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Kettlebell Swings - Form Check

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Nils92

Nils92

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Hi everybody,

first of all, I appreciate this forum and the helpfulness of everyone posting on here. Now I am looking for some help: I started S&S quite a while ago and I am quite happy with my Get Up. What I do have problems with ist my single arm swing. I have noticed, that I am unable to keep my shoulders in a straight line, and that my active shoulder seems to be moving too much. Are there any things I may incorporate to get rid of the "moving shoulder"? I am doing the swings for some time now and I definitely do not want to develop this as a bad habit. I attached a video of me doing a single arm swing, and a video of me doing normal swings. Feedback is very much appreciated, thank you guys in advance!

Single arm Swing:


Two-handed Swing:
 
HI @Nils92 !

Your swing is not too bad. I see what you mean about the shoulder, but I actually don't think the shoulder itself is the root of the issue.

I'm going to offer two other corrections to work on first:
  1. Root the feet solidly to the floor. Full contact, the whole time. Your 2H swing is much better than the 1H swing in this regard, but still could be more solidly rooted. Feel full contact and pressing into the floor, like the first part of a jump, on the upswing. Balance the weight. Do a few sets where all of your focus is on your feet.
  2. Relax the arms and let any arm holding kettlebell be pulled completely straight on the downswing. Let them be mostly straight at the top of the swing.
When these two things become a habit, let's see what the shoulder tends to do.

Great job on the breathing, by the way! It is just right. Your hinge looks great, too, as does your head position. Your grip on the kettlebell handle is OK, but I'd recommend working toward having the handle more in the fingers.

Hope that helps and let us know how it goes.
 
I second that on relaxing the arm. When the muscles of the arm are relaxed you can feel the force of the bell in your shoulder, unimpeded by the bicep and adjust accordingly.
 
So now its time to reply, I have postponed that all the time, so sorry for that.
First of all, thank you very much for the amazing feedback, especially to @Anna C. I have tried to work on the issues, and this is the result:

Left Hand


Right Hand


I feel that the hints given helped me stabilizing the swing towards having less shoulder movement, even though it is still there.
What could I work on next? I love the training and really want to improve my swings. The quick s&s workouts are fun and doable every day, which I like a lot. Fyi I use it to complement my BJJ training, which obviously has come to a halt due to the current situation.

Thank you very much in advance,
best regards from Germany.
 
Looking great, @Nils92 ! Really nice work.

I think just continuing to practice is all you need, really. You will continue to get stronger and more powerful.

Nils92 said:
What could I work on next? I love the training and really want to improve my swings.
Click to expand...

But since you asked...

One thing you could work on is the last swing - solid backswing and and set -down with just the working hand.

Also your left hand swings have a bit of torso twist; the working shoulder is lower and farther forward. Keep working towards being squared up just as you would be with 2H swings.
 
@Nils92

You have received some great coaching so far in this thread, here is a bit more...

1) Add grip specific work to your training - specifically hanging from a bar and farmer carries. These will turn on your Lats as well.

2) The bell you are using in the video may be too heavy for your current level of grip strength and forearm endurance. This may be why you are recruiting the biceps and traps to control the bell path.

3) With a lighter bell, practice “eccentricly loaded” swings where you aggressively pull the bell back down after the float, recruiting the Lats.

4) After a few weeks of that, return to the heavier bell and experience the “what the hell?” effect. All the best.
 
Hello @Anna C and @natewhite39, thank you very much for the detailed feedback. I will incorporate your suggestions into my practice and see where it will get me :)
Also I will put the 28kg bell aside for a while (well, only on the swings) and start working with a lighter bell. I can already sense, that the eccentric swings will burn and strengthen my lats...
I will get back to this thread in a couple of weeks, thanks again!
 
Hi everyone, I took some time of the 28kg bell and trained a couple of weeks with the 24kg. I also incorporated some calisthenics work a couple of times, to mix it up a little bit. Monday i got back to the 28kg and these are the results:

Left Hand:


Right Hand:


Now I am again looking for some feedback and ways, to further improve my swing! :)
I also started doing Get-Ups with the 32kg bell, which went super smooth, I am already doing 2 reps each arm with the heavier bell, feels amazing to progress! Hopefully, my swing can keep up .

Thank you very much in advance for your feedback
Best regards from Germany
 
Looking good, @Nils92 !

I see that you are generally tighter and better aligned. And looking stronger.

You still look a bit "tentative." Throw that bell hard! Like you're trying to throw it into the next room! But hold the handle :)

Keep up the good work.
 
Hi everyone. After taking a break from doing solid programming and then having to stop training completely due to non-workout-related surgery, I am back at Simple&Sinister. I am quite regretting my approach over the last year, but here I am.
Today, I would like to show you my current form with the 32KG Kettlebell and I am looking forward to getting some Feedback from the forum to start improving again!

Left Hand:


Right Hand:


Thank you very much in advance for your feedback!
Best regards from Germany
 
Overall mechanics are good .

I'd try to keep the elbow less bent unless you are practicing elbow swings as assistance work for the snatch
 
The swings look good - the one thing I see that hasn't been mentioned yet is that your head seems to be jutted forward at the top of your swing - both 1H and 2H. Relaxing the neck as you are exhaling at the top will save you from potential issues down the road. Keep swinging!
 
Thank you all for the replies - I will incorporate your feedback and will get back to this post soon!
Regards
Nils
 
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