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Kettlebell The kettlebell is a cruel teacher

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Sean M

Sean M

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I'm brand new to kettlebells. I have no strength training background. Fewer than 100 swings in my lifetime.

Pulled by lower back out this morning in the 12th swing of the day. I know exactly what happened - I didn't load my hamstrings on the backswing (lost focus on keeping back straight and chest out), and didn't fully extend the hips. I realized a nano-second too late - the bell went up and my lower back bore the full counter-force of the bell swing. Boy, if you don't keep proper form you sure find out quick!

Doing stretches throughout the day to recover. Planning my next training session for Monday night, so about 60 hours of down time.

Will drill hip hinges, deadlifts, and hikes prior to my next full swing set to get the movement down. Being brand new to this, I don't want to ingrain bad form and have recurring injuries dissuade me from continuing.

Anyone else get "punished" by their KB for sloppy form?
 
Moving weight you can't control with good form is not a teacher, just an accident waiting to happen. Do you have the book Simple& Sinister? Any other good materials or is there an SFG instructor near you? Those are real "teachers." There's a progression to learning how to swing properly, starting with placement exercises, learning how to hinge your hips properly, deadlifting, and partial swings. Take each step in sequence and internalize them well before moving onto the next. If it takes a couple or few weeks, it's still well worth it!
 
Sean M said:
Anyone else get "punished" by their KB for sloppy form?
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Yes, when I started to exclusively work with KBs I went straigth into ROP only to end up with a few very tight, stiff, painfull backs, from the cleans and snatches I think. After that thought to nail the basics first, so S&S it was. Again tight, painfull back a few times. This time it was the 1A-swings I think, because 2H-swings have always been fine. IMO it was the unilateral loading that caused my problems. Lowered the weight and worked on my form and later checked in with an RKC to confirm that I had the technique down this time. Never experienced any issues with my back since.
Moral of the story: Sound technique is paramount for everything you do with Kettlebells! Invest the time and money to improve your form -> buy+read S&S and visit an instructor.
 
I used to get pain at the insertion point of the biceps (forearm end) and some shoulder pain. Learned to come down with a lot more active movement rather than let the KB pull me over. This also led me to adopt or at least learn and understand some GS technique for the downward portion of many swing and C&P exercises. For swings I started out good and light and stayed at that level for months before moving up to heavier weight.

Even now if I get sloppy, the bicep insertion tendon will start to warn me before everything else.

After all these years of KB exposure, you can still see cringe worthy swing form even at some of the better run gyms -is just a misunderstood exercise by many - forgiving of lousy form at light weight (though lacking most benefit as well) and merciless as the load increases.
 
I have had times when I would be a little bit sore and figured I did too much or pushed myself too hard but generally no. I have never hurt myself doing correct exercises with a kettlebell. I found that when doing the get up that the weight was a corrective force.
 
Sean M said:
Anyone else get "punished" by their KB for sloppy form?
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Yup. (Raises hand). Was out for a month with a upper back pain, neck pain. It was about an year back.
SFG-trained after that, though I am still working on being crisp, and tight, I never got injured again badly.
I make sure I have a good sleep the night before a training session.
Also I have learned to include as much mobility, stretch drills possible.
 
krg said:
Only the once so far, let my arm go slack and loose in a swing - never again.

The other 'teacher' is too heavy too soon. Nothing like a KB to keep your ego in check.
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'Too heavy too soon' is one mean instructor - very much like "disconnect all power sources before attempting to service" you get hurt before you know what happened.

I have to say though, compared to other forms of exercise I've leaned on over the years I have a much better uptime with kettlebells, by a large margin. Close to a decade training them and have yet to injure myself to the point where I couldn't train at all, and that includes a few times in over my head with weights my form wasn't ready to handle.

Contrast that with weight lifting - bodybuilding protocol where I might pull something every couple of months, jumping rope or rowing where I'd begin to feel repetitive use injuries coming on, again every few months I'd be forced to take a break.
 
krg said:
Only the once so far, let my arm go slack and loose in a swing - never again.
The other 'teacher' is too heavy too soon. Nothing like a KB to keep your ego in check.
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Tried some 1H swings with my new 20KG and on the last rep I did the same thing. My shoulder isn't in any pain, but it doesn't feel right, so I stepped back from 1HS with the 16KG to either 1H with the 12 or 2H with the 16. I've been reading and watching stuff on form and anxiously awaiting my session with an SFG to dial in my form.
 
North Coast Miller said:
'Too heavy too soon' is one mean instructor - very much like "disconnect all power sources before attempting to service" you get hurt before you know what happened.

I have to say though, compared to other forms of exercise I've leaned on over the years I have a much better uptime with kettlebells, by a large margin. Close to a decade training them and have yet to injure myself to the point where I couldn't train at all, and that includes a few times in over my head with weights my form wasn't ready to handle.

Contrast that with weight lifting - bodybuilding protocol where I might pull something every couple of months, jumping rope or rowing where I'd begin to feel repetitive use injuries coming on, again every few months I'd be forced to take a break.
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And just compare that with running - I know very few runners who managed to stay uninjured over a 6 month timeframe.
 
Thanks for sharing, definitely get some sessions in with your local SFG if possible. The KB will always win if you lose focus, especially when going heavy too soon which we all tend to do at some point!

If you don't have access to personal instruction check out resources like the StrongFirst YouTube page as well as Pavel's "Enter the Kettlebell" and "Simple and Sinister" books.
 
Sean
How are you now? Did you get your back checked by a healthcare practitioner?
Take time to pattern the KB deadlift once out of pain or after receiving treatment
Keep us posted
 
@Brett Jones, I posted in my training log but not here. Rested for about 60 hours over the weekend, and was fine at the next session. Stretched hip flexors a lot and it helped. They are so tight from having a desk job. I'm stretching them hourly at this point until my hamstrings and glutes get woken up and stronger.

Dialed in my swing with practice sets over the past few days. Realized I was going down not back, and also not letting the bell go all the way back (it dipped below the knees).
 
Thanks for the update and glad you are doing well
 
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