Kettlebell Technique Tips - Remember the “3 H’s”…

Kettlebell STRONG!

Do you ever wonder who the most powerful athletes on the planet are?

Or the most powerful strength athletes?

A lot of people think it’s powerlifters - those who squat, bench, and deadlift.

And while many of them are incredibly strong, their sport - Powerlifting - is incorrectly named.

It should be called “Forcelifting” or “Strengthlifting.”

Why?

Simple - their lifts are performed slowly.

So the actual power output is low.

Much lower than the sport of Weightlifting - or Olympic Weightlifting - the Snatch and the Clean + Jerk.

A study comparing the power output on the Olympic lifts vs. the power lifts.

In it, a 125 kg athlete who Clean + Jerked 260.5kg produced 3164 Watts of power at the peak of the 2nd Pull.

By comparison, a 100 kg athlete deadlifted 375kg produced 1274 Watts of power.

That’s about 3x less than the 260.5kg Clean.

Why?

The time it takes to Deadlift 375 kg is much longer than it takes to Clean 260.5 kg.

What’s this have to do with YOUR KB lifting / training?

Great question.

Powerlifters train to lift maximal weight through short ranges of motion.

Olympic lifters train to lift maximal weights through maximum ranges of motion - over the head.

They both use specialized techniques to do so.

In Powerlifting, a wide sumo stance for the Deadlift and Squat, and an arched lower back and a wide grip for the Bench Press are examples.

But since KB lifting - primarily the ballistics - Swings, Cleans, Snatches, Push Presses, and Jerks - are displays / expressions of power…

And train you to produce more power…

They have more in common with Olympic lifting than Powerlifting.

Again, what’s this have to do with YOUR KB training?

If you want to maximize your power output, you should use the strategies of Olympic lifters.

“But Geoff, aren’t I already doing that?”

Probably not.

As I look across the social media landscape and do 1-on-1 coaching helping individuals refine their techniques, I see the opposite.

Which brings me today’s technique tip -

Remember the “3 H’s”

Head, Hips, and Hands

1- Head

When setting up for your ballistics, make sure your head is up, and not down looking at the floor in front of your KB(s).

By contrast, most people keep their heads down.

Your eyes should be on the horizon.

This is because your body follows your head.

And when your head is up, it initiates the “extensor reflex” which naturally contracts your posterior chain - the muscles running down the backside of your body.

You use these muscles on your Swings, Cleans, and Snatches.

You also use them in the rack position to counter the pull of the KBs “desire” to fold you in half.

2- Hips

When setting up your ballistics, your hips should be high enough to feel the muscles of your posterior chain contract.

3- Hands

Your hand position, in relation to your body on the set up of your ballistics, determines whether you’ll need to employ strategies to “Tame the Arc” - so the KB(s) don’t smack your forearms and shoulders…

… Or whether it comes almost effortlessly.

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have it come effortlessly.

It allows you to redirect otherwise wasted energy into doing more reps.

And that means you’ll do more work, which means faster results.

There are 4 different KB set up positions, which create 4 different hand positions relative to your body.

Two of them make you come up with strategies to “Tame the Arc.” Two don’t. One of them is my favorite because the KBs practically “roll up” the front of your body and gently land in the rack…

… Especially if you get your head and hip positions right.

I cover these 4 positions and go into further detail on the “3 H’s” and more - much more - inside my double kettlebell lifting course, Kettlebell STRONG!

I’ll leave a link for it in the description below if you’d like to check it out.

Stay Strong,

Geoff

REFERENCE:

Garhammer, John. A Review of Power Output Studies of Olympic and Powerlifting: Methodology, Performance Prediction, and Evaluation Tests. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 7(2):p 76-89, May 1993.