The kettlebell snatch is the king of all kettlebell lifts.  It is both fluid in motion and vicious in the force it generates, even with a light bell.  (There is a formula that explains this but for now, take my word for it.) The snatch will help you create an iron back and hips that are resistant to injury and android like cardo without the disgrace of aerobics.  High rep snatchs will build willpower and tolerance to pain.  The Russian Spec Ops and the U.S. Secret Service Counter Assault Team use the snatch instead of the push up now to test physical strength and conditioning. 

If after mastering the kettlebell swing, the foundation, you mastered and performed only ONE kettlebell lift, the snatch would be that lift.  It is that awesome and effective.  But as in all lifts, especially one that ends with a heavy piece of iron over your head, it is important to learn and perform this lift corrrectly. 

The kettlebell snatch starts just like the swing and the high pull.  The bell is positioned between your feet and back towards your heels.  Keeping your back straight, bend at the waist and squat down to pick up the kettlebell.  Again, like the swing and high pull, your hamstrings will “load” as you pick up the bell creating tension which, when unleashed will propell the kettlebell up into the finishing position. 

Once you have a good hold of the bell, explode with the hips and thighs duplicating the same form you would use in performing a high jump.  As in the previous two lifts, remember that the hip and leg drive are what project the kettlebell up and overhead.  Do not lift with your arms. 

As the kettlebell comes up over your head, dip down slightly under the bell and drive your fist up towards the sky and stand tall.  This will allow the kettlebell to gently flip over your wrist.  This is the difference between the snatch and the high pull.  This part of the lift will take a little practice as most newbie’s tend to allow the bell to smack against their wrist.   A couple of these with bad form and a heavy kettlebell will wake you up to the advantages of proper technique in a hurry.  (I don’t endorse the use of a heavy bell when starting out.  Start with a kettlebell that is a size too light until you get the technique down).

A correct finish has your arm locked out over head and the kettlebell positioned slighly back behind the ear.  The major mistake made in the finshing position is the kettlebell to far forward.  Your bicep should be even with or behind the ear.  Now, bend at the waist to get the momentum started down and let the kettlebell flip back over your wrist and down between you legs.  Allow the bell to swing back which helps in reloading the thighs.  Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat……………………………

For better clarity on what this lift looks like, see the video posted below.

Yours in Health,

Dennis

This post is meant to give you some ideas and get you pointed in the right direction as it relates to using a kettlebell.  You will obviously not master the kettlebell just by reading this post.  I would strongly suggest you seek out quality instruction either with a certified trainer or through the use of books and videos.  The best in the business is Pavel Tsatsouline.  I would suggest to you “Enter the Kettlebell“  by Pavel.  As with any fitness routine, check with your doctor first.

Watch the Kettlebell Snatch Demonstrated

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The kettlebell high pull is the next step up the ladder on our way to the kettlebell snatch.  As we have previously discussed, the swing is the foundation and the first lift you should master before moving on to the high pull and eventually the snatch. 

The high pull is performed just like the swing with one exception.  Once the kettlebell starts moving up towards the area of the chest, you are going to pull up and back with your arm.  The bell will finish about forehead high or a little higher and it will be weightless for a brief moment at the top.  Allow the kettlebell to fall back down between your legs and repeat.  The video below demonstrates.

Yours in Health,

Dennis

This post is meant to give you some ideas and get you pointed in the right direction as it relates to using a kettlebell.  You will obviously not master the kettlebell just by reading this post.  I would strongly suggest you seek out quality instruction either with a certified trainer or through the use of books and videos.  The best in the business is Pavel Tsatsouline.  I would suggest to you “Enter the Kettlebell“  by Pavel.  As with any fitness routine, check with your doctor first.

 The Kettlebell High Pull Demonstrated

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Here is a very good DVD that goes into proper kettlebell form and technique in greater detail.  A must have DVD for any serious practitioner of the sport of girya also known as the kettlebell.

The Russian Kettlebell Challenge-DVD
Xtreme Fitness for Hard Living Comrades

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The kettlebell swing is the foundation for all kettlebell movements.  This is the first exercise you should and must learn before attempting anything else.  It is also a great introduction to the kettlebell.  It looks simple but in my experience, almost everybody who first attempts this exercise does in incorrectly.

Here is the problem, most people think that this movement is performed with the arms pulling or swinging the kettlebell.  In fact, most of the force in this movement is generated in the hips, back and legs, NOT the arms.  When practicing the swing, visualize yourself doing a vertical jump.  The motion is very similar to the swing.

