If you are not snatching you are not kettlebell training, the kettlebell snatch is the end game of the ballistic kettlebell exercises, it will build killer conditioning, strengthen every muscle from toes to finger tips and burn up to 20+ calories per minute.

The kettlebell snatch also has the steepest learning curve in terms of technique, this however is vastly reduced if you have put in the required practice on 1 hand and 2 hand swings.  Get a good couple of thousand swings under your belt first, then move onto high pulls and eventually snatches.

In this post I want to tell you how my learning curve went and hopefully you can gain some knowledge from this and apply it to your own training. This is how it went for me.

1. Timing of the punch.

When you first snatch a kettlebell over head its a little bit scary, you have little confidence in the movement and the fear of the bell hitting or landing on your head is at the forefront of your mind. This quickly passes as you realise a good strong vertical lockout at the top will ensure that this does not happen. The other issue beginners have is the bell travelling around the hand and bashing the wrist once locked out. This is happening because you are being passive and taking the bell up on a straight arm, the movement has two elements, pull and punch, the pull sets the bell up to float up to slightly above head height at which point the bell is weightless, then you are looking to punch through to the lockout position. Time the punch right and the bell will come to rest on the back of the forearm with no impact. My advice is to drop down to a lighter weight to practice the punch and get your timing spot on. Do not use a mirror, you have to feel it out.

2. Tame the arc

As mentioned in the above point, if you are getting smacked on the wrist you are probably taking the bell up on a straight arm and therefore the bell is travelling to far away from you and this is simply a waste of energy. With the ballistic exercises you always want the bell to take the shortest route, in the snatch the shortest route from point A (the back swing) to point B (the lockout) of course is straight up. To do this imagine a wall is right in front of you, as the bell comes off the back swing and is available to move upwards,  redirect it by starting the pull action of drawing your elbow slightly backwards and taming the arc. If enough power was provided from the hips the bell is now floating up by your head so punch through to the lockout.

3. Use the hips not the upper body 

Its very easy in this movement to rely on the your back to do most of the work but this is primarily a lower body exercise and the prime movers are the glutes and hamstrings. This is why grooving the hip hinge with lots of hardstyle two handed swings first will lead to better performance. This for me was the last piece of the puzzle and it actually took me about a year of training to really get the hips into the movement. The difference in my performance is huge! I can now easily snatch a 24kg kettlebell for 100 reps in about 4 minutes. Before I got this part of the movement down, I would always be really sore in my traps and upper back the day after a hard snatching session, now I have no soreness anywhere, maybe sometimes in the bicep.

Here is a video of me performing the RKC snatch test which is to snatch a 24kg bell 100 times in under 5 minutes. This was an early attempt and although I got the 100 reps it took me just over 5 mins.

There are lots of things wrong with my technique here, the head position is not good, the bell is travelling around my hand at the top rather than a good hard style flip, breathing is off, there is minimal power through the hips and my shoulder is disconnected and is taking a beating every time the bell lands at the lockout.

Below is my latest attempt at the RKC snatch test. This is 9/10 months on from the attempt above. Notice the difference in my technique, all of the above mistakes are no longer there, the path the bell takes is shorter, my hip snap is much more powerful and easily moves the bell over head, my breathing is improved and over all it is much cleaner and stronger.

By focusing on the above technique points I was able to shave a minute off my previous best time, that’s a considerable difference. Of course strength, shoulder stability and conditioning have improved through other kettlebell exercises during this time frame, but you will never get this type of performance without dialing in your snatch technique.

I hope this has been helpful, if you are having problems with your technique leave a comment below or contact me for some one to one instruction.

Pete

If you have been thinking about buying a kettlebell lately you may have noticed that there are two different types. There are competition kettlebells and cast iron kettlebells. Competition kettlebells (or pro grade as they are often called) are what the athletes in Girevoy sport use. Cast iron bells are used by people that are more interested in general fitness.

24kg Competition kettlebell

Cast Iron kettlebells

Here are the three main differences between them.

1. The size of the bell.

Competition bells are uniform size regardless of weight. This is so that lifting technique does not have to change as the athlete becomes stronger. Comp bells start at 8kg and go up to 40kg. The size and dimensions remain the same and should conform to the official standards.

Cast iron bells increase in size as they get heavier. This creates some change in the lifting groove and how the bell sits in the rack position.

