the setting icon along the bottom of the video player), you will see this clearly.

Out of the bottom, you should be driving the hips forward and extending the knees. If your knees have moved forward during the downswing, they should move backward as your hips and knees extend on the upswing. Moving the knees forward on the upswing is specifically listed as a fault in the SFG swing standard.

A little forward knee movement on the DOWNswing is okay, as long as the hip movement is back and forward, rather than more up and down as in a squat (hinge pattern vs. squat pattern).

As Al pointed out, your swing is little bit squatty. Again, if you watch the video slowed down, you can see that you initiate the downswing with a slight dropping of the hips pretty straight down before you really start moving them back.

 
 
One other thing I'd like to add is that it's great that people are willing to post videos to have their form checked. It can really speed up the learning process, but it take gut to expose yourself publicly and be willing to receive criticism (even if meant constructively).

So kudos to you for doing it.
 
Steve,

For your information, this occurs in people who are quad dominant ... they are trying to bring their stronger front thigh muscles into play.   It takes a while to correct this.  Keep correcting.

-Al
 
Steve,

I slowed the video down and saw what you were talking with the knees coming forward on the start of the upswing. Never noticed that before. Thanks for pointing it out.

There aren't any SFG instructors anywhere close to where I live (hoping to be the first one someday), so I'll take any criticism as long its not rude and helps me get stronger.

Thank you both for taking the time to help me out. I'll work on it the next couple days and post another video on this thread for additional evaluation.
 
All the above is more critique than I’d be able to provide. The only other thing I can think of is that you seemed to be half-baked on rep…#6, I think. I suspect you were thinking of making that your last one. We all do it, but we all need to try not to.

...won't help your form, per se, but...well, you get the idea.
 
I'm not a huge fan of the rules for movements. This a solid swing by all accounts. I swing many different ways except overhead and they all have merit. If you hinge perfect for 1000 reps/ week with a heavy bell but goblet squat just to pattern do you not think your quads might want some more work. I think yes tweak along the ways, but you seem athletic and your body has a natural moent unto itself that doesn't always need to be altered. But by all means, you got done great tips and try them, odds are I'm wrong but one day I'll be right.
 
Eric,

I agree with you to an extent. His swing looks safe, and I've seen GS people demonstrating swings with a similar double knee bend.

But I think it's less a matter of being doctrinaire and following rules, and more about goals and intent. The SFG/hardstyle swing is intended to be an explosive hip hinge, and therefore the standards prescribe that.

Does anyone (who isn't trying to certify as an SFG) HAVE to follow this standard? Of course not. But if you want to swing differently, are you doing it purposefully, and is it a better match for your goals?

Sure, if all you do is hinge, and do minimal squatting, that might not be optimal for you. But that doesn't have to be the case, and is a more squatty swing really the solution?
 
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