Start with the kettlebell on the floor between your feet and back towards the heels.   Keeping your back straight, squat down and grab hold of the bell with one or two hands.  If you are doing it correctly and the kettlebell is in the correct position between your feet, most of your weight will be on the heels and your hamstrings should be loaded. 

Now, pick the kettlebell slightly off the ground and explode it upward and out by snapping your hips through and contracting your glutes.  The kettlebell should project straight ahead and finish about chin high.  Let the bell fall back between your legs allowing the hamstrings to re-load and repeat.  The harder the hip and glute snap, the higher the bell will rise.

Once you have mastered the two hand kettlebell swing, trying using just one arm and even alternating between arms by switching hands as the kettlbell is falling back down between the legs.  

Remember not to pull the kettlebell upward and out.  Think of your arms as a rope.  The momentum is created with the lower body.  This is VERY important and is the single biggest mistake most people make when learning to perform the swing. 

Once you master the two arm and one arm swing, you are ready to move on to other exercises, the majority of which will incorporate the same explosive hip motion so it’s important to get it right before moving on.

Yours in Health,

Dennis

This post is meant to give you some ideas and get you pointed in the right direction as it relates to using a kettlebell.  You will obviously not master the kettlebell just by reading this post.  I would strongly suggest you seek out quality instruction either with a certified trainer or through the use of books and videos.  The best in the business is Pavel Tsatsouline.  I would suggest to you “Enter the Kettlebell“  by Pavel.  As with any fitness routine, check with your doctor first.

Watch the Swing Demonstrated

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Why the kettlebell I am often asked?  What makes it superior to many other forms of exercise?  Two words come to mind when answering this question.  Simplicity and versatility. 

You don’t get much more simplistic then a round iron ball with a handle.  Versatility because there are numerous, dare I say hundreds of exercises that can be performed using the kettlebell.  Some can be executed with barbell and dumbells and some are unique to the bell.  Add to it the fact that you can take the thing anywhere you go, and you have a complete gym in the palm of your hand.

With that said, if you are looking to create a lean body, a strong heart and cardiovascular system, a back as strong as a steel beam and bones that are practically invincible, all you need perform are two exercises; the kettlebell snatch and the bent press.  These two exercises alone will give you one hell of a workout in the shortest amount of time possible.  As an add on, I would suggest some ab work thrown in for good measure.

Pavel Tsatsouline, Master of Sports calls this routine the “program minimum”.  Here is what it looks like.

First you will need a kettlebell.  I cannot recommend more strongly the bells made by Dragon Door.  Super high quality and built to last a lifetime.  More on that in a later post.  When starting out with a kettlebell, it is important to choose the correct weight.  Everybody is different but for the average female, an 8kg/18Ib is a good starting point and for the men, a 16kg/35Ib bell works best.  Again, you know your body and fitness level better the me.

Once you have the correct kettlebell, perform the one arm kettlebell snatch two or three times a week.  The sets and reps are up to you.  The general rule of thumb is that you want to perform a vigorous workout that taxes your body but don’t kill yourself to the point of diminishing returns.  Optimally you want to feel energized following a workout, not dead beat tired.  Remember, you are going to be performing this routine two or three times a week. 

After doing snatches, throw in a few sets of an ab exercise  and some stretching to help with recovery and to help prevent future injuries.  For abs I would suggest that you pick an exercise that hits the rectus abdominis muscles (front) and one that hits the external obliques (side).  Perform maybe 3 or 4 sets of 5 reps alternating exercises from one workout to the next.  Oh, and I should mention that crunches don’t count as an exercise.  If I find out you are performing crunches, I will have the little guy who looks like the dude from Fantasy Island come over to your  house and beat your repeatedly about the head.  Nuff said about that.

The second exercise, and this is optional, is the bent press.  Keep your reps and sets under five.  If you can perform more then five sets of five reps in good form, it is time to move to a heavier kettlebell.  I will be discussing the bent press in a later post as it is one of my favorites.  It is not a beginners movement so beware. 

One last thing of note.  Don’t even attempt this workout until you have mastered the Kettlebell swing.  The swing is the foundation of all kettlebell movements and the first exercise you will learn before moving on.  In my next post I will discuss the kettlebell swing in dept.  For now you can check out my video demo of the swing at the following link. 

Iron Kettlebell Fitness TV

Stay tuned for more.