2. Thickness of the handle.

Competition bells have thin handles, this is because in kettlebell sport the athletes perform very high rep sets which fatigue the forearm muscles used to grip the bell. The thinner the handle the longer your grip will last. The handles on competition kettlebells are specifically designed to prevent slipping.

Since cast iron bells get bigger as they increase in size so does the thickness of the handle.

3. Construction and material used

Competition bells are constructed from one cast and made of steel. Steel is more durable than cast iron.  A good cast iron kettlebell will be made from one cast too but many on the market are not. Cheap cast iron bells often have had the handle welded to the body of the bell.

So which type of bell should you buy?

If you are new to kettlebells I would recommend cast iron bells to start off with. If you really enjoy kettlebell training and want to focus on your performance then of course you would want to start using competition bells.  Having said that many people start out using competition bells and get on fine. They are more expensive than cast iron and so for that reason you might not want to start out with them.

So what weight should I start with?

As a general rule of thumb ladies should start with an 8kg and guys with a 12kg. If you are a female who is already fit and strong you could start with a 10 or 12kg. If you are a guy who is already fit and strong you could start out with a 16kg.

As with most things you get what you pay for and buying kettlebells is no different. Buy a cheap bell and it will be an inferior product that you will have to replace much sooner than you think. Cheap cast iron bells have a few issues such as the ones I have listed below.

Poor clearance on the handle causing pressure and an uncomfortable position on the wrist when in the rack.

Uneven bottoms making exercises like the renegade row, bear crawl, sprawl and push up a definite no no.

Welded handles which will eventually crack and corrode leading to serious potential injury.

Rough finish on the handle which will tear up your palms and lead to lost training time.

Where should I buy from?

If you are in the UK and looking for competition kettlebells I have a few Agatsu bells left in stock, click here for sizes and prices 

If you want cast iron bells and are in the UK I would recommend you buy from www.Wolverson-Fitness.co.uk

If you are in a country that they ship too I would recommend Lifeline USA kettlebells.

You won’t find any good kettlebells in shops, its possible that you may find decent bells being sold in a training studio somewhere but generally this will be an online purchase.

If you have any questions about this subject don’t hesitate to contact me.

Pete

So you may or may not know that I am currently training for the most prestigeous of kettlebell certifications the RKC level 1. To pass this gruelling 3 day event, trainees have to not only show excellent technique and form in the 6 main exercises, and show competence in instructing others in these exercises but they also have to pass a conditioning test which for men is to perform 100 snatches in under 5 minutes with a 24kg bell. This all takes place over the 3 day certification in which trainees will also under go numerous daily workouts and form critiques. On the last day (if you are still alive) you will go through the graduation workout which I understand is pretty tough. Throughout the course men typically work with 24kg bells and ladies with 12kg and 16kg.

I have tailored my training towards increasing work capacity performing two workouts most days, a strength based session in the morning and a conditioning session in the evening.

Every month or so I test myself with the RKC snatch test. Today I did pretty good

Take away points for me are

Its definitely better to try not to put the bell down and rest in the lockout position if needed.

Breathing could have been better, at the beginning my breathing was all over the place, need to work on that.

Hands/callousses weren’t a problem so no worries there.

I have organised for Mc schraefel to put on a workshop just out side of Bristol in Portishead on the Saturday 16th July.

11am-1pm at the Gordano school sports centre.

The workshop is focussed towards kettlebell training and specifically improving athletic performance. Here are the benefits of attending the workshop

In the 2 hour workshop we’ll cover core movement control work, concepts and practice, including high pay off joint focus work, a targeted, Range of Motion, vision and balance self-assessment, and demonstrated application to practice. With this group for practice we can look at how the approaches can be applied to the front squat, swing, turkish get up.

On leaving the workshop, Folks will have :
mobility drills they can use every day;
self assessments for rapid self checking;
knowledge about the why and how of these approaches,
immediate ways to plug these approaches into their kb practice -
priniciples to generalize to any other movement activity.

You’ll be able to measure performance benefits in terms of
improved strength, power and speed.
If there are folks struggling with pain as a performance block, this work helps that too.

Mc is a highly talented individual, please check out her blog begin2dig (google it) and also click on her name above to learn more about her.

If anyone in the area is interested there are 4 spots left for this workshop, the cost of which is £35.

