I smashed a 25 lb.

Sore elbows. If you dont get your hips all the way through you will not be able to get the maximal about of power.The Fix: Think about being that plank at the top. I started S&S in beautiful Carpinteria, California while on vacation in July 2015.

Were you doing simple and sinister by any chance? Kettlebells are "unconventional" and work differently from dumbbells, Jay and Steph Rose say. I've only hurt myself going too heavy or too sloppy.

You return to the start position in the same way, unraveling the kettlebell down.

I hurt my back about 5/6 months ago. Steph Rose explained that kettlebells work by pulling the wrist in a downward motion it requires strength to pull the weight back up against gravity. Practice this hardstyle plank 3-4 times and then go back into your swing focusing on holding that plank at the top of your swing. Thread the towel through the horns of the kettlebell. Bend your knees slightly, hinge forward at your hips and grab the kettlebell handle with both hands. I never actually injured myself from it though. Back in 2008, when I first started using a kettlebells (here and there, not really seriously at that point), and had only been doing swings, and reading about other things you could do with a bell, I (foolishly) thought I could do snatches. Also made the mistake of slumping over in a chair right after the snatches. A good rule of thumb is that the last 2 reps of an exercise should be challenging but still done with proper form. It may not display this or other websites correctly. The idea of not being able to do TGUs makes me sad too :(. Spent a couple months in PT.

Wrist pain or bruising is a popular complaint, but the Roses say the weight shouldn't bruise your wrist if used correctly. Good set up.2. BTW I nearly dropped a KB on my head twice with TGU's. I was doing a TGU with my 32 the other day and almost dropped it - luckily my PT was spotting me and caught it. Squeeze your shoulder blades toward each other without shrugging your shoulder up toward your ears.

However, I hadnt done ANY training for over a month, and even that was sporadic. I once launched a 28 kg bell through my wall. If you feel like you need to cheat, it's too heavy. Besides that all I have to report is good things about kettlebells. If that doesnt help, practice your hinge with dowel/stick.

In case you missed it, check out some of the common swing set up mistakes. Yesterday I felt weak. To do a kettlebell swing, start in a "silverback stance," as the Roses call it, with the kettlebell tilted in front of you drop your hips back, roll your shoulder blades down, and keep your chest up. No swings for a month. You can also try going to a heavier bell. I don't know what caused it, I cleaned like I've always done before and since. But think of it this way: At its most basic level, the kettlebell is a mass you're trying to control, he says. Although, on the very same day, I was also swinging and jumping from bar-to-bar at a parkour gym so I don't even think it was the kettlebell that did it. Kettlebells are popular weights both in the gym and for at-home workouts. The Fix: Practice a hardstyle plank. Again, position the kettlebell at a 45-degree angle across your palm. Mistake #3: Its SquattyThe kettlebell swing is based on the hinge. StrongFirst Inc. StrongFirst and the shield are registered trademarks of StrongFirst Inc. JavaScript is disabled.

Arms are noodles handles are hooks.5. Wait until the last second to hinge. You can practice one swing at a time too. Just because you've seen countless kettlebell swings at the gym doesn't mean you're ready to nail your own snatches and Turkish get-ups.

I love it and swear by them but I regularly hear that KBs can be dangerous, you can injure yourself etc etc. They can be harder to balance and even guide you onto your toes/heels. NOW WATCH: How athletes will train in the future. Remarkably, no worse for the wear, and I was able to finish the routine. Lesson learned: don't think about other things when you've got a bell in your hands. Deep hinge.3. Its been two years and has mostly gone away now but that sucked at the time. And the wrist should never be outside your elbow either. I am just starting to integrate the 28 kg. The only injury I've had was torn skin on my palm from high-rep KB snatches without having figured out the proper grip. Sign up for notifications from Insider! Speaking of driving through the hips "To say it's all in the hips is a bit of an understatement," says Tripp, who adds that most kettlebell moves involve hip action. Place the stick vertically down your back making sure it touches your head, upper back, and butt. I have gotten very locked up though. But are they really as dangerous as the naysayers insist?

Be careful out there. Haven't fix it yet. Engage your core and extend your arms straight out in front of you. With the same weight I would use for two-handed swings. Until yesterday I thought I finally had a straight road to the simple goal. I trained with the kettlebell experts and was shocked to learn I'd been using the weights all wrong. Plus, if the weight is easy to lift, you're more likely to swing it without restraint and injure yourself (see #1 above). When I was first learning I was going for 5 minute sets and burning myself out. What T-Spine mobility movements worked for you?