Yours in Health,

Dennis

This post is meant to give you some ideas and get you pointed in the right direction as it relates to using a kettlebell.  You will obviously not master the kettlebell just by reading this post.  I would strongly suggest you seek out quality instruction either with a certified trainer or through the use of books and videos.  The best in the business is Pavel Tsatsouline.  I would suggest to you “Enter the Kettlebell“  by Pavel. 

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“Magnificent desolation”, those were the words that Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin used to describe the moon forty years ago today.  On July 20, 1969, the United States succeeded in accomplishing the goal that President Kennedy had challenged us to achieve, putting a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth before the decade of the 60’s was over.

Although I was less then a year old at the time, that accomplishment has inspired me and continues to inspire me each and every day.  Such a lofty, seemingly impossible feat was the moon landing.  Yet, with a singleness of purpose, NASA and it’s thousands of contractors would deem failure not an option. 

Yesterday I got the opportunity to meet three of those hero’s from the moon landing days, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins and Alan Bean.  What you come away with is that these “ordinary” guys set out to achieve something extraordinary.  And in doing so, they themselves became extraordinary.

Use the model of the moon landing in your life so that you to can become extraordinary.  It’s the classic set a goal, set a timetable to complete it, write it down and go to work.  I’m not suggesting to you that you need to walk on another world.  What I am saying is that you should not accept normal and average as the standard by which you live your life. 

Your fitness goals should be lofty and they should have a definitive completion date.  Don’t say that you want to just slim down over the next six months, make your goal definable.  I will loose 20 pounds by October 1rst, or I will weight 160 pounds by September 15th, or I will be a size 4 by November 5th. 

You want to set a specific goal with a specific timetable in which to accomplish it and you want to set check points along the way to measure your progress by.  Come up with your ultimate outcome and a reasonable time in which to achieve it.  Then break it down into quarters so that one, it will become manageable in your mind and two, you can evaluate along the way to make sure your headed in the right direction.

Performing 100 kettlebell snatches with a 24kg bell can seem like a daunting task, maybe even impossible to you.  Breaking it down by saying that you will perform 25 kettlebell snatches this month and 50 next, and 75 the month after that and finally 100, that becomes more reasonable in your mind. 

Goal setting if pretty straight forward and as long as you do something in the way of setting goals, you are ten steps ahead of the normal average person.  I would even say that you are well on your way to becoming extraordinary!

Yours in Health

Dennis

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I can’t.  I hate those two words.  If you and I should ever have a conversation about anything, never utter those two words.  Once you say it, you start to believe it.  You will become what you believe. 

In the 1960’s, a lot of people around the world said it couldn’t be done.  Thank God America didn’t believe it.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/space/07/16/nasa.videos/index.html?iref=newssearch

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If something works, and has been proven to be effective for a couple hundred years, maybe we should take the time to investigate. 

About 10 years, I was looking to spice up my training regiment and add new life to my workouts.  By this time I had been weight training in one form or another for almost 20 years and I needed something new, something I could get excited about.  I started looking around and found out about an extraordinary gentlemen by the name of Pavel Tsatsouline.  I can’t pronounce it either so we will just stick with first names here.

Pavel introduced me to a whole new philosophy and appoach to powerlifting.  The Russian approach.  I figured, why not, those guys were always the ones bringing home the world championships and the olympic gold medals so I started to study his teachings and implement his techniques.  My strength levels soared to new hights and did so in a very short period of time. 

After a couple of years of following Pavel and reading everything I could get my hands on with his name attached to it, he introduced kettlebells to the western world.  I thought to myself, that’s interesting man, check out this new piece of workout equipment.  Only it wasn’t new.  It was in fact a couple hundred years old.  But hey, if something works, stick with it.

So I bought myself a kettlebell and a book and dvd on how to use the thing and off I went.  Wow, was I amazed.  Again, Pavel had opened up a whole new world for me and again me strength and conditioning level soared to new heights.

The moral of this story is that sometimes old is new.  I had tried everything as it relates to strength training in the past and never got the results I had hoped for.  And when I say everything, I mean everything.  If there is a book on the subject of strength training or a magazine written in the past 25 years, I own it and have read it.  Probably twice.    

Pavel knows his stuff and his stuff works.  I am living proof of that along with thousands of others.  Hell, the elite Russian Special Forces, Spetznaz believes enough in Pavel to trust his training methods, so I guess this stuff works.   

Yours in Health,

Dennis

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