Please contact me on 07800542416 or e-mail info@bristolkettlebellclub.co.uk

Kettlebell training is rough on the hands, the repeated motion of the handle rotating in the palm will form callouses which eventually may tear and could stop you from training as frequently as you want to.  However there are things you can do to avoid this situation, improve technique, protect and repair.

First we will start with protection methods

The Sock sleeve method

The sock sleeve can be made easily and fits right over the area of the palm that is affected. This idea was invented by Tracy Reifkind husband of Master RKC Mark Reifkind. Having tried this method I can attest to how really good this works! This is the method that I encourage my class members and clients to use.  Phil Scarito has put together a video to explain more.

Hand care using the sock

Tape

The taping method is popular at the RKC events, although it is not allowed for the 100 rep snatch test, it is another great way to cover the affected area with minimal material allowing you to still “feel” the bell in your hand.  I have yet to try this method so can only go on what others have to say. Master RKC Mark Riefkind has put together a very useful blog post with pictures and instructions. If you try this please leave a comment and let me know how it went.

How to tape your hands

Technique improvements

The exercise that causes the most problems to hands is the kettlebell snatch, snatches burn more than 20 calories per minute, they are a fantastic conditioner, build strengh endurance and vastly improve work capacity. In a nutshell you need to be doing lots of snatches, whatever your goal! Steve Cotter is a well acomplished kettlebell lifter and competes in Girevoy sport (GS) where an athlete will snatch for as many times as possible in ten minutes with only one hand switch. Due to these condtions the GS style of snatching differs somewhat from the hardstyle method and is kinder to the hands. In the video link below Steve Cotter explains more.

How to avoid tearing hands in KB snatch

Repair

If the above methods don’t work for you then you may want to consider keeping your hands in good condtion with a moisturiser. The most popular choice is corn huskers lotion, I haven’t been able to find this in the UK so unless you have relatives that can buy and post it over for you I don’t know how you would get hold of some. I’m sure there are other good moisturisers out there, one that I came across is kettle balm. This product has been specifically made to repair calloussed and torn hands due to kb training. I use this balm and can tell you that it works surprisingly well, you can see a noticeable difference in the appearance and feel of your hands the very next day.

Kettle balm

Some purist kettlebell lifters will frown upon the above methods and call you a girlie man for using them, that is fine and to each his own, if Master RKC Mark Reifkind suggests tape is ok then that’s good enough for me.

I hope these have helped you out and you are able to continue training hard.

Until next time comrades, train safe!

Pete

Martial artists around the world are becoming more and more aware of the benefits of using kettlebells in their training regime, the application of the kettlebell to a martial artist is, more explosiveness, more power, more strength, more strength endurance and superior conditioning. Its a fact that the majority of fights are won by the more conditioned opponent, of course skill, accuracy, power and speed are all necassary compenents any great fighter needs, but this will mean nothing if you find yourself in the last round with nothing left to give! So how can this deceptively simple device give so much? Consider this, Russian kettlebell training specifically the “hardstyle” method of kettlebell training is explosive in nature, the relationship between relaxation and tension is one every athlete should master, high level athletes know this and train accordingly. The hardstyle method refers to martial art systems like karate which concentrated on total body muscle tension into one extraordinary effort “one punch, one kill”. When Pavel (the creator of the hardstyle method) served in the Soviet Special Forces, his  unit was among those who had adopted a karate-based style of hand to hand combat. The hard style of kettlebell training was born to support the hard style of fighting. In the hardstyle kettlebell swing, you explosively propel the bell forward using an aggressive hip snap, before hiking the bell back between the legs to again explosively drive it forward, at the top of the swing, glutes, abs, quads, lats and forearms are tense, at the bottom of the swing relaxed, this repeated effort is teaching you total body tension, to build up to a one all out effort, but repeatedly. Therefore the kettlebell swing is not only a superior conditioner but also builds strength endurance that will transfer to how you perform in the arena. Add in the Turkish get up for an all over strength exercise and you have all you need, but why stop there? Lets add in some snatches for more explosiveness, some windmills for flexibility and core, clean and press for a strong upper body, high pulls which mimic striking, both with elbows and fists, the ground attack, a great exercise for grapplers. These exercises are just a few of the many hundreds a fighter can use to increase speed, power, conditioning etc, if you are serious about improving in your sport, and why would you not be? The question becomes why are you not using kettlebells already?

Written by Pete Luffman, personal trainer, kettlebell coach and nutritional advisor.

Contact Pete