All of those mistakes mixed with my hardcore lack of mobility, I ended up getting the starts of a hernia and compressing my sciatic nerve. I have injured my right wrist after lot bent presses with weight my body wasn't used to. Well more like rebounded. I have had some close calls with bailing on a lift but nothing that did damage. At the top of the movement, hold the kettlebell slightly away from the body to keep everything engaged, rather than resting.

Not worth hurting myself just to get a session in. When it comes to building muscle and explosive strength, few workout tools can compare to the mighty kettlebell. "Your legs are screwed into the ground, which causes the glutes to activate, and then your whole posterior chain and anterior is all active. This started happening to me a while back. Went away after a few and hasn't come back. Push your butt backwards keeping your knees soft and all three points on the stick.

The kettlebell should be angled inward. You are using an out of date browser. Ive also checked my form with a PT (who gave me the ok), and have started again. Mistake #7: All Arms As I mentioned before, the power from your kettlebell swing comes from your hips, not the arms.The Fix: Think about your arms as noodles and your hands as hooks. shoulder when trying to do a windmill before I had any idea how to do one, lower back when forgetting to stay tight a the end of a set of swings or carelessly picking up bells before/after training, biceps when snatching heavier weight (ramped up weight and volume increase too quickly), rhomboids when doing heavy get-ups and not keeping shoulders optimally packed, trigger points in upper traps when lats get lazy during any exercise and shift too much workload to the traps, unspecified mid-back tweak following a heavy get-up attempt and swings afterwards. Both times were cases of going too hard too soon. Because of kettlebells' design, using them incorrectly can lead to injury.

While swings are great, when not done properly, you put yourself at risk for injury. Mistake #4: Shallow HingeLike I mentioned, power in the kettlebell swing comes from the hips and you get that in your hinge. A post shared by Phase SiX (@phase6fitness). Exhale and squeeze you butt at the top of each swing creating a tight plank.4.

These pro tips will boost your workout and help keep you safe and pain-free. If you dont have a solid base, it will be really hard to be in a tight plank at the top.The Fix:Remove your shoes. Hand got caught in the handle when I tried to bail, and I cracked my humeral head when my arm collided with my clavicle (my doc thinks). (The above picture is just a visual, hands should be closer to the kettlebell.) And some people might think it's bullshit when someone tells you to get someone who is certified to coach you on KB movements, but let me tell you, it makes a HUGE difference. Turns out the weight was way too far back, and you actually do have to use that front delt to support a heavy weight. Nevertheless, I thought Id push myself with a set of one handed swings.

There have been many bumps in the road that have prevented me from doing one armed swings for extended periods of time - arthritic right elbow that had miraculously healed, right shoulder, left shoulder, knee pain. To avoid getting injured, certified personal trainer Geoff Tripp, CSCS, head of fitness at Trainiac, shares the most common kettlebell mistakes people make and how to fix them. I hurt my pride.

Lost concentration doing a TGU with a 32k, and lost control on the final descent in the final rep of the final set. I have never injured while doing kb work. To perform a kettlebell clean, your setup position is similar to that of a swing (the silverback stance again), except you're using only one hand to hold the weight. Assuming a lack of proper form and strength did my toe in. Here are 7 mistakes that I commonly see with kettlebell swings and how to fix them: Mistake #1: The Lean BackAt the top of your swing, you should be in a tight plank. Stay up to date with what you want to know. Its important to make sure the setup of your swing is correct. If you dont push your hips through on a vertical jump, you will barely go anywhere. Key points for a good swing: 1. Inevitable back problems ensue. Funny you should ask because just yesterday I felt a twinge in the lower back swinging a 28.

Squeeze your glutes and hamstrings.

Hold a weight at your chest with a hand on either side of the handle. Over the remaining years, smartened up, worked with an SFG instructor or two, and things have gone pretty well.

But too often, poor form can make kettlebell exercises less effective or worse, cause you pain. I was worried it was something worse but it got better soon on its own. Copyright 2019|Kalium Theme by Laborator, check out some of the common swing set up mistakes.

Put your ego aside and focus on the basics first. Engaging your hips and glutes is especially essential for developing power when you perform a kettlebell swing.

