Hope you had a great weekend!
Saturday was “FVT picture day” at our gym … it was a lot of fun, and we were long overdue for some updated shots!
Then on Sunday we went out to lunch at a really nice restaurant on the river to celebrate my grandma’s 96th birthday(!) … our daughter is almost 8 mos old now, and it’s getting a little trickier to take her out to eat these days, as she’s all of a sudden getting a LOT more active and energetic … but it’s all good, having fun and enjoying every day with our little girl!
Anyway, got a quick tip and video for you today to help you improve your KB swing form … but before we get to it, I would love to get your feedback on something real quick.
We are considering doing a live, streaming, follow-along workout from FVT and broadcasting it on the internet, and I’m wondering if you would be interested?
The way it would work:
— You sign up ahead of time for the workout (for a small fee – around $10 most likely for the first one)
— You “tune in” for the workout from wherever you are in the world and follow along
— The first session will be a minimal / zero equipment workout you can do at home
— I’ll be leading the session, and will have one or two or three folks that I’ll be coaching through the workout
— You would also get a recording of the workout as well – if you can’t make the actual event, so you could do it again on your own time, etc
— Folks who register will also get the opportunity to send in questions on things like exercise technique, etc ahead of time, and we’ll take 15 mins or so at the end of the workout to answer questions live
Sound interesting? Just hit reply to this message and let me know … and if I get enough responses, we’ll make it happen.
ALSO … if you are interested, can you also let me know what time of day / day of the week would be best for you, in Eastern Standard Time please?
This way, if we do end up doing this, we’ll be able to schedule the live workout at a time that works best for everyone 🙂
Okay, on to today’s kettlebell training tip – talk soon!
– Forest Vance
Level 2 Certified Russian KB Instructor
ForestVance.com
###
Quick Tip To Fix Your KB Swing
Kettlebell training is one of the best exercise methods in existence for extreme fat loss and total body conditioning.
On the other hand, learning even the basic kettlebell exercises does take some study and practice of safe and effective lifting techniques.
The kettlebell Swing is the “pilar” movement of hardstyle kettlebell lifting; and while it is technically complex,the mistakes that we see folks make with it repeat themselves over and over again. One of the most common Swing mistakes in the Swing is what we call the “squat and front raise error”.
In a correct, “hip driven” Swing, the kettlebell is hiked back between the legs, and the arms do approximately 10-20% of the work.
When a kettlebell trainee makes the squat and front raise error, the individual will perform a squatting pattern with the lower body followed by a front raise – type move. In this scenario, the arms are responsible for more like 50-60% of the movement.
What we call the towel swing is a great drill to help you fix this flaw.
To perform the Towel Swing, you just do your two handed Swings with a towel wrapped around the horn of the ‘bell and grabbing the ends of the towel; to maintain tension on the towel through the entire movement, you have to use your hips and direct energy efficiently to the ‘bell.
It’s a great drill because it’s very self correcting. Do a few Swings with the towel and you’ll naturally use your lower body more and your upper body less as you get feedback from the towel.
Watch this video for a quick demo:
To sum up, one of the most common mistakes with the Kettlebell Swing is the “squat and front raise” error. This occurs when the trainee uses a squatting, knee-dominant movement on the “down” portion of the swing, and as a result has to over-involve the arms in finishing the movement. The towel swing drill is a great one to help you fix this flaw. Give it a try today!