Kettlebell Snatch

Kettlebells,  I love them but I hadn’t used them in months.  

Several years ago I used to train with kettlebells on a regular basis, with SC. I even bought some of my own because the gym I went to didn’t have their own (and they have since purchased two complete sets, although I have yet to see more than one or two people, including most trainers use them correctly).

I love the power I feel from kettlebells, swinging that heavy, round, cold bell just gives me a thrill. Some of the movements are slow, like the Turkish Get-Up, but most have some momentum behind them.

The Swing is the classic and probably the easiest; it is also the one that everyone does wrong. I see the a trainer at Gold’s show people incorrectly all the time.  A Swing is where you hold the bell with two hands, and it is “swung" between your legs, and you crouch down in a semi squat as it passes through and behind you, then you use the hips to thrust forward, the arms are only holding onto the bell, they are not “lifting” it or providing the power as it swings in front of you and up to chest level. It’s all in the hips and the glutes.  Hence the name “swing” and not “lift”.

This is not to be confused with the way you may see some Crossfitters "swing", they bring it up above their head, I know there is a method to their madness, but I am not a Crossfitter, don't want to be a  Crossfitter and cannot speak to the sport. 

I believe someone once told me their style is "American Style" but Kettlebells originate from Russia, and that's the style I am discussing. I am not here to get into a debate about which is better, so if you want to form your own opinion, here is an article that does a good job explaining the differences (although I think it is slightly biased.)

What people do wrong is they think the power comes from their arms. They try to move the bell with the power of their arms and not their hips and glutes.

The Snatch is my favorite, this is a one armed move almost like a swing, but the bell is brought over the head and the arm locked out at top.  Just watching someone perform kettlebell snatches is exciting! It’s a true all over body exercise. Snatches are a great way to burn calories while still using weights, in other words, an “approved” form of cardio in my book!

Kettlebells require you to use your hips, glutes and core. This is why I stopped, every time I would try to do some swings or snatches, the ripping and searing pain in my hip flexors, running down the front of my hips would instantly stop me.  If you do them correctly you will immediately feel it in your hips, glutes, hamstrings and abs.  

If you are doing them incorrectly, it doesn’t matter if you have tight hips (like I did), nor does it matter what shape your glutes are in, you will not understand the power of the bell because all you will be doing is a little dip with the knees and then attempting to pull a heavy iron ball up with your arm and shoulder. You will probably feel it in your back, shoulder and face due to the contortions you will make attempting to wrestle the beast up. 

Saturday I was feeling good, each day I feel better and better, so I decided to try a few snatches as my post lifting burn out, something just to get me huffing and puffing.

I have some old tube socks that have been cut into bands, I slip then over my hands to help protect them so my thick calluses don’t rip with the bells, and they also work like chalk to absorb the sweat, otherwise those things can go flying! 

Here is a video I took in my backyard demonstrating the Kettlebell Snatch, this was taken in February of 2011. 

As you can see, the only effort on my arms is when I lock them out at the top of the snatch, I am not using the power of my arms to propel the bell up and over my head, it  flows easily from the hips and posterior chain.

Swinging

I am sure some of you are not thinking the same thing I am when I say "swinging", but that's just fine, think what you like!


Sunday was back day and I decided to sleep in, I have been enjoying my Sundays lately. So...I woke up at 5:55 a.m. oh well. I had my meal replacement drink and headed off to the gym.


I felt good, rested for a change and was ready to attack the day. I started with my favorite, chin ups and pull ups, superset with dips. Not sure how many sets, I think 7 sets of 6 to 8 chin ups, and 4 sets of dips (10 reps).


Lat pull down, I didn't increase weight but I did increase reps. I also cut my rest time down. Low Cable Row, again no increase in weight but more reps and less rest in between. I did 5 sets of each.

Single Arm bent Over Row, 5 sets.


E-Z Bar Curl, 5 sets.

Then, what would I do for conditioning? I decided to use the kettlebells. I haven't used bells in quite a while, I have done a bit of swinging and that was it.  Although I love training with Roy, kettlebells are what brought me to SC, that's all we did for almost a year. I love the down and dirty of kettlebells, there is nothing sweet and pretty about them. SC taught me everything anyone needs to know, and I am darn good too.


I get dirty, blistered, bloody, sore sweaty. I love them.


I started with Turkish Get Ups. This is a slow, steady move that targets the whole body, but particularly the core. You start laying on the ground and one hand has a KB, held straight up in the air. You sit up then stand, and go back down again, all under a great deal of control. It sounds easy and it's not. I did three sets of 4 on each side. I hadn't done them in over a year, I will need to start doing more and work up to 10 on each side.


Then snatches, I loves snatches. A couple years ago I spent the summer doing Kenneth Jay's Viking Warrior Conditioning. SC helped me come up with the correct tempo and weight. You start with a small bell and a fairly slow tempo, everything is timed including the rest periods. You work up to 45 minutes of continuous snatches. That's why the bell needs to be so light.


I wear cut up tube socks on my hands, I have permanent blisters but this stops them from tearing and bleeding. Once you start bleeding you pretty much need to stop. I have several sets in my bag, they get dirty and I toss them out. Below you can see a short demo of snatches in my backyard. February in California- nice huh?


(Email subscribers will need to navigate directly to the blog to view the video below).




At the gym I did 5 sets of 10 on each side, I walk in between to bring my heart rate down.


After the snatches I moved to swings. This is the classic kettlebell move and the one that most people don't perform correctly. I typically see people perform it in the "crossfit" method, which although may be useful for what crossfitters want it for, it is not what the move or exercise was intended for at all. This is not meant to offend anyone who loves Crossfit- I say do what you like. I am only trying to explain to those who do not know kettlebells, that if they see the 'crossfit" method they should not confuse this with the kettlebell swing. They are two completely different animals.


In crossfit it becomes more of an arm exercise, they swing it up with arm strength way up over the head; they may say that this is the "American Style".The swing is everything but that. It is designed as a  posterior exercise. It should hit the glutes, the hips, the hams, the quads, and the abs, and some of the back/shoulders too. Some crossfitters call this the "Russian Style".


The power should come from the hips, and the glutes. The arms are only an extension of the bell, they are attached and flowing with it, there is no effort coming from the arms.


(Again, if you want to do it crossfit style, that's fine, but I cannot offer advise, I am not into crossfit although I have plenty of friends who are.)


I did 10 sets of 10 with a 24 kilo kettlebell (that's 53 pounds). Again, I walk in between each set to bring my heart rate down. I knew I was doing them right, my breathing becomes very rhythmic and I could feel my glutes swelling after 5 sets! ha ha


I have my own bells, so can do these any evening in the backyard. I think I need to start this again.