Place your promotion here
Kettlebell Jerk Technique Tips from The Ice Chamber...
After training with the renowned kettlebell sport coaches at the Ice Chamber last month, I discovered I'd been making some pretty basic mistakes with my jerk technique - and these are mistakes that a lot of people are making.
The information I got from the Ice Chamber coaches has come from their own vast experience and their work with great coaches and athletes such as Ivan Denisov and Valery Fedorenko. This sort of information is gold and not all that easy to come by!
So I put together this short video on what I learnt for the athletes I coach online and anyone else who is looking to improve their kettlebell jerk technique:
You can look for the points I talk about in the video in this slow motion video of Denisov:
do a deep exhalation and feel what your abs do. They should activate automatically to provide a brace for your spine. With kettlebell jerks we are not looking at 1RM lifts (it's dangerous with a kettlebell because you can't dump the bell if it goes wrong, so you'd never want to use more than a 5RM weight and never go to failure).
The back is actually not arched, it looks that way because the hips come forward when only the knees bend, but it should remain in a neutral position, so is perfectly safe.
Generally, the aim of the kettlebell jerk is different from a BB jerk - in the sport we aim for very high repetitions, again rather than a 1RM as you'd do with Olympic lifting. And again, kettlebells just aren't suited for really heavy work so even if you're not into competitive lifting you're still looking at more of a power endurance lift with the kettlebell as opposed to a pure power lift. If you want to do pure power work Olympic lifting is much safer, whereas the kettlebell is better than a BB for power endurance lifting in most cases.
Why breathing out on the first dip (and generally why an anatomical breathing pattern is best for things like push presses and jerks) is discussed here in a post on push presses https://4c0923a5ce.nxcli.io/blog/the-kettlebell-push-press/
Happy lifting!
Emily
wont breathing out release the air pressure in the torso and mid-section also releasing the muscles supporting the lower back and nice natural curve of the spine?
I would also have thought that releasing the air and having that arch back create a less stable platform from which to drive the bell up.
Why is a kettlebell jerk technique so different to a barbell when essentially the desired result is the same? The only difference is the positioning of the bell and the bar.