Last summer, still unable to do one armed swings I was 1000 double armed swings away from the 10,000 swing challenge when I pulled an intercostal. ", By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider

You wouldn't deadlift 350 pounds on the first try, right? If you dont get enough depth in your hinge, you are missing out on a power.The Fix: Make sure you have a good bend in your knees, but they arent coming forward. I did what you did, lost concentration because I thought I was fine having already done a couple. First post here, although I've been following SF for quite a while Well. If your body doesn't need to recruit and engage muscles to support a weight, the move is useless. The top exercises the Roses recommend are the kettlebell swing, goblet squat, clean and snatch, and Turkish get-up. I had some mild discomfort in my elbow/forearm tendons from jumping into one handed swings too soon. I've had some minor aches in my lower back, biceps and other parts that went away shortly. Exercising with a kettlebell also requires full-body engagement, which is why the Roses think it's superior to using conventional weights. ), and used my foot to help push off so I could stand up.

Hinge forward again, lowering the kettlebell to your shins to complete one rep. Kettlebell swings are a great bang for your buck exercise.

The towel should be at the top when tilted back. "You have to be completely engaged because of the way it's balanced," Jay said. Apparently my legs are relatively long and I need to bend the knees more for swings. Your shoulder should be down, core engaged, and your arm should be locked out.

By leaning back, you are not using your core and you are putting extra strain on your low back. Don't let these kettlebell mistakes ruin your workout or worse leave you injured! I thought I knew how to perform all these exercises correctly, but I quickly realized kettlebells require a different approach. I tore my plantar plate and another ligament in my big toe during TGUs. It was pretty bad, I had to go on my knees. I have stubbed my toe more times than I can count. Not enough hip drive, using my arms too much over time eventually led me to tweaking something pretty bad in my mid upper back.like muscle spasm/seized up go to the hospital for an injection-bad. A SFG instructor pointed this out, problem solved.

Can't claim any big injuries, but definitely a few tweaks, aches, and trigger points: I developed pretty bad tendonitis in my forearm when doing loaded Cleans for the Bent Press. They are actually great for strength if you use heavier KBs, but even lighter ones can build a good base of strength.

And whenever you do a move with poor form at a high velocity, you're bound to hurt yourself. Accidentally dropped an 8kg on my toe.

This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. And I think any kind of injury comes from mistakes in technique, or overextending oneself. This is not intended to be a KB hatefest - far from it. I wasn't focused, just going through the motions and daydreaming a little bit (complacency). I'm hoping this turns into advice on how to avoid injury.

You don't need a ton of reps, despite the weight being lower than you would be able to do for dumbbell exercises, because of the difference in the center of gravity.

as well as other partner offers and accept our. Mistake #5: Favoring Toes or HeelsMovement starts from the ground up. It becomes squatty when your knees come forward and torso stays more vertical.The Fix: Dont be afraid to let your chest go towards the ground. Same goes for kettlebell work, Tripp says. It has been a long journey. I went for my routine, did a few get ups, then just felt sort of spent, so I quit for the day and went to sleep.

One of the most common mistakes the Roses see people doing is bending the wrist while holding the kettlebell overhead. You can also do scapular retractions while holding onto the ends of a resistance band (anchor the middle to a pole at chest height) or hanging from a pull-up bar. I've never gotten "injured" per say.

In my experience I've only ever hurt myself with poor form/or miss grooving. Sent me to the ground, and my whole leg went numb. To clean the kettlebell, engage the lower body, push through the floor, and think about the kettlebell rotating like a corkscrew into the rack position. Did too much volume and weight considering how noob I was. I just lost track I guess. Suffice to say, I finished the set and then realised that my back was in absolute agony. Hurt my shoulder pretty bad on heavy TGU, trying too hard to retract and depress for what I thought was proper "in-socket" arm-bar type wedging.

Likewise if I ever feel something go wrong I will completely end the session and if I feel weak, worn out, or even emotionally not in the right place I will not even attempt a session. Its harder to balance on a big fully pillow when compared to a hard floor.

Drive through your hips and maintain tension in your whole body.

Also once had an extremely tight first rib from doing snatches improperly when I was first learning them. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. And now I also pay much closer attention to when I'm getting tired and my form is slipping. I'm interested to hear how you've injured yourself with KBs. I'm in the boot for at least 4 weeks.. Really hoping I can get back to TGUs, and learn how to do them properly/safely! This will help those toes from coming off the ground.

Moral of the story, always treat a KB like it a 48kg no matter how much it actually weights.

I went WAY too heavy with swings while doing this, and treated it more like a bodybuilding movement with the reps I was doing. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Too heavy double cleans where one bell went a bit wide tweaked my shoulder so that I had to limit a lot of exercises to let it heal. But now with a gradual increase of weight.

At a heavier weight you will not be able to use your arms to lift the weight. More specific Grip and arm work fixed it. "Using too light of a weight doesn't produce enough muscle tension for your body to feel effort," Tripp says. Too heavy is too much (surprise).

"Most people just grab a kettlebell and start swinging it around," Tripp says. As you begin to stand up exhale and press though your feet. Once it was inflamed it would last a week or two before it calmed down. The horns should be perpendicular to you. Pause for a second, stabilizing your whole body through your core. Attempting advanced moves without proper training is a recipe for disaster and injury. According to Tripp, these little tweaks will help you control the speed of the bell and ultimately, give you a better (and safer) workout.

I think its very important to go in with extremely modest goals and gradually make improvements vs go for some ambitious goal. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, Press J to jump to the feed.

With the right technique you can avoid common mistakes and engage more muscles for better results. Our shoes are like giant pillows. In the learning phase that is with a 16kg. Thankfully I've yet to do anything more serious to myself than strain the odd muscle. Keeping the wrist straight reduces injury risk and engages more muscles in the arm.

Keeping your back flat and core tight, drive through your feet to stand as you lift the kettlebell off the ground. I once tweaked my back doing cleans. When you do your hinge make sure your lower leg stays in contact with the chair.

If it hurts, stop.

Couldn't lift my arm for 2 weeks. Tilt the kettlebell back. I was also doing a lot of Windmills and Getups at the time. I had to have a course of physio, plenty of yoga-style back exercises until my back didnt feel like I was being slapped with a wrecking ball. You can practice your hinge. Tripp suggests slowly increasing your weight in 5- to 10-pound increments to find your sweet spot. Then think about touching the kettlebell to the wall behind you. I've hurt myself doing other things that then impacted my kettlebell training, but never from the kettlebells themselves. Where most people go wrong when cleaning a kettlebell, I learned, is that they grip the handle too tightly, so instead of letting the weight rotate they flip it and it bashes their wrist. If I had half a brain I would have slowed down and not had to stop completely for a few months. So far I haven't hurt myself with the KB in 1 year of s&s. You can even have someone stand off to the side behind you and hold a piece of paper a few inches behind you.

Put it down to stupidity, but New Year came and I was motivated to get back into 20kg swings with a view to the 10,000 swing challenge. Fortunately I set the bell down immediately.

You can also think about keeping the kettlebell as high as you can on your legs as you hinge back. The result?

The wrist should be straight or slightly flexed inward (as if you're about to punch yourself), but never bent backward, the Roses said.

You can't treat most kb exercises like bodybuilding exercises either, (Doing them to failure).

When you don't harness the power of your hips, you have less control over your movements, which, in turn, become less effective. Get into a plank position and give a long exhale pulling elbows towards the toes and squeezing your butt. Most likely from the drop. If you lose tension in your shoulders and core as you drive into your kettlebell swings, you end up flailing wildly and relying on momentum (instead of your muscles). Hold for 3 seconds, focusing on squeezing your glutes. Overuse on right shoulder while taking the SFG cert. Think about clawing your feet into the ground. Finishing the reps won't help anything. Id love to try to troubleshoot this with you since I have been able to move past it. I have a bodybuilding/Powerbuilding background. I pulled my low back once doing snatches and another time doing heavy double swings. kettlebell into my kneecap doing figure 8 curls two weeks ago.. I havent had the issue lately though, so I think it was due to bad form from going too heavy too soon, or simply being too fatigued after a bunch of 1-handed swings. Rather than letting momentum take over, be intentional with your movements. Mistake #2: Hips Dont Follow ThroughPower from your kettlebell swing comes from the hips. The power comes from driving through the hips, but avoid arching your back. Upon reflection I realized I had lost focus and tension. So far so good. Doing the whole glycotic training thing. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and a kettlebell between your feet. Lie on the ground with your knees bent, feet close to your butt and arms at your sides.

Fixed that by sticking to 2H swings for a bit, and reintroduced 1H swings slowly.

The towel will help prevent you from using your arms. TLDR: stupidly overdid it after Christmas break. Hands should be as close to the towel as possible. If you need a little more help than that, grab a towel. It messed me up for almost a year. That's what happens when you workout hard and neglect mobility work/walking.

Kettlebells have only made me better when I do the lift correctly.